Pictures, shows, and apologies - edited

Oh, Nobody....how I have neglected you. I am really sorry. To be honest life has been difficult. Obviously I am getting through it with the help of my loving boyfriend. Well, him and my diet. I live for myfitnesspal at this point. I have also gotten my sister, my boyfriend and soon one of my friends to join as well. On top of that I have started to be the go to person for diet and exercise advice! Much different from "what's a good type of cake?" sort of stuff...(by the way the answer would be red velvet with a light cream cheese icing....hehehe) However, I am guessing that you will be wanting some updates. Well the good news is I have some pictures (taken today) the bad news is that the physical numbers won't be up until tomorrow night (hopefully).

So, how about we do the pictures...I go to bed and we talk again tomorrow hmm?

 So? What do you think? Looking better? I think so! I'm pretty happy...weighed myself last week and I have lost at LEAST 25lbs since I started this journey, I also have some toning done. Yup - I am getting there!

You know what? I can talk for a bit longer? How about you? How have you been? Watch any good shows lately? I have! Even though I haven't watched much new stuff for some shows in the past few days, but I have definately found lots of stuff. My boyfriend and I discovered Game of Thrones - why wasn't I watching this sooner?! We burned through Season one and caught up on season two in TWO DAYS! Is that considered addiction? Yes, I believe that it is. Oh well.

 We have also been watching Justified and another Timothy Olyphant show (can't remember the name, all that I know is that he is a god (and I hate westerns haha). I also got into watching Once Upon a Time, I'm behind on this though :( I love the storyline, but some episodes I find are very dry...

Now, finally I have also been watching SMASH. I was a little scared to begin this show, I wasn't sure what I thought of it, however I have been listening to the soundtrack religiously and want nothing more than for that musical to be real (and to be a part of it lol) If you Marilyn fans haven't seen it, honestly give it a try. If only for all of the songs based on her life. I have a few favourites right now:

Mr and Mrs Smith - a love song between Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio (obviously before they divorced lol) - but honestly I want this song in my life and on my phone forever!
Lexington and 52nd Street: Marilyn fans should know that address. I'll give you a minute to think about it...got it yet? Well, if you don't you should know that is the corner where the infamous subway breeze (white dress) scene was filmed for Some Like It Hot. It is basically another side to DiMaggio's story regarding Marilyn's panty showing scene (in a non-going-to-go-beat-my-wife sort of way, but instead more of a "that's it, I've been defeated, I give up" sort of way.) It's really touching.
Finally (for now)  Let Me Be Your Star - is this song not self-explanatory? This is Marilyn's song. Every word of it screams her. Even the beginning: Fade in on a girl/With a hunger for fame/and a face/and a name to remember/the past fades away/because as of this day/Norma Jeane's gone/ She's moving on. *Sighs*

So...I may start doing movie reviews or something...been watching so many lately. Some of them over and over again *cough*TrueRomance*cough*

However, it is 1:30 am and I have a doctors appointment in roughly twelve hours. It's time for this little bird to go to bed.

Goodnight, Nobody. I will try to not neglect you so much.

xoxo
Dinah

*EDIT!! Seriously, no one called me on the movie name? The movie wasn't actually Some Like it Hot, it was a scene from The Seven Year Itch. Pfft, way to call me on my mistakes people!!

W

NEWS!!

Oh my wonderful and faithful Nobody, how are you doing today? I am wonderful. Floating on cloud number nine actually. My boyfriend just took my measurement and I surpassed my goal for the month! That's right. I gave myself a goal of 1-1 1/2 inches. From January 29th  I have lost a total of 2.125 inches, bringing my grand total from the 8th of January up to 3.75 inches. Pretty good if you ask me.

I have joined My Fitness Pal, and loving every moment of it! I have even been allowing myself small things like cookies. I bake a batch, have one or two and then distribute them amongst my friends and family. Means that I get to bake and do what I love, and everyone else gets to enjoy the cookies :)

Sorry, this entry isn't going to be very big, basically just an update. I am just going to start putting up smaller updates when I have something worth updating now. So hopefully there will be no more rants!

Alright Nobody, you know the drill. Red is the original size measured on January 8th, green is my goal size, yellow is my present size and now blue will be the difference


Bust A: 44.5 n/a  41 3/8 3.125 inches
Bust B: 37 37.17 34 7/8 2.125 inches
Waist: 34.75 24.05 31  3.75 inches
Hips: 42 33.63 38 1/2 3.5 inches

So you can see why I would be happy right now. So Thursday I will be getting my reward! So I shall post an update on that when it is all said and done!

Well...that is all I am going to do then. Now for some inspiration!

Ciao.

 

Lateness...bad habit

Sorry, this whole being late thing is getting worse. I actually have two measurements to update you with. Sorry. This past little chunk of the month has been really busy and tedious to get through and to be honest when I finally have an hour to myself the last thing I seem to want to do is sit here and write to Nobody. Oh well. Lets get right into it.

First off, why haven't I been updating you when I DO have free time? Well...between work, the gym and family I only seem to get enough time to eat and sleep and SOMETIMES get an hour to myself. What do I do with that hour? Well, you remember that Kobo reader I told you about? Well, the first book I found and put on it I have not been able to tear myself away from for very long. Think of it as furthering my education towards my goal. That's right. I managed to find a copy of a Marilyn Monroe Biography! This one is The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli.

So far it has completely enraptured me with her complicated childhood and her quick thrust into adulthood. Serioulsy, when I am done I may have to do a full review because right now I am only 35% though the book - and I don't want to bore you all with the blow by blow accounts of her life that I find so interesting. So if you don't hear from me, it is because I am with her, haha.

Alright. I'm not going to fill you in on all of the boring and tediousness that is my life, so I will just get it all out of the way and say that life is long and complicated and I'd feel much better if people would respond to my freaking phone calls! Okay. Now that we have that out of the way. On with the measurements! I will have to add yet another colour to represent last weeks (sorry). I also regret to say that I had (for a time) succumb to stress eating and therefore my measurements went up. I am also having my most wonderful time of the month right now (seriously if mother nature was really a woman then men would get this, not us!) so as most women know, this also affects measurements. So here we go!

** Red is the original size measured on January 8th, green is my goal size, aqua is last weeks size, yellow is my present size and now blue will be the difference


Bust A: 44.5 n/a 41 6/8 41 6/8  2.75 inches
Bust B: 37 37.17 35 7/8 35 1/2 1.5 inches
Waist: 34.75 24.05  33 32 1/2  2.25 inches
Hips: 42 33.63 39 6/8 39 1/8 2.875 inches


Alright. So. My first reactions? Well I'm surprised and happy, but at the same time I am incredibly disappointed in myself. I could be doing much better if I had more self-control. I will be working on that this week. I have also joined M.F.P (My Fitness Pal - google that shit) I have joined the millions who count calories, and I am freaking anal about it! I have made sure to add even the smallest thing to it just to make sure that it is telling me everything that I need to know. What have I learned? I work out a lot and I do not get enough protein! So, we'll have to work on that.

It's crunch time now though. I have one week to lose at the very least 1/8 of an inch - although I am shooting for a full 1/4. Then I get my reward! Even booked the appointment so now I have to work even harder, otherwise I will have to cancel it and feel like a failure. How's THAT for self-motivation!? So do you want to know what it is? TOO BAD! mwahahahaha. This is something that I am going to reveal if I get to it. If not - the number goes up and the goal gets transferred to next month.

Now, if you shall excuse me, I am going to lose myself in the written word on the life of Miss Marilyn and wait for my boyfriend to finish work for our gym date.

Until we speak again

-Dinah
xox

See, sexy woman can cook!

Sunday is coming on Monday Today

I know, I'm a day late. Sorry. Last week was ridiculously hectic and I just couldn't manage to get sitting down. As it is my boyfriend ended up taking my measurements, writing them down then the two of us shuffled off to bed.  This coming week isn't going to be any easier either. This week is my boyfriend's mothers birthday and apparently I am making the cake (I didn't even think that I would be invited haha) so yes, making that cake, made mini cakes for yesterday for my dad's birthday...ugh. So much cake batter has been flung around my kitchen it is ridiculous.

But anyways, now I am at work, waiting for my boyfriends shift to be done so that he and I can go home and hopefully make it to the gym for a short run (wasn't able to do it this morning sadly) so...I have a bunch of posts made up that I will be doing at a later date, I neither have the copies with me or feel like boring you with another longer than hell post. So instead lets get right down to business then we can all enjoy some pretty pictures? M'Kay? Once again my measurements are done for this week. I will list the original in red, my goal in green and my present in yellow (think like stop light, yellow isn't quite as good as green, but at least it is not a red!)


So without further ado, here it is:
Bust A: (chest)44 1/2inch. n/a 41 7/8 inch
Bust B: (band)37 inch 38.17 inch. 35 inch
Waist: 34 3/4 inch. 24.05 inch. 33 1/8 inch
Hips:  42 inch. 37.97 inch.  40 inch.


Thoughts? Well, I'm pretty happy with my progress so far, I am almost thinking that I COULD shoot for Marilyn's actual measurements, but even the adjusted 24 inches seems to be pretty far away at the moment, so I guess that we will just have to see what happens!

I am actually pretty happy that I am losing quite a bit of my bust (chest) - I've always been larger there and it is much harder to not only exercise, but shop and even sleep! So I will happily say goodbye to a cup size. Just imaging myself being able to buy pretty bra's and things makes me all giddy!

This weeks goal:
- up my running time (currently at 30-35 minutes a day)
- cut back on processed food (no matter what the fat content is!)
- start sitting straighter (need to improve my posture!)

Well I promised pretty pictures so without further ado...

Monroe and Bacall <3

Of Arms, Music and Blood Oranges

Good evening! I honestly meant to do a mid week post this week - even had one typed at work. Honestly I did! You see, the thing is that I work shift work in an office, so there is little time to dabble in non-work related things, and worse yet my shifts change from mornings, evenings and weekends all in one week. So I am really sorry if this post isn't very long, but today was my 7th day in a row at work - worse yet, on the weekend we work 19hours in 2 days. I know that you people don't really want to hear about my job so I will simply say that it sucks and leave it at that!

And on with the updates!

I have realized that I haven't really been saying much regarding my work out or eating habits. This week I have been going to the gym as often as possible. When I couldn't make it my full 40-45 minutes in the morning, I did 25 in the morning and 20 at night. Works for me! I was pretty happy with how I have been doing in the gym this week - I went 6 out of 7 days (GO ME!) and even managed to get up early enough to always do at least 20 minutes before work. My boyfriend also came down a few nights in a row to keep me company and teach me some new arm workouts. I am really glad that he did this too because my arms used to be something that I was always proud of when I used to be a server. So I have 2 new workouts to replace my good ol' shoulder press. So now, my basic work out consists of 30-40 minutes of running/jogging/speedwalking(on an incline) on the treadmill, followed my 21s* (with 10lb weights) and the butterfly* with 10lb weights, then a good 5-10 minutes of stretching and yoga.

Plain, simple and effective so far!


While down at the gym I try to keep myself motivated with music, sometimes something with a strong beat, and sometimes I just need the lyrics to push my further. The last few times I have been listening to my boyfriend's music, which consists primarily of 90s rock and grunge bands,(Bush -is rating very high on my list of music to memorize!) and then some Canadian bands I never would have discovered otherwise, and would forever regret not hearing, seriously! Go onto youtube and search "Hollerado", then after you also become addicted  to their music, switch over to "The Weakerthans" - the ultimate Canadian band in my opinion!

When I had my blackberry (may it rest in peace, lesson learned phone+toilet=very sad blogger) I listened a lot of random stuff, some 80s hair bands (forever my rock band crush will be Def Leppard - why do they have to be so beautiful?) and then some new stuff that I honestly pretend to snipe at until I am alone (Katy Perry - the entire teenage dream album). Also the Suckerpunch soundtrack, the album had such a steady lyrical tone of "I will get through this" that is just pushes you to endure all of the pain that you are putting yourself through for the light at the end of the tunnel. Emily Browning sings a couple of songs on that album, and I do not understand why she has not done more music! Asleep is literally my lullaby when my boyfriend is out of town, her pixies cover of Where Is My Mind (with Yoav) was a breathtaking rendition and I love using it for my stretching! Of course my favourite is her cover of Sweet Dreams. I remember listening to the Eurythmics with my dad and my brother growing up, and hearing a fresh take on it, when I had been sitting in the theatre and the opening credits came up, that song had me immediately enthralled in their world.

Alright...enough about the music.

Couscous!

Food has been getting easier for me lately, finally went grocery shopping and bought low/no fat products I enjoyed and have been paying close attention to their portions. I even have my boyfriend eating couscous now! - Not full of vegetables like I do but at least it's something different. I try to make a point to eat one meal of raw fruits and veggies a day though, which isn't as hard as I thought. If I take the time to slice and chop everything into bite sized portions, somehow it makes me fuller, please if someone knows why that is do share! So you may be looking at the title of this post and thinking one of two things a) what the hell? or b) ooh, so she discovered those! That's right I have discovered Blood Oranges. Where have these been all of my life, it feels like a new present every time I open it! Is it going to be pink? Is it going to be red? Oh my poor life lacks excitement...

Blood Oranges!

So I guess it's about that time huh? Well I feel like I should tell you at this point, there will be no pictures. Nope, as meantioned above my blackberry has died a sad death and I need a new phone/camera for pictures. Also, I have decided that I will be taking pictures every month instead of every week. Even though I may be able to read a difference in size on a measuring tape I doubt the miniscule amounts will show in a picture. So there. No picture. You are saved!

Alright, so here it is. Drumroll please! Once again my measurements are done for this week. I will list the original in red, my goal in green and my present in yellow (think like stop light, yellow isn't quite as good as green, but at least it is not a red!)

So without further ado, here it is:
Bust A: (chest)44 1/2inch. n/a 42 1/2 inch.
Bust B: (band)37 inch 38.17 inch. 36 1/2 inch
Waist: 34 3/4 inch. 24.05 inch. 33 5/8 inch
Hips:  42 inch. 37.97 inch.  41 inch.


Alright...not bad. Apparently I am losing weight pretty randomly haha. Well, I expected my first week to be pretty good, getting rid of water weight and all. This time around I was probably eating more than I usually do, which I will now be keeping closer track of! My goal for this week is to cut as far back as possible on white starches and dairy. Apart from my yogurt in the morning of course, but I don't need to have cheese (never been a big fan anyways) I am also going to start doing some of my yoga in the sauna (home grown hot yoga!)


Alright, well. I actually do have some things to do so I shall leave you with some Marilyn inspiration!

Week 2 - results!

Good Evening!

As promised, this is my Sunday post! Hopefully I can start doing more random updates, however I feel like it I did that I would start using this blog for just ranting, and I do not want to do that. This blog is about a goal, a lifestyle and a love for all things classic and beautiful. That is what it is and that is what it will remain!

So! First thing is first. I love my boyfriend, he and I decided to spend our day off (and my day off of working out as well) with a nice drive to a flea market and an antique store. With lots of issues with his GPS (I swear, gas companies create these things, they had us going in circles for an hour). We finally got there though, with about 2 hours to look around. We bought our typical fare of comic books and browsed through the many different and interesting items they had, then I looked up on the walls to the many posters and paintings and saw a huge poster of our wonderful Miss Monroe, at first this was what caught my eye, however as I walked closer I saw a smaller poster about two spots over from it. At this time I will admit that I let out a girlish squeal of delight, there on the wall was an advertisement for 'How to Marry a Millionaire' (a movie starring Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and of course Marilyn Monroe) I have been trying to find the movie for months now, with no luck at all, but I never thought that I would find something like this. It was a reprint, yes, from 1998. Still. How cool is that!? Of course I was trying to hmm and haw over whether or not I could buy it, especially with rent and bills due soon. I didn't have time to decide though, my boyfriend saw me looking at it and simply plucked it off of the wall and took it to the cash. So I am now a proud owner of my very own 'How to Marry a Millionaire' poster. It's not full size, simple and printed on cardstock, but I love it. I can't wait to put it up on the wall some where!

Held by my boyfriend :)

Don't worry, my boyfriend got something too, an actual advertisement for Pepsi Cola, I do not know what year it is from, but by the clothes in the picture I would say 50s-60s. It boasts about how "Modern living calls for Light refreshment" I love it, very classy. Nothing like those advertisements from the 90's with Spice Girls and Brittany Spears flashing their mid-drifts. (Don't get me wrong, I was a child in the 90's and loved all of those commercials.) Now however, I have a deep appreciation for the old advertisements, before a brand could flat out call out another brand, where your advertisements were pictures of people and places where I just go "I wish I could have been there". I am sure that is different for everyone though. I guess it is because those are from a time period in which I would have be overjoyed to live in.

So... How's everybody doing? Okay. Honestly, I have had my boyfriend take pictures for my "before" with my blackberry (still no camera but I wasn't going to delay it again) and I not only hate how it looks, I don't even want to post them. However the more that I think about it the more that I realize that I will need something to drive me to continue my good work (if I do say so myself) - and if anything is going to do it, it is going to be that I do not want to look like that anymore! So...I guess that I have to do this huh, I mean. I did say that I would, and I don't want to be deemed a liar after only three posts. So, I shall remind the people (or person or what have you) reading this, that lude or cruel comments are not wanted or tolerated here. This is something that I am trying to do properly and I do not need someone saying "you should starve yourself, fatty" - or anything like that. Remember what mommy always said children, if you don't have anything nice to say then shut your traps. Okay, maybe mommy didn't say it quite like that, but it gets the message across just as well.

Alright, now that all of that mess is done. My measurements are done for this week. I will list the original in red, my goal in green and my present in yellow (think like stop light, yellow isn't quite as good as green, but at least it is not a red!)

So without further ado, here it is:
Bust A: (chest)44 1/2inch. n/a 43 3/4
Bust B: (band)37 inch 38.17 inch. 37 3/4 inch. 
Waist: 34 3/4 inch. 24.05 inch. 34 inch.
Hips:  42 inch. 37.97 inch. 41 1/4 
 
Now, you may be wondering how the heck I managed to increase my band size, and I wondered the same thing...until my boyfriend pointed out that I took the measurement myself last week and may have taken in somewhere different, or moved before I saw it, so I will not worry about it. Especially since it looks like I lost a whole 3/4 of an inch off of everything in just ONE WEEK! Go me! At this rate, I might actually be somewhere near my goal before my birthday. That would be a great birthday present to myself. In fact, I hope that happens, I would have to find a classically cut dress for my birthday and go for a night on the town, don't you think? So even if I am bummed about the pictures, I have to admit that seeing the number go lower made me smile a big dopey smile.

So on with what else I did to make myself better this week, something else classic? Hmm. Well I have been getting the urge to bake a lot - which is okay because I never really crave eating what I bake, just making it is enough for me. So tonight I went over to my mums and made dinner for she, my sister, my boyfriend and I. I also made her a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and cleaned her microwave (I'm a good daughter...*insert head pats here*) Then I helped her shape her eyebrows which was fun, and funny since I kept having to tell her not to frown when it hurt, which would make her laugh a bit and I would have to tell her not to smile. All in all it's been a good day. Of course it's not over. It's already 1030 and I still have dishes to do and I promised my boyfriend I would bake him some cookies as well, which is alright because I think he deserves them for being amazing with me! 

I am normally pretty good about keeping my emotions in check, but this week I have been a big ball of emotions. So last night I made yet another rule for myself every week. One night a week, whichever one signifies the end of my week. I will grab a book, some music and have a nice long bubble bath. No boyfriend, no cats, just me, my music and the characters from one of my books. Right now I am re-reading (for the four-thousandth time) Nora Roberts Sisters Trilogy. I won't try to explain them because I never do them justice, but honestly pick one up. If you like powerful woman, the paranormal, romance, fate and justice (and perhaps some tasteful smut :P) you will love these books. This first is always my favourite, I think that it is because I relate to the main character so much. She is a timid blonde woman who has run away from a terrible marriage and is trying to make something out of herself that her husband cannot taint. Ironically this "something" is that she runs a cafe and bakes a mean cookie! Totally like me! Alright, maybe not completely. I can relate to elements that her character went through, but I don't think anyone has had to go to the lengths that she did to get out of them.

Alright, I just wrote a huge paragraph about my past and erased it. As cliche as it may sound, I want to forget my past and just live for today. I won't forget where I came from, but I don't need to shout it out. That's all I am going to say on that.

What else can I share...OH! I finally had some time to kill and got to fiddle with my hair and makeup a bit. This is something that I love doing, but I rarely find the time, but when I do I go all out! So I went out and bought a bunch of hair stuff with some christmas money I had left over (setting solution, perming rods and a styling brush among other things). Well this weekend was our annual "January birthdays party" (there's a lot within a week of eachother so we do one big bash) Want to see what I did? Do ya?! Well even if you do not, I am still going to show you so nyah! (That's me sticking out my tongue haha)

Not bad if I do say so myself!

I was going for the Lauren Bacall in "To Have and Have Not" - That's right. I was pulling a Slim! Well, at least the hair. The makeup is almost always Marilyn with a twist haha.

Well I am running out of things to say, I guess I should say that I am happy that I am seeing some results and can't wait to see what happens with this week. Especially since I have begun to drink a LOT of green tea (I think that I am up to 4 cups a day?) I no longer put milk or sugar in any type of tea, and I tried to have a chocolate the other night and after one bite felt sick to my stomach. Guess that will make it easier to not eat it! Also I have been able to run more consistently on the treadmill with fewer walking breaks, so maybe this week I can am it up and start running for a longer time (right now I do half an hour). In fact I am saying that now. This week, I will do 40 minutes. I will still break it up between walking and running, but who knows an extra ten minutes today, maybe one day I'll be amping it up to an hour! One can dream.

Well, as always here is the Marilyn inspiration of the day! I love this picture, it has been my background on and off for nearly 5 years. With this I shall shuffle off to the kitchen to do my chores and bake my cookies!

Good night!