Photo Hunt is Complete! Vote for ME!

I finished the photo hunt that took place during the month of April.  Please be so kind and vote for me by visiting HERE.  Vote by May 7th!  

1. Cool or interesting architecture

2. A sign of Spring/Autumn (So. Hemi)

3. Something musical

4. Something sweet

5. Something metallic

6. A landscape

7. An interesting doorway

8. A reflection

9. A cemetery

10. A pair of shoes

11. A body of water 

12. A drink

13. A mosaic or mural

14. Rain

15. Classic car (1970 or older) 

16. A work of art

17. A church

18. A statue

19. An interesting sky

20. Something in motion

21. Lights at night

22. A silhouette

23. Something historical (pre-1900)

24. A shot from an unusual perspective

25. Flowers

26. Self-Portrait

Swine Flu

Swine Flu...first of all, I hate that name. Is this flu something you are concerned about? Do you think the media is blowing this out of proportion as they do with so many other topics? I might be ignorant but I am not letting this concern me too much. I understand the situation and I have kept up to date with the latest news regarding the outbreak but I feel like this will die down and the spreading of the virus will go away. There are thousands of people who die each year due to what we call "the flu" that originated through human to human contact. I just think the media is starting to scare people. I look at the pictures on CNN and see a team of doctors that look like this. Doesn't that look scary? Let me know what you guys think about this whole thing.

Biggest Loser: Week 4 Weigh In

Today I weighed in for the biggest loser contest at work. My results were as I expected....not the greatest. I did lose weight and I should be thankful for any weight loss because that at least means I'm doing something right but it wasn't enough to keep me in the 8th position. I slipped back to 10th place with my measly weight loss percentage of -.42%. Let's just say it wasn't the best week because my "monthly bill" arrived. (Sorry, guys) I did some evaluating of the results throughout the weeks and I did notice that I am only 1 of 5 people that have lost weight each week. Everyone else has gained weight on at least one of the weeks. I can be happy about that. I'm giving blood again tomorrow. I wish I could have given blood on Monday. That's a pint (16 oz which is 1 lb) less of me! Ok, I don't know if 16 fluid ounces equates to 1 lb or not but I'm trying anything I can here. Maybe I'll tell my body to not "make" any more blood until the next Wednesday. Maybe I'll get my haircut next Monday night. That has to be a few ounces, right?

Here are results:

Total 1st place female: -6.22%- I should have mentioned this earlier but we have changed leaders 3 times since we started for the females
Total 1st place male: -6.14%--Changed leaders but not sure how many times
Total Me: -2.47%
# of people who did worse than me this week: 8 females and 6 males
Average weight loss for week 4: -.43% female, -.39% male
Where I rank with the females: 10 of 19 (last week 8 of 19)

Cats

I fed my friend's cats while she was on vacation.  I of course had to take pictures of them so I thought I would share with you.  They are both girls and their names are Dolce and Gabbana. Enjoy!

Gabbana in the background with her tongue out

Gabbana always sits in between the blinds on the patio door and apparently it's always the 7th blind in from the left.

Dolce licking her chops

Biggest Loser: Week 3 Weigh In

I weighed in last Tuesday for week 3 of our contest but we didn't get the results until Wednesday afternoon.  Let's recap the prior week's results: I was 13 out of 19 and had lost a total of 1.24%.   This week I weighed in and lost .83% for a total weight loss of 2.06%.  With my results, I was able to move up to 8th place.  Not only that, there are 2 people tied for 7th place and I need to lose .02% to tie them.  I am very happy with my results as there were only 3 other people who lost a bigger % than I did.  This week has proved challenging though with my plan.  I have been doing what I'm supposed to be doing but the weight is coming off so slowly.  Despite trying very hard, I need to step up my game a little bit more for working out.  

I weigh in again on Tuesday.  I'm crossing my fingers my results are good enough to move up the ranks again.  

Total 1st place female: -5.12%

Total 1st place male: -5.11%

Total Me:  -2.06%

# of people who did worse than me this week: 14 females and 5 males

Average weight loss for week 3: -.16% female, -1.03% male

Where I rank with the females: 8 of 19  (last week 13 of 19) 

A few of you have asked me what I have been doing to lose weight.  I plan on doing a more detailed post but here is an overview of what I am doing.  

-I eat 1,200-1,400 calories a day, depending on if I exercise that day.

-I am counting calories only for weight loss but am reading nutrition labels for everything

-I am working out at least 3-4 times a week.  I do mostly cardio (treadmill, bike, elliptical-30-35 minutes a day) with a little bit of strength training (I need to do more)

-I am watching my sugar intake and trying not to eat sweets

-I eat plenty of vegetables and really pushing myself to eat fruit (I like fruit but I just don't reach for/crave it naturally)

-I try and eat lots of protein.  I eat chicken, LOTS of turkey and cottage cheese as my main sources of protein. 

-I drink water, decaf green tea or 10 calorie vitamin water only.  No pop or juice and an occasional alcoholic drink.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day to you!  In this day in age, Earth Day has become ever more popular and celebrated as though it is a holiday.  I like that!  I'm glad that most of us paying attention and doing what we can to help this wonderful planet that we live.  At work, we each received a tree today to plant in honor of Earth Day.  I thought that was a great idea by my company.  

Powder was very curious of this tree

I know there are more things that I can do to help our planet but I am making sure of the following:

I use cloth bags when going to the grocery store.  It was a little weird at first bringing in my own bags (Especially since they say Bylerly's on them and I don't go to Bylerly's to shop but Cub, Rainbow and Festival.-I got them for free) but I got used to it quickly.  The bags pack up so nicely and they are very easy to carry out of the store and into the house.  I recommend using them if you don't already.  They are available at all grocery stores for a small fee as well as places like JCPenney, Wal~Mart and any other large retailer.

I use an insulated lunch bag that I use to bring my lunch to work.  No need for brown paper bags.  Buy a cloth, vinyl or insulated lunch bag.  Look how cute they can be!

When we do get a plastic bag from the store, we save it and reuse it.  We have a place we keep all our plastic bags.  If we get an abundance of them, they will be dropped off at the "plastic bag drop off spot" (for lack of better term) at Festival Foods closest to our house.  

I turn off lights/TV/radio whenever I'm not in the room.  This was instilled in me at an early age by my parents.  I don't think it was because of conserving energy back then but because of saving money.  Either way, it's a good thing.  

I do not litter.  I think back to when my Dad was younger and he would describe that people so often would throw garbage out their car windows.  It was normal.  Now, that idea is ridiculous. Don't even throw your gum on the ground.  (I catch myself doing this every great once in a while but I'm becoming more conscious of this)  I get mad when people litter.  There is just no need for it.  

I'm paperless.  I receive an electronic copy of my credit card statements/bills/bank statements instead of receiving a paper bill in the mail.  Go paperless with as many as you can.  Most companies offer this option.  

Recycle anything that you can!

While we are on the topic of being Green, I thought that I would bring up an article I read recently.  Because of the pesticides used on our fruits and vegetables, we are often reminded to buy organics fruits and veggies.  There are some fruits and veggies that you can still buy that are not organic that will not be affected by pesticides, however there are some that are considered "dirty" and should always be purchased as organic.  

The Dirty Dozen-Must Buy Organic Foods: (fruits and veggies that tend to be laden with pesticides when grown conventionally, EVEN after washing) 

Fruit:

Apples

Cherries

Grapes, imported (Chile)

Nectarines

Peaches

Pears

Raspberries

Strawberries

Vegetables:

Bell Peppers

Celery

Potatoes

Spinach

No need to go organic with these foods: (these products generally do not contain pesticide residue)

Fruit:

Bananas

Kiwi

Mangos

Papaya

Pineapple

Vegetables:

Asparagus

Avocado

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Corn 

Onion 
Peas

Take care of our Earth as much as you can.

Escrow Podcast

Every month at work, my department, (Insurance and Tax Escrow) has a newsletter that comes out called the Podcast, which is a fitting title since we all sit in a formation called Pods. This Podcast features 2 people within my department. The idea behind the newsletter came from me. I thought it would be a good way to get to know the people we work with daily other than just the surface work personality we know. For the month of April, I was chosen as one of the people to be featured.  Once your chosen, you fill out a standard questionnaire with questions such as what is the craziest thing you've ever done and what is the happiest day of your life, etc. Below is the newsletter.  Because I only have Adobe Reader on my computer at home,  I was not able to extract the pages that have my fellow coworker on them so if you want, you can read about her too.  Enjoy!  (You can make the newsletter bigger by clicking on the down arrow and then clicking on the + sign to zoom or clicking the icon in the right hand corner to for full size and then adjust the size from there)

200904AprilPodCast (1)

   Publish at Scribd or explore others:        

Girls Only

I'm still catching up on my blog posts from last week.  On Thursday night, I went over to Jenni's house for dinner.  My sister was also there.  Jenni grew up in the same neighborhood as us and my sister and her have been best friends since they were little kids.  Our parents still live only houses away from each other.  We started the evening on the deck sipping wine and waiting for the our food on the grill.  Jenni made us chicken kabobs and I made a spinach salad to go along with it.  It was all very good.  I didn't get any pictures of us during the evening because not everyone wanted their picture taken.  I did take a picture of the food though!

Yummy!

Jenni's 22 year old cat

Walk for Animals, May 2nd

I have not even started fundraising for all of my annual charity events I participate in every May. I know I have to do this part, but I hate asking people for donations but if I don't, animals and people suffer.  I will be participating in the Animal Humane Society's Walk for Animals again this year for my 6th time.  It's a 5 mile walk in Golden Valley on Theo Wirth Parkway.

If you can spare any funds and love animals, please donate to the cause.  

Please donate to my personal page here!

Please help me reach my goal!

I will be participating in the humane society's 2009 Walk for Animals. With five Twin Cities locations, they care for more than 35,000 unwanted, abused and neglected animals each year. Please support me with a donation by selecting the " Support Me" button above the thermometer or "Make a Gift" below the themometer. Our efforts will help make a big difference!

This cause is dear to my heart. This the 6th annual walk for me. I adopted Fuzzer from the Coon Rapids Animal Humane Society in 2003. I also adopted Powder from a different agency in 2004. We also lost our cat Barlow in March 2008 to leukemia so we will also be walking for him. Despite it being a tough economy, I am hoping everyone one of you can donate something. $1 is better than none at all. On behalf of all the animals, we appreciate your kindness.

Love, Dana Sterner

Because I support 3 other causes during the month of May, I will be creating a post for each separate cause and will be listed below this post.  Pick the cause dearest to you and donate.

May 2nd: Walk for Animals

May 3rd: MS Walk

May 10th: Race for the Cure

May 17th: AIDS Walk 

MS Walk, May 3rd

Only one day after the Walk for Animals each year, I will participate in the MS Walk. It's an 8 mile walk through Minneapolis and this will be my 5th year. Michael and I have joined as part of a team called Walk Walk Revolution. Please donate to our team, specifically through my personal home page as listed below.

Click here to visit my personal page and make a secure, online donation.
To send a donation:
Make all checks payable to:
National MS Society
Please note my name and Walk MS on your check.
Mail to me:
Dana
674 County Road D E
Saint Paul, MN 55117-1255

Race for the Cure, May 10th

On Mother's Day I will be participating for my 5th year as walker for Race for the Cure, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  It's a 5K walk/run around the outside of the Mall of America. Please check out my home page and make a donation!

My home page!

AIDS Walk, May 17th

The final walk I participate in each May is the AIDS Walk.  I think I have been doing this one for 4 years.  It's a 10k walk through Minneapolis, starting and ending at Minnehaha Park.  Please donate on my home page HERE!

Biggest Loser: Week 2 Weigh In

I weighed in again this past Tuesday at work for the biggest loser contest.  I tried very hard this week (or so I thought) and I came up not that big of a winner, (or loser actually) but am very consistent.  I lost the exact same percentage as last week, -.62%.  Considering this was Easter weekend and treats and food all over the place, I think I did ok.  More people gained this week than last and I would imagine it was because of Easter.  Overall, everyone lost much less weight (%) than the first week.  I am posting these statistics which kind of embarrass me because I am not doing the best but I want to keep at it and see my improvement.  I never cared about winning the money but I would love to finish between 5-8th place if not better.  We'll see.  Here are the statistics for everyone this week: 

Total 1st place female: -4.51%

Total 1st place male: -3.76%

Total Me:  -1.24%

# of people who did worse than me this week: 6 females and 4 males

Average weight loss for week 2: -.49% female, -.63% male

Where I rank with the females: 13 of 19  (last week 15 of 19)  Remember, I am only competing against females.

Total weight lost for week 2 collectively: 

Female: 15.2 lbs

Male: 19.8 lbs

Total weight lost since start: 119 lbs

Slow and steady wins the race?!  Maybe that's me.

The Loop

I'm playing a little bit of catch on blogging so what better way to start with this past Monday.  I met my friends Catha and Aaron for happy hour and a bit of food at The Loop in Minneapolis.  Since I was weighing in on Tuesday morning for the biggest loser contest at work, I kept it light.  Happy hour consisted of water and lettuce wraps.  Catha didn't participate in drinking any libations either because she is pregnant.  Catha and her husband Ben are expecting their first child in October and they just announced it just recently.  It was good to see Aaron again as I have not seen in since October 2007, when we got laid off from the same job.  I can't help it that he doesn't smile in the picture.  It was on purpose.  Aaron, I'll bring your books to you in June!  

Happy Thursday

Hi everyone,

I'm popping in to say hi. I haven't had much of a desire to blog lately, even though I've had the time. I have a handful of things to write so stay tuned and enjoy the weather!!

More coming really soon...

Happy Easter!

Today I went to my aunt and uncle's house in Somerset, Wisconsin to celebrate Easter with my Mom's side of the family.  It was hard being around all the good food and soooo much candy.  I tried to be good and ate 1 piece of chocolate and tried to not to gorge myself on all the delicious food.  I do have to weigh in on Tuesday.  My aunt and uncle live on a hobby farm so they have a rooster and hens, a horse and a cow.  The cow (steer) is just a young little thing and he is so cute.  (I'm not going to tell you what happens to him down the road)  I took a lot of pictures of the animals and food and realized that I hardly even took a picture of a human.  I did take a few of my nephews though.  Oh, I also made some candy this weekend.  Do you remember when I made M some V-Day candy?  I decided I would try and make some candy for Easter also.  I made it yesterday afternoon and it was a lot more detailed than last time.  I used 4 different colors of chocolate and I think for the most part, they turned out good.  I put sticks in the molds to make it like a chocolate lollipop.  I made 3 large "lollipops" and gave them to my Mom.  She loves chocolate and candy.  Hope you all had a great Easter weekend spending it with the ones you love.

The candy I made

My aunt made a "nest" out of carnations and hard boiled eggs

The sunflower cake my sister made 

Cute baby cow and Sasha the horse

Don't they look like statues?  They're real

Digital TV

M and I seem to be the only people on earth that do not have cable or satellite TV, hence the need for the digital converter box.  I picked up 2 of these and paid little out of pocket thanks to my government sponsored $40 coupon.  It was a hassle to even buy this thing.  I went to Target and their systems would not accept the coupon, which looks like a credit card.  Target says they've had nothing but trouble with these coupons.  After literally waiting 10 minutes for the transaction to be complete, they were nice enough to give me 2 $3 coupons for the store for being so nice during the issues.  I was patient that day and I guess it paid off a little.  Because I barely watch TV, I had no interest in installing it right away.  I finally did it last Saturday and it was a pain.  Part of the reason was that I didn't read the instructions correctly.  (I shouldn't have read them at all like a guy would do and probably would have figured it out faster) I finally got everything to work after 30 minutes or so.  We went from 13 channels to 20 channels.  Most of the "new" channels are duplicate channels of what we already have however they are in HD.  Oh, we got another weather channel too. (I like that--and my Dad would like that I like that.  Follow?)  What I didn't realize when setting this whole thing up is that the TV still needs to use an antenna.  I thought the whole purpose of this thing was to eliminate the anntena but I guess it's just for the signal itself, not the reception.  Whatever.  The bad thing about this box is that now I have 2 remote's for the TV.  I have to turn on the box with the one remote, which also changes the channels but then to turn on the TV and adjust the volume, I have to use the other remote. Again, whatever.  The good thing is the size of the box.  It's pretty small but has a nice bright red light on it when it's off and it bothers me just enough in the dark when I'm trying to sleep.  Whatever.