Some of my Favorite South Beach Pictures: Emily's Camera Edition

Waiting to Board The Plane 

Checking the time: Time to go to Miami yet? 

Emily trying to get a shot of herself with the ocean in the background. Instead she got me trying to see my phone!

Emily and I Outside the Fountainbleau Hotel

Jess and I at Blue Bar in The Fountainbleau

Emily at Blue Bar

Emily and I on our way to catch the bus!

The bus ... sucked.

Ready to hit up Mansion

All three of us before leaving for Mansion 

Taxi to Mansion

My favorite part of Mansion? The pink stripper monkey!!!

What exactly is happening here? Video to come!

Not bad for 4 something in the morning huh?

Me headed towards South Beach

So Lovely

Me at Nikki Beach

Emily in front of The Colony -where we stayed the last night

Me in front of The Colony - no makeup, ready for bed to catch our 4am taxi to the airport!

There are so many more but uploading pics takes FOREVER! These are just some of my faves from the ones I have saved at work from the disc Emily made me! 

Much Love Always!

Mrs. Amber Lane

I'm not going to lie to you. Fridays at my work have turned into a bit of a joke. The joke is that I'm actually here. 

The first part of the day the residents swarm the hairdresser who only keeps Friday hours. They buzz about outside the salon and refuse to leave their spot in the line in fear that someone will jump in front of them and get their cut in curl 15 minutes earlier. They WILL NOT (for the most part) participate in Activities with me on Friday morning - so I threw in the towel and went ahead and put Hair Salon on their calendar . So what do I do Friday mornings?

Well, here I am.

Perhaps I will actually have a few moments to hack out an actual update.

• First of all. After I returned from vacation I changed offices.Remember how when I transfered I went from a glorious hard wood floored activity SUITE to a desk squeezed in by a copier? Well, two weeks ago I finally found a happy medium. Its an actual office - with a door - that locks. After a few months of copy machine adjacency I am in 7th heaven. And since I now have a glorious door I can shut it and find time to catch up on things (including blogs) in peace. Something I haven't been able to do since November. Its lovely. 
• Speaking of work: things are finally leveling out after the sale and transition. Things are definitely working out in my favor financially. I've taken on another "position" in addition to being the Activity Director which has also increased my salary slightly. I am now also the Front Desk supervisor. Meaning I hire, schedule, staff all of our concierges. It was a source of much stress when I first returned from vacation because I literally accepted the task the day I left for Florida and that same day one of the concierges announced she was leaving for another job (not related to my taking the supervisory position TYVM). So I returned to a vacant spot that I had to staff by the skin of my teeth. It worked out though. 

Me at my desk Monday morning. Not a great picture but I know how boring posts with no pictures can be so here ya go!

• Speaking of the door to my office from the earlier bullet point - the minute I forget to lock it people just barge on in, scare the crap out of me, and bust me not working! Not that this person was my boss - or that I'm in trouble-  but now let be known I slack off on Fridays lol!
• I have not done so well with working out and/or eating well since I've been back from Florida. I may be up a lb or 2 but its hard to tell since I fluctuate so much from day to day any way. I'm very thankful that I've essentially maintained through the holidays and the bulk of the winter. Especially since WW got all sassy and changed to Points Plus completely revamping their entire Point System. I believe in the changes they've made but I was not a "member" before - meaning I used all things that I found on the internet and apps to track points and things. Well when WW changed I no longer had access to pertinent information therefore Point counting basically ceased. I'm thinking if I want to continue to be successful with loss (if I want to get this last 5-8 lbs off) I'm going to have to bite the bullet and join. I also have been jonesing to get outside for work outs and the weather has just SUCKED - unfortunately that has been my excuse to not work out for weeks. 

My planner open on my desk a few days ago. Left side my schedule. Right side trying to track what I ate! Also you can see I PLANNED to go to Zumba Tuesday but I never made it!

• Friendship Realization. This has been hard lately. I have spring fever bad and all I want to do is go out and play. Doesn't have to be a lot or a crazy night out - just want to be around people and do SOMETHING!!! Well Ben works all day Saturday and usually gets off late Friday night. Emily usually does too. And then the crickets start chirping. I have other friends sure. One in California, one in Louisiana, one in the hick sticks of Indiana, and one who is about to give birth. Those are my closest 5 girlfriends. So basically if Emily doesn't want/is not available to do things ... I'm on my own. It seems as though all of my other friends are busy parenting and living a very domestic (read: stay at home) life. And while that makes sense - it bums me out. I'm not ready for that life yet. So what do I do in the meantime and with whom? I'm thinking of taking up a class. Creative writing or something to meet some new people. Its hard after being out of school for so long though. Where do you meet new people?

Well, I've been here long enough now I suppose to fill you in on at least the thoughts in my head this Friday morning. Hope you all had a great week and an even better weekend! I'm still hoping to come back in full force very soon. Just takes.....what's the word again? Oh! Motivation.

Much Love Always!

Mrs. Amber Lane

10 On Tuesday

I have so much to write about but since I can't seem to find a good place to start I thought I would just fill in the blanks! 

10 on Tuesday stolen from Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields

1. How did your parents decide on your name?

I was named after the title character in the novel Forever Amber ; Amber Sinclair - if it weren't for that book my name would be Marci (gag) 

2. Do your initials (First, Middle, Last) spell out anything fun/funny? 

ALL was my maiden name and in middle school I used to say I was, "ALL that and a bag of chips" ( because I was lame) Now its ALS and all I can think of is ALS Toy Barn from Toy Story!

3. Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you take your maiden name as your middle name? (If unmarried, what do you plan to do?)

I took my husbands last name and kept my middle name the same. I feel like my middle name is as much a part of me as my first name I would feel weird without it- and its also a family name. My mom never had a middle name so she took her maiden name as her middle name when she married.

4. Are you or will you name your children thematically (ie. same first letter, all of same origin…)

I might- I'm Amber and my husband is Ben so I thought maybe we could continue the alphabet but then I thought that's dumb because for the most part none of the baby names I like would follow suit and that would be a dumb reason to name a baby something you don't love. More lately I've thought having all As and Bs might be cute because there are several names I like that begin with those letters.

5. Did you decide on baby names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?

Sort of. I have a laundry list of names that I love but I'm not sure that I came up with them when I was a little girl or later. I shall share (Middle names are in () ): Girls: Autumn (Lane), Addison (Rose), Bridgette (Audrey) Jolie (Georgeanne) I also like the middle name Grace Boys: Lane, Gabriel, Christian, Dominic, Caleb, Aiden

6. Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?

Lane. My grandma's middle name - my middle name - a future middle name of a girl or first name of a boy for me!

7. Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?

I look at the name's meaning definitely. For example I love the name Addison but it means: Daughter of Adam. Adam was the name of a boy I dated who almost killed me; emotionally and literally. I don't know if any child of mine can have a name that literally translates to daughter of Adam.

8. Do you name pets with human names (Sally, Henry) or with pet names (Fluffy, Mr. Bo Bo)? 

Five cats two have "human" names: Izzy and Zoey. The other 3 are Bryndel, Rennie, and BG Snugs.

9. Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?

See above on Adam. I also don't like the name Maria, Mary, Chrissy and I'm sure if I really thought about it there would be more.

10. What are some of your favorite names? Why?

See above! On another note about names..with a last name like Smith any child we have must have a name that will be strong and stand on its own. 

Megan's Baby Shower

Today was Megan's Baby Shower. I've been working my buns off putting this shindig together and it finally came ... and went. Everything came together awesomely. My mom has most of the photos and hasn't posted them yet but here are just a couple from today:

Megan and I before her guests arrived

The girls that go WAY back...We've known each other a LONG time - most of us since elementary school. I'm glad we keep in touch and still come together to celebrate!

That's all for now! Tune in to the Oscars tonight. My bro-in-law did the artistic design for God of Love nominated in the short film category! Good luck to Casey!!!

Much Love Always!

Mrs. Amber Lane

Back From Miami!!!

Departing from Cincinnati

I know I've been AWOL for quite some time but things at work leading up to our trip were insane and then of course I was away for the better part of a week so I wasn't able to post then either.

The trip to Miami was just what the Dr. ordered. Lots of sun and relaxation and a few nights of crazy good-ness.  We arrived back in Ohio today at 11:30 after dragging our over-tired buns out of bed at 4am for our 6:30 departure. Needless to say; I haven't done much besides eat and sleep since I got home- and my lord let me tell you - nothing feels as good as your own bed when you've been sleeping in hotel beds!

I haven't uploaded my actual pics yet but here are a few taken from my phone and uploaded to Facebook- kind of teeny but you'll get the idea!

Dinner at Maya

Jess at Maya

The Beach Outside Our Hotel Early in the Morning 

Taken in the afternoon of day 2

Emily and My Shoes and wine glasses at Fountainbleau Lounge 

Sitting in the Sun

Crab Leg Dinner

Real pictures to come soon!!!

Much Love Always!!!

Mrs. Amber Lane

No More New Orleans

That's right... today, I cancelled the reservation for our hotel in the french quarter for next month.

) :

But before you feel too terrible for me ....

Instead of spending a long weekend in Louisiana.... I will now be spending 6 days here:

That's right ya'll..... Mrs. Amber Lane will be spending 6 days in Sunny Miami Florida!!!

Plane tickets are already booked- reservations made...February 16th I am on my way!

Oh and did I mention this is now just a ladies trip?!?!

There's a whole story there- that's been in the making for a week - but its not a Wednesday night kind of story.

For now, just be envious of my sweet vacay and I'll fill you in later!

Much Love Always,

Mrs. Amber Lane

You Asked For It

So sporadically since I've started sharing my weight loss with you all, I've been asked to reveal my secrets and tricks for shedding 60 lbs in under a year and I think its high time that I oblige.
Only thing is ... there aren't really any secrets ... or tricks either for that matter. Honestly my success is based upon an honest-to-God lifestyle change that sometimes even I am impressed with.
I look at myself and my current habits and wonder how in the world  this girl was ever closing in on 200 lbs - she's so active, so dedicated, so knowledgeable when it comes to foods - but I suppose I wasn't always the way I am now and there were some key changes that I made on my way. These changes are what I'm going to share with you now.

Things I said to myself and the changes that follwed:

1.NO MORE FAST FOOD FOR WORK LUNCHES: I was eating fast food for lunch almost every single day. McDonalds, Chipotle, Taco Bell, McAllisters, Wendy's, Moe's bleh! It was getting ridiculous! I started packing my lunches and snacks everyday : starting simply at first with Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones - then moving on to more lean meats, fruits and veggies  that packed more nutrients once I became more hip to the importance of these things. Today a typical packed lunch for me might be: home made Hungry Girl chicken salad ( made with minced chicken breast, red grapes, apple chunks, cucumber, f f. free miracle whip,. f. free plain yogurt, lemon spice seasoning and a packet of Splenda) on whole grain crackers with a side of baby carrots. For a snack at work I may have some dried edamame or a small apple. If I'm in a rush I do still have Lean Cuisine meals on hand but I am really trying to stay further away from pre-packaged meals these days due to artificial ingredients and preservatives. After I started really looking at the nutritional facts of the fast food chains I had previously frequented- it was no wonder I had put on so much weight - even some of the most innocent seeming things (like half a sammy from panera) were loaded with fat and calories - I am a major advocate of restaurants being required to disclose ALL nutritional values to their customers.

2. GET YOUR ASS ON THE SCALE: I used to say that I didn't weigh myself because it was simply a number that I didn't feel I should base my self worth upon. OK..true, my entire self esteem should not teeter upon a number- but I was in full fledged DENIAL! If I didn't know the number I didn't have to hold myself accountable and ladies - I didn't. I estimated my weight (always lower than actual) and that was that. Imagine my horror when I finally did have to come face to face with my number at a dr. appointment and it was about 20 lbs heavier than I had thought at first! I now weigh myself weekly - sometimes a few times a week - but I think thats mostly because I'm still working on losing and I get anxious to see if I am or not.

3. READ FOOD LABELS: Plain and simple - not all foods are created equal. You can look at two similar products and see that their fat and calories are almost equal so they must be nutritionally about the same - nope. What about serving size?  what about dietary fiber and protein? Poly saturated fats vrs. mono ... how much added sodium and sugar? All of these things are very important when considering which foods to buy. Honestly, I am a strong believer in staying to t he outskirts of super markets and only going for the pre-packaged items when absolutely necessary. I also swear by the idea that the fewer artificial ingredients- the better - but I'm not a complete convert.

4. DON'T DEPRIVE YOURSELF: If you really want something- have it....in moderation. This is life after all- what fun would it be if we didn't splurge every once in awhile. Moderation is key- one cookie- not the whole bag. And for God's sake don't punish yourself after you eat it by exercising for 4 hours extra - make plans for your little splurges and move on -no one is perfect- and making lifestyle changes is hard- learn to forgive yourself.

5. PLAN AHEAD: Planning lunches and menus has been a life saver for me. I look at my calendar for the week and plan for the times that a meal out is inevitable or that temptations will be strong. If I have a big family dinner planned for Wed. night at Outback - I plan for that. I will eat a lower point (calories and fat) lunch and plan a healthy snack to curb major hungers so that I can indulge a bit more at dinner but also so that I'm not ravenous when I get there. Oh yes, and I definitely visit a restaurant's website before ever setting foot in the place- that way I already have something picked out before being tempted with yummy smells!

6. MOVE YOUR BOOTY: Until the past month I had not set foot inside a gym or in an organized exercise class. I just found ways to get my butt in gear that I enjoyed and that didn't feel like tedious exercise. I walked , then I started jogging, I did exercise DVDs, and discovered Exercise TV on Demand. I shoveled our sidewalks when it snowed, I raked leaves, I swam, I danced my ass off at the bar on a Saturday night. Even now when I am stressed beyond belief and my house is a wreck and all I want to do is get my life in order - I clean for all its worth- scrub on hands and knees, reach high to dust ceiling fans, go up and down the stairs for laundry...I just move! As I said in my last post though... I have started Zumba and that's a blast- but as I'm in the home stretch to reaching my "Ultimate Numbers Goal" I want to start targeting certain trouble areas for tone and I'm thinking of investing in a personal training package. Sometimes you do need the help of a pro and thats ok too.

7. KNOW THAT THERE IS NO QUICK FIX & NO ONE GETS CART BLANCHE: Diet pills, prepackaged foods, cleanses - they may all work for the right here, right now results that you want but the problem is not just that a person has extra lbs. - the problem is that there is  some kind of under-lying behavior that caused the extra lbs. to be there in the first place. A sedentary lifestyle, poor eating habits, thyroid problems , a new baby - a combo of one or more of those things - its my belief that once the underlying issue has been addressed and curbed the results can be reached and maintained. If you eat only pre-packaged foods for 6 months and lose 20 lbs but in the meantime don't learn how to eat better on your own- once you quit using the pre-packaged system - its all coming back.Also don't get discouraged by the size 0, toothpick girl that you sit next to in the break room eating a Big Mac and drinking a Mountain Dew- just because she's not wearing her poor eating habits on her body right now- doesn't mean she isn't doing harm to her body that will eventually catch up with her down the road; be it in weight gain or high cholesterol. Fatty foods are just as bad for skinny minnie as they are for you!

I hope this gives you some insight into the changes that I made for those of you who are curious. I am by no means a weight loss expert but I must be doing something kind of right.

Now I'm going to do something that I wasn't sure I was ever going to do when I began this journey... share my actual numbers with you - my blogger friends.

When I stepped on the scale at the Doc's office in September 2009 I almost fell over when I saw the number the nurse wrote on my chart: 199 lbs!!!

I didn't get mad or sad - kicked myself a little and moved on. Didn't even change anything right away- just though on it and finally it was thinking about my seniors at work that really got me moving. I thought about how this is they only body that I'll ever have, and this is the youngest I'll ever be again, and that I owe it to myself to treat it the best that I can now and get it in the best shape that I can now so that hopefully it will be there for me later.

Here are a few pics of me around the time of my highest weight ever:

My 25th Birthday August 2009

Round 1 of Our Engagement Pics: Sept 2009

Megan's Bachelorette Party October 2009

You all know the story from there - here are a few gratuitous pictures of late just for vanity:

Christmas 2010

                                    

NYE 2010

This week I have weighed in at my lowest adult weight ever : 138 lbs!!!

Blurry pic from a fitting room but I love it because I think I look TINY!

I'm not going to lie to you though girls- I'm in that yucky place where you weigh in one week and you're down  several lbs and the next week your up a couple and the next week your back down again - but I'm super happy to not be actually gaining or going at all above 141. 

My ultimate number goal is 135- so I'm so close I can almost taste it! 

Thank you to those who have encouraged me on my journey thus far- you've been an inspiration and I'm glad to "know" you. I hope my little "pearls" of wisdom helped in some capacity. As always I welcome your thoughts and comments!

For now, I must start thinking about bed!

Much Love Always!

Mrs. Amber Lane