Deep thoughts

I'm fine. T seems committed to losing weight, so I am glad. We're doing fine. I'm feeling bummed today - my son had a big fight with his girlfriend and I know how much that sucks. I feel badly for him. I just love him and want him to be happy. Relationships are hard, I think things do get easier with age though. He's heading into his final year of college, so he's an adult but not completely independent, but I think she expects him to be, which isn't really fair because she wasn't when she was in college. Whatever.

Anyway, blah.

Here's a picture in case you need any encouragement today.

Take care.

The first step is the hardest

I find that getting started is always the hardest part of anything, and I can be an expert procrastinator! I have a presentation due at the end of the day, and I can't get a handle on how to start! Ugh! When I get this way, I find the easiest thing is to just jump in somewhere, swim around, and then the task will begin to flow.

I decided I was determined to lose weight this time, even if I wasn't always motivated! Instead of doing everything perfectly, I decided to focus on the one most important thing: my food. The gym is still hit or miss, but I'm doing a good job of getting in my steps and sticking to the food plan. Making the decision to not dine out this month has made for some meals that were scrounging in the fridge, but were healthier (and cheaper!) than anything I would have gotten in a restaurant.

One thing I didn't consider was our trip to Georgia to see my great aunt. We will be eating on the road. My plan is to make the smartest choices I can and call it good. I'll keep you posted.

Okay, I better get back to work! Take care!

Tuesday

So my son (who is a mechanic) thinks it may be the computer on mom's car - which is pricey. :-( They haven't called her to tell her anything yet. Luckily she was able to borrow a car from a friend. Fingers crossed!

I had a class at the VA this morning - "Finesse your Food". We talked about building a healthy plate and snacking. It was pretty good. Only 2 more classes! I have enjoyed doing this, but I'm looking forward to moving on as well.

My project at home is finishing the curtains for our bedroom. This has been on the back burner forever! Yesterday I hemmed a pair of pants to take to my great aunt when we go to Georgia this weekend, and since I had the sewing stuff out I decided to tackle the thing I wanted done the most! Behind this I have a couple of minor mending projects, and then I can start on some medieval costume projects for this summer. This is going to take some time - there are curtains (like where the sheers would be) and then there are decorative curtains that flank the window, but don't cover it completely. One window is now totally done. The other one I need to hem the flanking curtains and finish making the regular ones. It felt good to make progress on that.

Take care!

Monday not so funday

No sooner than my mom got her car back from having a new starter put in at her regular place, than she ran an errand and not only would it not start, but the horn wouldn't stop going off! So it looks like they did a repair she didn't need and they told her she needed to take it to the dealer. :-( I picked her up - how frustrating!!

What else? Painting went fine this weekend - faster than I thought it would but also oh so much harder!! We were bone tired Saturday night and came hoe and took a nap Sunday!  But we got the 2 bedrooms and hallway done that I was hoping, so at least we're on track.

I hope you have a terrific week!

Another milestone

Today I hit 15 pounds gone.My clothes feel better, I feel less bloated, but honestly I can't tell a huge difference yet. In 5 more pounds I am going to have T take another set of photos - maybe I can see the difference in the photos even if I can't see it in the mirror.

Last night I helped my ex MIL get her bills all set up online and paid for the month. Except cable - she is going to call them today and see if they will negotiate if she threatens to cancel. Mom and T went and bought paint.  Tomorrow we are headed to her place to get started. Wish us luck!

I don't have too much to say. I can't see the changes yet (although I definitely feel better), so I am using the scale. I wish I'd taken measurements. Maybe we will do that this weekend.

I hope your weekend is a good one!

Change of plans

T told me he wanted to take a break from the gym. In addition to cutting his carbs, he has virtually eliminated sodas and caffeine. He's tired and feeling sluggish - add to that the hectic schedule with painting my mom's house this month and we agreed it was better to wait and start lifting weights next month.

Having said that, I am ready! So I plan to set up a dumbbell routine for myself to use until he is ready. That way I will still be lifting weights, but I need a spotter for the barbell routine. I will most likely start doing a short weight training routine prior to cardio when I go at lunchtime Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Last night I was feeling very restless. I think part of it is that we are watching "Lawrence of Arabia" - it's one of T's favorite movies and I've never seen it, so we rented it from Netflix. It's not bad, but it won't be a favorite and it's not really drawing me in. I wanted to eat (although I wasn't hungry). I limited myself to half an ounce of pork rinds. It's funny - when I was a kid we thought of those as a kind of "trashy", unhealthy snack!! Now they are commonly listed on low carb diets as a replacement for chips! LOL. Times have changed!

Anyway, things are going fine.

Take care.

Better

Yesterday went better. Breakfast worked fine, we ate our lunch and snacks (T actually brought home his Babybel cheeses), followed the diet, and ended the day by each having a half a gin and (diet) tonic! Lol. Yes, one shot of gin or vodka or one ultra light beer is permitted.

At lunch I went with my MIL to set her up for online banking, so I can help her pay her bills. She's been paying them by the "what are they threatening to turn off this month?" method. No bueno. So we got that taken care of.

We did round 1 of Lowe's with my mom, but are going back tomorrow. Tonight and Friday are weight training in the evening and cardio at lunch. We both have been pretty sore - we've made some significant increases on the weights we are lifting, so we are adding a few minutes in the hot tub, sauna, or steam room onto the end of our weight workout.

The teacher T works with is retiring at the end of the year - it was a surprise. So he's not sure if he wants to stay on there or look for another position somewhere else. Oh, and his job for the summer may have fallen through. :-(  Life!

In any case, things are going pretty well in our little corner of the world.

Take care.

Lessons learned

Here's a good one for today:

So yesterday.....  First off, on the list of foods (and let me tell you, this isn't the easiest to understand format she has) there is a category that says "extras (You may choose one of these foods with 2 meals).  That category contains the complex carbs (black beans, brown rice, whole grain wrap). Okay, this is a low carb diet - makes sense! And this isn't wacky or outrageous or anything.

So for breakfast T has a protein shake with yogurt and some fruit. not bad. I had a yogurt bowl with a VERY little bit of fruit (my frozen fruit was freezer burned and full of ice - yuck!). His breakfast was a little small but OK, mine was small. Then I only packed him 1 protein snack instead of 2. The upshot was we were both pretty miserable all day and hangry by dinner.  He stopped for a rotisserie chicken - we were so tired that's all we ate. So day 1 wasn't exactly a success.

Today I followed the guidelines of 2 protein servings (which meant 2 eggs, 1 slice of bacon, 1 ounce of cheese) in a low carb whole grain wrap. I'm working at home today, but I made sure to  pack a good lunch and 2 protein snacks plus a fruit in T's lunchbox.

Today is a rest day from the gym because we are going to mom's to help her buy the painting supplies for painting her house, so hopefully today will be a better day. We're still figuring this thing out, I figure we'll get into a groove and it'll be a lot easier.

Have a great day!

Time flies when the weather is great!

I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was really, really awesome! It was a good mix of accomplishing a lot around the house, and spending time with the family. T and I even took a nap together for half an hour yesterday!! It was lovely.

The weather was fantastic so we opened up the house to air it out. Unfortunately, T's allergies are in full swing so he is kinda miserable right now. :-( 

Dinner with his family was really nice - I made good choices (salmon, salad, spinach) and we had a great time. It's prom season so it was fun to see the outfits!

Yesterday we went to the gym and lifted weights - I gotta tell you, we're getting to the point that it is getting challenging for sure! I only lifted weights once last week, but I did HIIT 3 times - so a definite improvement!

I lost weight over the weekend - a nice reward for staying mindful.

Take care!

Creating inefficiencies

Happy Friday!!

Down 1.6 pounds from last week, now back to moving solidly in the right direction!

T and I had already committed to really tightening back down on our food, this morning we set a goal for May: no eating out. Yes, that's a challenge!! But not only will it save us calories and help us stay on track, it will also help us save money for our vacation at the end of summer.

Why the title? Now that I have a Fitbit, I try to be inefficient as I move around, creating more steps for myself rather than fewer!

I wanted to share this post on emotional eating as it really resonated with me: Cravings and Deprivation

We are getting together (and going out to eat) with my in-laws Saturday to celebrate my MIL's birthday. I have some mending to do, T may do some yard work, but I am hoping for a quiet weekend at home with my love and my fur babies.

Have a great weekend!

What happened to yesterday???

Yesterday was a busy day at work. I lost track of time and realized this morning that I never posted! Things are/were fine. I think spring may actually be here and I am so grateful. I am looking forward to evening walks with my husband and dogs.

We've been doing ... okay ... with our eating. My loss has slowed and T's has stalled. We aren't satisfied with that so we are sitting down this weekend and creating an even lower carb meal plan. They've been creeping back in, like weeds in a garden.

Other than dinner with his family Saturday night to celebrate my MIL's birthday, our plan for the weekend is to run the last of the guest room stuff to Goodwill. I have some mending to do, and T may do some yard work. May is dedicated to getting mom's house painted to get it on the market, so it's going to be busy!

Take care!

Interesting POV

I had another class at the VA today - this one was "Fitness for Life". He talked about 3 aspects of physical activity: cardio, resistance training, and lifestyle. I hadn't thought of it that way! Anyway, the instructor talked about the importance of creating a physically active lifestyle and that, even without "exercise", an active lifestyle will carry you a long way toward weight loss and being healthy.

I do things like walk with a colleague, or walk the dogs - I don't count those as "intentional exercise", but today was a good reminder that those habits contribute to our overall health!

Even though the loss feels SO SLOW, it's still happening!

Take care.

Home again, home again

I had a nice weekend. Uneventful trip home, although Mother Nature did gift me with my period and a fever blister (gee, thanks! NOT).

I am home, we celebrated my birthday. T gave me a FitBit, so that's cool! I lost a pound in Vegas and didn't gain over the weekend, so that's pretty good.

Onward and downward!

"I needed a reminder from a friend not too long ago that whenever I think I'm not good enough, I need to tell that voice to shut up and keep moving forward. Whatever it is that is holding you back from greatness- anxiety, depression, self doubt, jealousy, laziness, etc....make it your goal to work to overcome them. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it. Find the right people to support you, and you can do great things. ~Tony"

Take care.

Not a bad day

This morning after breakfast I figured out the car (with my son's help) - you had to have your foot on the brake to start the car. I drove up the strip, found the car rental return, gassed up car (it held $3) and got a diet pepsi for the morning. I hung out & read by the pool, managed a short nap, and we headed out at 11 for out meeting.

So our meeting (3 hours) went well. I was back in the hotel by 2:30. Right now I'm watching "Swamp People" and trying to decide whether I a calling room service or going down to eat. I plan to take a bath, pack, and go to bed early.

Once I figured out the car I was feeling better - honestly I was feeling sorry for myself, and feeling dumb (which I hate). This trip hasn't been great - it certainly would have been a lot more fun with company, but it hasn't been and and going to the meeting was very useful for me, and I think I was able to make some good contributions. I was the only person from the IT department there, and there were certain items they really needed someone with some knowledge to address.

Have a good evening.

Early morning pity party

I'm in Vegas, on my birthday, on business.

• Dinner was mediocre - I didn't even finish it.
• I can't figure out how to start my rental car. Seriously - they gave it to me running. I read the owners manual. Mystery.
• Missed getting to the Neon Museum (see points 1 and 2).
• Shower was tepid.
• A hot shower is especially nice when you wake up at 3 AM.

Meeting is today at 11:30 - lunch and then meet for ???? an unknown period of time. My plan is to order room service and go to bed early!

Thanks for letting me grump. I love to travel - I just prefer it be for vacation and not business! Luckily I don't travel much for business.

Let's make it a good day!

So far so good

Great idea on the oatmeal Beth! I had breakfast at home, a snack in the car, bought a salad & water to carry on the plane for lunch, and had nuts for afternoon snack. Now my problem is we have 6:45 dinner reservations - which is 9:45 EST and I am really really hungry. I think I need to grab a snack.

Take care.

You can have it all, just not all the time!

Hey there!  I am nervous about my trip. I feel ridiculous even saying that, but I am nervous about food. 

There are 2 issues:

• Airport food. I am arriving at the airport tomorrow around 9:30 and my flight leaves at 11:30. My best bet is to buy something to carry onto the plane - I don't want to depend on airline food! I am hopeful that I can buy a salad and a bottle of water - otherwise a sandwich and remove half the bread. I bought some 100 calorie packs on raw nuts and I plan to have a couple in my purse.

• Vegas food. Is the company team eating together Wednesday? Lunch Thursday is a business deal. My flight leaves at 6:30 AM Friday - I'll need a eat a little something before I leave the hotel and then hope I can find something.

There is plenty of food available - my concerns are around limited choices/ an overabundance and making poor choices. I need to remind myself that no one controls what I put in my mouth ... except ME!

Coffee????

I am feeling a little blurry this morning.

I woke up at 4:30, and caved and got up at 5. I went to bed early so I think I had had enough sleep! I am a little groggy though - getting off to a slow start today.

It was a nice weekend, but too busy! (Don't I always say that????).

Have a good day!

Done, for now. And the not so feral kitty!

I am proclaiming the guest room "done" - for now. There are still a few things that need to be gone through, but the progress is HUGE!

I don't think that cat was ever feral. She seems to be healing well, has discovered how to go out the dog door, and seems to have come to an accord with the dogs. She isn't so hissy and they aren't running, so I think a meeting of the minds happened while we were out & about yesterday.

Have a good rest of the weekend!

Quiet evening

So this happened last night. Susie was all happy, and the cat jumped up and tried to thug her into getting off the sofa. I swear that cat could get a job as a mob enforcer.

T went to Toastmasters, so I made supper, cleaned the kitchen, and hung out with the animals. Other than having too many baked chicken nuggets for my after dinner snack (apparently I am five years old), it was an uneventful evening. I was a bit on the tired side so skipped any effort to do more organizing in the guest room. Sometimes you just need an evening to veg.

My son is in town to help my mom move some of her stuff, so we are headed to her place tonight for supper. Today has been a good day.

Take care.

Can you relate? And - our triumphant return!! :-)

I was reading an article on MSN and at the bottom they had one of their slideshows - this one about some of the gals in the upcoming People magazine "half their size" edition. Here's a brief quote about one lady (Megan): "she was drinking five or more cans of soda a day, eating large quantities of food, and stopping at the drive-thru daily."

I can't even relate to that. I mean, being overweight yes, but those habits? I'm not judging this person or their lifestyle. AT ALL. And I know a lot of people find these stories inspirational - in a way I do too. Obviously I eat too much or I wouldn't be overweight, but I've never been a soda addict or eaten fast food on even a regular basis. I view these stories the way I see the contestants on "The Biggest Loser" - extreme examples. And good on them for losing the weight, but I think it also feeds into a false narrative that somehow this is what all or most overweight people are doing, when I think that's not true. I think a lot of us make a handful of poor choices consistently, and that's enough to add up. But I could be totally off base!

Last night we lifted weights for the first time in FOREVER. The good news is that neither of us decreased on any of our weights for the exercises, and we were able to complete the scheduled workout! My back was stiff at the end and T was sore this morning, but we did it! And at lunch today I went to Anytime for a cardio workout (I went Monday as well).

One thing I've been slacking on is my veggie consumption. I knew I wanted to do something about that so I bought several cans of these:

I chose low cal varieties (squash, okra and tomatoes (no corn) etc). I'm adding a half can into my lunch box. Yes they have salt added, but they are an easy way to get back into the habit of eating vegetables. I've been in a rut and this is giving me a break while I look for new vegetable ideas. I haven't met many vegetables I don't like (except fennel. And arugula.), so I have a good variety to choose from, I'd just gotten in the habit of buying the same ones and preparing them in the same old way. So I have some homework.

Also, I hate to jinx it, but spring may actually be here! (shhh).

Take care.

Back in the saddle (gym) again

Back from vacation, back to routine. This week is what we call a transition week: we are getting back to our gym routine. And while our eating isn't bad, it's a little bit hodge podge in that we are using up leftovers and stuff from the freezer since our planning, shopping, and prepping last week weren't extensive.

For a number of reasons I'm not prepared to open up about here, we both have been stressed and unfocused. But we have a course of action for dealing with what we can and letting the rest roll off our backs. We're ok, our pets are ok, our families are ok.

After being off last week, I was also back at my class at the VA. This week was about eating out. Nothing earth shattering - just some good reminders. Given that next week I have 2 days of flying and a day and a half in Las Vegas it was certainly a timely class!

Take care.

embrace the grind

It's been a tough week or so, not gonna lie. Leaving these things here to help keep me focused.

"What I'm getting is more valuable than what I'm giving up."

Off to the beach

Catch you on the flip side!

Quick update

Made some progress in the guest room today - still stuff to sort through, put away, and donate, but SO much better you guys!

Have a nice Easter if that is a holiday you celebrate!

Kitty update

Our county has no services for catching/ fixing feral cats. The waiting list if Guilford county is 2 months long. I called "Planned Pethood". We got her fixed, rabies shot, pain meds for $100. So not as cheap as the low cost places, but cheaper than the vet.

She is out of surgery and on her way home now. She seems to be doing fine.

I've been here before

Down 10 pounds. Life is getting busy. My anxiety level is increasing. This has been a formula for diving back into the food in the past. I am not motivated, but I am determined.

I am going to do some self care, set some small but manageable goals for the evening, and not let my mind talk myself out of continued success.

Sometimes I seem to sabotage myself for no reason - not today, brain, not today.

Take care.

Back in the gym again

I went to the gym yesterday for a HIIT session.

Today was my 6th class (of 12) at the VA. I appreciate the support. Our new mattress was delivered today - yay! We now have a bed in our guest room!!

The roofer is coming tonight - wish us luck.

Take care.

Ka-ching kind of weekend

Got home Friday, Susie had destroyed the dog door. Not just the flap, but the frame as well. Since it was supposed to SNOW Friday night, we opted to close the storm door so air wouldn't come in the gaping hole in the door. Apparently in the middle of the night Susie needing to go out but could not, and instead left a crop circle of diarrhea on the den rug.

So,

• New dog door plus fill dirt for the holes in the yard she regularly creates - $100
• Steam cleaner rental plus dog enzyme de-stank solution $60
• Dog medicine from vet $100
• Lunch at Costco food court because I was starving and exhausted - $3
• Going to see "Black Panther" because I deserved it, plus 2 sodas and a small popcorn - $18

Do you see the theme here? Pets are expensive, especially when they misbehave! Lol

It was not a great weekend. I put too much on myself, creating a lot of (self created) anxiety, which led to poor choices. Thankfully my poor choices these days are not nearly as bad as my poor choices of yesteryear. Up a half pound and the end of the weekend from Friday's weigh in.

I think it was the leaky porch roof that pushed me over the edge. I know it pushed T over the edge. Le sigh.

• New porch roof - $???

Glacial pace, but in the right direction

Well, I lost a little over a pound this week! I'm not winning any speed records, OTOH I don't feel deprived or anxious about what I am eating.

Another busy weekend getting the guest room up to snuff. I will be so glad to have that room looking nice and organized!

So, there is this feral cat in our neighborhood.

(So wild.)

My husband is crazy about her and she is a real sweetie. We want to get her fixed, but there is a pretty long waiting list. Our vet will do it but of course she'll need vaccinations etc., so it'll be like $350. Not sure what to do - there are some clinics around but since the wait is long we're afraid she will end up pregnant. :-( Not sure what to do.

I hope you have a nice weekend!

Take care.

An actual recap

Yes, we had snow yesterday. We took advantage of being home to go to the Industries for the Blind (IFB) mattress store and order a new mattress & box springs.

Progress in the guest room continues. I have 2 rubbermaids of clothes to be donated as well as a few things simply pitched. We are setting up the bed frame this weekend, so it is beginning to look like a real room and not just a storage facility! Lol

I am going to be out of town on a business trip for my birthday, so we are definitely planning to head to the beach during T's spring break for a long weekend to celebrate early. Not optimal, but it's pretty important that I go along to visit this client.

Our weather is crazy.

Take care.

A milestone crossed

10.4 pounds gone.

First 10 pound mark hit!

I don't know if it's visible, but I can definitely feel it!

Woo hoo!

What happened to yesterday?

Well hello there.

Work was bananas yesterday and I just never posted. Things are fine.

We made this for dinner Saturday: Lime Shrimp Avocado Salad. It is amazing!! Aldi had avocados for 38 cents so I stocked up - I love avocado. It's the first time I've ever seen T go back for seconds on salad! Lol.

Today I had the 5th "Move It!" class at the VA - this one identifying barriers to weight loss and problem solving.  It wasn't stuff I hadn't heard before - but having it reinforced was very valuable. And we had some really good interaction today.

Part of the reason I am enjoying these classes is because I feel more comfortable (for whatever reason) at the VA than I have with other groups in the past. And it is teaching me something that I probably knew, but hadn't really ever thought about: it NEVER gets easier to lose weight! Sure you may say "when work is less hectic" or "when the kids are older" but then something else comes up (doesn't it always?)! Not to mention the simple fact that the older you are, the more challenging it may become or you may have to contend with medical conditions you don't have now.

I see vets younger than me, and a lot older than me. One gal has 3 joint replacements! Most have some sort of limiting health condition, but there they are: trying to improve their health. And I admire their tenacity so much - it is inspiring. It helps me put a stop to the BS excuses and whining.

Can't remember if I shared this. Here's what I have on my kitchen board right now to help keep me mindful every day:

Take care!

Crazy Friday

We both had that look on our face this morning when we realized the alarm hadn't gone off! D'OH!!!

I had a class this morning and T had work. We planned to get up at 5:45 - I looked at the clock at 7:12 and launched myself out of bed. Then it was run around like mad for 15 minutes and hit the road. He was half an hour late - I squeaked into my class.

Class this morning was "Go good fat" - the importance of eating healthy fat but limiting bad fats. The Friday group is very chatty - we did not get through the material. But I got up and went, and that helped reinforce my decision to simply move on from yesterday's Mexican food incident.

I grabbed something on the way out the door, along with a protein shake and a bottle of water.

This weekend is operation "spare room rescue." It is a disaster in there right now. Yeah, really bad - we keep the door closed.

I am grateful that I am not the only one trying to lose weight - thanks for reading and sharing!

What the heck????

Every once in a while, you are going along, and all of a sudden you realize you just fell flat on your face.

Today I went out for lunch. (Why? I had a good lunch packed.) I made a poor choice. (Why? It's a menu I have successfully navigated in the past.) And you look back and wonder why a pod person took over for that 1 hour span of time. I don't know why and I still don't know why.

So I logged it into Spark People and let it go. I have to move on from here, having something like 300 calories left for the day. I will do the best I can, but I won't "punish" myself - I'll eat a normal, healthy dinner and just go on. Will the scale be up tomorrow? Probably.

I can't dwell on it or I will end up pouring out the rest of the proverbial gallon on top of the spilled milk. :-(

About that office....

I finally made it into work today! I've worked at home the last 2 days, and while I am grateful for the flexibility, I really enjoy being in the office with my colleagues.

The snow is gone and hopefully we are back to early spring temperatures. T has a meeting this evening and then a school concert tomorrow (the elementary school where he works is having a choral show and he is playing music to go along.) So busy evenings this week. This weekend we are going to dig in and start cleaning/ purging/ organizing the guest room. And actually buy a bed! Yay! A long overdue upgrade. I can't wait to see the final result.

Food & exercise seem to be on course.

Oh, and to add to what I said yesterday, if you have time pop over and read this great post on emotional eating: https://fitbottomedeats.com/2018/03/the-9-most-common-reasons-we-emotionally-eat/

Good stuff.

Take care.

Tuesday

No gym yesterday - the roads were pretty dodgy and it snowed most of the day. Luckily things are much better today. I am still at home though since Spectrum is supposed to come out and take a look at our internet - it keeps dropping in and out. Last time they came, they said it was squirrels chewing on the line. So not sure what (if anything) will be done. One of the down sides of living in a small town - virtually 0 internet provider choice.

This is the book I got the beef bourguignon recipe out of. I like this book because it is the convenience of the crock pot but the recipes are a little more sophisticated than your typical "Better Homes and Garden" variety crock pot recipes. I have a love/ hate relationship with cooking blogs. I get tired of scrolling through all the pictures and the cutesy story just to find a coleslaw recipe. If I see a link that sounds good I will check it out, but I don't follow any cooking blogs.

I'd like to piggyback on a thought in one of Karen's most recent posts:

Having a relationship with food. Food is an inanimate object. I think the problem is that for many of us that are overweight, we've used food in ways that aren't healthy. Food has "been there" for me when people who loved me (like my spouse) were emotionally unavailable. Food filled a void for me. That's not the fault of food (how can an inanimate object be at fault??) - I used it in an inappropriate way. Eating can (and I think should) be an enjoyable process. It can be a wonderful time to come together and enjoy companionship and nourishment. But at the end of the day, food is simply a tool to care for my body. It's up to me to choose the best tools!

Tonight's dinner is in the crockpot (again) - a pork tamale casserole. After this we will have lunch leftovers, leftovers to put in the freezer for when we need a quick meal, and a day or two to cruise on leftovers. We both enjoy cooking, but time is limited during the week!

Take care!

Snowy Monday

Good morning!  All the schools around here are closed. I work up in the foothills near the VA line, so it was snowing up there about an hour before it started here. School is out so we are both home today, although I am working. The up side of this is we can get some chores done! (Well, I can supervise! lol) :-)

I got on the scale this morning and was down 2.4 pounds from Friday, which tells me 1) Friday's weigh in was inflated for some reason and 2) my eating was on track this weekend. The nice thing about weighing daily is that the bump ups aren't bothering me like they would if I only checked in once a week. I think it's very helpful.

Yesterday I got a lot of food prep accomplished. T is having crustless mini quiches for breakfast and I am having guacamole egg salad. (It is yummy!).  Tonight's dinner is beef bourguignon in the crock pot and sauteed green beans.

Weather permitting we are going to head to the gym at lunchtime - it's coming down pretty hard so it depends on how the roads are. I can always bundle up and take the dogs for a walk.

Have a good day!

Thoughts for Saturday

Still coughing

Our office sounds a bit like a TB ward. No one is sick any more, but we all seem to have nagging coughs.

I'm up a pound this week - given that I haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks but haven't really scaled back my eating, I'm okay. I just need to keep tracking and keep doing what has been working and not let this derail me.

Nothing big planned for the weekend. T is playing a concert tomorrow night (he is in a Pops concert band). Other than that just the usual plus this is the month we are doing some spring cleaning and organizing around the house. The weather is supposed to be kind of blah so that's a good thing I guess.

Take care.

Birthday fun

We had a lovely visit with the family last night. My son requested a German meal, and I of course complied (birthday person picks the meal!). We had a lovely visit and an all around nice meal. Guess what my mom found in her attic?

Proof that I was always a geek! LOL

Not sure where they will reside permanently. Maybe my office? China hutch? TBD. Anyway, I thought that was a pretty cute find.

Today is back to normal - normal food, normal routine. I am hoping for a return to the gym this weekend. I want to be sure this flu is long gone before I start back.

Take care.

Slowly on the mend

Hopefully this blog will soon return to it's regular format. For now I am still not 100%, but I tried Mucinex last night and that seemed to help a lot - I slept through the night with virtually no coughing.

My son and his girlfriend are up from Wilmington for his spring break. They are helping my mom do a bunch of stuff around her house to get it ready to go on the market. She has lived there since 1971, so there is a LOT of stuff tucked away in the attic and barn. She rented a dumpster. :-O  Anyway, the family is coming over tonight - they both have February birthdays so we are doing a joint celebration this evening.

I am working at home today, thankfully it's a slow day. I have a few things to do to pick up the house and prep for the meal, but it should be an easy day.

Take care.

Groundhog day

Still sick, still at work, still not back to the gym.

I have woken up the past 2 mornings with my eyes stuck shut from gloop. My cough is terrible - last night I slept upright on the sofa. And my ear hurts - all of which points to a bunch of sinus congestion. I think I'm going to go back to the doctor tomorrow - I'm done with the Tamiflu and I want to see if they can give me/ recommend a good decongestant so I can get this stuff to pack its bags and move along.

Ugh.  Take care of yourselves, there's a lot of yuck going around.

Back at work, still not at the gym

Hello there. I am on the mend, but I am still feeling run down, so I opted to not return to the gym today. But as I am no longer contagious, I am back at the office.

I need a nap.

Take care.

Make mine a virgin

Just quickly checking in. I am on the mend and will be back at work tomorrow, but I am still coughing. I plan to go to the gym tomorrow, but it really depends on how I feel.

My weight has bounced just a tiny bit since Friday (up 0.2 pounds), so if I don't get back to the gym then my plan is to make my evening cocktail a virgin one until I am back at the gym. That's an easy way to cut some non nutritive calories, and as weird as it sounds, with a good lime diet tonic water is yummy.

Taking a break from food prep, but I need to get back in the kitchen!

Take care.

An update and a few stats

First off, I have the flu. I had no symptoms, but the PA decided to do the test anyway and yep, it came back positive for type A flu. Luckily I went ahead and went to the doctor, and luckily she tested me without symptoms - I got the tamiflu, cough syrup, and orders to stay home. So if you aren't feeling well, please go to the doctor and please get tested for the flu! Apparently a LOT of people are showing up asymptomatic, which is one reason this is spreading so badly.

I climbed on the scale this morning - I lost 2.8 pounds this week, for a total of 8.4 pounds since I seriously started back 7 weeks ago. Yay! One thing I'm doing differently this time is keeping my evening snacks low carb - nuts, cheese, a protein shake if I want something sweet.

Unfortunately I have not gone back to the gym this week, that just hasn't been possible with the way I am feeling. Hopefully next week.

We had big plans to get some stuff done around the house this weekend, but T has a sinus infection (he went to the doctor yesterday as well), so we'll see. I'm still hopeful that if we take it easy today we can get some things done.

Take care and have an awesome weekend!

Sick day

Well, I am working from home. I woke up feeling like I'd gargled glass all night and that someone had stuck an ice pick in my right ear. Chances are good it's just a cold and it's because my sinuses are chock full of yuck, but since strep is one of the many things going around and my husband works in a petri dish elementary school, I decided going to the doctor would be prudent. I have an appointment at the local urgent care this afternoon.

I have been on conference calls all morning, I sound like Barry White. Actually, T said I sounded like a 1940s lounge singer. LOL

Needless to say, gym isn't happening until I am on the mend. I am hoping this is the low point.

Be well!

All the excitement of drying paint

Today is my son's birthday. I am so proud of him - he's doing well in school, figuring out his own course in life. If you give kids the freedom to find their own way, it's so fun to watch how they grow and develop into their own unique selves.There have been some tough stages, but I've always loved him and liked him nearly all the time too! :-)

Not really anything to report here. We are both sick - I think with colds. Sore throat, coughing, drippy nose. Yuck.

The roofer is at the house now, hopefully fixing the gutter on the shed so we can spend this weekend spring cleaning and reorganizing our storage shed. Lifestyles of the rich and famous around here, I tell you.

I went out for Mexican for lunch today - 3 crunchy chicken tacos and a few chips. It was yummy.

We haven't gone to see "Black Panther" yet - hopefully this weekend. I discovered today that I have overpaid on health insurance the last 2 paychecks - they didn't take T off my insurance. I am getting a refund of $625 next paycheck - about enough to pay the taxes. Woot!

It's a rainy, yucky day here. Luckily the weekend weather should be good for our shed project.

Take care.

My slip didn't slide

One thing I didn't mention in my last post was that last Thursday when we discovered the leak, T got VERY upset - just feeling like so many things have gone wrong in this house. His stress + my stress = an overeating episode. The good thing was that I had a slip, but I didn't continue to slide. I got back up and got right back on plan.

Today was my third class at the VA - this one was a fitness class and he talked about the importance of core strength, and gave us exercises (and showed video how to guides). I can easily add a couple of things onto my weight training - win!

Food this week includes 3 ingredient protein pancakes for breakfast (cottage cheese, egg whites, oats), plus chickpea salad for lunch, and dinner vary as usual.

Take care.

More rested

Good morning!

Despite a busy weekend I am feeling more rested today. The scale continues to move slowly but steadily downward, so that is encouraging. I'm not doing anything I can't do for the rest of my life, so that's encouraging as well.

We have a leak in our storage shed - we think it's from the gutter system being damaged. No idea when/ how that happened. Maybe when they installed the new roof? In any case, I've called the roofer and asked if they can come and take a look. In the interim a bunch of stuff is in the carport side (visible from the street), so mom is going to bring my son's car to park there so the stuff is blocked. So I can't park there. It's always something!

The breakfast Saturday was a big success, unfortunately T was feeling lousy. We headed out early, went home, and he slept for 4 hours. Then went to bed at 8 and slept another 12. Not sure what he's trying to fight off, but there's a lot of nasty bugs going around. We are both back in the office and back to reality today!

It's supposed to be a kinda rainy, yucky week here. I hope they can get the roof fixed when they come out Wednesday. I'm going to look for some of that foam that expands to seal gaps as well, hopefully that will help!

Last week I made soup and the weather was gorgeous so I didn't want to eat it, but this week is perfect soup weather. Funnily enough I made lentil soup for dinner tonight. LOL

Take care.

Crazy Week

This is a crazy week.

1) My boss is out unexpectedly this week and most of next. I feel a bit like the deer in the headlights, but I'm trying my best to get it done.

2) I am doing Saturday breakfast at an event this weekend, so I'm shopping, prepping, planning, & packing to go out of town. I am tired.

I am feeling run down.

Take care.

Sloooooooooow Motion

Hello. Scale crept down another 0.4 pounds today. I feel like the tortoise, it's frustrating. OTOH, I am trying to make gradual, sustainable changes. All or nothing, cold turkey, etc. are not effective methods for me. I will get there, I just need to make changes over a period of time rather than all at once.

The weekend was nice. I had yesterday off so I went into the den and knocked out a project I've been wanting to do forever - moving the DVDs off a bookshelf and into a case. We can move/ eliminate that shelf - freeing up space. Yay! I am trying to focus on organizing and downsizing. While I was at it, I got rid of a box of DVDs that we either had duplicates or I didn't feel the need to keep them. So that's a win as well!

Today's class was about turning negative self talk into positive, identifying, addressing, and avoiding negative thought patterns (all or nothing thinking, rationalizing poor choices, etc.). It was a pretty good class.

It's Tuesday and I'm down nearly a pound from Friday - stay the course, it's slow, but steady.

Take care.

This may be a first

I have today off, so it's been a hectic, but fun (and somewhat productive day!) Guess who ended the weekend at a lower weight, as opposed to having to spend half the work week trying to get off the weekend weight? I was down 0.4 pounds this morning.

Maybe there is something to this weighing every day thing!

Take care.

Danger Zone

We have a new interim GM and she is hosting a pizza lunch meet and greet. Going is sorta mandatory, but I really don't want to eat the pizza.  (I love pizza, but due to the amount of calorie and carb potential, I prefer to make it at home). I brought my soup, so I plan to go across town and then have my lunch I packed.

I ended the week down a pound. I feel like I'm on a slow and steady track, and what I am doing is something I can do for always. The hard part is that I feel anxiety sometimes in the evening - it's like that feeling you have when you are waiting by the phone for some piece of news. Anxious is the best way to describe it. It's very frustrating and I'm not sure why I feel that way. I'm hoping that as I see that 1) what I'm doing is working and that 2) I have created a doable plan that the feeling will gradually diminish.

I am hoping this weekend is less busy than the last one.

Take care!

National half price candy day

I ran by the grocery at lunch for a couple of items - the Valentine's candy was in the marked down bin and the Easter candy was up on the shelves. It's amazing the difference the color of the bag makes in the price! LOL

Busy day at work today, but I headed out for lunch. I went to the gym for HIIT since I didn't come in to the office yesterday, and we are lifting tonight. Doubling up isn't optimal, but it's better than skipping IMO.

I've enjoyed the buffalo chicken soup this week. I bought a couple of bags of the pre shredded slaw mix, so I added a couple of cups of that to the Pyrex bowl so it had vegetables. I'm thinking of doing the lasagna soup next week.  Soup is great for easy, filling, and can be made low cal.

Not too much, busy today.

Take care.

Persistence and planning pay

Good morning and happy Valentine's day! Do you have anything special planned? We are having dinner at home - steak, potatoes, roasted asparagus, sauteed mushrooms. T makes an awesome steak - who needs to go out? And they are from our Omaha Steak Christmas gift, so I'm sure they will be excellent. Plus I used to wait tables in college and V day is MISERABLE in food service. Too many crowds. Ugh.

I have to say I was feeling a bit sorry for myself last night. I had a somewhat larger than normal snack Friday (but not egregious) and I was up nearly 2 pounds. It was gone by Monday, then no change yesterday. Last night I walked in and said "this is what 6 tortilla chips with half a single serve guacamole pouch looks like." I had that and 1 beer for my after dinner treat. It was delicious and I wasn't hungry, but I could have eaten that 4 times over (and in the past I probably have).

So I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I was down 1.4 pounds - I'll take it! So it seems like watching your portions, carbs, and tracking your intake works! Who knew??? LOL So it does seem like for now what I'm doing is working. I am going to continue to drift down on my carbs. We are eating what what is in the house (in moderation) and not rebuying. Last night we had "noodle bowls" for dinner - T did use rice noodles, but I spiralized a daikon radish and used that instead. But I am having at least part of an Omaha steak twice baked potato tonight. The potato is worth it - the noodles were not.

We also lifted last night. Squats are at 80 pounds, bench press 60 (less than half of what I once did), dead lifts at 125. I am making gains and getting to a good place. T didn't seem to have fun last night - I;m not sure if he is getting tired of this workout, it isn't what he expected, or he was just tired. I told him we really need to stick with a program for 12 weeks before changing it up. We'll see how he feels tomorrow.

I think that's all I've got for now. Have a good day!

Class 1 Review

Hello there!

I had my first "Move It!" class at the VA this morning. A brief overview: this is the weight management program the VA has put together. There are 3 options: physical class, one on one phone calls, or an automated phone service. I opted to do the in person option. You may use various options, and you may continue as long as you want. You may not use multiple options at once.

The in person option is 12 classes, 4 each on nutrition, exercise, and the psychological competent of weight management. You do one of each class and then have a week off.

Today was my first class (nutrition) called "Eat wisely to tip the balance". We discussed the basics of weight control (calories in v out), serving sizes, the government "healthy plate".

I walked away not impressed. It felt like and 8th grade health class. I did weigh in, and I didn't count it a waste since I had some follow up blood work done while I was there. I walked over to schedule my next appointments. While I was waiting, another gentleman from the class walked up. He said he hadn't enjoyed some of the classes (and specifically mentioned he didn't find the exercise classes helpful), but that he really enjoyed the one this morning.

That made me remember: we're all in a different place. It seemed very basic and overly simplistic to me, but he clearly took some good stuff away. Another gentleman was having an issue with the app, and one of the guys recommended my fitness pal. So people helped people. If nothing else, knowing I was going helped me stay the course since I weighed in. They show me down 4.4 pounds over the 2 weeks since the orientation. (My home scale has me down 4 pounds.)

I went into this with the mindset that if all I got was some extra accountability, then it was worth the effort. I feel like I am pretty knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition, and have worked with a nutritionist in the past. I didn't learn anything new, OTOH I have been tracking my food and workouts in sparkpeople pretty consistently and I've been eating more mindfully in the evening. So that alone has been very helpful.

Take care.

Weekend Update

Good morning and happy Monday! 

This weekend was very busy (as so many of them are).  I'd say we got done what needed to be done, but (as usual) not everything on the list.

I tried a new recipe - a low carb buffalo chicken soup for lunches this week. It's excellent! We lifted weights last night, even though we were both tired and neither wanted to, and I'm so glad we did. I did 3 weight sessions and 3 HIIT sessions in the gym last week. That rocks!

We were both a little tired and cranky Saturday, but we ran about a million errands. I got on the scale this morning and was the same as Friday - given my history of going off the rails on the weekend, I count that as a win.

We are really enjoying the Olympics.

I've begun (re) reading the book my doctor recommended on eating low carb. I'm not 100% there yet, but I've begun cutting back/cutting out the carbs. I'm hoping that I will begin seeing more movement on the scale soon. I know I feel less bloated and I can tell my fitness level is improving, so I do feel like it's making a difference.

Take care.

Note to self: Stay the course

Last weekend I was out of town, and tried to make good choices. This week I've been pretty careful and have tracked my food, gone to the gym, and was rewarded by a half pound gain. Ugh. We've all been there, right?

My plan is to double down, keep doing the right things, track over the weekend, and generally stay the course.

I'm still down 4 pounds from Disney.

Have a good weekend!

Messing with my head

You know I'm talking about the scale!!!

Yesterday the scale was up 2 pounds from last Friday. What!?!?!  (It was down a pound this morning, no I couldn't stay off.) So frustrating! So it looks like my goal for this week is to maintain. Grr. Oh well. I told T last night on the way into the gym, I feel like we are really really close. There are a few things we need to dial in, but I feel like we are falling into a good routine.

A big contributor to that is that we are both working, and we are both happy with our jobs. That makes everything so much better. It's incredible.

Things that have changed:

• T is finally adjusting to eating out as infrequently as I was used to doing. When he was unemployed, eating out was a big part of his "social time", which made it a hard habit to break. Now that he is teaching, he doesn't have the luxury of time to go out for breakfast or lunch, and we have gotten to a comfortable place with dinner. We use a good mix of stuff we prepare in advance or take out of the freezer, easy meals, or crock pot meals. We are coming up with the ideas together, so we are both pretty satisfied with what we are eating.

• Evening routine. On nights we are both home, I come home, we eat, and then we head for the gym if it's a lifting night. Afterward I may take a shower while he works on lesson plans, then we sit down on the sofa for an hour or so of tv time before bed. T comes to bed with me if possible (sometimes he has some desk work). We usually have an evening snack, but I try to have my eating done by 8 so I have a couple of hours before I fall asleep with no food and minimal liquid. 

• Gym. The last 2 weeks we lifted weights twice, this week we are on track to hit our goal of 3 times. We are using the YMCA in our town. We are both enjoying the Stronglifts routine - it's a great one if you are just starting or starting back at the gym. It's simple, and starts pretty easy - but doesn't stay that way! T is beginning to fall in love with the free weights the day I am. :-) I am going to the Anytime Fitness near the office for HIIT training at lunch, with a target of going 3 times per week. I am getting into a comfortable groove with that as well. T is talking about adding yoga to our routine. I am VERY pleased with the way this habit is shaping up!

• Calories. I have been tracking my calories the last couple of weeks, with a goal of finishing supper in the 1200-1300 calorie range. This leaves me roughly 300 calories for the evening. Since stopping evening snacking has never worked for me, I decided it was imperative that I plan for that snack. I've been using protein shakes and bars to help me stay on track. I'm not going to stop that entirely - I think the low carb high protein has definitely helped with my hunger and cravings, but next week I'm looking to pack a "real food" lunch. This week has been veggies and a protein shake. I think next week I will prep some chicken breasts to replace the shake. I will likely keep the shakes for my snacks. I have been shooting for a target of 1600 calories, which feels doable for now. My doctor recommended a good book to help with the low carb (which I bought), so I will review those guidelines. Let me add that my doctor has lost and kept off over 80 pounds doing low carb, so she has her own personal experience to draw from.

So that's where things are now. I hope that we are setting ourselves up for success!

Take care.

Clean bill of health and how often do you weigh?

I had my annual physical this morning. Other than my cholesterol ratio being borderline (my good guy is always near the bottom of okay), all my stats were good. I talked with my doctor about losing weight - she's lost 80 pounds using low carb, and she was helpful.

I weighed myself this morning and ugh - I get so frustrated with weighing. Do I weigh once a week? Every day? How do I take away the power I give the scale?

It's a rainy, yucky day here. I'm working at home and the dog won't stop barking at me.  Calgon, take me away! Lol

Take care.

What I'm eating now

I've tried many times over the past few months to plan and pack my food. And I have, but I've struggled with both tracking and with over snacking in the evenings. So I decided to add additional structure to my food. Breakfasts are consistent and I've been using bars and shakes to get low carb protein, adding roasted vegetables or a salad at lunch. I'm finding using a bit of carb in the morning (half of a Joseph's low carb wrap), then low carb for the day has translated to less snacking in the evening. Part of it may be that lower carb = fewer cravings, and part may be psychological: after staying on plan all day I don't want to "blow it!" come evening. In any case it seems to be working for now. The screen shot below is yesterday's food:

I guess you can click on it to enlarge. Anyway, you can see I did have something after dinner (a bloody mary and a slice of cheese), but that's a vast improvement from what it has been.

We didn't get in our weight lifting this weekend, so we only did 2 days last week. We are going this evening after dinner. Right now I want to do more, but am restraining myself because I don't want to overdo it in the weight room. Yesterday I did HIIT at the gym at lunch.

I'm glad to be home, glad that I will be home the next couple of weekends. I feel like we are beginning to get organized, and that feels good. A sense of normalcy has been missing from my life for the past ... oh ... 4 years??? I feel like I am finally breathing easier.

Take care.

An epic road trip

I am so tired of being in the car!!!!!  Friday was a 7 hour drive to Lagrange. Saturday was 4 hours (round trip) to Midway and back for the funeral, and yesterday was 8.5 hours, which included a side trip to Athens for the furniture and dog and some horrendous weather. I can't remember is I mentioned it, but mom took her best friend's dog. We also picked up some pieces that had been my grandparents' that we'd given to Ann, but since her son was going to donate them to GoodWill we took them back.

My great aunt's mind is really going downhill fast. Overall, it was a pretty depressing trip. But it's done, and we feel better for having gone.

Today I am back at work. Breakfast is eaten and tracked, lunch and snacks are packed. It feels good to be back home.

Take care.

Just a quick update

First, thanks fatfreefloozy!

I am packing now, having gotten T out the door and headed for school. I lost 3.4 pounds this week! I am very proud of myself!

We went to the gym last night. One thing I really like about this program is that the guy has a terrific (free) app for android or iphone, so we each have it loaded on our phone and use it to track how much we need to lift/ have lifted. Makes it easy to track, and if you have your phone you don't need a notebook.

Take care.

Heading out tomorrow

Mom and I are leaving tomorrow at 8 AM for Georgia. The funeral is at 2 PM EST Saturday and is 1.5 hours away from where my aunt Alma lives, so we have just enough time for a quick, early lunch with her before we heave to head out. So this trip is going to be weird and the schedule is going to be whacked. I am planning to take a couple of protein shakes/bars just in case. And a couple bottles of water.

Tonight is a load of wash and packing, a trip to the gym, and maybe watch a little tv with my sweetie.

Heavy metal

We started a new lifting program. I was looking for something simple, effective, and not overly time consuming. That meant compound lifts without a lot of fluff. I stumbled across Stronglifts and we decided to give it a try. You lift 3 times per week, alternating between 2 different workouts. There are 5 exercises and you generally do 5 sets of 5 reps, progressively increasing the weights. I've done each workout once, but so far I am liking it.

We lifted last night, and today I am going to do cardio at lunch.

I don't have a whole lot. Mostly I'm just down.

Take care.

Sad

My mom's best childhood friend died unexpectedly over the weekend. Mom and I are going to Georgia this weekend to visit my great aunt, and we planned to pick Ann up on our way back home so she could come up and stay with mom for a long visit. I'm not ready to really write about it yet, but I just wanted you to know my heart is very heavy today.

I really appreciated Karen's comment on my last post. The 12 session class I'm doing at the VA sounds like it will be more class and less coaching. My hope is that this will provide some additional accountability for me to get me headed consistently down the path to weight loss. Karen made a good point about listening to your own body and not letting a coach talk you into something that isn't right for you. My plan is to take and use what is valuable for me and to leave the rest. If all I get is the camaraderie of a few folks that have the same goal and I don't learn 1 new thing, I will still consider this worthwhile. Having said that, I am open (I hope!) to learning and trying new ideas, and my experience is that generally everyone has something to offer. The first class is on the 13th, so I will keep you posted.

Can I tell you how much I don't feel like doing anything today? I got out and walked a couple of laps already, and entered my food into sparkpeople.

This weekend was weird.  I did not sleep well at all on Friday night. Then I went from dead asleep to wide, startled awake Saturday morning at 7:50. We were supposed to leave the house NLT 8:30 - Jordan had a pupicure booked, and I had a bang trim booked for 9:30. T was supposed to go to the chiro, and we were going to run a few errands.  He didn't feel like getting up, so J-dog and I headed off to the big city on our own. I dropped her, got my bangs trimmed, went to the bank, went to Sally Beauty for hair color, and then picked up Jordan. Check out the cute bow!

I was exhausted so after a bite of lunch, I laid down for a 20 minute nap. Then T wanted to go do the grocery shopping. We headed out to Aldi, then went to Publix for the rest (next town over). Then we went to Target since it was nearby. We ended up getting home at 5 PM - I felt like I had been out of the house all day, and while we were productive, it wasn't the things that were my priority for the weekend. It made for a long, cranky day.

Sunday was better in that I'd had a good night of sleep and woke up determined to work on what was important to me (organizing my desk, organizing the non profit paperwork to get it turned over, and getting our tax stuff together). I did that, and when T headed for big city to the chiro I stayed home and worked on my stuff.

We were planning to have friends over for dinner (which we did), and of course I got the call from mom mid morning. So I was sad, but I just kept plugging away at the things I wanted to get done. At the end of the day, I was tired but my desk & paperwork were organized, the bathrooms were clean, laundry & vacuuming were finished (T did those), and the house was picked up and looking nicer. I was proud of all we'd accomplished.

We had a nice visit with our friends, even though I was definitely feeling a bit "off". But it was a nice distraction.

So a weird, sad, good, productive weekend.

I met a man :-)

Ha ha, not like that!! :-)  (But you knew that since I just got married!!!)

I use the VA for my health care. In checking out the latest newsletter, I noticed they have a "Move It!" program, which is a class for vets to help them lose weight. Since I needed to go in to get my blood work done prior to my annual physical anyway, I called and signed up for an orientation class.

After the lab (which went very quickly), I killed a little time by buying a soda in the cafeteria and reading for a bit. I wasn't sure where the class was, so I stopped at the Information desk. The gentleman in front of me asked for directions to the same place, so I told him I was going his way!

We chatted while we waited for the class to start - he's retired. Got out the Army the same year I did, then worked and retired from that. He's in his early 60s. Anyway, he was very friendly.

The class itself has 3 options: you can have the automated system call you daily and you record your weight, you can do 30 minute one on one phone sessions to review some one the material, or you can take the 12 session in person group class. You can take longer if you need to drop out for a while, or miss a class and need to make it up. I am going to talk to my boss, but I would like to do the 12 week in person class. 

Anyway, B and I signed up for the same session. I think we both felt it would give us a little extra accountability if we knew a friendly face would be waiting.

A friend on fb commented they thought vets should just be able to go to any doctor. I know there are a lot of issues with the system, but I love going to the VA. I love talking to the people in the waiting room. A lot of the staff served in the military - it just feels nice to go somewhere where the people can relate to your experiences, regardless of age or color or whatever.

Anyway, the first class in in a couple of weeks, until then I need to review the orientation packet and get ready to start!

Take care!

Good bye snow, hello t-shirts!

Ah, living in NC. Snow, and then temps in the 60s! Everything is nearly melted.  Because of out trip, we hadn't done any real grocery shopping in 2 weeks.  So this weekend we hit the stores and stocked back up on all the things we'd used up before our trip, or what we were trying to eat down that was left.  Shopping took up a chuck of our day Saturday. Sunday we had the monthly business meeting for the non profit, and visited with friends. So 2 days spent largely out of the house.

Friday we went to the gym for cardio, then Saturday we lifted weights. Yesterday we took as a rest day.

Today is back to normal for me.  T had a teacher workday. so back to the grind tomorrow.

Take care!

Day 3

Given the condition of back roads, distance to office, and the fact that I don't like driving my little Nissan Sentra on icy roads, I opted to work from home again today. T went to run some errands - he can get to Greensboro via interstate, whereas I would need to take a 2 lane country road halfway to get to work. I'm thankful I have the flexibility.

Having said that, I am looking forward to getting back into a routine next week.  I walked the dogs at lunch and we are going to go to the gym for a short workout once I sign off for the day. I have a pot roast and veggies in the crock pot, so dinner is pretty much done.

Last night we sat down and planned out our meals for the week - we have some yummy stuff! A good variety - crock pot meals/ casseroles for busy nights, a new recipe, a variety of meats (included 2 meatless meals). I'm glad that T likes to cook and helps so much with dinner planning and prep - not to mention shopping!

Tonight we are going to work on our budget. Now that we are both working, we are working at combining our finances. Because we are both used to "being in charge" and we have different styles (although similar goals), we are easing into combining things in a way that we are both comfortable with. Again, thankful I have someone I can talk to and plan with. :-)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. T is a Vikings fan, so football is definitely on the schedule!

We got a little more than this - a total of 7 inches.

Take care!

Still at home

Still snowed in. The dogs and I walked up to Main Street at lunchtime today - nothing has been scraped, so 7 inches of snow has been mashed into a sheet of ice. T ventured out (no real reason, I think he was restless). Since the sun is out, hopefully he will go slow and be fine. At this point I'm not sure I'll be heading in tomorrow either.

We get a channel called "Comet TV". This month they've been doing an Edgar Allen Poe double feature every Wednesday. Last night we watched "The Raven" - a comedy with Vincent Price, Boris, Karloff, Peter Lorre, and a very young Jack Nicholson. We've been thoroughly enjoying our discovery - it's 1266 on our line-up, way out far way from everything else.

Obviously nothing much is going on if I'm blathering about TV! Walking and shoveling snow in the absence of gym attendance.

The big excitement is that I am getting a Varidesk at work, so I can start standing more. Given the length of my commute, I am especially grateful.

Have a good one!

Snow day!

It started snowing early this morning and hasn't quit. I am working from home and T is home as well since school is cancelled.

We've worked around the house a bit while I was taking breaks. At lunch I took the dogs for a walk. It was pretty hard work since they each wanted to go at different speeds and directions!

I have been tracking my food in Sparkpeople and exercising daily. My promise to myself is I would track my food - no calorie goal, just track. Some days have been lower than others, but none have been out of control. And that's the point of the tracking - accountability and control. Step 1.

Some vacation recap

First of all, it's important to know that this wasn't just a vacation - it was my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. FIL saved to make this a very posh trip for the 6 of us. It was amazingly generous and we had a terrific time. We will definitely go back to Disney at some point, but I doubt we will do the deluxe package that this definitely was! 

We drove halfway down Wednesday after work, stopping at the DoubleTree by Hilton Savannah Historic District. Had a nice breakfast at the buffet then did a quick driving tour (just to whet our appetite for a longer visit!) before getting on the road to Disney.

We stopped for lunch in Jacksonville at a small Lebanese place called Karams - it was really nice! The onto Disney!

We stayed at Disney's Beach Club resort and were on the deluxe meal plan. Breakfast was a sit down meal with entree and beverage (alcoholic or non), lunch was counter service (order and go sit down) - again it was entree and adult or not beverage. Dinner was sit down with appetizer, entree, beverage, and dessert. And 2 snacks. Had it been warmer we would have used the snacks more for drinks, but as it was we really didn't use them - we weren't terribly thirsty and not at all hungry!!

While there we ate at the following restaurants: Raglan Road, Trattoria al Forno, La Hacienda de San Angel, The Swan Resort Fresh Mediterranean Market, and our final dinner was at California Grill at Disney's Contemporary resort. We ate on the 15th floor and watched the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom. At Epcot we rode Soarin’, Spaceship Earth, and Mars Mission. At Magic Kingdom we rode The 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, and Haunted Mansion.

Everything was first class all the way. I wish I'd been in better shape. I wish crowds didn't stress me so much. But I didn't beat myself up - I took breaks when I got overwhelmed, T was very solicitous to make sure I didn't get over tired or overwhelmed, and it was just so special. 

A part of me was frustrated with myself, but then I reminded myself: You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. I am who I am and we enjoyed our trip and each other's company. And walking over 10 miles in one day is pretty good for most any body!!

Vacation and Disney Recap in the works

There is a lot to say! For now, suffice it to say we had a wonderful time. T really enjoyed Savannah and we will definitely go back.

We had a good time with his family. There were a couple of times I got exhausted and/or overwhelmed (as did he), but T really did a great job of encouraging breaks or even just saying "Hey, we're gonna go relax for a while, what time should we meet up?" We did bail about 3:30 Friday to go back to the hotel for a break before dinner.

Everyone seemed to have fun, the anniversary dinner was spectacular, and I thought the whole trip went really well.  I am so glad they invited us!

Today it is back to counting calories and going to the gym. :-)

Heading out

I am leaving early - we are driving to Savannah for a short overnight, then onto Disney tomorrow!

Have a lovely weekend!

Just do it already!

I am not a resolutions person. I've discovered over the years that my rebellious streak is a mile wide, and if you tell me to do something (or even if I tell myself) I run in the opposite direction. A better way for me is to set small goals and sneak up on the larger ones.

Having said that, I am tired of wasting head space and energy fretting over things to come. Over the years I have gotten better about not procrastinating, but I will still worry & postpone. I'm tired of having a head full of worry about stuff I'm not doing or not ready to do.

I have decided to set a motto for myself this year "Just do it already!" Like Yoda, "Do or do not, there is no try." Either work on it or stop whining about it (even mentally).

Will it work? I dunno, but I won't know if I don't try! My first goal is to lose 5 pounds, and to get my CDs and DVDs organized.

Take care.

Out of the dumps

I was horribly down on Saturday. I talked to mom and she has been too - we agree that we both feel like it's due to the dark and cold and just not wanting to do anything.  Saturday was tough for me.

Sunday was better - I got up to go meet a couple of girlfriends for breakfast. Turns out D wasn't coming and A overslept! She called about 90 minutes later when she finally woke up and felt terrible. We ended up getting together for dinner, which was nice.

Yesterday we ran a bunch of errands. For months our bed frame has been getting progressively squeakier and has been interrupting our sleep. We finally got that replaced yesterday, renewed our Costco membership, and gassed up our cars. I t doesn't sound like a lot, but we had to use mom's car to buy the bed frame and take it home, so we also had to trade cars. Anyway, it was a long day but at the end of it we felt like we'd gotten some things accomplished.

At one point in the morning I just wanted to cry. I really didn't want another "wasted" day, feeling so lousy. It wasn't the greatest day, but getting up and out and getting some things accomplished really helped.

We are supposed to get snow/ freezing rain this afternoon. The ground is frozen solid so anything that lands will stick.  I'm a bit nervous because nearly half my commute is on a shady, hilly, 2 lane country road, and last time it was bad it took T forever on that road. No idea what the next couple of days will bring with regards to weather and schedule.

Take care!

Cold

The snow and ice missed us by about 15 miles, but the cold decidedly has not. What does that have to do with health, fitness, or weight loss? That's easy - I don't feel like doing anything! Actually, what I feel like is one of those iguanas that have gotten so cold they are falling out of trees in Florida.

T has gone off to a cooking class, and I'm in my fleece pajamas, trying to convince myself to take a shower and go do the grocery shopping. It was 9 when I woke up and it's 20 now.

Our den has the dog door and it is freezing down there. We have actually hung curtains to shut it off from the rest of the house.

As I took this photo, I could feel the cold breeze blowing in from underneath those curtains. (The gap is so the dogs can walk under the curtains without pulling them down!)

We are leaving Wednesday for Florida, where it looks like it will be reasonably warm!

Have a lovely weekend!