A Year Ago...

Fatty!

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91.5 kg

A slight weight loss, not bad considering I pigged out on three Papa Rotti's bread buns, a cup of cacao, and coffee with milk last night RIGHT before bed. I had an urge. Anyway, I ran it off this morning. -.2 kg. I can live with that :) It's FRIDAYYYY, which means I'm done with running until Monday!! I've worked my behind off this week, exercising and dieting, and I'm 5.2 kg less than I was at this time last week. That's almost 11 1/2 lbs I've dropped. I needed to! And I can fit into my skinny pants again!!

Some things I learned from this morning's run: Check the radar before heading out. I got rained on. Just a little, though. And if my right earphone goes out the day before, the left one WILL follow suit the next day!! I ran almost 2 miles with no music. It forced me to think about things while running, like years ago when I used to run every day with no music. I realized today that I've totally become dependent on my music to workout. Thinking doesn't motivate me. In fact, it only made me realize how badly I had to go to the toilet. - which is another lesson learned from today. No matter if I have to or not, TRY to pooh before running!

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91.7 kg

yaye! Running my behind off early every morning, eating much less portions.. definitely paying off. Only 3 more kg to reach my goal! Stay tuned..

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92.2 kg!

Okay so as most of you know, this year I made a commitment to get myself healthy after moving here to Vietnam and being the heaviest I've ever been in my life. I moved here in August of 2008 and was 112 kg, roughly 246 lbs. Crazy, right? So I began dieting and running my behind off every morning at 4:30. That's right! 4:30am!!

Well, a couple of months ago, I got down to my lowest this time around: 90.8 kg. That's about 200 lbs. I was feeling comfortable with that weight and stopped exercising and dieting. How quickly the weight comes back on!!! I usually am totally unaware of weight gain or just in complete denial and thus convince myself that my pants have somehow shrunk in the dryer.

So Daddy (Mr. Chau) bought me a fancy shmancy digital scale that I can weigh myself on. He brought it up to my room on Saturday and then insisted I weigh myself to check it out. Granted, this was in the evening after I had been eating CRAP all day due to hitting up the American grocery store in Saigon for chocolate, crackers, and cheese wiz the previous day! So I got on that scale and saw an astonishing 96.5 kg!!! AHHHH!! I FREAAKKEEDDD OUT!! That's 212 lbs and a 12 lb gain in a couple of months. So THAT was my reality check. I have since gone back on my diet and 5am morning runs of 6.2 km (3.85 miles). I told everyone at work months ago that I would throw a party when I reach 88 kg (194 lbs), and I'm sticking to that promise! I'd be semi-happy with that weight, although ideally I'd love to be down in the 180s.

Like I mentioned earlier, I weighed myself with that horrid result in the evening and after eating all day. After this morning's run in the hot sun, a little later than usual because I slept in until 8am, I weighed myself again. I weighed 92.2 kg (203 lbs). I'm extremely satisfied with the effort I've put in thus far and the subsequent result. I am determined to get under 200 lbs!!!

Just wanted to share my story with you all. I know many of you have been motivated by my determination to lose weight. After a short two month hiatus, I am BACK with a vengeance and WILL accomplish my goal!!

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I got 6 out of the Top 10

Not too bad. I didn't have Venezuela in the top 10, even, but she won. My 2nd choice, Miss Dominican Republic was 1st runner up. Puerto Rico and Australia, my picks, were also in the top 5. I'm so sad about Ukraine. Dunno what happened to her other than her preliminary interview must have gone awry. Ah well.

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My 2009 Miss Universe Predictions

It's that time of year again! The Miss Universe Pageant 2009 is coming on here LIVE in Vietnam at 8am tomorrow! So excited! I've done a bit of research, and here are my Top 10 predictions:

Ukraine.. love love LOVE her!


Puerto Rico


Dominican Republic


USA - Hopefully she can stay on her feet in the evening gown competition unlike the previous two years!!


Australia


France


Vietnam


Mexico


Thailand


South Africa

And my honorable mentions are Brazil. Even though she looks like a tranny, she has great stage presence.


And Peru


Can't wait to see the pageant and see how many of my predictions are correct.

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Miss Universe 2009 Predictions

So.. the Miss Universe Pageant 2009 is coming on here LIVE in Vietnam at 8am! So excited! I've done a bit of research, and here are my Top 10 predictions:

Ukraine.. love love LOVE her!
Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic
USA
Australia
France
Vietnam
Mexico
Thailand
South Africa

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Katie is here!!

Katie arrived this morning from good ol' New York, USA! So excited that she's here. She'll start teaching on Monday. Here are some pics from today.

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Katie arriving in Vietnam.


Katie and Mr. Thom outside the airport.


Michael and Katie outside the airport.


Random, I know, but I found STARBURST in VIETNAM!! AHHH!!

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Bath and Body Works Stuff

Things that I REALLLLY miss from my favorite store!!

Wallflowers Refills! Miss 'em!! They make my house smell NICE!


BODY SPLASH!!!!!!

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Happy 1 Year Anniversary in Vietnam to me!!

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Funny Vietnam Photos

Photos courtesy of Nancy.

Our local bridge that crosses the Dong Nai River. Motorists share this with the train. It's scary!


A typical site here:

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More Pics from Brandon and Emily's Visit

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I'm Secksi!

The aftermath of taking my daily antacid tablets.

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Better Late than Never

Some photos from Brandon and Emily's visit to Saigon last week.

Shopping in Saigon Square.
I found a baby non la!
Eating near Saigon Square.
Saying Goodbye!

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Beautiful Photos

A collection of photos that I like. Most of them courtesy of Google Earth. I alternate these as the background on my laptop. Enjoy.

Devil's Marbles in Australia

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Icelandic Landscape
Antarctic Ice

Buu Long Park in Vietnam
Bien Hung Park in Vietnam (Photo taken by me)

Unmotivated

Haven't blogged all week. Don't really feel like anyone is reading my blog anyway. Not motivated.

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PAYDAY!!

Some photos of my salary for the month of July! I worked the most classes last month than any month to date. The average factory worker in this country makes 2 million Vietnamese dong (the currency) a month so I am VERY lucky and thankful to have the job that I have that allows me to live such a good life here. All those years of putting myself through college were definitely worth it for the life I live now!

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EngRish

Apologies for not blogging in a few days. Went into Saigon to meet up with my ex roomie, Brandon, from Korea and his girlfriend, Emily. Photos of that to come tomorrow and the following days.

Until then.. enjoy the photo of the lovely shirt that Nancy and I stumbled upon in Bien Hoa Market. Totally would have bought it had it been in XL!

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