Isn't it Friday yet?

The last couple of nights I have slept with my windows open.  It's been nice and cool but either noise was disturbing me (and the dogs) or all the yard work has stirred up something which aggravated my allergies (I woke up with a sniffly nose and slight headache) because I haven't slept particularly well either night.

This morning I wanted a nap before I even left for work and I had to resort to a diet pepsi!  I came home and took a nap for 20 minutes.

Did the same lunch, breakfast, & snacks today.  Saved calories for after water aerobics.  Tracking my calories feels good and I am excited about starting to lift weights again.

Hub is on the way home - his new days off are Thursday - Saturday, going into work Sunday at 8 pm.  Only it makes me feel like it should be Friday but of course it isn't.  Oh well, we'll get used to it!  I'm glad he has weekends largely back again.

Have a good day!

Happy mid week!

Greetings!

Several people from our team were gone on the tour I did last week of a lockbox facility nearby (its a banking thing).  It made for a quiet day at work.  I feel like things are beginning to fall into place.  I still ask a lot of questions, but can mostly work independently.

Had a bigger breakfast and mid morning snack, so no add ons in my lunch salad!  I came home and ate a good dinner, but left some calories for after water aerobics.

I am planning to try this:  http://hundredpushups.com/  It seems like it would be an easy way to get back into some good weight training habits.  And one thing I know from my years in the Army is that you can get a fantastic workout with no equipment.  And that push ups will transform your upper body! (In a good way!)

Mood is still solidly in the "good" category. :-)

Starting where you are

Today was a good day.

I have made some valuable discoveries by tracking my food.  For example, I realized my breakfast calories are too low, and then I'm adding "add ons" into my lunch salad (cheese, sunflower seeds) that are ramping up lunch calories - probably because I am really hungry!  So today I made my breakfast a bit larger to level off the calories.  It's also made me look long and hard at evening snacks - I purposely keep some calories for after dinner (especially nights I have water aerobics).  So I need an evening snack, but I need to keep my calories leveled through the day. So tracking is a big win!

Today I took a walk in the park (temps are cooler this week and I am taking advantage!) and I lifted a few weights with my kettlebell here at home.  Nothing crazy - just getting back into it.

This Saturday I plan to try the body pump class at the Y.  Getting there in the evenings hasn't worked out.  I just don't have the energy to try anything new after a day at work, you know?  I didn't sign up for Saturday morning water aerobics this month - just the 3 evenings a week. I plan to add weights back in this month.

Anyway, I would say things are going well.  Even at work.  Yesterday was a very stressful day at work, but I came home, ate supper, then went to the Y. It's not ideal, but I am happier than I was at my old job, and I am generally feeling more confident.

All in all, I feel like I am making some good progress.

Take care.

Bribery will get you everywhere

Today was a good day.

I got back on Spark People and tracked my food and exercise.  I am headed to the gym in a few minutes.  I'm feeling good about where my life is right now.

Years ago I thought of a tattoo I wanted to get, but it symbolizes (for me) femininity and strength - 2 things I haven't felt in quite some time.  So I sorta shoved the thought off to the side.

This weekend I told my husband about the tattoo and why I wanted to get it.  He is 100% supportive.  I've decided to make it my reward for achieving my weight loss goal. 

To help me get there I've decided to pay myself for good behavior. *lol*  Working out, tracking food - I've given myself opportunities to earn up to $15 per week.  That money will go into a savings account for my tattoo.  Watching the money build up will be a good incentive!

Anyway, that's the plan I thought of to help keep me motivated.  Long range plans are good - but I need some short term payoff too!

Anyway, time to get ready to head to the pool.

Have a good evening!

So much to say

This weekend brought some pretty profound change in  my life.

I've written in the past about the stresses around our move to Florida.  I've mentioned that the whole situation caused some pretty serious stress in our marriage.

The reality is that there were some issues before.  Nothing serious, but you know how it is: if you don't deal with issues, things fester.  The truth is we were both cruising along, not really dealing with the issues.  I felt like my husband didn't hear what I was saying - which he admits he didn't really understand that the issues were creating other problems.

I know I'm being vague - I'm sure you can all appreciate why.

Yesterday I drove up to Cherokee to spend some time with my husband.  His work schedule was changing so he wasn't coming home.  On the way up I had a long talk with one of my closest friends.  That talk really helped to crystallize some things in my head.

While I was up there, hub and I talked long and hard about a lot of those "Florida" issues.  Something he said prompted further thought.  I called him this morning while driving home, and we talked about some of those earlier issues.  For the first time, I think he really heard and understood.

Now that we've really talked and cleared the air, we are able to move forward.

I am so thankful.  I love my husband very much.  He is a wonderful man and I want to stay married to him.  But even more than that, I want us both to have the kind of marriage that feeds our souls.  I feel that now we can work to making things even better.

The reality is those issues caused me to "check out" from my life to some extent.  To use food or books or movies to disengage.  And the past few years that became even worse.  That level of being "disengaged" from life left me in a stagnant place - not really moving forward.

All this explains why I have dreams, plans, goals, but haven't made a lot of progress.  I feel like I'm ready to move forward.

It feels wonderful.

21 Signs You Need To Make A Life Change

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-14609/21-signs-you-need-to-make-a-life-change.html

Still working on it! :-)

Largely pulled it together

I was in a very blah mood this morning.  I even teared up a couple of times.  (I hate that).

But all in all, I pulled myself together.  I did my errands, got most of my food prep done, cleaned my room, washed laundry.

I need a bath however! :-)

Grrrr

We all know that it is important to stay the course, do the right things, eat healthfully, in the correct amounts, exercise regularly, and not get discouraged when the scale doesn't follow along obediently.

But one pound?!?!?  I admit: I am very grumpy.

I did go for a lovely walk in the park.  I will not let this spoil my mood - that would be foolish.

Grrr.

Quick update before I'm off to errands

Water aerobics is going well - I went Mon, Wed, Thur, and again this (Sat) morning.  I really enjoy it - it's fun and just enough accountability to keep me going even when I don't initially feel like it.  Right now, it's the perfect routine for me.

I was weaning off my anxiety meds, but decided that might have been a bit premature.  I am currently taking half (of the lowest dose pill available) a day.  Eventually I will wean off, but right now I'd like a bit more time to get settled in. 

My MIL showed up the other day (uninvited) at supper time and stayed for 2 days.  What kind of person does that?  She just absolutely never thinks that other people might have stuff going on.  I try to be cool with it, but sometimes it gets on my last nerve - like the other night.

Anyway, water aerobics for the win! 

A good day

It was a good day at work.  Came home, ate a good meal, went to water aerobics.  I'm pooped.

Random

My husband went to water aerobics with me last night - that was a hoot!

Also, my MIL has no consideration for other people.  That's all I got.

Monday

Sunday evenings are always hard - the weekend is over, the weekday is beginning.

Work is okay - its still stressful, but I'm doing alright.

Ate pretty well today.  We went out for Thai food - it was awesome.  Then I had water aerobics and my husband went with me!  He agreed its a pretty good workout.  I am about to go to bed - I'm pooped!

What, I'm posting again???

Well, hello there!

Today has been a good day.  I went to the farmers market, and went to Kohl's.  Got a second swimsuit for swimming/water aerobics and a top for work.

I am doing some chores but mostly having a relaxing day piddling around the house.  Yesterday I bought canning jars so I can make pickled okra.  Yum!

It's so good being back in the south.  I've lived a lot of places, but this feels like home. :-)

Saturday

Hello!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.  This morning I took my mom to her first ever water aerobics class.  She liked it pretty well, but she was shocked at how tired she was after!  I tried telling her its a really good workout, but it feels deceptively easy while you are doing it.

Anyway, ran a bunch of errands today but also took a nap. :-)  It was a nice day.

Creating habits

I have no profound words or wisdom to add.

I am working (again) to cut alcohol out - its just too many empty calories, which can also lead to snacking.  It's a lose lose proposition.  Gotta go.  It's not that I drink so much, but even a glass of wine or 2 on a regular basis, plus a little "snackie" alongside can easily send things in the wrong direction!

Also working on adding regular exercise.  Which is weird because I really do enjoy exercise, its just finding the time and energy can be difficult.  But nonnegotiable.

Wednesday water aerobics was cancelled due to a thunderstorm, but we had it last night and it was loads of fun!  It's a nice group of ladies.  I really enjoy it.  They are "older" (a couple are around my age, a couple are a little older) and they don't have that competitiveness that seems to happen in packs of younger women.

Mom isn't sure she is going to like it (she signed up for Saturday morning).  But at least she's giving it a try.

Have a nice weekend if I don't post again!

What a woman wants

Something a colleague said the other really stuck with me.  She jokingly (kinda) remarked, "Women really didn't think though this whole equal rights thing.  Now we get to work men's jobs AND ours."

We both laughed and went our ways, but isn't that the truth?

Any time I talk to a married girlfriend, and we get into a discussion of what our husbands do (or don't do) around the house, every one of them says that she gets frustrated by the fact that she does most of the work.

I don't mean just cooking or cleaning, but organizing, paying bills, running errands - most of that stuff falls to the woman.

Nobody says they do it all (unless they stay at home), but every friend I have that works outside the home also does the majority of work inside the home, to varying degrees.  And every friend I've talked it over with agrees its a source of contention in the marriage.

As hub and I start new jobs and make adjustments in our lifestyle, he is seriously falling short on picking up his share of the deal on the home front.  I've tried humor, and there have been some tears.  It's not that he doesn't care, I just feel like he doesn't get it.

I'm trying to be patient.  We are both coming up a big learning curve in adjusting to our new life.  But it makes it harder for sure.

I like my new job.  But for the first time in my adult life I am on a team that is mostly women.  And its a large enough team that we have "clicks" to some extent.  It's not that anyone is mean or anything, I'm just completely unused to this dynamic.  It is very different!

I am thankful we are able to stay with my mom while we get settled and look for a place.  But that's hard too.

Happiness is mostly about attitude, I know that.  And things remain MUCH better than they've been in years.  But still, I just wanted to whine a bit.

Now I'm off to water aerobics!

More of the same

You know, cooking, cleaning, going to work, etc etc.

Water aerobics again tonight.  I would like to be more consistent about blogging, I guess I'm just not sure what to blog about.  I had meat loaf for breakfast and a salad with grilled chicken for lunch.  Like that's some sort of revelation?

Anyway, here, doing okay.  I don't have anything I'm super passionate about right now, just chilling, reconnecting with friends, living.

Take care.

How did that happen!?

I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend.  I'm okay - been in a bit of a funk for no real reason.  Eh, I guess that happens.

I like water aerobics!  I am making a big German meal for some friends tomorrow and I am very excited about that.

I have to clean the house today.  Yuck! 

The boy is doing better.  Mom has been going back and forth, but I think she's going to start spending more time at home.  Her dogs miss her.

We found a nice house, too bad we aren't ready to buy yet!  Oh well, I have to believe the right one will be out there when we are ready.

Take care!