the good, the bad, and the ugly

ok, first~ the good: I got my March/April issue of Somerset Studio in the mail this week, and my article that was in it is lovely, and I am so proud.
now, the bad: My Mac died a slow, painful death, and I really feel as if I'm missing my left leg. I also cannot figure out how to import photos on my husband's window machine (I abhor this thing)- actually, importing is easy, dealing with the photo and trying to do adjustments and exports - no clue. So I can't yet post pics of my above proud accomplishment. Guess you'll have to buy the copy:)
Finally, the ugly: The Biggest Loser competition at my job started very strong, and I had extremely high hopes, but as I've stated before, pounds do not 'melt' off of this body very easily. I have what is called a 'mesomorphic' figure. I have a nice blend of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers, which gives me an athletic, proportionate build. However, I've been increasing the amount of weight that I lift, and I think it's building major muscle. That's all fine and dandy, except I am UP 4 pounds since the last weigh in. VERY UGLY.
I've been pretty darn good with my food, but I did have a little valentines day dinner at my all time favorite restaurant, and was very good until dessert. I picked the one from the dessert tray that was ALL brown. Basically, I was looking for the most possible chocolate- I figure, if I'm going to splurge, I'm going to SPLURGE. And boy was it gooooooooood. But then I was craving crap for a few days, and I had to fight that feeling. So now the plan is to get serious. No more playing around. I'm cutting out anything that resembles bread, which I adore, and cutting back on my '100 calorie' snacks that I snack on too much. Chicken, fish, veggies, fruit, and brown rice. I'm going to be very strict with myself for the next 2 weeks until the next weigh in to see if I can force these pounds off. And the last part of the ugly equation: Instead of 20 minutes running up and down the steps at lunch and 30-45 minutes on the treadmill at night, it will now be- 20-30 minutes on the steps, and 2hours (yes, I said two) of cardio split between am and pm. I told you it was U-G-L-Y.