Hump Day Hottie

This weeks HDH was born in 1981 in the great state of Arkansas. As a child it is rumored that she ate squirrels. “I did eat squirrels when I was a kid”, she commented, “ people in Arkansas just do – they’d think you were a freak if you ate squid there.”

Her band's breakthrough song "Standing in the Way of Control" was written by HDH as a response to her government's decision to deny gays the right to marriage in the U.S. "Nobody in the States was that surprised or shocked by what Bush did, but it made everyone I know feel helpless and cheated," she said. "I wrote the chorus to try and encourage people not to give up. It's a scary time for civil rights, but I really believe the only way to survive is to stick together and keep fighting."

HDH came to wider public attention in November 2006 when she was selected by NME as the coolest person in rock - being placed at number one in the magazine's annual 'Cool List'. The magazine cited her 'non-conformity’ as the reason for her selection - she is a lesbian, an outspoken advocate of gay rights, weighs around 210 lbs, and is also in a relationship with a trans-gendered individual who was born female but identifies as a man.

Recently she has refused to play in-store at Top Shop stores citing her dissatisfaction with their clothes range not available in her size. She went as far as to offer to design clothes for them saying, "Give me the job. I want to design. I want you to make clothes for big girls - big boys. I want you to make big sizes.”

She doesn't wear deodorant, and also doesn't shave her armpits. "I think punks usually smell." she claims.

She also believes in eating to obtain her "Goddess Curves". "The bigger the better, more sexy!" "I'm proud and sometimes I'll eat a whole bucket of chicken or two ice cream cartons, just to make sure I stay the way I am."

She is an outspoken feminist, and once commented that "Women aren't cats, we aren't pets, we are just people trying to cross the freaking street to get an ice-cream."

She is the lead vocalist of the American band Gossip.

This weeks Hump Day Hottie is ~ Beth Ditto

Can You See A Difference?

Here are the photos that I promised. I didn't get any full body pictures for the simple reason that I am not ready to post them all over the internet. Maybe when I hit a 50 pound loss, I will be ready to show my ass-ets. :)

Before

After

14 Weeks

That is the time that it took me to reach my first major weight loss milestone. I have officially lost 25.3 pounds.

In some ways 25 pounds seems like an enormous amout of weight. For example. A 2 year old child weighs an average of 25 pounds. When I look at a 2 year old and think, I have lost as much as she weighs, that seems like a lot.

In other ways 25 pounds seems like nothing especially when I compare it to the amount that I want to lose. If I equate it with my final loss goal of 140 pounds gone, I am only 17.85% on the way to my total goal which means that I am not even 1/5th of the way there.

I guess it is all about perspective. My clothes are looser and there are at least 2 pairs of pants and one shirt that I can no longer wear because they are too big. When I lose another 10 pounds, I won't be able to wear at least 2 more pairs of pants.

In the past 2 weeks I have gotten a TON of comments about my weight loss. From people asking if I have lost weight to other people telling me that I look fantastic. For some reason, I have also gotten a lot of compliments on my hair. Not sure what that is about since I got it cut at the beginning of August but I will accept any positive comment.

Funny Girl wants to drop about 25 - 30 pounds. She isn't heavy by any means, but she wants to trim up a bit. So far she is down over 10 pounds in the same time frame and is looking fantastic. At least next summer her grandma won't be able to say that she looks like she hasn't lost weight.

I think that because we are in this together and that we keep each other accountable it makes it so much easier. And the fact that I cook a lot for Funny Girl doesn't hurt either.

I don't have any before or after pictures yet, but as soon as I have them, I will post them.

Hump Day Hottie

This weeks Hump Day Hottie was born November 24, 1978 in Washington, D.C. to Paul, a financial executive & Nancy, a personal manager.

She has German and Irish Ancestry and was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). She had a strict upbringing and is the youngest of 4 children. She lived in Virginia and then Denver before her family settled in Connecticut, where she spend most of her childhood.

In 1986, her 15-year-old older brother Jason died of injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck. When doctors determined he was brain-dead following an eight-hour operation, the family decided to donate his organs. The family was never in any doubt that Jason would have wanted his organs and tissues donated for transplant. She is now a strong proponent of organ donation

As a child, her aunt took photos of her and sent them, with permission, to a number of modeling agencies. Within a few weeks, she was signed as a child model and soon was earning $75 per hour posing for Sears & Lord & Taylor catalogs. Her first television appearance was in a national spot for Cheerios.

She made her acting debut in 1992's That Night which was quickly followed by King Of The Hill and then her first leading roll in the 1994 comedy My Father The Hero. She then appeared in the 1995 action thriller Under Siege 2: Dark Territory with Steven Seagal.

In 1996 her parents divorced and her mother was diagnosed with cancer. After high school graduation, she moved with her mother to L.A. and her mother became her manager.

After working on movies for a few more years she turned her attention to television and accepted the role of Isobel Evans on the sci-fi drama Roswell. She continued to work on movies and tended to gravitate towards the horror genre but would also do made for TV movies like Love Comes Softly about a young pregnant newlywed traveling west.

In 2005 she was cast in what would become her most high-profile role, as intern Dr. Isobel (Izzie) Stevens on Grey's Anatomy. She won an Emmy last week for this role for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama series.

Also in 2006, she filmed Knocked Up, a comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow, starring opposite Seth Rogan. The film was a box office success.

She has been on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list twice.

She is currently engaged to singer Josh Kelley, whom she met on the set of his music video for "Only You". The couple will marry in October of this year.

This weeks Hump Day Hottie is ~ Katherine Heigl

Things Not To Say To Dirty Minded Gay Men

I have two new roommates and I wrote about that a few weeks ago. Rico and Don and absolute gems but they constantly have their minds in the gutter. Of course, since mine is usually firmly entrenched there as well, it is a great combo.

Anyhoo... On Saturday I played in an inter-department slow pitch softball game for work. The first time in the outfield I played 2nd base, after that they put me in as the catcher. BTW, we won 15-5. I didn't score but I hit the ball 3 out of 4 times I was at bat and made it to 3rd.

For those of you who don't know, a very popular gay term for who gives and who receives during sex is the "Pitcher" (giver) and "Catcher" (receiver).

So when I was asked how the softball game when and replied "It was a lot of fun, I was the catcher and my thighs are KILLING me", you can just see where this comment made a downward spiral into the gutter.

My thighs WERE killing me and I am still feeling it today. Yesterday was the worst. I was doing laundry and have a front loading washer and dryer. Every time I would squat painfully down to put clothes in the washer or dryer, Rico would look at me and start to laugh all over again.

I cooked dinner last night and Rico made the salad and then I tossed it. At least I was smart enough not to ask him if he wanted me to toss his salad.

Hump Day Hottie

This weeks Hump Day Hottie was born in London, England the son of a kitchen fitter and a hairdresser. His mother's family is Jewish and he has always referred to himself as "half Jewish" although he is not know to practice Judaism or any other faith.

Growing up his parents were fanatical football supporters and would frequently take him to the games. As a child he played for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers that was coached by his father. In 1986 he was a mascot for a major football team.

He was part of a group of young players who won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 where he scored in the second leg of the final. After that he was a substitute in a league cup match and signed his first professional contract shortly after. He became a first string player in the 1994-1995 season and became a household name when he scored a spectacular goal from the halfway line that floated over the goal and into the net.

He continued to excel at football and by 2003 the income from his contract, and his many endorsement deals made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time and today his name is as instantly recognizable as Coca-Cola and IBM.

In 1999 he married his very famous wife and together they became one of the hottest couples around known as fashion plates and both of them have become lucrative spokespeople sought after by clothing designers, health and fitness specialists, fashion magazines, perfume and cosmetics manufacturers, hair stylists, exercise promoters, and spa and recreation companies.

In 2002 he was hailed as the ultimate "metrosexual" by the man who invented the term and has been described as such by scores of other articles since.

According to Google, this weeks HDH was searched for more than any other sports topic on their site in 2003 and 2004.

He has many tattoos on his body, one of which is the name of his wife, which was misspelled written in Hindi. He also has his 3 sons' names as well, Brooklyn, Romeo & Cruz along with many other designs.

He and his wife and children re-located this year to Los Angeles, CA when this weeks HDH was preparing to start his first season with his new team, the LA Galaxy. The move was turned into a 2 hour reality show with the name of his wife and the subtitle "Coming To America".

This weeks Hump Day Hottie is ~ David Beckham

The Worst Kind Of Crust

I was shopping yesterday with Anne at Fashion Bug. She had some coupons and a gift certificate so she was trying on clothes in the changing room while I was sitting on a bench just outside so that I could give her my imput when she would model her clothing.

A woman asked to try some clothing on and I saw her walk past me. She was probably a size 18 had cute brown capri pants on with a patterned top. Her hair and makeup were done to perfection. On her feet she had tan mules with a flower applique on the top. All of this was noticed in a split second perusal while I was waiting in between mini runway shows from Anne.

Another second passed and my brain computed what I had seen in my quick perusal. I quickly look back at her shoes and noticed that she had the crustiest heels that I had seen in a LONG time. Seriously, there must be some kind of fungal thing going on or she hasn't ever heard of a pumice stone. It nearly turned my stomach.

Here was this woman who went out of her way to look nice. She probably spends a lot of money on clothing, makup and having her hair done. Why wouldn't she spend $2 for a pumice stone???

I was so tempted to quietly go next to her dressing room door and say "You look really nice today and I can tell that you care about your appearance. You might want to look into getting a pedicure."

I didn't do it, but I really wanted to. I hate it when women make such an effort to look nice and then totally negate all of the work that they have done by overlooking something like this. For example, if she has a fungal issue and can't get rid of the crusties, the outfit would have looked just as cute with a pair of ballet flats.

It could just be me. This is a big trigger for me. I try to make my feet look nice and I know how hard it is to get rid of the crusty edges on your heels when you are heavy. I struggle to get rid of them sometimes myself. But that's when I head down to the nearest nail salon, soak my tootsies and have that crap professional sloughed off.

So, since I didn't say anything to her I will say it to all of my wonderful readers.

Check your heels!!! If they are crusty, do something about it. Or, at least wear shoes so that stomaches aren't turning .

Hump Day Hottie

This weeks Hump Day Hottie is a flawless musician, with skills at the piano, banjo, guitar, and tuba; a noteworthy singer/dancer; and can provide answers to complex, university level examinations in seconds.

He has also been shown to have certain athletic prowess that is normally unattainable at his age, such as being able to lift or move objects of greater weight than himself.

His sophisticated attitude/nature and mannerisms are juxtaposed with childish interests and actions. He reads literature such as Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Sun-Tzu, and cites pop culture references that date much further back than his age would permit, however, he is also fascinated by Raffi and the Teletubbies.

His mastery of physics and mechanical engineering are at a science-fiction level. He has constructed a laser, advanced figher-jets, a mind control device, a weather control device, robots, a time machine, and even a robotic model of Peter that spoke in Peter's voice. Stewie employs these to cope with the stresses of infant life (such as teething pain, and eating hated broccoli) and to kill his mother with no success. He seems to be constantly carrying a concealed firearm, which he whips out whenever he wants to, he also carries around a bazooka and he keeps an M3 machinegun under his bed's pillow.

Wizard Magazine rated him the 95th greatest villain of all time.

His is the youngest child of Peter and Lois and was born in Quahog, Rhode Island.

This weeks Hump Day Hottie is ~ Stewart Gilligan Griffin

Birthday Fun & Back To The Grind

Yesterday we celebrated Funny Girl's birthday. It is actually today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!) but since yesterday was a holiday we decided to have a cookout and game night.
Rico and Donnie have settled in to the house and so we cooked like fiends to get things ready.

On the menu were BBQ ribs, fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs, collard greens, home made macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, grape salad, green salad, pasta salad and for dessert was cake and ice cream.

Rico made the ribs, chicken, mac n' cheese and greens. The pasta salad, grape salad and assorted beverages were brought. I made the green salad, deviled eggs and baked the cake and cupcakes. My friend Anne grilled the burgers and hot dogs.

We had about 15 people there and I think that about 1/3 of the food was eaten which means that I have a CRAPLOAD of ribs, burgers, hot dogs etc,etc left over. Most of the food is NOT point friendly so I will be staying away from it (although I did a decent job yesterday and ate all of my points for the day at the bbq without going over). I suggested to Rico that he take some of it to work with him. If not, I might bring it in to the vultures that I work with.

I surprised Funny Girl by inviting her parents to the party. They live about 2 hours away and had already presented her with her gift. The look on her face when she saw them at the door was priceless. What was even funnier was that she won't drink in front of her folks (a respect thing) so her full glass of wine was discreetly placed in the fridge until they left.

We played Cranium and Mau until about 10 PM and then all but Funny Girl and Rico's best friend Cain left. We hung out until about 11:30 and then Funny Girl and Cain left and Rico finished up the last few dishes while I got Devon's lunch, clothes and backpack ready for school today and I headed to bed.

Today is my first day back at work since being out on FMLA for Devon's surgery. It is nice to be back so that things are getting into a more normal rhythm. It is much easier to stay on program (WW) while at work because I have to pre-plan everything.

So far I am down 23.3 pounds. I have just over 5 pounds to go to reach my first 10% goal. I am not sure what I am going to do to celebrate. It just has to be non-food related. Any ideas?