I am selling my 2005 20″ iMac G5 (Model A1145). This iMac is in Great condition! The display is perfect… no blemishes and no dead pixels.

Here is a little about this iMac:
The iMac G5 offers all-in-one elegance that’s delightfully affordable. Take in the view on a widescreen flat-panel display. Proudly display the iMac G5 in any room of your house – it’s lightweight enough to move from your kitchen to the den or bedroom. The dazzling 20-inch provides the same screen area as a 22-inch CRT – with twice the brightness, sharpness and contrast. Hidden behind the display, you’ll find the entire computer: central processing unit (CPU), logic board, hard drive, speakers, microphone and power supply. But you’ll actually find that the computer just fades away as you organize music and photos, or compose tunes and edit movies with the iLife suite of integrated applications for your digital lifestyle. What’s more, since this iMac has wireless already, you don’t even have to place it near a phone jack. Simply hook up to your existing WiFi on your DSL connection or cable modem, and you can surf the Internet wirelessly, listen to tunes in another room and print remotely.

Includes everything you need:
2.1 GHz PowerPC 970fx (G5) processor
2.5GB Memory (Ram)
250GB Serial ATA hard drive
DVD/RW “SuperDrive” (even dual layer)
ATI Radeon X600 XT graphics with 128 MB of DDR SDRAM (PCI-Express)
20″ TFT Active Matrix LCD (1680×1050 native) display
3 USB 2.0
2 Firewire “400″
Built-in AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Ethernet

Includes keyboard, mighty mouse, apple remote, OS X (version?) and iLife (version?), in ORIGINAL BOX with ORIGINAL DOCUMENTATION. Please note that this is a G5 older processor and not an Intel processor.

Over the next 25+ years I struggled with my weight, reaching a high of 200 pounds! I joined Weight Watchers a bunch of  times, only to lose a few pounds and quitting several weeks after joining. Two years ago I was turning fifty and couldn’t bear being ‘Fifty and Fat’. I dusted off all my Weight Watchers literature and joined Weight Watchers online for a 7-days trial to see what’s new. Nothing much has changed at the time, so I started the program on my own with the support of a ‘Community Healthy Weight Challenge’ program at my local fitness club.

It took many months, but I was very disciplined in keeping track of my food and exercise – not going over the allotted points. I lost 40 lbs, while still managing to eat… you guessed it… pizza, hamburger, French fries, garlic bread, ice cream, pasta and more pasta! Unfortunately, the weight started creeping up again, so I decided to join Weight Watchers – again. This time, I went to the meetings every week and I paid closer attention to the Good Health Guidelines. I had no choice but to eat healthier. After all, the NEW Weight Watchers Point Plus program totally sabotaged my eating habits – making my favorites a GAZILLION points and making fruits and vegetables ZERO points! How dare they!!

Slowly, I changed my evil ways. I switched fruit juice for breakfast (too many points) to fresh fruit. I was amazed at how much more filling fresh fruits are and I didn’t even miss the fruit juice. Then I made a pact with myself that I would have AT LEAST two, often three, servings of vegetables for lunch, while I still was motivated. I knew if I waited until dinner, I would never do it. I’m always tired by the time I get home, with no will power. I’ve had so much fun discovering interesting (and yummy) ways to eat my vegetables for lunch. With these new ‘habits’, I am back at my goal weight – Woo-Hoo!! And you know what? I found a way to still eat SOME of my vices too! Check out these recipes for ice cream and pasta… eat these AND you will be eating your fruits and vegetables. No kidding!

Banana Soft Serve ‘Ice Cream’ (from Green Lite Bites)

Broccoli Pasta (‘Slaw and Order’ from Hungry Girl)

The Dr. V on Jillian’s show is Dr. Van Herle – an Internist and Endocrinologist at UCLA School of Medicine. She discussed the top 7 reasons why you should get good sleep. She backs these 7 reasons with comprehensive research and persuasive arguments.

1. Good sleep can improve your ability to learn and can improve your memory.
2. Good sleep can help you maintain a healthy weight.
3. Good sleep can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
4. Good sleep can reduce your risk of diabetes.
5. Good sleep can reduce your risk of accidents and falls.
6. Good sleep can make you live longer (as compared to those who don’t get enough sleep).
7. Good sleep provides immune protection from all kinds of diseases (i.e. infection, autoimmune diseases, cancer, etc.) and produces growth hormones that are critical to rejuvenate your body.

So what is a good night sleep? Dr. Van Herle recommends 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Basically, she says that sleep is probably the best preventive medicine that we can take!

On that note… good night and pleasant dreams.

I began to gain more weight in my 30s and 40s, and I lost some of it — many times — only to gain it back plus more!  By medical standards — I was obese! Yikes! (Obesity is defined at being 20% over your ideal weight.) I would join Weight Watchers and I would quit Weight Watchers. I would start exercising and train for some event… Danskin Triathlon, 1/2 marathons, 10Ks. I would complete the events and then I would quit exercising, quickly returning to the couch potato state.

In September, I joined a program at our local fitness club — Community Healthy Weight Challenge (CHWC). Along with the progam, I followed Weight Watchers (again!) and started listening to the Inside Out Weight Loss podcasts. I am thrilled to report that I lost 16 pounds in 12 weeks and I won 3rd place at the club! When I started in September, I made a goal for myself to stick with CHWC and that I would give myself a shopping spree as a gift for my 50th birthday. Okay — it wasn’t the kind of shopping spree that Progresso Soup is currently offering, but a $500 spree at a nearby outlet center with great shops like Coldwater Creek, Liz Clarborne and many more! (Thanks Mom and Dad for the generous birthday gift of the money for my spree!)

I had so much fun! My birthday was on a Tuesday and I discovered that the outlet center offers a 10% discount for seniors 50 and over on Tuesdays!! I had to show my driver’s license for proof of age and heard many “Happy Birthdays”. I spent SIX hours shopping! I felt like that scene from “Pretty Woman” where Julia Roberts was shopping on Rodeo Drive. And I fit into clothes 2 size smaller than before.

I managed to lose another 4 pounds over the holidays and in the beginning of January. I’m half way to my weight goal. The club is starting another session of CHWC and I plan to do it again. This time, I want to focus on exercising regularly.  I am discovering so many wonderful resources on the internet. In future posts I will share these resources with you, along with my progress… my story.

I entered Roni’s Souper Duper Contest!

Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.

I was asked to create a video tribute for my parents 50th anniversary celebration. This was a life changing experience for me. In going through the many photo albums and 8mm film in my parents attic, I found a treasure trove of untold stories. With every photo that turned into a story, I learned more about my parents. I had no idea (nor did I remember) that my parents enjoyed getting together with friends, who brought their own instruments (e.g. clarinet, drums, tambourine) and played along with the music until the very early hours in the morning! They sure knew how to have a good time — much more fun than the parties I’ve been too!

The personal satisfaction and joy that I got from this production drove me to focus my creative outlet. With a few Google searches I found out about the Association of Personal Historians. They were planning to have their annual conference in Portland, Oregon that year — only a few month away. I continued my research, developed a business plan and decided to start my own Personal History business: Vikkyd Productions, Inc. Attending the conference was invaluable to get me started on a successful course. It provided limitless opportunities for me to develop my skills and network amongst like-minds.

It’s been several years since my parents 50th anniversary celebration video (video tribute) and I have had the priviledge to produce many tributes since then. I have also produced Oral Histories, Video Biographies and many other video, audio and print productions — all about telling stories. Through each story, I have grown closer to the people involved and to my community. This year, Friday Harbor is celebrating their centennial. Providing my services to the community is the high point of my business — thus far. Too bad we can’t be celebrating 100 years — every year!

I am trying to get myself motivated to train for my 5th half marathon — two a year for the past two years. A couple of friends asked for my training schedule, so here it is. Am I an expert? NO! I’m just a slow, overweight, lazy gal that was able to make it pass the finish line a few times now. Okay. I wasn’t last, but pretty close to it! My half marathon pace is between 3.5 – 4  hours. This training schedule has worked for me in the past, and hopefully it will help you too. It’s been modified from Hal Higdon’s training schedule. I’m training for the San Juan Half Marathon that’s on June 7th. What I have learned about training for the half marathon is DO NOT miss a distance walk. You can get away with missing a maintenance walk occasionally, but it’s very difficult to catch up once you miss your long walk for the week.

If you are on San Juan Island and would like to train with me — please do! I will probably ask you to slow down, but it’s about finishing… right?

Maintenance walk – twice a week; distance walk – once a week