Continued improvement of a sort

Last night I had a (relatively) healthy snack after dinner. I baked 2 corn tortillas to make some chips, and washed them down with an ice cold faux Milwaukee. My gym bag is in the car. After I got my bonus, I treated myself to a set of CDs from “Cardio Coach” – these are music with a coach guiding you through interval training. Interval training is so awesome for you; I’m hoping this will help keep it fresh and help me ‘get my groove back’.

I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. Other than doing paperwork, I have nothing planned other than perhaps some sewing. The boy is going snow skiing with a friend.

The hub still isn’t working. I can’t begin to describe all the ways this is putting stress on our lives. There is the obvious financial strain. Fortunately I received a pretty generous bonus this year, so we’re covered for a while. I’ll have a better picture of that after I do our taxes. But the fact is I don’t make enough to cover our expenses. Even with some scaling back, I can’t cover us.

The far more insidious problem is how it’s affecting my husband. He was raised to believe you aren’t a man if you aren’t providing for your family. Working as hard as you can is what you do. For him not to be able to do that is very stressful. Unfortunately, we are the recipients of this stress.

He has been ultra critical of the boy, straining their relationship past the breaking point. As a result of the latest huge argument, the boy went & stayed over at my mom’s this week.

I’m getting frustrated because my husband isn’t doing jack. I mean, its difficult, but I wouldn’t feel so bad if he were using this time to get some things accomplished that are on his “to do” list. At least we’d be able to look back on this time and say, yes, this was a stressful time, but at least several things were accomplished. I would consider that a fair trade-off. But he isn’t even keeping the house picked up & the laundry done, let alone doing anything else! That makes me feel like I’m shouldering everything, and I am beginning to feel very resentful. This is one of the ‘bad’ times that we go through, but I feel like he isn’t doing much to help himself. I would feel a bit more empathetic if I felt like he were continuing to contribute to the family in a way he can, instead of ‘checking out’.

Got the thing straightened out at the boys school. She apologized. I think she’s sorry – for getting busted. She’s a highly opinionated lady who likes to give her opinion. I think she will be a bit more on her toes from now on.

Beware the wrath of an angry mommy

Something happened at my son’s school yesterday that disturbed me greatly. My son goes to a Christian school, so I expect a certain amount of discussion around Christian values. However, one of his teacher’s seems to feel that stating her brand of Christianity as fact is acceptable.

Yesterday, she told my son that he would never see Carmen again because dogs don’t have souls and don’t go to heaven. I mean, can you think of anything more insensitive and inappropriate to say to an 11 year old that just lost a beloved pet? We happen to believe that ALL animals go to heaven because they don’t have free will. They can’t be evil, and therefore that’s where they go when they die. I realize not all Christians believe this, but not all Christians believe her way either. But she stated it as indisputable fact, so you can imagine how upset he was when he got picked up from school. This is the same “teacher” who told the class she hated Christmas because Santa Claus is a lie.

My mom, husband, and I are meeting with her and the principal at 12:45 today.

Baby steps. I had beer after dinner, but no snacks. Please tell me that’s an improvement!

Happy V day

Apologies for my lack of posting. The boy is suffering from raging hormone syndrome, which turns him into a lunatic. Work is the most relaxing part of my life. I am walking, and eating healthy (during the day anyway). I guess I've just been to tired to come here & whine.

Let them eat cake

Some days you’re the dog, and some days you’re the hydrant.

A friend of ours is putting on a “tea” tomorrow afternoon at the medieval thing we’re going to. She needs help making the food, and I offered to bake a cake. I have one of those fancy schmancy bundt cake pans that has this cool fleur de lys design, and a fabulous recipe for a wine cake. I want the cake to be as fresh as possible, so I get up this morning at 5 AM to bake this cake. Which I do. I go to put it on the cake plate and guess what? It sticks to the fancy bundt pan, breaking into a big “pile o’ mess cake”!!!

Because I am a good friend, and because I promised her a cake, and because I refuse to be brought low on a Friday by a CAKE PAN, I do what any self respecting woman would do – I wake up my husband and tell him I need him to go to the store and get more ingredients so I can make ANOTHER cake. Which he does, managing (with the help of a phone call) to procure the correct ingredients. So then I make another cake, after using enough Baker’s Joy in the bundt pan to cook a 40 tier wedding cake. And the cake comes out, and it looks nice. And then my husband asks why I threw the broken one away because I could’ve packed it in our picnic basket.

That man cracks me up.

Eating has been for crap, exercise has been non-existent. I just haven’t cared. Its pitiful really. Maybe getting away for the weekend will help to renew my spirit. I've just felt totally uninvolved in my own life this week.

Jumping off the shallow end

I'm getting better! Instead of eating cheese dip last night I ate tater tots - clearly a step in the right direction. Seriously, the fog is lifting a bit. Not a lot to write, just that I'm still here! :-)

The amazing sense of nothing

Baby steps. I don’t want to do anything. This week, I am taking a week off – no weight lifting, no high intensity workouts, just basic cardio and focusing on good food choices. It just feels too overwhelming right now. I’ll focus on not backsliding and keeping my head up.

The hub still isn’t working. Its very hard on him. His stress is manifesting itself in a variety of ways: there are several things he could be working on around the house, but he isn’t. I have a half built table sitting in my dining room (in my way), but he can’t seem to finish. He spends most of the day watching tv as near as I can figure. He acts like a jerk to the boy. He’s rarely friendly or loving any more – he is constantly critical.

I got my bonus last week. If we’re careful, we can easily go another couple of months without him bringing home any money. But the emotional toll on him is huge. Its really affecting me. No wonder I feel so stressed.

Happy feet, sad heart

While my weekend was fine, I have to say I spent most of it with a heavy heart (and an overfull belly). I guess the thing with MIL, the pain it causes hub, missing my dog, and just being busy left me feeling just really down, tired of battling my weight, feeling like I'm on the losing end. I came in to today planning to take off early this afternoon because I just feel like I need a bit of time to recharge. Plus, the boy is home sick and the hub needs some time to take care of a couple of things himself.

BTW, he called his mom and told her that he thought she took my mom's things, and he would be very happy if they reappeared.

In happier news, I bought new running shoes! I accidentally took my old shoes with me to the gym the other day, causing my feet a lot of hurt. If my "B" shoes do that, then they need to be the yard shoes. My husband laughed when I brought the new shoes home - they look virtually like the ones I have now. Hey - they were my size, I love New Balance, and they were on sale.

Sorry to be such a bummer. Nothing major is wrong, just some wintertime blues. I'll get over it in a day or two.

The waiting game.

I lost 0.5 pounds this week. Gah. If I work out this hard, can I have a body that reflects that fact?

I'm just crabby because my mom is dog sitting for my MIL, and my husband drove to Durham to pick up the dog and when the &^& said "Did you know that (my mom) accused me of taking her china?" he didn't say anyting to her. I don't care if they were in public. He thinks she took it, and I wish he'd said that to her face. The whole thing makes me furious.

Snow day!

Well, I am working at home today! We have snow! Proably a whole inch by now! What, you aren't impressed??? :-) I am working at home today, and would have gone in except for the fact that the snow will be turning to ice at home point (no one knows when) and homegirl doesn't drive in ice! So, rather than go in and then have to finish out the day at home, I just decided to spend the day working. I will say, it is more difficult to concentrate, and my chair isn't as comfy!

I made it to the gym yesterday afternoon - I am now 2 weight lifting sessions and 3 cardio sessions for the week. I did NOT go to the gym this morning as I was starting to really feel seriously wiped, but I'll be back at it tomorrow. I hope the ice is minimal so I can go the the gym and office tomorrow.

I got home from the gym yesterday and felt like crap - I never got around to eating my afternoon snack and so after that workout my head was throbbing and I was shaky from hunger (stupid). I came home and had a few bites of pasta salad and a NA beer while I heated dinner - leftover meat & veggie filling for lettuce wraps. I skipped the rice to balance things out a bit, but was still ravenous so I had a slice of my mom's pizza (we had build your own pizza night here last night). Easy on the lowfat cheese, but still a bit overboard. I called the hub to see if he could stop for beer on the way home, but luckily for me he didn't answer the phone and by the time he called me back I had regained my composure! Tell me carbs aren't a trigger food!!!

Disaster was averted, I ate a tab bit more, but not too bad. Doing okay on food today, despite being home. Hope you all have a good day!

160

Number of new members at our gym this month.

Workout sandwich

"I hated every minute of the training. But I said to myself, bear the pain now and live the rest of your life as a champion." – M. Ali

It was tough to drag my carcass out of bed this morning. As you know from the sidebar, the past two weeks have yielded a 1 pound gain. While this was due to extraordinary circumstances, I very much want to get the scale moving in the proper direction. For that reason, I have increased my cardio this week. I am doing the usual 3 weight lifting sessions, but I upped my high intensity interval sessions from 3 to 5. I implemented this plan Monday, its Wednesday morning, and I can feel the fatigue! It doesn’t sound like much, but these HIIT sessions really drain you. Eating is on track.

I had lunch with a friend yesterday. We ate at the Duke hospital cafeteria, and I was able to make a very healthy (and tasty!) selection. I had gone to Durham for my annual check-up, and very first boob smashing! Woo hoo! It wasn’t nearly as bad as some people who have you believe. We had a good visit. He works at the VA hospital, which is where my doctor is. Small world.

We are going to get snow/sleet tomorrow, so I may work from home. Luckily, we did weights this morning, so if I can’t make it to the gym, I’ll only miss HIIT. I might go in the morning before it gets bad so I can be sure to get it in.

Here’s my food, for the curious:

B: egg + 2 whites on a lowcarb burrito with salsa
S: 2 lowfat string cheese + half a grapefruit
L: Mexican casserole (recipe to follow)
S: tuna, half a grapefruit, and ¼ c Fiber One
D: mostly what the family is eating – I have shrimp scampi with broccoli for nights they are having something that doesn’t fit in with my plan
S: 2 pieces lowfat Laughing Cow cheese and a NA “beer”.

Mexican Casserole

1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
3 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1 15 oz can black beans
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 c salsa
1 tube polenta, diced
1 c shredded lowfat cheese
¼ c chopped cilantro

Saute meat, onion, bell pepper, & garlic. Drain fat, & add all ingredients except cheese. Heat through, then place in a casserole dish, top with cheese, & poop in oven to melt cheese. I added part of a chipotle pepper to give it an extra kick. Yum-O!

Hope you have a great day!

Sometimes, no amount of planning can save you!

This was a super busy weekend. Friday night we had a couple over for dinner, which was great fun. We really hit it off well with them, and were glad for a chance to hang out. They arrived about 6 and stayed until 10:30 – so it was waaaaay past my bedtime!

Saturday we got up, had breakfast, & headed out. First to Elkin, so I could help W with the annual treasurer report (for our medieval group), then we turned around & headed east to Durham to help a friend move. I had packed a lunchbox of healthy snacks to take with us, and even though we had fast food for lunch, I had a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and pickle. So we were doing good.

I thought we’d be home in time for dinner, but a) we weren’t and b) they had fixed dinner. Hungry and tired, I had pasta with marinara sauce, a slice of Italian bread, and a cookie. Where’s the protein???? I had a string cheese in the car – not the healthiest dinner! I’m glad we ate though because on the way home a clamp on the trailer broke. We ended up leaving the trailer, with the hub picking up the part and going back the next day. Since we were already out & about, we did the grocery shopping before heading home and collapsing!

We hit the bed at 9:30, and didn’t wake up until after 7! So, no Sunday gym. (We’re not missing though – we’re going MWF this week instead). Sunday I was again helping W with that %^^%$ report (No, we couldn’t finish it!!), but I was at least at home all day. I was able to make good food choices, get the house tidied up, and get the cooking done for the week.

All in all, not bad food choices except for Saturday dinner. I planned as much as I could, but life happened. Not beating myself up, I did the best I could given the circumstances I was dealt. All in all, not too bad.

I got up this morning at 4;30, and hit the gym for a kick-butt workout, which felt great! I’m trying to really buckle down this week, and stick as close as possible to my food and exercise plans to get my weight heading in the right direction again. I feel like a pudgette!

Have a good one.

Sometimes, no amount of planning can save you!

This was a super busy weekend. Friday night we had a couple over for dinner, which was great fun. We really hit it off well with them, and were glad for a chance to hang out. They arrived about 6 and stayed until 10:30 – so it was waaaaay past my bedtime!

Saturday we got up, had breakfast, & headed out. First to Elkin, so I could help W with the annual treasurer report (for our medieval group), then we turned around & headed east to Durham to help a friend move. I had packed a lunchbox of healthy snacks to take with us, and even though we had fast food for lunch, I had a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and pickle. So we were doing good.

I thought we’d be home in time for dinner, but a) we weren’t and b) they had fixed dinner. Hungry and tired, I had pasta with marinara sauce, a slice of Italian bread, and a cookie. Where’s the protein???? I had a string cheese in the car – not the healthiest dinner! I’m glad we ate though because on the way home a clamp on the trailer broke. We ended up leaving the trailer, with the hub picking up the part and going back the next day. Since we were already out & about, we did the grocery shopping before heading home and collapsing!

We hit the bed at 9:30, and didn’t wake up until after 7! So, no Sunday gym. (We’re not missing though – we’re going MWF this week instead). Sunday I was again helping W with that %^^%$ report (No, we couldn’t finish it!!), but I was at least at home all day. I was able to make good food choices, get the house tidied up, and get the cooking done for the week.

All in all, not bad food choices except for Saturday dinner. I planned as much as I could, but life happened. Not beating myself up, I did the best I could given the circumstances I was dealt. All in all, not too bad.

I got up this morning at 4;30, and hit the gym for a kick-butt workout, which felt great! I’m trying to really buckle down this week, and stick as close as possible to my food and exercise plans to get my weight heading in the right direction again. I feel like a pudgette!

Have a good one.

Neca's not so very good day

Sometimes you catch the tiger, and sometimes the tiger catches you. At least that's how I feel today. I am Mrs. Cranky-butt - my hormones have abducted my brain, leaving only out of control emotions in its place. I am up a pound this week. No big shock there, but I am really beating myself up about it. And I left the house this morning in a pretty ill humor.

For a number of reasons, my weekend has ended up being seriously overbooked. We are having company over for dinner and the house is a wreck (main reason I am ill with the hub - he promised to clean it yesterday and didn't). It's been a long week and the weekend doesn't seem to offer much respite, so that kinda stinks.

I just feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Part of me knows that isn't the case, but I feel sorta defeated by the weight of the world. I'm just feeling down.

Still here.

Good morning. Never got around to posting yesterday - I worked a little late and ended up going to bed at 8:30. Which worked out, because I was up at 4:40 to head to the gym. I have added an extra set to most of the exercises, so the extra bit of time helps.

I'm doing okay. Friday through Sunday found me sticking with my workout schedule and eating fine during the day, but after dinner it was "Look out Bessie!" The snacking commenced, with the yummies washed down by a couple of cold beers. I would sit down in my chair, look over at the spot where Carmen always sat, and feel the need to munch.

Last night I intentionally ate a bigger than normal dinner, so I would feel full. That helped fend off the urge. And going to bed early helped also. Hopefully today it will be a bit easier to eat right all day - even after dinner.

Not much else is new here. I didn't get on the scale last Friday, but I will post my weigh-in this week. I don't know what that few days off plan did in terms of the scale, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I at least kept exercising and eating right during the day. I'm sure it stalled my weight loss efforts, but didn't derail them.

I am actually waking up and looking forward to the gym. I leave feeling shaky, with the occasional touch of queasiness. Feels good to be working my body hard. That feeling is why I'll never stop working out!

Hope you all are doing well. I can't comment to blogger blogs from the office anymore, so there goes my lunchtime plans. :-O

Have a good one.

Carmen

Some of you won't understand this. Some will. We had to put my dog to sleep this morning. I've had Carmen longer than my husband. She was first and foremost my dog, always loyal and protective of me. She was amazingly smart and well trained, but most of all loving and protective - mostly of me, but also the rest of her family. I adpoted her from the shelter. When I got her she was fixed, house broken, and voice command trained. She never got on a piece of furniture, damaged anything, or misbehaved. She was smart, classy, sweet, and my dog. I've never had a dog like her, and I never will again.

No, I haven't fallen off the side of the planet or anything!!

Hello. I didn't post yesterday, but it wasn't because things are going badly. :-) Well, my son was having one of his hormone induced fugues where he acts like a goober, but those are a regular occurance around here.

As far as exercise & diet, things are going well. I hit the gym Tuesday am for weights and Tuesday pm for interval training. I saw my fav gym employee there - Josh. I like him because a) he's cute b) he's funny and c) he always plays the heavy metal station when he's working. :-)

I adore interval training and apparently there was an article in the LA Times saying that it really works (like I didn't know that!). Yeah, when I get off the machine I look like I just spent 20 minutes running from Freddy Krueger (one of my favorite visualizations btw), but I'm off the machine in 20 minutes instead of 45 or 60 some people do. That rocks.

The lifting was also good, which is a miracle because I was soooo pissed off that I thought I was gonna have an aneurism. I got there and my first exercise I was doing was squats - some jerk had left over 300 pounds on the bar, which was about nose height on me. Yeah, like I was getting that taken off! Things like that annoy the bejeebers out of me. But I do like walking out of the gym at 5:50 or 6 and being done for the day. I used the Smith cage, which I do not like as well, and managed to get over it. But ugh!!!

On a more somber note, I am very concerned about my dog. She is a big dog and nearly 13. She's had 2 strokes and has Cushing's syndrome, which affects the liver and kidney. She took a bad fall tonight and now she doesn't want to leave the house. Hub walked her in the yard after supper, but she didn't do anything. She didn't eat her supper until I put down a little bit of wet food for her. I'm hoping she will feel better in the morning, but I am worried. She's been my best friend and has seen me through some rough times. She's one of those fanatically loyal dogs you read about in stories. When the time comes, I want to be strong and do the right thing for her and not let her suffer because I'm scared to let go.

Okay, now I am crying. Enough of that!

I watched "Warrior Nation" on msnbc tonight - part 2 of a 4 part series on tuesday nights about MMA. Cool stuff. Makes me wanna give it another try - maybe in 20 pounds or so! :-)

Have a good one!

Shocking developments!

You aren't going to believe it! They actually blocked us from posting to our blogs at work. The nerve! My lunch hour will never be the same. Sigh. Seriously, I was fond of posting at lunch, but I will try to post with the same degree of regularity. In unfortunate news, I can't post comments to blogger blogs either. :-(

Right now my favs are on my work computer, which isn't working so good with the wireless network at the house. No point in spending a lot of time on it as they ordered me a new computer. So I am posting from the house computer, which is fine but it has the hub's favorites on it and not mine. Ah, the complexities of the modern age.

Not too much is new. Hub still isn't working - home repair is SLOW this time of year. It stresses me out because I am a paranoid freak about money. Thus the incident with the pizza and beer on Saturday. Ugh. Not too proud of that. But the good news is that I got up Sunday and went to the gym and went right back on with the business of healthy eating. If I am feeling particularly penitent (or worried about the scale) perhaps I'll throw in an extra cardio session. I probably should because 3 of my 5 lunchtime walks are getting pre-empted this week!

It's funny. I obviously love food and use it in a variety of ways. One interesting side effect of consuming a diet which requires you to not only monitor your caloric intake but also to balance your nutrients means that there is a lot of planning involved. We were discussing weekend plans over the dinner table and I was talking about dinner Saturday night (boy going to birthday party, us going in different direction).... anyway - I just got so tired thinking about having to plan more food for the weekend. I actually said the following words out loud "I wish we could just eat a brown pellet and be done with it." Can you believe a foodie like me gets tired of thinking about food??? This way of eating requires a lot of planning, but I have to say it has been very eye opening. I have learned more than I would have thought possible about my own eating patterns and nutrition. I think the most important think I have learned is that I have to learn to eat haelthy and balanced, and my view of that had gotten so wacky that I need this tracking right now.

Anyway, I'm back on the wagon. At least it was light beer and homemade pizza! ;-)

Have a good one!

Food won’t make it better.

I talked to my mom this morning, and she is sounding better than she did yesterday. As I have said, she went to Georgia to take care of her best friend after she got out of the hospital – she had pneumonia. Her friend “A” became very depressed earlier this year, and was diagnosed with anorexia. It wasn’t intentional, it just grew out of her depression & apathy & the fact that food just stopped tasting good. She lives alone, so it was easy to skip meals. Mom took her for a follow-up check-up with the doctor yesterday and she was down to 76 pounds. He is seeing about getting her into a clinic. As you can imagine, my mom is worried sick. They talked to her son last night – he is coming to get her & take her home with him Sunday. She will stay there until she can get checked in. My mom is coming back tomorrow.

Mom was just really panicking yesterday. This woman has been her friend since grade school. The good news is that A is taking it seriously and seems to want to get better. But still, I felt awful for my mom – very helpless and a lot of anxiety. Which explains why I wanted to go home & eat!

I kept reminding myself that food wouldn’t change anything, it would only numb me for a time, and it wasn’t worth it. That’s the hard thing – when bad stuff happens, food works. But the feelings of guilt – not to mention sometimes feeling physically bad after eating something that doesn’t agree with me – its not worth it. I didn’t want to pay the price today, so I decided to tough it out last night. It was hard, but I’m glad I did. After the boy did homework, we all sat & watched “Dudley Do Right”. Laughing at a silly movie helped as much as food would have, with no morning regrets. I don’t know what strategy will work next time, but I will try something besides food!

I updated the weight chart in the sidebar – I am down 2 pounds his week. Woo hoo! Imagine – eating healthy foods in reasonable portions and keeping track works. :-O

I didn’t go to the gym yesterday afternoon for cardio – I will go today & tomorrow. But I will still get all my workouts in this week.

I can’t wait for my mom to get her dogs. Sheba seems to be getting stressed – last night she insisted on sleeping on my pillow. I don’t know about her, but it wasn’t comfortable for me!

It is supposed to be 67 Sunday – I think we may take the boat out. Sweet! I have my menu for the weekend planned out – which includes pizza! Pizza on a tortilla is a great idea - and one I considered doing BTW. But I thought about it and decided that this time at least, I really wanted to the crust. I put very little cheese on my pizza - for me its largely about the crust & sauce. the rest of the day I have lower carbs to offset that, but I'm okay with that.

Part of me wants to be “there” and “done”. I’m heading in the right direction. I have to keep reminding myself that this is my life – that’s hard to grasp sometimes. There is no “done”. I am not deprived – I am the one in control of making my menus and I can include what I want. I just can’t eat it mindlessly or out of control.

Pain is temporary, pride is forever

So, I went to the gym this morning. It amazes me how something as seemingly innocent as stepping up onto a weight bench, when done with one leg, repeatedly, can elicit such excruciating pain and fatigue from the human body. Which is a nice way of saying that by the 2nd leg of the 2nd set, I was trying to rationalize why I shouldn’t have to finish! :-O But finish I did – another weight session in the bag.

Food’s going along okay. I am sticking to my meal plan, eating right around 1700 calories a day. It sounds like a lot, but I am hungry from time to time. Not starving or dying or anything, but yeah, I do get hungry. OTOH, my jeans are feeling looser already. Bwah! Yesterday I felt like a pudge, today I feel like I am improving – getting firmer & smaller. Go figure.

My husband isn’t working much now – not since right before Christmas. I’m not panicking, but every time I see that we’ve spent money my heart hurts a little. I know I worry too much, but still, its stressful. He is busy doing estimates & stuff, every year I tell myself I need to plan better for this slow season. This year I will!

We have a quiet weekend planned – just cleaning, shopping, food prep mainly. I have some stuff to do admin-wise for the jobs I hold down in our medieval group. That’s a good 4-5 hours of stuff, but I’ll try to split it up over the 2 days. It’s supposed to be 67 on Sunday, so I want to make time to get outside!

Going to the gym again this afternoon for my HIIT – 19 minutes of torture. Well, the first 5 are a warm-up, so they aren’t too bad. But after that its hold on Nellie.

Hub and the boy went to the video arcade at the mall yesterday for a little “man bonding” time. The boy ate a big slice of pizza & came home too full to eat supper. Oh well – its not like it happens all the time or anything.

I can’t gripe too much about them spending $$ at the arcade – I ordered a book and 3 t-shirts online yesterday from Dave Draper’s web site!!! But I got it all for $40, including shipping. And one of the t-shirts is for my husband…. I’m glad I don’t do that too often – that can add up! I got a copy of Dave’s book “The West Coast Body Building Scene” – as long as I’m reading stuff like that in the evening, how can I possibly pop off to the kitchen for junk food???????

We now return you to your regularly scheduled winter

When I got up this morning, it was a balmy 27 degrees outside. Brrrr! I went back to bed! With my new schedule I am lifting 3 times per week and doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) 3 times per week. Yesterday afternoon I did it on the elliptical. Since I walk at lunch every day (we were up to 36 at lunch – woo hoo!), I have declared my morning walks optional. At least as long as weight loss happens!

Speaking of which…. Do you ever have those days when you think about how you feel and how you look and say to yourself “Losing weight? Who are you kidding???” Today I feel like a total pudge. Blech!

Last night after taw kwon do, I drove home – a route which goes beside Sonic. A longing for cheese sticks struck me like a tsunami of desire. It was immediately followed by lusting for some pizza. In my heart, I have sinned. SO… I sat down with my spreadsheet and figured out how much of my homemade pizza (homemade crust, no sugar sauce, lowfat cheese, turkey pepperoni) I could have without starving myself all day Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised! So pizza for dinner Saturday it is! Woo hoo!!! No, not the healthiest choice, but better in my mind to plan it in than not plan it cause it would happen anyway. I have largely eliminated bread from my diet. My pasta of choice is the Barilla high protein stuff, which is quite good. I think pizza will fit in okay.

I am eating 1700 calories per day, and yes, I am hungry. Not hugely, but I am clearly operating at a deficit.

We are still dog sitting. I love my dogs. I love my mom’s dogs. But right now I feel like I am living on a dog farm! It’ll be nice for things to get quiet again. She plans to return home Friday.

I left work early yesterday so I could go by the gym after work – I was concerned it would be really crazy, but it wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t have any problem getting a machine. It’s nice to know that even if I leave at 4, going by the gym shouldn’t be an issue.

Well, that’s about all I know right now.

Eddie’s Mama

One good thing about my family – while there is likely some line drawn at say entrails and brains, they’ll try darn near anything. Which is why, after the perfunctory “Why can’t we eat like normal people!?” from the boy, they both dug in and tried the edamame I served up as a side to the casserole. Which they both loved BTW. But of course neither of them could remember the name, which is why edamame has now been code named “Eddie’s mama” in our house.

Things are going well. Sometimes we get so caught up in the big picture that we either get overwhelmed, or we decide that these little things we’re doing can’t get us there. Maybe one or two or three of them won’t, but several right choices every day, with many days and week strung together, will get us there. Sometimes at the beginning of a journey I get overwhelmed by the distance that its best to just look at my feet.

This morning getting up to go to the gym seemed so hard, but I just did it. And by the time I got to the car, it didn’t seem bad at all. Food is what it is, and will be changed after Friday. Last night I really wanted something sweet, so I had a chocolate protein shake for my snack. No, it wasn’t as good as a piece of chocolate, but it wasn’t bad either. These may be baby steps, but a bazillion of them will get me to the moon.

I feel better. And I feel better about myself to boot.

Clearly, two adults and three little dogs cannot fit in a queen sized bed!

Let me explain. Our Chihuahua sleeps with us. This is my husband’s fault – the first night she was home, we put her in her crate. She cried for 15 minutes, hub went and got her, and she has slept with us ever since. I don’t really mind. She’s little, she’s not a wiggler, and we’ve all gotten used to each other, so our sleep isn’t interrupted. HOWEVER. With my mom out of town, we have been dog sitting. Her dogs (Bess’ sister & mom) sleep with her. Now, they aren’t big either. But they are used to my mom, not us, and they are used to have a bit more lebensraum in the bed. So, our quality of sleep has been somewhat degraded since their arrival.

Despite the sleep issues, we are both feeling a great deal better. We had a very quiet weekend, which was much needed. Friday night we watched movies. Saturday hub took the boy over to a friend’s for the weekend. I had 3 friends come over and we had a calligraphy & illumination class. The weather was fabulous, so we had the windows and doors open. Low 70s. Amazing! The class was a great deal of fun and I think everyone had a good time. A dear friend taught it – she’s in school so we haven’t seen her much. After the other 2 ladies left, we played a bit more then we went out to dinner together. Good times.

Sunday was grocery shopping & food prep. I paced myself and we spent plenty of time chilling out. Nice.

Food:

I can’t believe how well I ate. I didn’t really start my new eating/exercise program (Afterburn), but simply tried to make good choices. I was proud of how well I did. This program does not allow for any “free days” or “cheat meals” – you calculate your daily caloric intake and (in the beginning at least) this is kept steady throughout the week. I tried this weekend to hold true to that principal.

After I planned what I wanted to eat for the week, I calculated my daily caloric intake and applied the prescribed protein/carb/fat ratio for weeks 1-4 and then planned out portions. I have to say this was amazingly educational. I am including a picture so you can see what a day looks like. What amazed me was the fiber. I mean, I had to resort to adding Fiber One to my menu to get the recommended 25 grams daily. (And that’s the low ball number!). You would think with the amount of fruits & veggies I eat, fiber would be no problem.

Another thing - my dinner originally was way too big and breakfast too small. I would never have guessed that! My breakfast wound up too big, but I’m not eating it all at once. I guess I thought my eating would be “better” given what I know about nutrition. It just goes to show that no matter how educated the guess, guesses are just that. Having to sit down and go through this exercise weekly is kinda a pain, but I have finally admitted that if I want to lose weight consistently and healthfully, I’ll actually have to put in a fair amount of effort.

Exercise:

Yesterday I went to the gym and did Day 1 of Week 1 of the program. It had a total of 6 exercises. Just 6. These are arranged in what is called compound supersets. Let me explain. Example: 1 pairing would be say squats and push-ups. You do 1 set of squats, 1 set push-ups, another set of squats, back to push-ups, etc. These are called supersets because you alternate the exercise, rather than doing all of one exercise first. They are called compound because the exercises work 2 different body parts. In a typical body building style routine, you would do (for example) squats squats squats then leg press leg press leg press. You need significant rest periods for recovery since you are doing the same exercise back to back, and working the same body part back to back. By alternating, you require less recovery time in between. There is less lactic acid build-up, so you can do more. Another plus is the fact that exercising this way moves the blood back and forth – making it more cardio intensive.

He recommended doing each exercise 2-3 times, and specified how many times he wanted you to do it. So, I had to figure out how much weight I needed to use to be able to squat 20 times. I figured since I had been sick, I would do each exercise twice. But still – only 6 exercises. No biggie, right? Oh my gosh! My calves and ribs are sore today. I was spent after I finished. I mean beat. It was great! I love a workout where you get a great workout without wasting 2 hours in the gym. I will increase to 3 times rather than two, but I’m grateful I was humble enough to start with the lower number.

Today is the high intensity cardio. Again, only 19 minutes. Nineteen minutes of agony! He does have you increase intensity and amounts (but not a lot), but I like the way the program builds over time. It feels tough, but doable.

We have weekend plans in 4 weeks, but other than that, only a couple of days away from the house. This is nice because I can pack my meals on those days. Only the one weekend away will be a bit tougher. So I should be able to get a good bit of traction.

Not too much else is new. The sun is out so I am going outside and taking a walk for lunch. Have a great day!

Slow Going

I got up and walked (1 mile) this morning. Either I overdid it yesterday or the prescription decongestant kicked my butt (it did say it would make you drowsy), or both. I was wiped this morning. But it was 60, and I thought the walk might perk me up. Not so much.

I updated my weight tracker off to the side – I lost 1.5 pounds this week. Hurray!!! I now have 29 to go. That sounds soooo much better than 30.5 somehow.

I still haven’t been to the gym. Right now I’d likely drop a barbell on my head or something. I’m hoping I’ll be up to it Sunday. Luckily this mess is mostly out of my head (my throat is still a bit froggy, but the head is almost clear), so I don’t plan on taking any more of that prescription unless I need it to sleep – I hate feeling that groggy in the morning.

Hub is still feeling rough. If there is a silver lining, it’s the fact that he doesn’t have any work anyway. This is a slow time of the year for remodeling. So at least he’s able to be home and really rest up. This happens every year so you’d think I’d be prepared for it, but we still both find his being out of work disconcerting.

My mom is on her way to Georgia. Her best friend since childhood just got out of the hospital, so mom is going down to take care of her for a few days. I know mom is more worried than she is letting on – her brother died, her dad died, her mom has Alzheimer’s – there isn’t a lot of family left to hold on to.

What I’m eating has been breaking out like this:
B: protein shake + small bowl of oatmeal with berries (both include ground flax seed)
S: 2 lowfat string cheeses and a Clementine
L: vegetable soup with ground turkey and a side salad
S: 2 deviled eggs (made with mostly mustard and a dab of ff mayo) and a Clementine
D: poached cod and ½ cup brown rice, veggie
S: either 2 string cheeses or another deviled egg and a Clementine

Can you tell we have a bunch of clementines left?

I am often left wondering what sort of protein to have for a snack – I need something quick and easy. I really don’t like cottage cheese – gosh knows I’ve tried to eat it how many times? I don’t like lunch meat, and I don’t want anything I have to heat up. That leaves tuna or deviled eggs, maybe chicken salad. I’ll swap them out when I get tired of them, but right now they are a tasty change.

Once I start the exercise portion of the workout, I’ll check to make sure my food intake is on track – given the lack of activity, I dialed it back a bit this week.

I made the family a big pot of homemade chicken soup with matzo balls last night. That is a family favorite, and I know my husband needed it. I also served a salad with the new lettuce I found at CostC0. That stuff tastes like it came out of my grandpa’s garden. Amazing. And the same price as the junk at the grocery store!

I know my last couple of posts have been a bit preachy – I haven’t meant to be. I guess I’m just kicking myself a bit – I feel like I’ve let some opportunities pass me by because of my weight. I hate that. Rather than feel badly about that, I am turning it into a positive and using it as a reminder of why this is worth it.

Sorry this has been such a downer of a post – I’m not really down, just tired I guess. Luckily we have a quiet weekend planned – a friend is coming over to the house to teach a calligraphy class for me & a couple other ladies. She is in grad school, so we don’t get to see her much. The house is still fairly clean from last weekend, so just a bit of picking up is required. Other than that? Shop & food prep. The boy is spending Saturday night with a friend. Here’s to a little rest and relaxation for us all!

My resolutions – breaking it down

1. Know what you want.

I want to lose 30 pounds. I want to improve my fitness – specifically strength and cardio endurance. I want to feed my body healthier foods and treat it with more care.

2. Know why you want it.

Partly because I am 40. I am an age where the body is naturally in decline rather than growth. Not to say its time to sit on the porch until you die, but this year I have noticed things – my skin doesn’t look as nice, it takes me longer to recover from being sick. I need to take the best care of myself that I can. I plan to be very active and doing crazy things for many years to come. It’s very difficult for me to admit that my body is changing – it feels like admitting a weakness. But “growing up” and taking responsibility for my health will ensure me a long, healthy life.

Looks. This one is really hard to admit. Losing weight when I had a lot to lose seemed more important than it does now that I don’t have as much to lose. The sense of urgency is gone. Smaller jeans seems a stupid reason. But its more about how I feel about myself in this skin, rather than what someone else sees. I don’t want to feel limited by my weight, and I still do.

Be a good role model for my son. I have terrific memories of biking and walking and fishing with my mom, my grandparents, my uncle. I want my son to have those memories. There’s nothing in the world wrong with reading, but I’d like my son to feel like I did more than read a book with my paw in the snackbowl for his childhood. An exaggeration? Maybe. But he’s nearly 12 – not much longer before hanging out with me becomes un-cool (pray he’s an exception! :-).

3. Know when you want it by

July 27 (29 weeks from tomorrow).

4. Write it down.

This is a start. Writing down the how is also an important component. For the record, I plan to follow Cosgrove’s “Afterburn” program. It uses high intensity interval training cardio and total body circuit training to not only burn calories in the gym, but to keep the metabolism boosted after. For people who don’t want to spend their life in the gym, it totally makes sense.

5. Know the price.

No more bs excuses about why I didn’t do workouts. Sickness is one thing, but laziness – well, obviously doesn’t work. And I can’t afford the luxury of consuming crap and expect to look like anything other than crap. Yeah, that’s harsh. I don’t mean it in an angry, condemning way, but in a “you deserve better than this” kind of way. The price will be high, but the pay-off is tremendous. I have to keep reminding (okay, convincing) myself that I am worth the effort.

6. Pay it.

I have already begun. I started the food component Tuesday and got up and walked this morning. I’m not up to the workouts in the book yet, but I can start getting my eating in order.

Here’s the rub. Every day I “pay the price” – get up and hit the gym when I’m tired, pass up a special dessert or meal – it’s like making an investment. Visualize putting 5 dollars in a pot for every day you eat clean and exercise. What happens when you fall off the program? You set the pot on fire. All the investment is lost, and you have to start at the beginning – again. Not a very wise investment. My time, effort, and sacrifice are worth more than money. Yet I wouldn’t voluntarily set my paycheck on fire, so why do I treat my efforts with so little respect, that I throw them away so easily?

Change is hard. Being out of shape and/or overweight is hard. Choose your hard.

I resolve to be resolute in keeping my resolutions!

Poor resolutions, they take a lot of criticism this time of year, don’t they? Resolution has many definitions, but a couple seem to fit here: the act of determining, or the one I really like: a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent. What sounds so bad about that?

I think it’s the fact that so many people make resolutions on the fly, without putting a lot of thought into them. Or they have failed before, so not declaring a resolution means they won’t fail again this year. I happen to fall into both of those categories – at least I have in the past, so don’t take offense.

I read a really interesting post regarding resolutions over at Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog. I thought it was great! He lists 6 steps in achieving goals:

1. Know what you want
2. Know why you want it
3. Know when you want it by
4. Write it down
5. Know the price
6. Pay it

Sounds simple put that way, but each of those things is a challenge. This allows you to turn your dreams into goals, and if the “cost” is too high, then find a compromise. Making a resolution seems simple, but of course you won’t succeed if you haven’t given it any thought. That’s like expecting to get a masters degree without studying! Or getting a masters degree without applying to any universities! Of course it doesn’t work.

I’ve done pretty good with losing weight – despite my recent gain, I’ve still kept a respectable chunk off. But at some point along the way all the “low hanging fruit” was gone. All the easy changes had been made – I take the stairs, park at the back of the lot, drink plenty of water. As I approached my goal weight, my reasons for wanting to lose weight had changed, but I never re-examined my motivations. And the price got higher, but I never increased my payments (as it were). No wonder I stopped making headway!

I’m taking these 6 steps as homework. I’m still a bit under the weather, but I can 1) work on improving my eating this week and 2) work through these questions and steps. That should give me a clear understanding of where I want to go and how I plan to get there.

Happy New Year

Hello. I am at home today, sick. Yes, still sick. I finally broke down and went to the doctor, who told me I have a vial infection. In short, not much can be done except wait for it to be over. Ugh. Stuffy nose, sore throat, the works. I plan to be back at the office tomorrow, but I figured I could use one more day of rest. And I wanted to make sure I don't have strep throat or anything.

A few things to report:

The party was very nice. I think everyone had a good time. It was largely a new crowd for us - many of whom live local. So, here's to making some new friends in 2007 - closer to home. I think I'm headed in the right direction.

Exercise has been of course non-existent. If you can believe it, I slept for 12 hours last night. Food has been dicey also, but I am feeling well enough to do a bit more than scrounge for whatever junk food might have been left laying about. I got up and made myself a pot of soup in the crockpot. I think nutritious food will help me kick this junk.

We went to see the new "Rocky" movie - it is awesome! I know, I can't believe I am writing that either, but it was! The best one since the first one. It is well worth watching.

My poor mom did not have a good new year's day. We went over there to eat. She pulled me aside to tell me her best friend is in the hospital with pneumonia. A has a number of health problems and was seriously underweight to begin with, so this is serious. They have been best friends since grade school, so this is a blow for my mom. To make matters worse, she discovered some things had been stolen from her house - 2 antique depression ware glasses (from a set of 6) and 8 dessert plates from my great grandmother's china.

Given the 3 people that have had access to my mom's house when she isn't there, the prime (only, really) suspect is my MIL. The other 2 people mom has known for a long time. Ludmilla has house sat any number of times (she's the next door neighbor). The guy that house sat while we went to Busch Gardens is the roomie of one of mom's good friends. She's known this woman for many yesrs, and her friend has known the house mate for 20 years. And who has a long history of stealing antiques and depression ware from her parents when they were alive? She loves them, can't afford them, and was at mom's house to drop off and pick up her dog right around the holidays.

We are all just sick about it. Hub is going to scope out her house when he goes up for a visit. I just can't believe this, but I can. She is a mentally messed up woman, who is angry with my mom, who has a track recored of doing stuff like this. My mom is upset over the stuff, the betrayal, and with her friend in the hospital, its just a lot to handle. Hub is convinced MIL's the one who took the stuff.

Not too much to add. I don't know when exercise will resume, I'll keep you posted.

Happy New Year my internet friends!

Closing the door on 2006

I for one am glad this year is over – here’s hoping 2007 is kinder. Not that we had any huge disasters in 2006 – we came through it with our health and homes, and I am thankful for that. But it was the year that MIL lived most of the year with my mom, putting a great deal of strain on family relations. It was the year we lost a lot of friends – between switching to a different recreation group and then our “close” friends stabbing us in the back, and dragging along a few others into the mudhole they created. It was also the first year since 2000 that I ended the year with a weight gain instead of loss. Overall, I’d say my fitness declined in 2006. That’s never a good thing.

OTOH, I started a new job – with more money. Hub worked steadily. The boy got his black belt. My mom enjoyed her retirement. And I am resolved to lose weight this year. Thirty pounds is a lot, but its certainly doable.

So, here’s wishing you & me a fitter, slimmer new year, with plenty of love & laughter.

Soup, soup, soup, and maybe some hot tea

Yeah, the cold is still hanging tough. I’m doing the old soup & hot tea thing, getting plenty of rest, and using salt water to keep the sinuses cleaned out. I’m a bit less miserable – just bone tired.

Not much else to report. I’m reading the 6th Harry Potter book, which is keeping me busy. We’re watching the final season of Deep Space 9 – I’m gonna miss it when we’re done.

No exercise – are you kidding? I expect to post a gain tomorrow – but its all downhill after that! :-)

It’s not what happens between Christmas and New Years, it’s what you do between New Year’s & Christmas!

My point being that a couple of days of overindulging aren’t what will do you in, its doing that consistently. Or throwing in the towel and giving up. Consistency is key in fitness.

Besides eating a lot of wonderful stuff over the long holiday weekend, I was home sick yesterday! I have a lousy cold and feel like poo. So naturally I spent the day searching in vain for that one food that would make me feel good. So I kept eating and eating and feeling yucky. Sigh. I do regret yesterday.

I hope you had a terrific holiday! Ours was very nice. You know that you (and your child) are getting older when you have to wake him up. I was up at 4:30 – baked a pie, made the dressing. Finally woke the boy at 7:15. He said “You’re as bad a as a 4 year old!” hee hee hee! I think he liked his gifts – he mostly got paintball stuff, and an iPod from his grandpa. The iPod made my husband especially happy because that meant hub inherited the boy’s old MP3 player.

Wonderful gifts were given and received, the neighbors came over for a wonderful meal & a nice visit, and we lazed about and watched the Harry Potter movies. Good times.

Unfortunately I woke up sick with a miserable cold yesterday. I sat on my butt & felt sorry for myself (very helpful, I know). I had to be at work today – ugh. At least it is very quiet so I can take it easy. I feel a little better. I am consuming juice & soup in an effort to chase the nasties away.

I have very much enjoyed the down time, but I am looking forward to things ramping up in January.

We are very uncertain about the trip to Hawaii – we want to go, but a lot depends on our friend over there. Basically, his dad is terminally ill, so now isn’t a good time. I am going to try & set aside the money and vacation time so we can be flexible. It would be a shame not to seize the opportunity. But, who knows what the new year will bring? Right now we are entering the phase where hub’s work slows down dramatically, so we have to be really tight with our money. The next couple of months may be a bumpy ride. Or not. But we’ll be okay.

Part of me is really wiggy thinking about getting on the scale on Friday – I know I will have gained this week. And yet.. I have this odd sense of calm. Doing that juice fast last week made me realize that I can do this. Food only has power over me if I allow it to. And I’d rather be in control of it. Feeling good felt good. I’ve enjoyed the holidays, but I think I’m ready for things to get back to normal!

Happy Holidays!

Well, this is my last day at work until next Wednesday! Woo hoo! I am leaving promptly at 3 (thank you, flex time) and doing my grocery shopping for the Christmas dinner and for next week.

If you look at the newly re-installed weight chart, you’ll notice I lost 4.5 pounds this week. “Lucy, you got some splaining to do!” (Can you name the tv show?) So here goes: I was feeling really crappy. Big, run down, tired, and just not good. After doing some research and giving it some thought, I opted to do a 3 day detox diet – essentially a juice diet. I did this for 3 reasons. So, in order of importance: 1) my food choices weren’t good and I felt the need to get the sludge out. I feel so much better after doing it! 2) I wanted to clean up my diet and prove to myself that I could do it and 3) to jump start my weight loss. I have to say I feel like I accomplished all these goals.

I consumed 40 ounces of juice per day – 20 of fruit which contained spurilia (green algae) and 20 of carrot. These were organic, whole juices. I brought 2 clementines with me to work and at the end of the day I had a small bowl of rice. This is not a long term diet, and I didn’t do it mainly for weight loss. I believe it gave my whole body a healthy boost. I can definitely tell that my workouts – both cardio and weights – have been negatively impacted by this. I have less stamina and energy, that’s for sure!

Today I am moving back to food – starting with soup! I had a protein shake for breakfast, I have my clementines and juice, but I also plan to have soup and salad for lunch & dinner. The next couple of days will be re-introducing foods, up to Christmas day. I have a really good meal planned, but then after that I’m onto the Fat Flush plan until New Year. In the vein of the detox, the purpose is to eat a diet of whole, unprocessed foods.

This experience has been interesting. I have never done anything this close to a fast before. I was less hungry than I thought I’d be (for which I am grateful). I need to stop the emotional eating, and this was a very forceful & dramatic way of disconnecting food & emotions. The last days food had served the purpose of fuel. I’ve made the point of “eating” mindfully – enjoying the taste and textures, but not eating to feel better emotionally or for entertainment. I know 3 days doesn’t unbreak years of habit, but I hope it’s the beginning of moving in the right direction.

Free time overload!!!

I don’t know if I mentioned it or not, but my son got out of school Tuesday. He has been staying in luxurious accommodations over at “camp grandma” – his exclusive getaway home one town over. Party at my place!!! I haven’t cooked a meal in 2 days – I made a pot of chili & a pot of chicken soup and told the hub to heat up whatever he wanted. The next meal I cook will be Christmas Eve. Heh!

Last night we had some shows Tivo-ed, a couple of dvds from Netflix, and season 7 of Star Trek: DS9. We also had a bit of housework to do. We worked on the house (did quite a bit actually) and watched TV, but I have to admit, I was sitting in my chair feeling bored. No homework to help with, no meal to prep/clean up from, no mindless snacking. I couldn’t believe how much time I had! I thought (briefly) about starting on some craft project, but ultimately decided against it. I may pick up a cross stitch after the holiday, but right now I’m just enjoying the novelty of boredom. Normally this would mean after dinner snacking, but that hasn’t been happening.

We gave the Chihuahua a stern lecture about sucking our life force in the morning, making it impossible for us to get out of bed. (She is evil that way!) She must’ve listened because getting up was a bit easier this morning. We were out of the bed by 5 and hit the gym for a good workout. We’ve been hitting our target of 2 weight lifting sessions per week (which will be going up to 3), although we’ve had to be a bit flexible with the days. Consistency has been the key. Now that we’re managing the 2, I’m hoping we can make that 3. I will admit, hitting the gym 3 times a week has always been difficult for me.

I will say I am really enjoying going in the morning with the hub. No, we do not work out together! We don’t even work out near each other. We have diametrically opposing views about lifting weights, and I have a difficult time keeping my opinion (my opinion is that his is wrong) to myself. This is easy because he generally uses the machines and I generally use the free weights. Every once in a while he’ll wander back and I’ll show him something. What is really nice about it though is 1) having another person to hold you accountable. If I don’t get out of bed, we both miss our workout and 2) we get to talk in the car. Granted, we’re both a bit fuzzy about the edges, but still, its nice.

This isn’t exactly related to fitness, but whatever. I have become obsessed with face creams. I think hitting 40 has warped my brain. I’ve tried all kinds. Any good recommendations?

I know I haven’t been publishing my weight for a while – I’ve made vague statements “down a pound” or “I gained”, but nothing more than that. I am thinking about adding the weight chart back – if I can figure out how. As of last Friday’s weigh in, I have gained 9.5 pounds this year. Not cool! Up 15 pounds from the low I got down to. Even less cool! I decided to start doing something about it right then. Not the first of the year, not after Christmas, RIGHT THEN. And so I have been.

Yo, it's easy to change your layout now!

Look - I changed my layout. It was so easy, even I could figure it out. I think I love the new blogger. :-)

Cruising the lake, listening to Christmas carols

That was the activity yesterday afternoon. It has (temporarily) cooled down a bit here – it was a mere 29 when I went for my walk this morning. The temps are going back up (a bit) – I think our high of 73 on Monday was a record.

I am back to having a tough time getting out of bed. I slept in yesterday, but did get up today. There’s a bit more leeway in the morning routine with the boy over at camp grandma. Yesterday was his last day of school – it was a party filled half day. He went, but I don’t think he’s still feeling all that hot.

Work is dead. There is practically no one here, so yeah, I’m a little bored. But I have gotten desk & files organized for next year. So that’s nice.

I still haven’t done my cards! Argh! I will do them tomorrow. Last night we sat on our butts and watched some “Battlestar Galactica”, so tonight is more housework. Fun times. No big plans for the weekend – a bit of food prep for the holiday meal, but that’s about it. I admit it feels good not to have some project hanging over my head. I want to make my Chihuahua a coat, so I may work on that. Otherwise, just chilling out. Hitting a couple of movies sans boy and grabbing a pizza Saturday night. The overwhelming urge to paint the dining room has passed – for now at least.

I haven’t been writing a lot about the whole “diet” thing, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking. I know myself well enough to know I need a structured plan, but one that will allow me to have some not so healthy foods in there as well. I’ve been figuring that all out, and have begun to move my eating habits in that direction. I don’t want to make some big New Years commitment, because those don’t last. But last week’s foray onto the scale put a scare into me. I’ve gained back a painful chunk of the weight I’ve lost, so I have to turn the ship around. I decided not to wait until January – I need to start now. And I already have. There’s no time like the present.

Hope you all have a great day!

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Um, same stuff, different day. Son is home sick today (thank goodness for grandma!), house is a disaster (oh, you mean we were supposed to clean it yesterday? I thought we were supposed to sit around on our butts!), but the shopping is done. Tomorrow is a half day at school, then the boy is going to stay with grandma for a couple of days, then grandpa. You know what that means – no cooking! Woo hoo!!! Don’t get me wrong – I really enjoy cooking. But day in & day out gets to be a drag. A couple of “big pots of stuff’ and we’re set for the week.

It is supposed to be 75 degrees here today. I hope the boy is feeling better tomorrow, because I want to take the boat out!

Shopping is done, one gift left to wrap, no more homemade soap needs to be created. Menu planned (neighbors are coming & bringing a couple of things) and I still haven’t sent out cards, but I’ll get it done.

I can’t say it was the best weekend I’ve ever had (more silly drama from the crazy peeps, who we saw at a medieval thing Saturday) – gah. But other than that, pretty nice. I can’t believe Christmas is only a week away. Amazing. It totally doesn’t feel like it at all.

I did a really great job kicking my own butt in the gym Friday morning. I didn’t increase my weights on anything, but I increased my reps on everything. Yikes! I spent Saturday on my feet helping in the kitchen and boy was I sore at the end of the day! I am loving going to the gym (insert evil grin). I dragged out my “Fat Flush” book and read it in the car Saturday. I really enjoyed that when I did it. I’m kicking a couple of ideas around in my head around fitness goals – more on that when I know more myself.

Oh, and we have an opportunity to go to Hawaii on the (relatively) cheap. So: hall bath, hardwood floors, having actual money in savings, or white sandy beach??? I sure wish I knew what kind of income tax return/bonus situation I am looking at for 2007…..

Choose your hard.

I read this on a blog yesterday, and it really struck me. "Being fat is hard. Losing weight is hard. You just have to choose your hard." That feels so true to me. Getting on the scale this morning was hard. But getting up early every day this week was easier. I feel like I’m trying to turn the Titanic on a dime, but I am slowly moving the ship in the right direction.

Have a good weekend. And no, there was no snacking after dinner last night.

Such a sad feeling

Deleting a friend off your Christmas card list, because they died. This is the second year in a row, and it sucks.

Empty your cup

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

I just can’t seem to get all the pieces in place. I’m busy with errands & extra stuff at the boy’s school, and when I get home I’m just so tired. I wish I had an off switch. So I sit in my chair, watching “Red Dwarf” and enjoying a little snack and a cold beer. It’s the only time all day I don’t feel tired, or overtaxed, or just plain too big. But I think it’s a contributing factor to all 3 of those things.

On the plus side, getting up and getting to the gym is easier, I am walking, and I only ate a third of that snowman donut! I’m hanging in there, except for an hour a day. Unfortunately, I am managing to do a fair bit of damage in that hour. Oops. No huge promises, but this is the first year in 5 that I have gained rather than lost weight. That’s gotta get undone. I will make one small promise – I will not snack after dinner tonight. Be sure and ask me tomorrow!!!!!

Miscellaneous Ramblings

I walked a total of 4 miles yesterday – 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. I lifted weights this morning. It actually felt good. Maybe this warm spell will be what I need to get on track.

Halls are decked, list is checked, gifts are wrapped. One stocking stuffer for my mom and I am done. Woo! Since it’s just the 4 of us, there isn’t a whole lot to plan. A nice meal for Christmas Eve, the usual for Xmas Day, and then our party on New Years will be a snap thanks to the wonderful appetizers for sale at Costc0. I’m thinking seafood for Xmas Eve….

I think I have talked myself out of attempting to paint the dining room until after the holiday. I have a couple of closets that really need cleaning. Given the balmy weather this weekend, I hope I can talk hub into a bit of organizing in the garage. I still haven’t sent out cards yet, but I don’t do a whole bunch. I’ll work on that this weekend.

I am going to a holiday party Saturday night – I need a food thing and a gift for the (infamous) dirty gift exchange. I lucked out at the office one and got a Starbucks gift card. Nice! I may just take a bottle of wine – who needs stuff laying about their house? And Costc0 frozen food section will come to my rescue…

We are going out of town for the day Saturday to a medieval thing – hub is running the kid’s fighting and I am helping cook. We plan to bail about 4 or so since we have the party back home. I need to get our stuff organized Thursday night – I’m taking hub out for a surprise date Friday night.

Well, that’s about all I know. Have a good one!

A brief respite from winter

It was a balmy 30 when I woke up this morning – so I was able to get out of bed & walk! Yay me!

Still struggling. Still feeling huge. Still not giving up.

I am hoping that this break in the unseasonably cold weather will let me get acclimatized, so that walking in the am doesn’t feel so impossible. I like walking in the evening, but lately there just hasn’t been the time.

On the plus side, my decorations are up, my house is clean, and I think I’ve convinced myself that January would be better for painting my dining room. We are hosting a New Years Eve party at our place. Cleaning is good, starting a major project? Not so much!

Define Christmas Spirit???

I realized something this morning – I’m not sure I know what this says about me, but here it is. The boy and I shopped yesterday for 1) a child in foster care we’d “adopted” for the holiday and 2) the food drive currently running here at work. Guessing, I spent roughly $75 on the little boy and $60 on groceries. I spent $10 on my MIL. I’m sorry, I’m still bitter about the birthday gift. Why should I spend money on someone who won’t appreciate it and will likely badmouth whatever I give her, when I can give to people genuinely in need? I try to be generous, but it’s hard to feel that way for her. I guess the lesson here is never treat my mom badly – that’s a hole you’ll never dig yourself out of with me.

People I need help! I can get up to go to the gym, but it is freaking freezing and I CANNOT get up to walk outside. I have to get a workout area set up. Right now afternoons are so busy that doing it in the afternoon doesn’t seem very possible. I got home at 6 yesterday after the boy & I did all our shopping. Crazy.

Good news, bad news

I found this really pretty template for my blog. The down side is that I don't know how to edit the html, so I lost all my sidebar info about me (I think). OTOH, a lot of my links & stuff were old. I'll try to work on this.....

I got the lunchtime blues

The good news is that I got up and went to the gym! There isn’t really any bad news, just that I am tired of my lunches. Sigh. I need something a bit more exciting! My beef soup this week is dullsville.

I wish I had something exciting to write, but I don’t. Things are going okay. I’m plugging along – walking at lunch, hitting the gym, blah blah blah. The weather just got a good bit colder here, so getting out of bed is more difficult!

I can’t remember if I mentioned it here, but for a long time I was unhappy with the wall color underneath the chair rail in my kitchen. I repainted a couple of weekends ago, and I love it! I am going paint happy, and plan to do my dining room next. I think I may do that this Sunday. Saturday I am going to an all-day calligraphy and illumination class. That’ll be fun!

I hope you are doing well and have a great week!

Insert cute title here

Just can’t think of anything creative. Not a lot new around here. We got the tree up this weekend – but not the decorations. All the outside lights spontaneously expired over the summer, so new ones are in order. I was at a business meeting (4 hours away) all day Saturday. That sounds awfully dry, but we got a good bit accomplished.

My first snack of the day (as well as my breakfast) is a high quality protein shake. Lunch is a beef soup with spinach, chick peas, and some couscous – and a salad. Afternoon snack is string cheese and a clementine. Dinners are planned, so as long as I stay away from the kitchen after supper I’ll be safe. I have tons of homework from my meetings, so that will keep me hopping this week! (Business meeting was for our medieval recreation group).

I’m here. Things are okay. I want to see the 150s before year end. I can do that.

Just a mish-mash

First off, I have to say what a class act my mom is. Yesterday was my mom's birthday - I felt bad because after she was up half the night Monday taking her best friend to the emergency room for a broken arm and then staying with her & helping out until her son could drive down from the mountains & get home after picking her husband up from the hospital where he had surgery Monday morning (get all that?) - then mom came over to our place to look out for the boy who was sick - because I felt crappy. UGH! Despite all that, she & the boy went out on the boat while I cleaned up a bit & prepped dinner. She said she rode around listening to Christmas music while he slept. Hub grilled us an excellent meal (mixed veggies and shrimp – with a side of rice) and he came home with flowers and a nice card for her, and then we went out for ice cream. She said she had a nice day because she was grateful she had good friends and family she could care for.

In contrast: Last night I asked hub if we should get dirt for his mom for Christmas (I am thankful I can kvetch about her with him.) He said yeah and let's get a bag to go with it. I looked puzzled and he said "you know - dirt bag. get it?" Ha! In short, NO IDEA what to get her for Christmas. I spent more on her than I did my own mother for their birthdays (their birthdays are a week apart and we gave them their gifts at Thanksgiving) and no thank you. And did I mention that for hub’s birthday she had bought a new book in her favorite series, and brought the book (after she read it) unwrapped, and gave it to him for his birthday present. Class act? Not so much. Oh well, at least we can laugh about it.

So many things in my life are going well right now – the boy is doing well in school, the attitude comes and goes – but it goes pretty regularly. Financially things are going smoothly (knock wood) – we’re just going along pretty well. So why am I eating out of control????? I don’t really know. I do know that its pretty frustrating and I also know I can’t afford a new wardrobe! I have no huge “plan”, but I am trying to make some gradual changes.

We're all feeling a bit oogy - weather, allergies, I dunno. Not terrible, just sniffly & run down. Other than that, okay. Well, except I feel like a cow. We got up at 4:45 this morning and went to the gym. I had a super yummy protein shake for breakfast (no lie - it was awesome). I very good start to the day

Lovely Day

Hello! I hope that everyone that celebrated it had a terrific Thanksgiving. Mine was really nice. My plans went off pretty well – house was clean and Wednesday night I was pooped – so we picked up a pizza and watched a movie. Thursday I got up early and began cooking. The meal was ready at noon and after a lovely visit with our neighbors, we were pulling out of the driveway at 2:30. MIL was there, but I refuse to discuss this because her behavior was so .. her.

The trip was uneventful – no traffic! The hotel was nice – my only regret was that we were right in Chinatown and I never got Chinese! This will definitely be remedied next year when we go back. Friday we were up & out early – popped by the castle for a cold drink before starting. Friday was a long day – we hit the Natural History museum and ate lunch there. The food was expensive, but tasty, and it helps out the museum. After that we split up – the hub headed for Georgetown to a pipe shop (thankfully, he uses it exactly once a year) and mom, the boy, and I went to the Holocaust museum. They have a section designed for children and school groups. My son had really wanted to go, but I don’t think that he was prepared. I tried, but he found it very disturbing. I told him that I thought we should be disturbed and that was a perfectly acceptable reaction. After that, we met back up with hub and walked around the various memorials – from the Washington to the Lincoln and everything in between. The weather was amazing – upper 60s and sunny. I really enjoyed just walking around.

After that we met Hub’s best high school chum & his family for dinner. We met halfway in a suburb and ate at what must be the lousiest Mexican restaurant ever. I hate eating bad food. But the company was good and he was glad I finally got to meet them.

Day 2 was the Native American Museum in the morning. Hub was really overwhelmed by that one. We spent a long time there – and a long time in the gift shop. We also ate lunch there – they had various stations (it was cafeteria style) for various regions. So there was a northwest Indian area, a South American, plains, etc etc. The food was good again – and even pricier! But we agreed it was worth it – we really wanted to try it. After that we once again split up – the boy & hub headed for Air & Space and mom and I did the 2 Asian art museums. We hit the road at 3:30 – ran into some traffic but had an uneventful trip home.

Yesterday was shopping. I also re-painted the area under the chair rail in the breakfast nook – I did a ragging technique. I am ready to make some changes around the house – I’m all about painting & re-arranging furniture – you know, cheap changes. And hey – what better time than the holiday rush?

Its sunny & 70s here this week. Exercise outside – with no mittens! Woo hoo!!!!

Go eat some turkey!

Getting ready to leave the office. Have a great holiday! I may not post until Monday since we're headed out of town. be safe!

It’s hard to work in a tiara

The department I work in is charged with re-engineering efforts. This year, if you booked more than $1M in saves, you got butler service from the leader of your choice. Yesterday was my day! I came in to a desk laden with lowfat Laughing Cow cheese, low sugar granola, sweet tarts (darn him!), and a lovely fruit salad. And an ice bucket full of diet Pepsi. I had a pillow, confetti, and a tiara and scepter (they light up!). Oh, and a (plastic toy) shield and hammer in case anyone gave me any trouble. And of course the bell to summon my boss if I needed anything. It was a fun day, but I gotta admit, I got very little done! Oh well, I guess this time of year motivation tanks – at least I’m not alone!

Things here are crazy. My little holiday meal isn’t so little after all – my MIL had no where else to go, so she’s coming. I invited the neighbors (hey, maybe they’ll talk to my MIL!), so there’s 7 of us for the holiday. I have to work tomorrow and hub is working overtime this week. I was up at 5 am this morning, but instead of walking I was busy baking a pumpkin (for the pie), finishing laundry, and getting dinner in the crockpot. We got back home so late Sunday that I did my grocery shopping yesterday after work! By the time I got gas, went by CostCo, went to the Farmer’s market (for the pumpkin), and did the shopping, I was wiped out. Then I went home and fixed dinner, worked on laundry, and helped the boy with homework. I fell into bed at 9, just beat.

I guess that’s a rather roundabout way of saying that exercise doesn’t even seem to be making the back burner this week. Sigh. Good news is I leave today at 3 (yay for coming in early!) and I should be done with errands and home by 5. That should give me time to have supper, do some housework & cooking, and not be quite so exhausted when I go to bed.

I plan to seriously use that hot tub in the hotel! ;-)

Paradigm shift

One thing I like/dislike about myself is the fact that in 48 hours, my mood can turn around entirely. In other words, I am feeling much better! :-)

Within the last week 2 co-workers have had heart attacks. One is only 41 years old. As a result, I sat down and had a heart to heart (again) with my husband about exercise. I told him that like many people, we lead busy lives. But that we had to make time for exercise now, because a heart attack can happen. And with my husband’s high blood pressure, he can’t afford to be lax. He agreed, and asked me to keep nagging him. We also decided that 12 (well, in 4 months) is old enough for the boy to be left in the house for an hour while we go to the gym. We got up at 4:45 this morning and went to the gym and lifted weights. We did it! Now to keep it going.

I took a candlelit tub last night while my mom helped the boy with homework. I don’t know what I’d do without that woman!!! I hope I never have to find out.

Eating has been on track, which makes me feel so much better physically.

We offered the boy a carrot yesterday morning – his boom box. The attitude has improved.

I moved my blog to the beta, and now I’m having a hard time posting comments on other blogs. If you can’t post a note, will you drop me an email and let me know? It’s supposed to be easier to edit the look of your blog, and god knows mine needs an update – badly!

I made a yum-o breakfast!

Apple crumble

3 apples, sliced into pyrex dish.

Mix ¼ c flour, ¼ c vanilla protein powder, ½ c oats, ½ c granola, ¼ c brown sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon. You can mix it together the night before in a baggie, so its ready to go. Then add ¼ oil (I used olive), ¼ c apple sauce, 1 tsp. vanilla and smoosh together. Put over apples & bake at 375 for 45 minutes. I topped it with vanilla yogurt.

It’s like dessert for breakfast!

That’s it – have a good one.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The oldies station my mom listens to is playing holiday music on the weekend. So there we are last Saturday, driving up to the lake. It’s 78 degrees and on comes Willie Nelson or somebody singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” We looked at each other, and then she reached over and turned it off. Christmas? Not so much. Today is going to be 75 and she is taking the boy & one of his friends out in the boat this afternoon. I hope the beautiful weather holds while we’re at the Smithsonian next week. Not this warm, just this pleasant.

I am feeling better today. Sometimes you just gotta rant it out! I ate healthy foods, I walked yesterday and today (with a bit of the old jogging even!), and my gym bag is in the car. I went to bed at 9. Physically I feel better. I hope the attitude will follow. My son seems to be a bit better. I think we’re getting pretty tired of each other right now.

I picked up a class schedule from the gym, and printed out the pool schedule. There is very little opportunity for lap swimming at my son’s school – but free is a nice price to pay for a pool membership!

I don’t want to make the mistake of getting disgusted and signing myself up for too much, and then do none of it, only to get frustrated. My goal for this week is to walk 4 times and lift twice. That’s it. Next week I’d like to make one class at the gym. The hotel has a pool, so I plan to take my bathing suit with us to DC.

The food frenzy has officially commenced around here. Friday we are doing a team building, which involves going to a local pizzeria and building pizzas, eating pizza, and taking home “plenty of leftovers.” Thursday is the holiday meal for our department. Co-workers are bringing in homebaked goods. Luckily I don’t sit near the treat table, nor must I walk by it. The meal and the pizza are going to be tougher. At least I can make my own – which means loads of veggies and light on the cheese.

I just want to not be so darn cranky.

I’m every woman

We go through life thinking that we are each unique – unlike any other human that has ever lived on this planet, confident that there will never again be another person quite like us. And I believe that this is true, and yet I was reminded this weekend that sometimes we are more alike than perhaps we care to admit.

I was having a conversation with my mom Friday afternoon. I was talking to her about how I’ve been feeling lately. Last winter I asked my doctor to put me on Welbutrin. It helped for a while, but now I’m not sure that’s the right thing for me. I don’t feel sad or depressed. Mostly I’m just pissed off. I spend a fair amount of time feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, unappreciated…. You get the idea. I hate feeling this way. And I have no idea how much of it is genuine, how much is circumstance, how much is hormonal… I don’t know where these feelings are coming from. Mom was talking about deciding to go back on her Celexa because she felt so irritable when she went off it. Yeah, irritable – there’s an understatement.

I have some legitimate gripes – my son has decided he wants to dress like some sort of hooligan – sporting 3 or 4 inches of boxers sprouting out over his jeans – jeans that seemed to be held up by a wing & a prayer. He looks like he has a load in his diapers. I might not object if his attitude weren’t so lousy, but really. There are times I just want to duct tape his mouth shut. I never thought I’d be a parent who felt this way – my son is very much loved and wanted. But I confess I don’t like him much these days.

I am working hard at work – I’m still in the first year of a new job so it is very demanding. I really enjoy my work, I have a great team, and I work for a company that I am proud to work for. Not only are we well respected, but I truly believe we try very hard to provide extraordinary service to our customers. But it still can be the source of some frustration.

Stuff at home is very busy – hub is working extra and I am picking up some of the slack. That means I don’t have time to work out or do for myself the way I’d like to.

So, like many women in my position, I’m tired & cranky, feel overworked and underappreciated, and the only place I can seem to find any solace is in a bowl of cheese. There has to be more to it than this, but I’m not sure what that would be, or how to find it.

Anybody got the buddha’s phone number??????

Just super

My knee is feeling MUCH better - just a bit sore, but I managed to walk this morning and at lunch with no trouble. Whew!

My lunch seemed so not interesting... I bought a slice of pizza from the caf for lunch. If I skip afternoon snack, that's not too terrible a trade in calories, although not nearly as healthy....

Blah blah blah is it Friday??? I am very excited about my quiet weekend at home.

I live in fear of having to wash my jeans - what if I can't get back in them?? What an awful feeling. But I am workign on it - really.

It is beautiful here and we are going out in the boat. Woot!

Now is the winter of our discontent

I slept on my knee funny and it is killing me! As in, limping, skipped my lunchtime walk… pain! Getting old ain’t for sissies….

My son has apparently gone from adorable youngster to surly teen at record breaking speed. He is grounded after getting into a tiff with my mom last night and marching out of the house. ARGH! This is doubly frustrating, because it is his fall break and he was supposed to be with grandma & grandpa, and now he’s skulking about at home. I swear, there are times I have no idea what that child is thinking…. Oh that’s right, he’s 11 – he’s not! Most of the time he’s fine, but then he gets into one of these moods and it nearly always ends in tears.

I am so not interested in exercising – watching a movie sounds like sooo much more fun. I know, I enjoy the exercise when I do it, but getting my butt in gear is feeling tough right now.

It’s fall – this means beautiful trees, cooler weather, and an insatiable craving for cheese! Saints preserve us!

The up side to rainy weather (other than the fact that I enjoy a nice rain) is that the clouds keep the heat in – this morning it was 48 when I got up to walk. Woo hoo!

I bet the folks at the gym have put my picture on a milk carton.

Baked cottage cheese (with a bit of mozzarella & egg white mixed in) over broccoli and topped with tomato sauce and a dash of parm isn’t a terrible way to eat cottage cheese. Lasagna its not, but its pretty good. Never let it be said I’m not stubborn! The stuff is so cheap and convenient that I am determined to find ways to eat it.

I am so excited about going to the Smithsonian next month. Some friends are meeting us for a museum & lunch, and then Friday night we are meeting up with a high school friend of the hub’s & his family. They haven’t seen each other in a while and I’ve never met them, so that’ll be nice.

600 Posts later…..

I blew past 500 posts, completely missed my 2 year “blogoversary” back in April, so I guess I’ll try to take a look back here at the 600 mark.

Weight: Up about 7 pounds. Ouch. My feelings of frustration with this area of my life continue unabated. In that regard, I can’t say I’ve achieved my goals.

Exercise: Still exercising regularly. The intensity, like my excitement, waxes and wanes. But this is a constant in my life.

Other stuff: I’m happier. I’m enjoying the things I do outside work more, I’m enjoying work more, and overall I feel like I’ve used my time well.

I still wanna get in those jeans though!

Hellewwww

I am feeling much better! I even got up and walked yesterday morning. I slept in this morning – I stayed up a wee bit late watching a scary movie. It was Halloween – I had to watch at least one! My girlfriend that was over this past weekend doesn’t like scary movies, so I didn’t get to see any – so I haven’t gotten my fill.

It is going to be 75 here today – I plan to enjoy it by taking a nice walk this afternoon! It will be cooling down to the mid 50s over the next few days – I think this is the last hoorah of the spring weather.

Hub was feeling cruddy yesterday – I left him my kim chi soup to eat, and he is feeling a little better today. I swear by the stuff. Just to make sure, we’re having chicken soup with matzo balls for dinner!

Things are going well. I am happy. Tomorrow I am going to the gym – I’m sure it won’t be much, but it’ll be something.

p.s. this is my 599th post. Can you believe that???

A pleasant nothingness

Well, my cold is doing quite well. I am feeling crappy. I had kim chi ji gae (a Korean stew) for lunch, which is better than chicken soup. I had chicken soup for dinner. My head is so stuffed up – ugh. I have done very little this weekend, which has been very nice. I had to drive up to Raleigh Saturday for a class – I have taken over as the NC regional treasurer for our medieval group. Then I drove home and a friend came over and stayed until this afternoon. We did some sewing – I didn’t get a whole lot done, but the weather was very nice and we had the back door open. Unfortunately, I have to go to work tomorrow since I have no sick time. Blech.

It wasn’t a bad weekend, I just hope I feel better soon.

Revenge of the creeping crud

I have a cold. Gah. At least it is a great weekend to laze about the house - plenty of scary movies to choose from!

Have a great weekend.

Kerflooey

Here is a recipe I made last night, which I found on a blog (but I don’t remember which – scale & perspective maybe?)

Smoked Sausage with Cabbage & Sweet Potatoes

1 can (13 3/4 oz) fat free chicken broth
6 oz dark beer
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp mustard seed
1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, diced
6 cups (firmly packed) cabbage, shredded (1 10 oz package of the pre-shredded stuff was perfect)
8 ounces turkey kielbasa (or other precooked smoked sausage), sliced and quartered
1 large apple, cored and diced

Add chicken broth and beer to a deep 12" covered skillet (I just used my dutch oven...) Stir in Dijon mustard
Add mustard seed and bring to a boil.
Add sweet potato and onion, reduce heat to medium
Cover and cook until potatoes are almost done (~5-7 minutes), stir occasionally
Add cabbage, cover and cook until potatoes are done and cabbage is tender-crisp (~10-15 minutes,) stir occasionally
Add sausage and apple, cook another 3 minutes.

I didn’t have a large apple, so I used 2 small ones – I thought that was a bit much. Actually, I might substitute carrots for the apple – the apple was a bit too sweet for my taste. But it was fast and very good.

I got up and walked this morning – it was 34. It is unseasonably cold here. I had a difficult time convincing myself to get out of bed!

Do you enjoy your evenings? I think part of the reason I go so nuts on the weekend is that my evenings aren’t very relaxing during the week. Cook, clean. Laundry, homework detail (which takes up loads of time) – maybe I get a bath & a few minutes to read. I can barely get out of bed now, so I don’t want to stay up later. I just think I’m not really winding down. Unfortunately, the hub can’t help with homework. Hmm. Must think about this one.

Work is busy – that’s mostly good but I am starting to get a bit frustrated. I am looking forward to my trip next month.

No shocking revelations today

My computer was DOA all day Friday, I was busy all weekend, and I was home with a sick child yesterday. Excuses, excuses.

I’m okay – I had a nice loss last week – all that weird blip up plus half a pound, so headed in the right direction. We had a lovely weekend and I used yesterday as an opportunity to give my house a thorough cleaning. A clean house makes me a happy woman.

Food is planned, exercise is planned, and this week promises to be far less hectic than last. Fall is just gorgeous around here right now – Saturday was sunny and comfortable – the kind of fall day when you want to spend the whole day outside. While we have several projects we want to accomplish this winter, I don’t feel frantic. While finances are tighter than I’d like (as if that’s new!), I’m not frantic about that either. I am using my Hilton rewards points to get one night (of 2) free next month up in DC. I’m looking forward to that.

Nothing earth shattering, just a relatively happy woman, trying to fit back into her old pants. :-)

What day is it????

I gotta say, this week is flying by! I've been working on pulling some info together in a sort of ad hoc way at the office, and it has been fun. I really enjoy "discovering" an issue, and digging around to find out about it. Maybe I'm nosy??? :-)

Food is going fine, but exercise has been lacking this week. Rain plus a bunch of stuff to do in the evenings has meant that I haven't been doing what I should. :-( Not so good. But I did exercise on Monday, so I've only skipped one day. Still, I need to combat the fluff from both avenues!

I'm going to keep this short - I need my afternoon snakc, then its off to the fabric store for fabric to make both my guys fighting tabards for this weekend. Fun! I plan to at least make it out for a walk this evening.

Have a good one!

Full of myself

I am wearing new jeans. I’m glad I got mad at my husband a couple of weeks ago and decided to go shopping and bought a pair of jeans. I hate these jeans because they are the not-so-new-now style where the waist is actually halfway down to my hips, which makes my flubber pooch out the top. I am glad to be wearing these pants because they are now officially the only pair of jeans I have that fit. This cannot go on, says the woman who sat around drinking beer and eating mini egg rolls with her hub while watching Star Trek last night.

I am a dork. A dork who is going to the gym this afternoon. A dork who ran this weekend. A dork who at least didn’t have dinner AND beer and egg rolls last night. They were lowfat baked egg rolls from my freezer and not deep fried. So maybe it wasn’t a huge disaster – just a regular sized disaster. Time for her royal dorkiness to eat her berries and cottage cheese. Caio!