This makes me happy:

checking in

So it's week 2 of South Beach, and I'm not doing too badly. The weekend could have been bad for the waistline, what with birthday dinners at the Keg and a birthday BBQ at an Italian household, but I managed to fare pretty well. I resisted the carb-y foods, and treated myself with really REALLY good (but not very lean) meats. Pas mal. On Monday morning, I was at my Friday weight, so I consider that a success. I didn't lose, but I didn't gain. Huzzah :)

As of today, I'm down 5 whole pounds! Yay me :)
I'm at 137, and I'm pleased. I had been at 138.5 since Friday and it was getting to be a bit of a bummer, but dropping that bit on the scale this morning has renewed my zeal.

The bathing suits will fit... I'm determined.

17 days until Jamaica!

This is what perked me up on Saturday morning

My hubby and I woke up grumpily, but then we remembered: we have leftovers from the Keg!

This was divine:

leftover steak, asparagus, roasted tomato and peppers.... mmmm.

It Almost made up for the crappity wakeup.

Not a happy girl.

Why does it seem like my in-laws are hell-bent set against letting us sleep in? We have spent the last 4 EFFING weekends in London due to family birthdays and anniversaries, which has been really, really wearing on us. We get no weekend - we spend the whole time driving back and forth to London and chasing our neices and nephews around.

Fine. So April has been a wash - nothing we can do about that. Birthdays are birthdays, and April is always going to be like that. Fine.

So yesterday was my brother-in-law's birthday, and since they live in the GTA, the London side is driving up here today for a BBQ. Awesome - a Toronto weekend, even though it's a family weekend. We went out for dinner with them last night and were saying how excited we are to sleep in today - we don't have to set our alarms, we don't have to get up early. Wooo.

So, guess who calls at 9:30???? My sister-in-law. "Oh, you weren't sleeping, were you?" "Well, I woke up about 5 minutes ago" (But was trying to fall back asleep). "Oh, I'm so sorry... did the phone wake my brother up?" I look over. "Yes, looks like it." "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize it isn't 10:00" (since when is 10:00 ok, even? Though it's better than 9:30, it's still too early to call, since she knew how much we were looking forward to sleeping in) There was a pregnant pause while she expected her brother to pick up the phone, despite the fact that she just woke him up unnessesarily. "Um, can I have him call you back when he's up?" "Oh... yeah okay. Sure."

Right. So you're not actually sorry you called us early, effectively ending the only sleep-in opportunity we've had for freaking ages.

My other sister-in-law used to do this all the time, and when my husband says, "Uggh, it's 8:00 on a Sunday. Why are you calling now - I'm sleeping" she'd say, sarcastically, "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't get to sleep in - I have two kids. I'm always up now" As though her choice to have two unruly children who have no concept of discipline is cause to make our mornings miserable. Like, we should pay for her not sleeping. That seems to have ended though, after my husband suggested that he start calling her at 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning, because , "oh, I always work late - I don't get to go to bed early. I'm always up now." She was appalled and responded with something like, "No! You can't do that, you'll wake the girls up!" Exactly.
I think that hit home a bit.

My rule: Unless it's an emergency, or you absolutely know we're up (like, we have to be over at your house at 11, or something), NOTHING BEFORE NOON. It's not like we're sleeping until noon, but maybe we'd like to have a morning without talking to our families every once in a while. Perhaps we, as a still newly-married couple, would like to spend our morning in bed, or having a nice, quiet breakfast, or reading, or ANYTHING ELSE that doesn't involve listening to you bitch about something.

Great, now I'm starting out my Saturday grumpy. And the TTC is on strike. And it grey and ugly out. Great.

Day 3 - Down 3 pounds

Yesterday I resisted temptation like a champ. Someone brought in Timbits - I didn't eat any. I went to Starbucks with my boss, and all I had was a Cafe Americano, no sugar. We had a friend over for dinner and while they ate chocolate cake, I just had coffee. (One little cheat: I put a dollop of peanut butter cool whip on their cake, and I did lick the spoon).

Let's see how I do today...

Breakfast: 2 quiche dealies, glass of crystal light

Snack: celery sticks with 1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese

Lunch at Casey's: Asian Chicken Salad

Dinner: chicken & peppers with roasted squash zucchini, handful of peanuts

Day 2 - One pound less (and counting)

Breakfast: 2 quiche dealies
Snack: Missed it because I was at an off-site meeting all morning. Was SO hungry at lunch.
Lunch: Stuffed pepper, roasted squash, V8
Snack: celery sticks, 1 wedge of Laughing Cow cheese
Dinner: 1 hamburger patty (no bun), Big ol' bowl of salad

To make up for the boring food diary post

Just a little something ... enjoy.

Starting to keep track

I'm going to start keeping a journal of what I eat during the South Beach-a-thon.

So, here goes.

Day 1 - 141.8 pounds

Breakfast: 2 mini quiche cups, 1 V8

Snack: celery sticks, 1 laughing cow cheese wedge

Lunch: stuffed green pepper, jello light cup

Snack: peanuts

Dinner: 1 salmon cake, stuffed green pepper, oven roasted squash

Counting Down - days and pounds (hopefully)

So we booked a trip to Jamaica on Friday. Five days, four nights at the Bay Roc Sandals in Montego Bay to celebrate our first anniversary.

I'm so excited, but also so worried, because Jamaica means beach, and that means bathing suit. There is no way in hell I could fit into last year's suits, and that worries me. I don't want to be one of those people at 40 who say they got fat 5 pounds at a time and never really noticed it. I don't want to be content with gaining a few pounds every year and just upping my 'magic number' - the weight that divides where I feel comfortable versus overweight.

So, here it is: my online confession and promise to myself.

I weigh 142 pounds - the most I have ever weighed.

My magic number when I finished my post-grad diploma was 135 pounds, and come hell or high water, I'm going to do everything I can to get there.

I have 25 days until Jamaica, and I start the South Beach diet tomorrow. I went shopping tonight and made breakfast quiches for the week, and also made South Beach-friendly stuffed green peppers for lunch & dinner tomorrow. I'm set - I have the motivation, I have the determination, and I have 3 bathing suits waiting for me to squeeze my ass into them....

Wish me luck.

Is it wrong of me that I really enjoy my Friday afternoons without my husband?
I'm off at 1 on Fridays (Have I mentioned that before? It seriously kicks ass) and for a few weeks, before the hubby started a new job, we spent Friday afternoons together - we'd go out for lunch, run errands, shop, etc. It was great. It was like a whole extra day on the weekend.

But now he's back at work until 5 on Fridays, and Daphne flies solo. I spend my time doing... whatever I want. I pick up some groceries on the way home, cook, watch tv, bake cakes for the 3 billion Spring birthdays in our families, read, catch up on last week's episode of JPod... anything and nothing.

Don't get me wrong: I love spending time with my husband - he's my best friend, he's absolutely amazing, and almost a year into the marriage, I couldn't be happier. But, I really do like having just a few hours to myself each week (time that isn't spent at work or in the bathroom).

Is that wrong?

Night and Day

Remember my boss from my last job? Remember the ominous and cryptic emails she would send, and how I dreaded interacting with her? Ya, me too. Those 10 months were the most unhappy and least creative I've ever spent, due in equal parts to how much insurance sucks, and my manager's "I can't make you respect me, but I can make you fear me" management.

My new boss is her exact opposite. She's the inverse of the old boss. If it was a math equasion, it would go something like this:

Boss3 = Boss2^-1

(Woa, did Daphne just do something math-related? Yes, yes she did... Does she have a gun held to her head or something? Nope. Huh... weird. That may be a first.)

Yesterday, we had a big ol' crazy event at work - my boss and I planned & executed the thing. I can't tell you what an ordeal it was. Well, I can, but I just don't want to relive the constant struggle we had with our Corporate office in the U.S. over the last month or so. Just believe me: The planning was mental, the day was hectic, and my boss and I managed to have a good time despite it all. And people ate cupcakes.

So last night, exhausted after a 12 hour day at work (following a week of working in the evenings), I compulsively checked my email and I received this from my new boss:

Hi Daphne… you were a star today.

Your pleasant approach, willingness to help and constant smile really helped us get through some challenges. I appreciate your positive attitude and your sense of humour. As you said - one down, one to go! Thanks for everything you did. Without you, we would not have been able to pull this off with such panache!

It was a pleasure working with you.
~The best Manager in the world

Is there anything else to say, except that I love my job? I was born to work here. As my dad's girlfriend says, "Some jobs are great to get and great to leave" - but this one is just great.

Going up?

A couple of weeks ago, I presented a communications strategy to the sales managers - most of whom, I have never met. It went well, I thought - people asked questions, seemed interested, didn't shout at me... all in all, a good meeting. But you never really know what people are thinking.

So, I was in the elevator today and received the nicest compliment. One of the guys from the meeting said to me that he had meant to tell me how well he thought I did at the meeting. He said I was very professional, well-spoken, seemed very comfortable at the front of the room, especially since I didn't know anyone there, and that the plan I presented was just what they needed.

He said, "you've obviously done some PR before." And I have - a bit. But I don't think that's where it comes from. I've always enjoyed presenting - be it on stage with a microphone and some music, in a play, or in front of a group of classmates or colleages - it makes no difference to me. If I'm comfortable with the subject matter, just point me towards the mic.

Anyway, it was an entirely unsolicited compliment, which made it that much more meaningful. He could have just said, "Good morning, Daphne." But instead, he completely made my day.

It's so weird being in a job that I'm really good at. I spent 10 months in insurance hell and was made to feel like I had chosen the wrong profession. I've been at the Publisher for almost 2 months, and I feel like I can do anything - and will be supported by my team. And, apparently, I'll also be supported by members of different departments, just because.

Golden.

I had to 'pitch' a presentation to the President this afternoon. He'll be giving a speech at a conference next week, and I'm the presentation-maker. Problem is, this is the first time I've ever done a presentation for him. I had a general idea of what he wanted, but what does he mean when he says he wants a "pretty full draft" on Monday? A complete presentation plus speech? Bullet points? Complete slides but no speaking notes? Does he even want speaking notes at all? Needless to say, the presentation was not finished when I went into his office. I would not have called it a 'pretty full draft.'

Despite that, the meeting went well and I think he liked my approach. It's a short presentation - 15 - 20 minutes - and he wanted videos in it. Basically, I went to him with slide/note printouts, told him about the videos I'm including (but explained that I need to edit them down a bit still, which is true, and I don't have the software to do that here) and talked him through the main points I think he needs to touch on following the video clips.

I had some speaking notes in the PPT, but some were bullet form, some were full sentences ( I needed about a 1/2 hour more to finish it up and he bumped the meeting up a 1/2 hour - ack). Instead of leaving him wondering if Daphne has writing problems and if they hired some incompetant fool, I addressed the fact that it wasn't consistent, and asked him how he would like the final copy, bullets or full speaking notes. Lucky for me, he thinks that just bullets of what I really think he needs to touch on is just fine.

Things are really nuts here this week, and he has about 30 seconds to think about this presentation he'll be giving next week. He asked me how many minutes video I think I have - I told him about 10 minutes. His face lit up - that means only 10 minutes of him talking, so maybe a half hour of preparation and he'll be golden.

He likes the idea of the videos I've chosen, though he hasn't seen them yet. He likes the idea of the presentation he'll be giving, but he hasn't gone through it yet.

I like the idea that I don't have to write him a 20 minute speech and I like the fact that I'm surfing on YouTube and getting paid for it.