Checking in before we head out

Sorry for falling off the planet – that tends to happen in July. If you’ve never spent 2 weeks primitive camping, all I can say is that it requires a lot of prep work. Add that we are doing it with a new vehicle and basically skipped last year (because all our stuff was in storage and we were in the midst of the move) and we are trying to re-figure everything out, well, it’s been busy.

The Tour de France was an overall disappointment this year. Andy Schleck wasn’t there and Bradley Wiggins and team Sky just didn’t really excite me. I dunno. None of the mountain stages were as inspiring as they have been in years past. It was kinda blah, which is a heck of a thing to say about what is IMO the most amazing race on earth.

My big news is that hub is now off the BP medicine he had to start taking a few years ago. He was feeling light headed, so he stopped taking it and called the doctor. She asked him to get a BP monitor and to record his readings for a month and then come in. Well, he’s in the normal range with no medicine! Woot!

I still have 20-ish pounds to go (we’ll see as I get closer to the end) and hub wants to lose 40-50. So we’re both roughly at the halfway point. It’s amazing how much better we both feel, we look better, and his health numbers are improving dramatically. Mine were good before and they are good now. But having his support and doing this together makes it a lot easier.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!  I'll be back post vacation in Pennsylvania!

Friday

Just a quick note - things are going along.  Busy sewing, packing for vacation, and watching the Tour de France.

Obsessing about the uncertainty of the future won’t change the outcome.

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. Some is the simple ‘Am I on track to lose a couple of pounds’, some the ‘where will the hubs and I be in 5 years’, and some of the ‘where will our son be in 5 years’ variety.

It’s a lot to obsess over. I’m getting a little too caught up in outcomes and instead I need to focus on the actions and on the process. It’s not that things aren’t necessarily headed in a good direction, it’s more than I am spending too much effort worrying. It’s easy to say “don’t worry”, but that can be a tall order for those of us that are naturally prone to obsessing. Anal retentive can be useful, but it can also be tiring.

I’m a natural born worrier – it’s not that I’m a “glass half empty’ person, I’m a “the glass may be half full but it might fall off the table so should I construct special sides” person.

What is the antidote? I think gratitude. And I have so much to be grateful for. A big one is that despite all the upheaval, the bills are paid, our son is (mostly) okay, and our marriage is stronger than ever after some really rough times. And we are planning our future, as opposed to just going along the way we were, which I think will make us both happier in the long run, but change can also be scary.

Stuff

Things here are good. Spent some time looking through my fabric and doing a little sewing, which has been fun. Watching the “Tour de France”, which is always enjoyable. It is very quiet at work this week.


I did a little weight lifting today, just a light leg workout. Tomorrow Jeff is teaching me how to use the new TRX here at work and I am prepared for an overall body thrashing! How awesome is it that we have this equipment here at work???

I made “gyros” for breakfast this week. I have a recipe which uses ground meat plus spinach, feta, and spices to mimic the flavor. I use a mixture of lamb and turkey. I basically make a meat loaf and then serve slices over a bed of cucumber, tomato, and Vidalia onion and topped with a little homemade tsaziki sauce. Really excellent and very filling.

I know I’ve said it before: there are foods that I love the tastes of that I prefer not to eat on a regular basis – by creating something similar with those same flavors I get the enjoyment without the down side. Eating healthfully doesn’t have to be tasteless, but it certainly helps if you like to cook!

There is a lady in my WW meeting who just made goal. Its great that she’s lost weight, but the ‘end’ result is a smaller version of her former self. She willingly admits she never cooks – only eats out or buys prepared foods. She doesn’t work out. Well, she is happy with her result.

Lunches are the usual grilled chicken with salad. The steaks last night were excellent. Hub also grilled the asparagus which was awesome. Tonight we are having chicken tikka masala I made in the crock pot. I’m serving it with quinoa and steamed broccoli.

It is my first 4th of July here in Florida and I have discovered an interesting fact: it is legal to buy fireworks down here – pretty much any kind. You are supposed to have a permit to shoot them off, but I don’t think it’s enforced much judging by the neighborhood last night. Seriously, there were things being shot off that sounded like mortars. It reminded me of when I lived near the artillery range in Hawaii! The dogs were scared!

That's all I got - have a good one!

We're back

We made it back to Florida in one piece, me, 3 teenagers, and 2 dogs (the bonus dog belongs to the boy's gf).  He's a daschund mix and rode in her lap - he did a great job, although the little guy had the farts!

It's hard watching your teen struggle with having no idea what they want to do in life.  I admit, I worry, even though I certainly didn't know what I wanted to do.  He's a good kid - good grades, doesn't hang with a bad crowd (no drugs, no criminal activity) - he just doesn't seem really excited about anything.  I think he's depressed and I'm not sure how to help him. Anyone who tells you parenting isn't the toughest job on the planet is full of it.

Other than that, things here are ok.  Hub's up to 40 pounds lost, blood sugar remains below diabetic levels.  We went to the gym yesterday and I did an hour on the arc trainer while he lifted weights.  This morning we walked together and then I banged out 395 kb swings.

Today we are grilling out - steak, grilled asparagus, and corn on the cob.  Nothing special, a pretty typical meal around here.  Tomorrow is our CSA box!

Just life

So, things have been hectic around here. That’s not the start of an excuse for why I haven’t been losing weight. As a matter of fact, I lost 2.6 pounds last week and I haven’t been this low since the week of 12/25/2009. I have an Excel spreadsheet where I’ve been recording my weight on Fridays since October of 2001. It’s not in there for every Friday – there are blanks, but overall I’ve tried to keep a record. It’s sad to go back and see a regain, but it’s good to see consistent progress for the past few months. I realized I hadn’t talked much lately about my own journey other than the actions, so I thought I’d share that.


Hub has lost 37 pounds and is doing excellent. Last night he came home wiped out from working in the heat all day. The kids and I were in the pool (the boy, girlfriend, Noah, and N’s little sister) while dinner did its thing in the oven. Hub jumped in with us and we all splashed around a bit before going in for dinner. That’s exactly what I envisioned when we bought a house with a pool. It was great! Dinner was baked salmon, roasted zucchini, and a quinoa casserole. Yum!

After that we changed, ran a couple of errands (including picking up Butchie’s remains, which made us both cry), and then we went for a walk! I’m so thrilled that even when he’s tired, he’s committed.

Today I did the tank top workout I snagged from Norma – mostly. Here’s what I did: warm-up of 10 pushups followed by the workout (10 pushups, 24 biceps burners, 15 shoulder presses, 10 pushups, 15 tricep dips, 15 back rows, 15 lateral raises, 10 pushups, 15 tricep kickbacks). I did that twice and then I did 20 minutes of yoga with a Rodney Yee video. It took less than an hour and my arms were feeling very heavy and full – a sign of a good workout.

Tonight will be crazy as I wrap up a few things last minute and get the car all packed. Noah is going back to NC with us – we’ll have a full car going and a really full car coming back as we’ll have Belews with us as well. Luckily she is a really good traveler. I will not volunteer to spend one minute in the backseat of the Sentra! Sometimes it’s good to be the grown-up! Ha ha ha!

Today the team went out for lunch at an amazing Israeli pita place.  I had a schwarma platter with eggplant and cucumber salads.  It changed my life.  I might go back for dinner but they close at 4 on Fridays.  Just kidding (about going back for dinner, not about closing at 4).  But I will go back.  I bet the pitas are good too, but the veggies rocked.

Have a good weekend!

T minus 2

Headed out Saturday - trying to get everything taken care of at home.  Not to mention shopping & prepping some food for the hub so its easier for him.

I had a good workout today - Jeff was working with another lady so I went down and did 360 swings with the 26 lb kettlebell and 100 walking lunges.  I was toast.

Terrier-a go go

Yesterday I worked at home (I needed to take my car in to the shop plus I had a dental appointment) and hub wasn’t working. We dropped the car, he went into the office to drop off a time sheet, we picked up my car, he went to Lowe’s .. and everywhere we went, the terrier was along for the ride. That dog loves to go, and yesterday she was in heaven!

Sadly, I couldn’t take her to the dentist – I could’ve used the comforting. Long story short: I had to get a bridge when I was 15 for my 2 front teeth (swimming pool accident). I’ve had my current bridge for 6-7 years and it was killing the teeth holding it – so now I have issues with 4 teeth rather than 2. Yesterday the dentist removed my bridge and she & the oral surgeon (it’s never good when you get special guest visitors at your dental appointment) took molds and x-rays so he could tell me what he could do and then we could come up with a plan. I’m looking at either 2 or 4 implants. Ugh. I now have a temp bridge.

I left tired & feeling a bit weepy (I dunno – maybe I was just wrung out – I was there for over 3 hours). Dinner wasn’t happening – there was beef stew in the crock pot but my mouth was still numb and there was no way I could eat soup. We went out – thankfully there is a Mexican place that has good, healthy food – not loaded in cheese, not fried, etc. She knows we don’t eat rice so she always adjusts the meals to our needs, which is awesome.

I have to go back to the dentist today for her to adjust the temp bridge, so no AMP class for me. I’ll do kettlebells at home – not as fun, but a solid workout.  Tonight's dinner is something new: I am going to make General Tso's chicken - it's one of my husband's favorites.  Hopefully it goes well.  I'm serving it with steamed broccoli and leftover crab fried quinoa.

Ah vacation

I am leaving Saturday for NC and I couldn't be happier.  I need a break!  You know you need a break when you get pissy over every little annoyance, ya know?  Looking forward to it!

I am taking my kettlebell with me.  Which reminds me, I got another 26 lb kbell, so now I have one at home and one at work.  I christened the new one with 350 swings as part of my workout with Jeff yesterday.  He was on a call so I got started and he joined a little bit later.

I am working at home today as my car is in the shop (nothing serious, just an oil change and check-up prior to my trip). 

Hub's blood sugar was 115 this morning - I continue to be amazed by the difference regular exercise and our change in diet has made.  I read "The Blood Sugar Solution" by Dr. Mark Hyman - that is the gneral plan we are following.  I would describe it as "paleo lite" - we both have been surprised by how easy it has been to make these changes.

The house got a thorough cleaning over the weekend so its in good shape.  Hub has a couple of days off (the ups and downs of temp work) and he is using the time well - working on the pool, sprinkler system, regrouting the hall bath, replacing a broken towel bar.  Little things, but things that need to be done.

We are going to the gym this evening (hub will lift weights and I will use the arc trainer).  Besides that, I am going to go through my drawers in both bathrooms and get things better organized.  That'll take all of 15 minutes, but its one of those things that is long overdue.  When we moved in I put my make-up in the hall bath, but I get dressed in the master, so I need to just re-organize.

Well, that's about all I got.  Posting may be spotty next week since I'll be travelling and won't have my computer with me.  Take care!

Monday - blah

Had a great workout with Jeff this afternoon - I love that noodle-y feeling in your arms, manky smell & sweaty hair that lets you know you had a good workout.

Tonight's dinner was crab fried quinoa - a riff on crab fried rice (which my husband adores) but since we don't eat rice any more, I did it with quinoa.  It was yummy!  Hub's numbers are down in the solid pre diabetic range and he's dropped nearly 40 pounds in 2 months.  I am so thrilled for him - he's feeling so much better and is determined to keep going, which makes it much easier for me.  Win!

We worked like house elves this weekend cleaning, de-cluttering etc.  I could have used an extra day, but I'm working from home tomorrow so that's the next best thing.  I have a dental appointment - they are removing my bridge and figuring out what will be done: new bridge or implants.  That giant sucking sound is the $$ flying to the dentist and oral surgeon.  Oh well, whatcha gonna do?

A bit adrift

It’s been a tough couple of weeks. My son was in a car accident. He’s fine, but my mom’s car is totaled so she’s been without a car and we’re having to deal with the insurance and the adjustor is an idiot, so the whole thing has been a big headache. Of course the headache really starts once my car insurance goes sky high since my 17 year old son will have been in an accident. He didn’t get a ticket, but in the world of insurance, police reports are irrelevant.

Our dog Butchie passed away on Monday and we are both just heartbroken. We are having him cremated. It’s been really hard – he was 13 years old and he was very much a part of our family.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been tough and I haven’t been as consistent or as focused with either diet or exercise as I have been and it shows. I haven’t gained any weight, but I’ve only lost a pound in the past 2 weeks, which is essentially stalled.

It’s time to get refocused. Its tough when things happen, but being unfocused won’t change anything. It’s understandable, but not really helpful.

I had a very good AMP workout yesterday – upper body. Jeff is on the mend and is beginning to do weight training, so I’m hoping for some more really tough workouts. This weekend I am going to Play it Again Sports to look for a heavier kettlebell to bring into the office. The 18 pound one is no longer heavy enough. It’s great for cardio, but I’d like a tougher weight.

One step at a time.

midweek

Interesting article on Norma’s web site I thought I’d pass along - from Mark Hyman regarding REAL FOOD:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/food-industry_b_1559920.html?ref=diet-and-nutrition

The weekend plans changed a lot when we got the call from our son that he had been in a car accident Friday night. Thankfully he, the girlfriend, and her puppy were fine, but it was one of those major multi car pile-ups that happen on the highway due to bad weather. The damage is mainly the left front quarter panel – he avoided being squished between 2 other cars. (Unfortunately, they totaled the car.)

Yes he was fine and no, there wasn’t anything we could do. But after that we both felt wrung out and decided to postpone our trip to Port Charlotte until next weekend and just futz around the house. It was nice. We got in the pool Saturday, but Sunday just puttered around, I did the food prep, and we went to the gym. Nothing super special, just a nice weekend. As always, we felt like we ran out of time and energy!

For the fourth morning in a row, hub’s blood sugar readings were below the diabetic range. He is really making terrific progress. I don’t know what else to say about that. I went to WW – I continue to lose weight, but it feels like it is taking forever! I need to get over it. Two days wouldn’t feel “fast enough.”

What else? It’s a busy week at work, and we are trying to finish up a few odd chores that didn’t get done over the weekend, so that makes for a long evening. Plus we’ve been walking in the evening – we have a 2 mile loop we do. The good news is we haven’t had rain force us to cancel but a typical walk means about 90 degrees and what feels like 1000% humidity. I thought NC was humid – it’s freaking Arizona compared to this stuff! It’s not that we mind walking in the rain – it’s when we have the thunderstorms that we opt to stay home. But it’s been a few days since a big storm, which is a nice change!

Friday!

Things here are pretty good. Tuesday evening we went to the gym, ate dinner, and I spent evening 2 of operation “organizing my CDs” (which are in cases, each other’s covers, scattered about etc.). I suspect it will take 2 more evenings or so to get it all squared away.


We have a new person on our team. I took her with me to AMP Wednesday – she liked it. She has 3 dogs and a BlendTec blender – we have so much in common! Ha ha. Seriously though, she seems very nice.

Not too much else to report. Things here are going along. I’m headed to NC on the 23rd.

Wednesday’s dinner tonight was chicken with alfredo sauce, steamed broccoli, and quinoa. I was pooped after AMP, I went home, took a shower, we ate, and then I was a bum.

Last night we went to Miami to look at a couple of mid century chairs I found on craigslist. They were very comfortable and I think they ill well in the project room. They were a great price and I love the look of them, although they will need to be reupholstered down the line.

They’re baaaaaack

We had a theory about the frogs: we weren’t running the pool pump at night and we wondered if maybe they were attracted because the water was still. So a few nights ago we began running the pool pump at night rather than during the day and we enjoyed several frog free nights. Unfortunately, last night we discovered that given enough rain, frogs still came despite the pump. Sigh.

We had a lovely weekend! We went to the German restaurant for our anniversary dinner (which was awesome of course). On the way we stopped and checked on my great-grandparents’ graves. That was nice. They had a lot of flags up on the graves of veterans.

I remember going one Memorial day to the Presidio in San Francisco and visiting the cemetery. It was when I was stationed in Monterey. When I was on active duty, it was always comforting is a strange way to go to a military cemetery and to know that those places are there if that’s what you want. I doubt that makes any sense, but I honestly can’t explain it very well. It’s just a visible symbol that (while imperfect) we do try to take care of our own.

Saturday we enjoyed some quality pool time, the only down side of which is that afterward you are sapped of all will to get stuff done! Something about lazing around in the sun and water mid afternoon, totally sets you up for a siesta and then all of a sudden it’s dinner and the day is nearly done but your chores aren’t! ;-O

Sunday we went to the beach. Now, my husband has never been a big fan of the beach. When we go to Edisto Island, he loves it but he rarely walks on the beach with me & mom. So I was very surprised when he agreed to go to the beach with me. We headed out early Sunday morning to the oh so famous Ft. Lauderdale beach. The weather and the water were awesome!

We swam & sat in the sun and talked. It’s very easy to take 95 to Sunset, hang a left on A1A and there’s beachfront parking right there, very convenient. And just a half a block down is a Primanti Brothers (a Pittsburg mainstay) right across from the beach. We didn’t go, but it would be a good place to grab a bite to eat after the beach if you wanted. Anyway, it was really nice and we are going back soon! I’ve tried several beaches while we’ve been down here and Ft. L is my favorite – and not just because of childhood memories.

We bought ourselves a digital camera for our anniversary gift, so no more excuses about posting pictures (once I’ve learned to use it!) I took a bunch of the house on my mom’s camera and never got them posted before she left!

Presuming Luke is available to come over & feed the dogs their supper Saturday, I plan to ride to Port Charlotte with the hub to visit some of his friends.
I had a terrific workout yesterday at the fitness center even though Jeff had the day off. I did a riff of Norma’s tank top workout and mixed in a couple hundred kettlebell swings for a fun and hard workout. I didn’t see a soul the whole time I was there. It’s nice having my own personal huge gym!

Terrier 2 – lizards 0

I decided to work at home today – it’s been quite an exciting afternoon. Jordan has caught and partially eaten TWO lizards. One I took care of, but the other I got Luke (who was out mowing) to come over and handle. It was big and still alive. Ewwwww!

It is a beautiful sunny day in south Florida and I took my lunch break in the pool. I had to pick up a prescription for someone, so I took advantage and picked up an anniversary card while I was at Target. I also bought a lounge chair for lounging by the pool.

I am working Monday since we have no plans other than going to the German place for dinner.

Have a good one!

The secret ingredient is crack (just kidding!)

Can I tell you how good the chicken was last night? We agreed next time we’d do 2 roasted jalapenos per stuffed breast instead of one, but it was awesome. And it tasted like homemade jalapeno poppers! It got me thinking and I said we could use the idea to recreate other flavors (I miss pizza!). I suggested pizza and the response I got was “How about fettuccine alfredo?” Yes, it’s on hub’s “most missed” list. If you stuff the breast with broccoli and mushrooms and put alfredo sauce on top I bet it would be awesome! So not only a good meal, but a concept for more really good meals!

I have been disappointed with my weight loss this week – only half a pound. Since everything is the same, I find that a little frustrating. Oh well, consistent behavior leads to a trend of consistent results, there are always blips up and down of that trend line. I’ll just stay on course and things will even out.

Have a great weekend!

mid week

This morning I helped hub get his lunch packed. After that I made juice (carrot, apple, cucumber) as well as a green drink. The green drink contained: 1 banana, mixed frozen berries, bee pollen, VitaMineral green powder, chia and flax seeds, spinach, and water. Now that my mom isn’t here, I will probably stop with the juice once we use up the carrots & stuff – we are both eating so many veggies it feels a little redundant. OTOH, the dogs love the carrot pulp in their food, so I may still juice periodically. I think the green drink feels more important for us these days. Any excuse to get extra greens.


Breakfast (for both of us) this week is a hamburger with baked beans. Lunch is a salad the size of Montana with grilled chicken. My snack is 12 almonds (if I feel hungry mid morning) – hub is taking a couple of boiled eggs, sardines, apple, and almonds for him to nibble on as needed during the day.

Last night’s dinner was awesome – I have a recipe for doing a chicken in the crock pot with just spices and a diced onion that is so simple and tastes amazing! Tonight we had “jalapeno popper stuffed chicken breast” – I beat chicken breasts until they were thin then covered them in a mixture of cream and shredded cheddar cheese (not too much) then added a roasted jalapeno (hub did them on the grill and I pulled the skin off and took the seeds etc. out) and a slice of bacon. Then I rolled it up. When I got home I baked them - amazing. We had sweet potato and roasted brussel sprouts on the side.

Last night I had a good workout at the gym – 45 minutes on the arc trainer. Today was AMP class with Jeff. Woot!

I must figure out why the frogs love our back yard and figure out how to make it inhospitable.

Das boy wants me to drive up and pick him & Katy up after her mom’s birthday July 6. Mom told him she didn’t think that would work. Uh, no. Unless death, birth, or marriage of someone every important is involved, I do NOT travel in July. Two reasons: Pennsic prep and Tour de France. Sorry. Coverage is anywhere from 2-6 hours per day. (The only really long airtime is on days of critical mountain stages – usually only 2 of those, one each from the Pyrenees and the Alps). Still, miss a day or two and you are totally lost on what is going on. Also, watching the Tour is my Pennsic prep – sewing, mending, cooking, packing – it all goes on this month, with the Tour as the backdrop. I become a recluse.

I guess that makes me sound terribly selfish, but I’m tired of being accommodating for everyone but me. I need my prep time darnit!

For the curious - Overhauling your food

I am fortunate in that for years now I have planned and cooked most of our food. I thought we ate pretty healthy (and we did eat healthier than a lot of folks) but when hub got diagnosed with diabetes, we had to take a hard look at the menus and cupboards.

I threw away open boxes of pasta, crackers, etc. It was just easier not to have it around. We have eliminated bread, pasta, and all grains except quinoa and I have some sprouted wild rice mixed with quinoa. I know that sounds hard.

We eat a lot of stuff that anyone following a paleo diet would turn their nose up at: some cheese, an occasional diet soda or popsicle, last night we had a couple of corn tortillas each with dinner. We simply chose what we were willing to give up in order to achieve the goals of weight reduction and hub’s blood sugar reduction. The processed carbs had to get the boot, no question. We opted to leave some things that aren’t healthy (sugar free popsicles are nothing but chemicals), but that would make the transition easier. In time those things may go as well, or we may just accept a certain amount of crap in our diet – I don’t know.

But I will say this: it gets easier. Some meals are so easy to adapt it requires no thought: tonight we had a chicken in the crock pot with baked organic sweet potatoes and steamed artichokes. Other things were tougher (lasagna). Some things I’ve adapted (like lasagna) and others have simply fallen by the wayside (homemade chicken and dumplings are gone with the white flour).

Here’s the thing: 1) it’s not like we can never eat those things again, ever. We can, but right now it is simply too important to mess around with “moderation.” Define a moderate amount of cyanide, for example. If something is pure poison, how much is it okay to ingest? My body treats a chemical like a toxin and processes it as such (like a popsicle) but it doesn’t do the kind of active damage that pasta will to the hub. That’s where we drew our line in the sand. Your line may be somewhere else.

But overall it hasn’t been too hard. We eat meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts & seeds mostly, with a little bit of other stuff to smooth the path. Our allergies and allergy headaches have improved dramatically, so has sleep, and other bodily functions. We are seeing the payoff in terms of our health – and not just on the scale or in hub’s blood sugar readings (which were again out of the diabetic range this morning).

Because I am a list making fool, I made a list of menu ideas. I was able to come up with 31 dinners out of what we used to eat that I can make without processed carbs. Since we eat out once a week that means we could go about 5 weeks without ever having the same dinner twice!

It has required some planning, but the payoff has been well worth the investment of time.

Well, we left the dogs today. Luke (the kid next door) came over a couple of times during the day to check on the pups while we are both at work. Butch has been doing better, so hopefully things will be okay between him & Jordan. (Hub is working a temp job the next few days.)

Speaking of pups, did you catch the news about the pet treats? http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/22/11798368-nearly-1000-dogs-now-sick-from-jerky-treats-fda-reports-say?lite

I have a very good recipe for dog treats that the dogs LOVE and they are easy and cheap. I buy organic kibble (Blue Buffalo or Wellness) and make their wet food and dog treats. I bought a cookbook for dogs. That’s just how I roll.

Today was yoga at lunch and gym after work.

Friday is our 10 year anniversary. By marrying each other we’ve saved two sane people from a life of misery. Ha!

And I am spent!

It was a very busy weekend. The usual meal planning, shopping, and food prep on top of which we organized all our craft stuff! Two closets stuffed full of jewelry making supplies, garb accessories, sewing supplies, etc. I still need to organize my sewing stuff, but it’s at least all together on the shelves next to my sewing table. I also need to go through my patterns, but that can be post vacation since the only garb I’m making beforehand is a pair or two of fighting pants for hub.

We also enjoyed pool time both days and went to the gym for a good workout yesterday. I also bought a new MP3 player – my one I had for years died and I bought a cheap replacement which was a pain in the butt. So I sucked it up, went to Best Buy, and bought one which seems like it will be pretty easy to use for $45. I’ll find out tonight when I attempt to load music on it!

Well, it’s happened. In a little over a month my husband has caught up to me in the weight loss department, and I’ve been at it for months! I call justifiable homicide! Ha ha ha. Seriously though, I am proud of him!

I pestered Jeff to lift weights with me this afternoon. My own free personal trainer! How lucky am I?

Ugh

Ugh.


I left work yesterday missing NC very much, wondering just what the heck kind of life I want to create for myself – here, after here, for forever…. (Mid life crisis???) I was looking forward to a serious workout, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Hub called while I was on the way home – the plumbing under the sink broke (“fell apart” was the phrase he used) – he was on his way to Home Dept for new pipe and couldn’t make the gym. Okay, so I go alone.

When I got home the noy called to let me know N was on his way over (his best friend in Florida). His dad had kicked him out (this happens regularly.) They’d gotten into a fight and the boy said N was crying. The child lives a mile or so from us, so I finished changing, got in the car, and headed out to find him. I picked him up, let him in, and headed for the gym.

It wasn’t much of a workout, but I got there and did something.

He stayed for dinner and hung out until his grandma came to get him.

All in all, not much of an evening.

In good news, Hub is going to be working at a temp job most of next week. In bad news, I don’t know what we’re going to do with Butchie.

Thank heavens it’s the weekend. I need it!