Sunday, February 28, 2010
Feb Exercise Goal Reached
Almost didn't make it. 20 minutes on Friday & then 50 minutes today. 600 minutes total reached. I'm glad I made the goal, but I really should have exceeded it by much more.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Blitherings from an Impatient Antisocial Person
Super cranky today. I want the day/week/month to be over.
1 - Our house is sold! Should be good, right? Well, we don't have our money yet. We jumped through the bazillion hoops. Gosh darn it, give us our money. And now!! If it's not in our account tomorrow morning, we're raising heck. See, this is why I could never be a landlord. On the first of the month, I'd be pestering my tenants for the money.
2 - Our real estate agent is such a pain in the butt. Today she called in a last minute panic over something she didn't say we had to give to her, but now she needs it. So S had to drive to the house at lunch, come and give it to me, I had to PDF it, and then send it to her. Because the world was going to end and she needed it NOW! (As she needs everything, at least once a day, for the past 100 days.)
3 - I really don't like when people who need something from me call me and e-mail me that something is URGENT but when I need something from them, they don't have the decency to reply to my phone call or e-mail for 36 hours. If I have to drop everything for you, you can do the same the ONE time I ever need anything from you. Apparently that's too much to ask. This isn't related to #2.
4 - Julia was uber cranky today too. When you have a bad day, the last thing you want to deal with is a screaming and whiny toddler. Everything set her off all evening. She couldn't get her sock in, must throw things, scream, etc. We ignore her, as you're supposed to, but we still have to listen to the drama queen go through her whole tantrum every few minutes. When I'm uber cranky, I sit quietly and fume. We both have quick tempers, just different ways of coping.
5 - I'm tired...of basically everything. I want my money so we can close this stupid house business. I want to get going on the kitchen remodel (though I don't want to deal with the kitchen torn apart for several weeks). I want to have a better coping mechanism than eating crap. And I'd like to have a spa day where I get spa treatments by a mute person and have a big, long nap.
Why a mute person? I don't know about you, but I don't like getting my hair cut or whatnot and getting the stylist who won't shut up. Talks your ear off about the weather, kids, politics, blah blah blah. I came to get my hair cut. It's the only time I get to myself, and your blabbering is interrupting my moment of peace.
See, I'm so anti-social.
1 - Our house is sold! Should be good, right? Well, we don't have our money yet. We jumped through the bazillion hoops. Gosh darn it, give us our money. And now!! If it's not in our account tomorrow morning, we're raising heck. See, this is why I could never be a landlord. On the first of the month, I'd be pestering my tenants for the money.
2 - Our real estate agent is such a pain in the butt. Today she called in a last minute panic over something she didn't say we had to give to her, but now she needs it. So S had to drive to the house at lunch, come and give it to me, I had to PDF it, and then send it to her. Because the world was going to end and she needed it NOW! (As she needs everything, at least once a day, for the past 100 days.)
3 - I really don't like when people who need something from me call me and e-mail me that something is URGENT but when I need something from them, they don't have the decency to reply to my phone call or e-mail for 36 hours. If I have to drop everything for you, you can do the same the ONE time I ever need anything from you. Apparently that's too much to ask. This isn't related to #2.
4 - Julia was uber cranky today too. When you have a bad day, the last thing you want to deal with is a screaming and whiny toddler. Everything set her off all evening. She couldn't get her sock in, must throw things, scream, etc. We ignore her, as you're supposed to, but we still have to listen to the drama queen go through her whole tantrum every few minutes. When I'm uber cranky, I sit quietly and fume. We both have quick tempers, just different ways of coping.
5 - I'm tired...of basically everything. I want my money so we can close this stupid house business. I want to get going on the kitchen remodel (though I don't want to deal with the kitchen torn apart for several weeks). I want to have a better coping mechanism than eating crap. And I'd like to have a spa day where I get spa treatments by a mute person and have a big, long nap.
Why a mute person? I don't know about you, but I don't like getting my hair cut or whatnot and getting the stylist who won't shut up. Talks your ear off about the weather, kids, politics, blah blah blah. I came to get my hair cut. It's the only time I get to myself, and your blabbering is interrupting my moment of peace.
See, I'm so anti-social.
It's 4am. Another round of insomnia. Did you know there's 3 different types of insomnia? There's the type when you can't get to sleep initially, there's the type where you wake up in the middle of the night, and there's the type where you wake up early. I think I have all 3 types. Sometimes I wake up at 3am and don't get back to sleep, and that kind of brings together at least 2 of the types.
Not sure why I have insomnia right now. Things are kind of looking like they are resolving. For instance, we signed the house papers on Tuesday, and the house officially closes today (Wednesday). What a relief to not have to take care of 2 houses, deal with the transaction stuff (getting repairs fixed, real estate agent, dealing with buyers, etc.), and having more peace of mind. Yep, I'm stoked about that.
Then we made a cabinet decision. Believe me, this has been driving me up a wall. So to have some sort of resolution on this is great. There are a zillion other details to figure out before the remodel gets started, but - hey - it's progress!
Off to try to get more shut eye!
Not sure why I have insomnia right now. Things are kind of looking like they are resolving. For instance, we signed the house papers on Tuesday, and the house officially closes today (Wednesday). What a relief to not have to take care of 2 houses, deal with the transaction stuff (getting repairs fixed, real estate agent, dealing with buyers, etc.), and having more peace of mind. Yep, I'm stoked about that.
Then we made a cabinet decision. Believe me, this has been driving me up a wall. So to have some sort of resolution on this is great. There are a zillion other details to figure out before the remodel gets started, but - hey - it's progress!
Off to try to get more shut eye!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Productive Weekend
It was a really productive weekend. One of those weekends where you don't feel too rushed, you cross things off the list & you feel refreshed to go back to work.
The two big things were that we cleared away all the plant life that was way too close to the house (i.e., climbing the foundation and working its way into the siding and windows). S also cleaned most of the moss off the driveway. I tell ya, buying a house from people who didn't do a thing to the house for 8 YEARS is shocking. The things you will find!
The other big thing was that we finished cleaning the old house and moving all of our stuff out. YES! All of our stuff is in the new house now. Mentally it's great to know that we are done, done, done with the other house & all our stuff is now in THIS house. And physically it's just nice to have this time stuff again: i.e., dining room table, entry way mirror, my favorite pictures, etc.
Aside from the two big things, we also did other stuff on the weekend. We got two kitchen remodel estimates. We got pictures taken of our favorite little girl. I grocery shopped and found some awesome deals on clearance for Julia clothes. We had dinner with my mom. S and I had our financial planning meeting. We played some Nancy Drew on the computer. I worked out. Whew.... plus those bigger projects noted above. Dang, we were productive!
We sign papers on our old house on Tuesday, and at 5pm on Wednesday...we only own 1 house instead of 2. Score! While our costs on the other house were minimal (property taxes, insurance, and utilities), I was dreading tending to 2 yards & dealing with our real estate agent any more. She would call us every day or more than once a day, it seemed, and frankly I'm tired of getting calls and e-mails from her. It's like having a real naggy mother.
Have a good night!
The two big things were that we cleared away all the plant life that was way too close to the house (i.e., climbing the foundation and working its way into the siding and windows). S also cleaned most of the moss off the driveway. I tell ya, buying a house from people who didn't do a thing to the house for 8 YEARS is shocking. The things you will find!
The other big thing was that we finished cleaning the old house and moving all of our stuff out. YES! All of our stuff is in the new house now. Mentally it's great to know that we are done, done, done with the other house & all our stuff is now in THIS house. And physically it's just nice to have this time stuff again: i.e., dining room table, entry way mirror, my favorite pictures, etc.
Aside from the two big things, we also did other stuff on the weekend. We got two kitchen remodel estimates. We got pictures taken of our favorite little girl. I grocery shopped and found some awesome deals on clearance for Julia clothes. We had dinner with my mom. S and I had our financial planning meeting. We played some Nancy Drew on the computer. I worked out. Whew.... plus those bigger projects noted above. Dang, we were productive!
We sign papers on our old house on Tuesday, and at 5pm on Wednesday...we only own 1 house instead of 2. Score! While our costs on the other house were minimal (property taxes, insurance, and utilities), I was dreading tending to 2 yards & dealing with our real estate agent any more. She would call us every day or more than once a day, it seemed, and frankly I'm tired of getting calls and e-mails from her. It's like having a real naggy mother.
Have a good night!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A little bit of exercise
A beautiful weekend here! So nice for February. 40 minutes of Jillian Michaels' No More Trouble Zones, which brings me to 530 for February.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Daylight - I want some!
My big beef with the seasons/tide/earth moving "stuff" is that I like more daylight. No, I don't need sunshine, per se. I'm quite fine with gray skies and a little bit of drizzle. But I'm not so fond of the sun setting by 5pm. I suppose now it's closer to 6ish, but still... ugh, it makes it difficult to do anything that requires daylight around the house. You know, like pull back the weeds that the Hwangs didn't trim for 8 YEARS! Clean the deck that the Hwangs haven't cleaned for 8 YEARS! Wash the glass walls surrounding the deck that haven't been cleaned in...you guessed it: 8 YEARS! I want to tackle this stuff. So you will tell me that's what weekends are for. Well, kind reader, it's very hard to do such things while Julia is awake. We either have to tag team her, or we both have to be outside. One of us has to make sure she doesn't run into the street, which is usually me, because I'm allergic to all plant life it seems. The thing is that Julia wants to do whatever Daddy's doing. She's a complete Daddy's girl. So he's trying to do yardwork, she wants him to hold her while she "helps," I'm not doing much because I'm sneezing, and after two hours one branch is trimmed. Lovely.
Daylight. I want more daylight. It would be so nice to do some of this stuff after Julia goes to bed. On weekends, we tend to rest during naptime while she does. We're such old farts who are outdone by a 1-year old.
Daylight. I want more daylight. It would be so nice to do some of this stuff after Julia goes to bed. On weekends, we tend to rest during naptime while she does. We're such old farts who are outdone by a 1-year old.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
When you end up not knowing where you are
I kinda wrote off this evening. I ate something I wasn't supposed to eat, and I have quite a tummy ache. When I say "not supposed to eat," I mean as in will double over with stomach cramps kind of "not supposed to eat." It's been suggested that I not eat a zillion different things which I'm supposedly intolerant of, but there's a short list of things that give me physical maladies. And of course I like the food and think I should be cured, and then I go and eat it and pay the price. So it's been a blog reading kind of night because it hurts to move.
With the advent of blogs, I notice that my book reading has nosedived to about nil. I love to read, but with this moving/remodeling/kid hubbub, my attention span for a book is pretty much non-existent. Blogs fill up that missing hole in my life. People are fascinating.
With a few clicks, though, you end up on blogs that you can't retrace how you got there. Extremely interesting people, good laughs, intrigue, who needs a book when you have 100 blog subscriptions? Don't worry, I won't be letting that library card collect TOO much dust. Ann Rule likely has a new book coming out, and gosh darn I've got to find out how the husband killed the wife this time!
With the advent of blogs, I notice that my book reading has nosedived to about nil. I love to read, but with this moving/remodeling/kid hubbub, my attention span for a book is pretty much non-existent. Blogs fill up that missing hole in my life. People are fascinating.
With a few clicks, though, you end up on blogs that you can't retrace how you got there. Extremely interesting people, good laughs, intrigue, who needs a book when you have 100 blog subscriptions? Don't worry, I won't be letting that library card collect TOO much dust. Ann Rule likely has a new book coming out, and gosh darn I've got to find out how the husband killed the wife this time!
Day 17
Brisk 45 minute walk at lunch. That brings me to 490 minutes for February so far. That means I have 110 minutes to go in 11 days. Okay, so I will very likely hit that goal.
Yet it's intervention time. I keep eating! Sure, I get a reasonable amount of exercise in, but I eat way too many calories. Hence, I'm not losing (or maybe I'm gaining...). Every Friday morning I weigh in, and I say THIS week is going to be different. But it ends up not being any different by Friday afternoon.
Devil on my shoulder: I'm not THAT huge. Maybe that's why I keep sabotaging myself. I tell myself that a lot of people would love to be my weight, and if I can eat cookies and stay within 10 pounds of a 'healthy' weight, then so be it. Screw being a size 6, give me size 10/12 pants & give me that dang cookie. That cookie makes me feel good (temporarily).
Angel on my shoulder: Food is for sustenance. If I'm trying to heal emotional wounds with food, then I might need to look for other ways to heal myself. I do a reasonable job with exercise, so why ruin it with a despicable diet? I'm worth it!
My food life is a quick vacillation between the devil and the angel. Like today was 6 sugar cookies with frosting, a Kit Kat (fun size) & conversation hearts. But then I can eat 2 pounds of carrots in the same day. It's feast or famine. Today was a day of little protein. BAD! BAD!
Yet it's intervention time. I keep eating! Sure, I get a reasonable amount of exercise in, but I eat way too many calories. Hence, I'm not losing (or maybe I'm gaining...). Every Friday morning I weigh in, and I say THIS week is going to be different. But it ends up not being any different by Friday afternoon.
Devil on my shoulder: I'm not THAT huge. Maybe that's why I keep sabotaging myself. I tell myself that a lot of people would love to be my weight, and if I can eat cookies and stay within 10 pounds of a 'healthy' weight, then so be it. Screw being a size 6, give me size 10/12 pants & give me that dang cookie. That cookie makes me feel good (temporarily).
Angel on my shoulder: Food is for sustenance. If I'm trying to heal emotional wounds with food, then I might need to look for other ways to heal myself. I do a reasonable job with exercise, so why ruin it with a despicable diet? I'm worth it!
My food life is a quick vacillation between the devil and the angel. Like today was 6 sugar cookies with frosting, a Kit Kat (fun size) & conversation hearts. But then I can eat 2 pounds of carrots in the same day. It's feast or famine. Today was a day of little protein. BAD! BAD!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 16
50 minutes of exercise today. I did the 20 Minute Sweat off Exercise TV, and then I did a 30 minute Jillian Michaels knock-off. That brings me to 445 minutes of exercise for February.
Not feeling particularly bloggy. I should make it an early signoff for the evening.
Not feeling particularly bloggy. I should make it an early signoff for the evening.
Yeah, my ovaries hurt
Rain-induced insomnia. When the rain starts pounding the skylight so persistently, I wake up because I realize I have to pee. Then I can't get back to sleep because how can you sleep through downpours attacking your skylight?
Here are my 2am musings.
- My husband doesn't have a shirt on. I'm sticky, sweaty hot too. Remember that we keep the house at subzero. I get teased about this all the time about my penchant for turning down the thermostat. At night we keep the house at 57 degrees. Based on the sweat coming from my temples AND my husband being shirtless, I doubt it's early menopause giving me hot flashes. This weekend we bought a thermometer, and it was between 66-68 in this bedroom (I sprang for the dial vs. the digital). It's supposed to be 10 degrees cooler in here. I'm quaking in my socks to see how freaking hot this room will be in the summer. We may relocate to the basement. Or I may relocate to the basement in February because I can't take these hot flashes.
- Julia says "yeah" now. No "yes." It's "yeah." I'm trying to figure out where she picked it up. Do I say "yeah" a lot? I thought I said "yep" more. I'll have to pay attention. "Do you want cheese?" "Yeah." It's so ... casual.
- Julia's eating has dipped back down. I can't wait for her to go to daycare and eat. They can usually get far more food into her than I can.
- For many years I have asked S to rub my gluteus maximus. There are two symmetrical dull aches I get & I can't bear to ask him to rub my butt, so I ask him to rub my ovaries. I thought the symmetrical pain lent itself to being ovary pain, and it's certainly low enough. He'll gladly rub my ovaries, but he insists the pain is not from my ovaries because it's in my butt, after all, and ovaries are inside. Whatever. Yesterday he rubbed my "ovaries," and now my "ovaries" are sore. Butt muscles...ovaries...same diff.
- I love to eat. But is that a really stunning revelation???
Here are my 2am musings.
- My husband doesn't have a shirt on. I'm sticky, sweaty hot too. Remember that we keep the house at subzero. I get teased about this all the time about my penchant for turning down the thermostat. At night we keep the house at 57 degrees. Based on the sweat coming from my temples AND my husband being shirtless, I doubt it's early menopause giving me hot flashes. This weekend we bought a thermometer, and it was between 66-68 in this bedroom (I sprang for the dial vs. the digital). It's supposed to be 10 degrees cooler in here. I'm quaking in my socks to see how freaking hot this room will be in the summer. We may relocate to the basement. Or I may relocate to the basement in February because I can't take these hot flashes.
- Julia says "yeah" now. No "yes." It's "yeah." I'm trying to figure out where she picked it up. Do I say "yeah" a lot? I thought I said "yep" more. I'll have to pay attention. "Do you want cheese?" "Yeah." It's so ... casual.
- Julia's eating has dipped back down. I can't wait for her to go to daycare and eat. They can usually get far more food into her than I can.
- For many years I have asked S to rub my gluteus maximus. There are two symmetrical dull aches I get & I can't bear to ask him to rub my butt, so I ask him to rub my ovaries. I thought the symmetrical pain lent itself to being ovary pain, and it's certainly low enough. He'll gladly rub my ovaries, but he insists the pain is not from my ovaries because it's in my butt, after all, and ovaries are inside. Whatever. Yesterday he rubbed my "ovaries," and now my "ovaries" are sore. Butt muscles...ovaries...same diff.
- I love to eat. But is that a really stunning revelation???
Monday, February 15, 2010
Weekend Recap
First things first, on Day 15 I did 30 minutes of Turbo Jam Lower Body, so that brings my total to 395 minutes for February.
Julia and my dear husband have been sick. Julia didn't go to daycare on Friday due to her fever, and neither did hubby. I stayed home because it's tough to predict how hard Julia will be to manage solo when you're not feeling well. Sometimes she does sick well, and sometimes she doesn't. This time she did it better than we expected. Friday was pajama day, and we didn't get much done other than make a batch of brownies and eat the aforementioned batch of brownies. It was one of those days when dishes and laundry pile up quickly.
On Saturday we were all moving sluggishly, but with a bit more gusto than Friday. I made a vat of chili. We cleaned. I did laundry. We went to the Sears Outlet to look for appliances; we were hoping for some good deals. Nah, you can find better sales at the store & the ones in the real store aren't dented and scratched. Hubby had a Honeybaked Ham gift certificate from work, and we got two turkey roasts with it. 1.5 of the turkey roasts are gone by now - we know how to eat turkey! My mom came with us on our little adventure. On Saturday night we took the opportunity to clean the garage some. It's definitely more organized now. Still kinda smelly from the previous owner, but at least organized.
On Sunday my mom came over to watch Miss J, and we went to Redmond to see a play. Then we went to Claim Jumper afterward. Have you read that 5 Love Languages book? Well, neither of us like to receive gifts (no flowers please), we don't need a lot of words of affirmation (no cards please), we don't need a tremendous amount of physical affection, but we definitely like our quality time. It was nice to watch a play and then eat afterward. Eat! Oh how I love to eat. Did you know Claim Jumper was bad for the diet? :) The play was pretty good, and I got some sweets during intermission.
Today S had to work, so that means I had Miss J all day. We watched Sesame Street and Curious George in the morning. Then I went to meet the playgroup at the community center. It was fun. Some of the kids are a little violent. There are two brothers, and one of the brothers threw a ball at Julia's face, and the smaller brother yanked the toy she was playing with out of her hands. And their mom just sat there. Later the older one accosted another girl with a ball repeatedly, and she just sat there still. Not so fond of her parenting abilities.
After the playgroup, we came home. I fed Miss J lunch, then she went down for a nap (and maybe I did too). The stinker woke up an hour later, I carried her downstairs, and she fell asleep in my arms for another hour. It's always nice to hold her, but it certainly would have been nice if she (and I) continued to sleep for another hour in our own respective beds. When she woke up for the second time, I attempted to feed her a snack (do 5 grapes count?), and then we took a walk outside. Then Daddy came home a few minutes later. Seriously - I do not understand how a day can go so quickly. We left for the playgroup at 9:30am, and then the playgroup - lunch - nap - second nap - snack - play outside & it's 4:30pm.
This evening I went grocery shopping & went to Lowe's to order a chandelier. It took a horrendous amount of time and 4 employees to figure out how to order it. It was on display, but it was special order.
As you can tell from my diatribe, I ate a lot, didn't exercise a whole lot, and there's only 3 days til weigh-in. Boo! I did a lot of damage in 4 days. One food I didn't mention was that I got a pack of cinnamon raisin English muffins. Those were so good. And I drank a 2-liter of ginger ale (not diet). I'm not one for soda normally, but I was having a ginger ale craving.
All in all, a good weekend. It certainly feels like we aren't making progress on this house (or the old house) like we wanted to. Feeling sick, taking care of Miss J, other commitments ... there's just not enough time (or energy) in the day!
Julia and my dear husband have been sick. Julia didn't go to daycare on Friday due to her fever, and neither did hubby. I stayed home because it's tough to predict how hard Julia will be to manage solo when you're not feeling well. Sometimes she does sick well, and sometimes she doesn't. This time she did it better than we expected. Friday was pajama day, and we didn't get much done other than make a batch of brownies and eat the aforementioned batch of brownies. It was one of those days when dishes and laundry pile up quickly.
On Saturday we were all moving sluggishly, but with a bit more gusto than Friday. I made a vat of chili. We cleaned. I did laundry. We went to the Sears Outlet to look for appliances; we were hoping for some good deals. Nah, you can find better sales at the store & the ones in the real store aren't dented and scratched. Hubby had a Honeybaked Ham gift certificate from work, and we got two turkey roasts with it. 1.5 of the turkey roasts are gone by now - we know how to eat turkey! My mom came with us on our little adventure. On Saturday night we took the opportunity to clean the garage some. It's definitely more organized now. Still kinda smelly from the previous owner, but at least organized.
On Sunday my mom came over to watch Miss J, and we went to Redmond to see a play. Then we went to Claim Jumper afterward. Have you read that 5 Love Languages book? Well, neither of us like to receive gifts (no flowers please), we don't need a lot of words of affirmation (no cards please), we don't need a tremendous amount of physical affection, but we definitely like our quality time. It was nice to watch a play and then eat afterward. Eat! Oh how I love to eat. Did you know Claim Jumper was bad for the diet? :) The play was pretty good, and I got some sweets during intermission.
Today S had to work, so that means I had Miss J all day. We watched Sesame Street and Curious George in the morning. Then I went to meet the playgroup at the community center. It was fun. Some of the kids are a little violent. There are two brothers, and one of the brothers threw a ball at Julia's face, and the smaller brother yanked the toy she was playing with out of her hands. And their mom just sat there. Later the older one accosted another girl with a ball repeatedly, and she just sat there still. Not so fond of her parenting abilities.
After the playgroup, we came home. I fed Miss J lunch, then she went down for a nap (and maybe I did too). The stinker woke up an hour later, I carried her downstairs, and she fell asleep in my arms for another hour. It's always nice to hold her, but it certainly would have been nice if she (and I) continued to sleep for another hour in our own respective beds. When she woke up for the second time, I attempted to feed her a snack (do 5 grapes count?), and then we took a walk outside. Then Daddy came home a few minutes later. Seriously - I do not understand how a day can go so quickly. We left for the playgroup at 9:30am, and then the playgroup - lunch - nap - second nap - snack - play outside & it's 4:30pm.
This evening I went grocery shopping & went to Lowe's to order a chandelier. It took a horrendous amount of time and 4 employees to figure out how to order it. It was on display, but it was special order.
As you can tell from my diatribe, I ate a lot, didn't exercise a whole lot, and there's only 3 days til weigh-in. Boo! I did a lot of damage in 4 days. One food I didn't mention was that I got a pack of cinnamon raisin English muffins. Those were so good. And I drank a 2-liter of ginger ale (not diet). I'm not one for soda normally, but I was having a ginger ale craving.
All in all, a good weekend. It certainly feels like we aren't making progress on this house (or the old house) like we wanted to. Feeling sick, taking care of Miss J, other commitments ... there's just not enough time (or energy) in the day!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Day 11
45 minute walk at lunch, so I'm up to 345 minutes for February.
I think Zion wins the worst baby name.
I can't wait for a new "exercise/diet" week because this one is toast.
Julia got sent home from daycare with a 101 degree fever. She hasn't eaten or drank much (big surprise), but she's not acting all that different from normal.
I don't get Valentine's Day. Is the goal to impress your girlfriends with what your significant other has gotten you? Is that really the goal? Is it to have the biggest vase of flowers on your desk at work? Because the presence or even the size of the flowers and chocolate you receive equal the amount you are loved? Does jewelry up the ante even more? I've been trying to grasp the concept for many years. I don't mind the little kid part of Valentine's Day. It's the adult part I don't get. But I suppose I wouldn't turn down a meal out and some chocolate. Have I EVER turned down a meal or chocolate????
I think Zion wins the worst baby name.
I can't wait for a new "exercise/diet" week because this one is toast.
Julia got sent home from daycare with a 101 degree fever. She hasn't eaten or drank much (big surprise), but she's not acting all that different from normal.
I don't get Valentine's Day. Is the goal to impress your girlfriends with what your significant other has gotten you? Is that really the goal? Is it to have the biggest vase of flowers on your desk at work? Because the presence or even the size of the flowers and chocolate you receive equal the amount you are loved? Does jewelry up the ante even more? I've been trying to grasp the concept for many years. I don't mind the little kid part of Valentine's Day. It's the adult part I don't get. But I suppose I wouldn't turn down a meal out and some chocolate. Have I EVER turned down a meal or chocolate????
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Mission
I know I said I wouldn't be focusing on weight, per se, with my diet and exercise. The theory is that if I eat well and exercise, the weight will go down in relationship to my effort. It's hard because I have to weigh in every Friday, so I do keep an eye on the scale - even if it's just for the spreadsheet.
When I puttered around with BMI charts, I was pleased to find out that I'm about 7 pounds away from being classified as NOT overweight. 7 pounds. That really doesn't sound like a whole lot. I remember when into my first OB appointment (at the weight I am now), and the doctor told me I was overweight and had to limit my weight gain to 15 pounds. At the time, I was so crushed because I felt like a beluga whale who was told to eat a shark and only gain a pound. Come to find out that while I was *technically* overweight, it was only by 7 pounds. I suppose it depends on what chart you're looking at, but all the ones I could find said the same thing.
7 pounds. That seems like a very attainable goal in, say, 2 months. I know how much I can eat mathematically to lose 1 pound a week. I think that I should mark the event with something cool if I achieve it. I've been wanting a DSLR camera for a while. I'm thinking that if I make it to a healthy weight (i.e., not overweight in the eyes of that chart), I should get myself the camera.
But I don't want to make it about the weight, per se. Because, heck, can't you take one of those cleanse things and be down that much in a week just to gain it all back? I want 7 pounds of "real" weight gone before I reward myself.
So to get around the not focusing on weight thing, I'm trying to conjure up a challenge that focuses on diet and exercise and not the weight. But if the weight is the ultimate measurable goal, how should I go about that?
Mission: not be considered overweight by that BMI chart
Strategy: eat 1500 calories or less per day & exercise 30 minutes (on average) per day
When I puttered around with BMI charts, I was pleased to find out that I'm about 7 pounds away from being classified as NOT overweight. 7 pounds. That really doesn't sound like a whole lot. I remember when into my first OB appointment (at the weight I am now), and the doctor told me I was overweight and had to limit my weight gain to 15 pounds. At the time, I was so crushed because I felt like a beluga whale who was told to eat a shark and only gain a pound. Come to find out that while I was *technically* overweight, it was only by 7 pounds. I suppose it depends on what chart you're looking at, but all the ones I could find said the same thing.
7 pounds. That seems like a very attainable goal in, say, 2 months. I know how much I can eat mathematically to lose 1 pound a week. I think that I should mark the event with something cool if I achieve it. I've been wanting a DSLR camera for a while. I'm thinking that if I make it to a healthy weight (i.e., not overweight in the eyes of that chart), I should get myself the camera.
But I don't want to make it about the weight, per se. Because, heck, can't you take one of those cleanse things and be down that much in a week just to gain it all back? I want 7 pounds of "real" weight gone before I reward myself.
So to get around the not focusing on weight thing, I'm trying to conjure up a challenge that focuses on diet and exercise and not the weight. But if the weight is the ultimate measurable goal, how should I go about that?
Mission: not be considered overweight by that BMI chart
Strategy: eat 1500 calories or less per day & exercise 30 minutes (on average) per day
Day 10
I ate crap today. Complete crap. Empty carbs, lots of fat. I'd even like to say it tasted good going down, but it really didn't. Oh well, weigh in is on Friday & it starts a new week.
But....I did 30 minutes of Turbo Jam Fat Blaster. That's gotta count for something. At least it brings my exercise total to 300 minutes for the month.
It was my first attempt at Turbo Jam. My first impression was that it was a cheerleader on crack with ADD. There are sirens going off, doing facial expressions with attitude and lots of frantic jumping. After a while, you get desensitized a bit, and it's not so bad.
The good: time went by quickly, seemed like a good workout that you could adjust to your personal comfort zone
The bad: the first impression
Took cookies to the neighbors. Saw the nanny next door. The folks that live in that house work from 4am to 8pm. That sooooo doesn't sound like a life I want to live. I also saw next door. He's a bit resentful about our house because that brings down his value, and he wants to put his house up for sale. Of course, I already knew this because we interviewed his real estate agent when we put our old house up for sale. The agent called him "an odd duck." He wins the distinction of presuming I was pregnant (just fat, thank you very much). You should have seen his wife's expression. And everyone else wasn't home, so I just left the cookies on their doorsteps. There's a house below us that we want to suck up to because they have a tree that's blocking our view (and it definitely will block our view in the spring and summer). Their house is like freaking Fort Knox. You canNOT get to their front door. It's all gated. I just left their cookies next to the gate.
But....I did 30 minutes of Turbo Jam Fat Blaster. That's gotta count for something. At least it brings my exercise total to 300 minutes for the month.
It was my first attempt at Turbo Jam. My first impression was that it was a cheerleader on crack with ADD. There are sirens going off, doing facial expressions with attitude and lots of frantic jumping. After a while, you get desensitized a bit, and it's not so bad.
The good: time went by quickly, seemed like a good workout that you could adjust to your personal comfort zone
The bad: the first impression
Took cookies to the neighbors. Saw the nanny next door. The folks that live in that house work from 4am to 8pm. That sooooo doesn't sound like a life I want to live. I also saw next door. He's a bit resentful about our house because that brings down his value, and he wants to put his house up for sale. Of course, I already knew this because we interviewed his real estate agent when we put our old house up for sale. The agent called him "an odd duck." He wins the distinction of presuming I was pregnant (just fat, thank you very much). You should have seen his wife's expression. And everyone else wasn't home, so I just left the cookies on their doorsteps. There's a house below us that we want to suck up to because they have a tree that's blocking our view (and it definitely will block our view in the spring and summer). Their house is like freaking Fort Knox. You canNOT get to their front door. It's all gated. I just left their cookies next to the gate.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
This & that
Y'all should know that it is not the end of the world if you substitute applesauce for 1 egg in a sugar cookie recipe. I couldn't even tell! They are frosted, now just have to wait for the frosting to harden & then I can dispense some to the neighbors and some to pals at work (and some for hubby and me).
The appraisal came through for what we needed it to. Now the buyer has to go through underwriting. If that goes through (it should since she was approved), then we're golden to sell this house. That would be awesome. We're quickly learning that we do not want a real estate empire like Donald Trump. One house + some mutual funds is a better asset allocation for us. :)
I ate way over today. Too much food. Oh how I love food. I didn't eat nearly enough protein today. I do seem to eat better when I choose more protein-rich foods. However, I must toot my own horn and say that I ate 12 (count 'em...TWELVE) servings of fruits & veggies today. I can be awesome with fruits & veggies. The thing is: I can also down 12 servings of sweets & carbs at the same time. I'm not fond of meat. Thank goodness Julia is, or we'd be up a creek with her.
I have a lovely space heater pointed at me right now. I love warm air blowing on me. It's so relaxing - I'm not sure if it's the white noise or the heat, but it makes me sleeeeeeeepy.
Have a good night!
The appraisal came through for what we needed it to. Now the buyer has to go through underwriting. If that goes through (it should since she was approved), then we're golden to sell this house. That would be awesome. We're quickly learning that we do not want a real estate empire like Donald Trump. One house + some mutual funds is a better asset allocation for us. :)
I ate way over today. Too much food. Oh how I love food. I didn't eat nearly enough protein today. I do seem to eat better when I choose more protein-rich foods. However, I must toot my own horn and say that I ate 12 (count 'em...TWELVE) servings of fruits & veggies today. I can be awesome with fruits & veggies. The thing is: I can also down 12 servings of sweets & carbs at the same time. I'm not fond of meat. Thank goodness Julia is, or we'd be up a creek with her.
I have a lovely space heater pointed at me right now. I love warm air blowing on me. It's so relaxing - I'm not sure if it's the white noise or the heat, but it makes me sleeeeeeeepy.
Have a good night!
Day 9
45 minutes of brisk walking at lunch brings my total up to 270 minutes.
I'm trying to organize Julia's valentines for school. I have to get all the names of her classmates. Of course, I know most of them, but you have to make sure you have them all and have their proper spellings. She has a Carson in her class, but instead of the "o" there's a "y." And it's a BOY! These spellings are kinda crazy. I'm used to the Stacy vs. Stacie. I can even tolerate Rebekkah instead of Rebecca. But when a "y" replaces an "o," I must roll my eyes.
I'm trying to organize Julia's valentines for school. I have to get all the names of her classmates. Of course, I know most of them, but you have to make sure you have them all and have their proper spellings. She has a Carson in her class, but instead of the "o" there's a "y." And it's a BOY! These spellings are kinda crazy. I'm used to the Stacy vs. Stacie. I can even tolerate Rebekkah instead of Rebecca. But when a "y" replaces an "o," I must roll my eyes.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Applesauce and Vista
I run my life with lists. When you're slightly OCD and have a tremendous achievement motivation (instead of power and affiliation), you tend to like to get things done. There's something satisfying about checking things off a list.
One of my tasks for this week is to make Valentine's Day cookies and take them to the neighbors. Why? Oh, I don't know. I guess maybe to be festive and to create some sort of goodwill. Believe me, it's a passing glimmer of friendliness soon to zoom by & I'll be back to my cranky self soon enough.
Despite being a listmaker, I am a horrible listmaker. For instance, every time I grocery shop I come home to a husband who has already put 2 things on the grocery list that I forget to get. Yes, I will have thought I did a complete inventory of our food. I will make (what I think) is a comprehensive list, and I will have left off at least two things. I did a huge grocery trip this weekend, and I come home to "eggs" on the new grocery list. Ugh! I had seen a carton of eggs in the fridge when I was making my list, so I didn't take the time to see just how many eggs were in the carton.
So today I decided to make the cookie dough. I'm also one of those people who doesn't do inventory before making something. So I start out melting butter, pouring sugar, and ... ooops... we only have ONE egg and I need TWO eggs. A sane person probably would have called hubby (who was at martial arts) to have him bring home a carton of eggs. But, alas, I am me & I decide to improvise. Yes, since I'm such a cook (NOT!) and quite good at this baking thing and have a real zeal for substituting things on a whim (NOT!).
I seem to recall that you can substitute applesauce for something in brownies. Something? Yeah, I couldn't quite recall if it was an egg substitute, but gosh darn it we had applesauce, and I was going to FORCE it to be a substitute for one egg.
I'm chilling my dough now. We'll see how applesauce in sugar cookies goes over. My theory is that I can disguise it with lots of frosting. Hmmmm... now my problem is that I can't find my cookie cutters.
I got this computer game that involves puzzle solving. It was released in 2008, and it says it's compatible with Windows Vista. Well, it's not working. I loaded the thing, restarted, and the game won't play. I thought perhaps that it was my computer, so I get out S's computer. Install it, and it doesn't work on his Windows Vista computer either. So that's a complete waste.
I do have the Windows 7 upgrade sitting here, but S wants to back up everything first & I have that impatience "issue" so I think I'm banned from doing anything else rash today.
Applesauce sugar cookies, here I come!
One of my tasks for this week is to make Valentine's Day cookies and take them to the neighbors. Why? Oh, I don't know. I guess maybe to be festive and to create some sort of goodwill. Believe me, it's a passing glimmer of friendliness soon to zoom by & I'll be back to my cranky self soon enough.
Despite being a listmaker, I am a horrible listmaker. For instance, every time I grocery shop I come home to a husband who has already put 2 things on the grocery list that I forget to get. Yes, I will have thought I did a complete inventory of our food. I will make (what I think) is a comprehensive list, and I will have left off at least two things. I did a huge grocery trip this weekend, and I come home to "eggs" on the new grocery list. Ugh! I had seen a carton of eggs in the fridge when I was making my list, so I didn't take the time to see just how many eggs were in the carton.
So today I decided to make the cookie dough. I'm also one of those people who doesn't do inventory before making something. So I start out melting butter, pouring sugar, and ... ooops... we only have ONE egg and I need TWO eggs. A sane person probably would have called hubby (who was at martial arts) to have him bring home a carton of eggs. But, alas, I am me & I decide to improvise. Yes, since I'm such a cook (NOT!) and quite good at this baking thing and have a real zeal for substituting things on a whim (NOT!).
I seem to recall that you can substitute applesauce for something in brownies. Something? Yeah, I couldn't quite recall if it was an egg substitute, but gosh darn it we had applesauce, and I was going to FORCE it to be a substitute for one egg.
I'm chilling my dough now. We'll see how applesauce in sugar cookies goes over. My theory is that I can disguise it with lots of frosting. Hmmmm... now my problem is that I can't find my cookie cutters.
I got this computer game that involves puzzle solving. It was released in 2008, and it says it's compatible with Windows Vista. Well, it's not working. I loaded the thing, restarted, and the game won't play. I thought perhaps that it was my computer, so I get out S's computer. Install it, and it doesn't work on his Windows Vista computer either. So that's a complete waste.
I do have the Windows 7 upgrade sitting here, but S wants to back up everything first & I have that impatience "issue" so I think I'm banned from doing anything else rash today.
Applesauce sugar cookies, here I come!
Day 8
This weekend was bad, bad, bad for food. No quantifiable exercise either.
Today I did Jackie Warner's 40 minute total body workout. That brings me to 225 minutes thus far for the month. I love her workouts!
Today I did Jackie Warner's 40 minute total body workout. That brings me to 225 minutes thus far for the month. I love her workouts!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Day 5
I did 30 minutes of cardio (on demand) yesterday. I also steam cleaned 6 rooms in the old house and mopped the kitchen and bathrooms, but I'm not going to count that since I'm not sure what the exercise equivalent was. At 185 minutes total so far this month.
Today I walked to the park (12 minutes each way). I don't think I'll be doing any official exercise today. My head hurts & haven't been sleeping.
Today was a decent food day until we got Domino's for dinner. They have been touting their new pizza formula, and it is better. I really like it! Pizza Hut had been my favorite, but I think Domino's has edged them out now!
Still working on this kitchen remodel. We found a cabinet place that warrants being checked out in person. These cabinets are so darn difficult to pick out! Unfortunately it's closed on Sundays, so we'll have to wait til next Saturday.
Last night I went to the old house and worked some. Today we put some shelving units together, hung a picture over one of the fireplaces, consulted with our kitchen contractor, and unpacked a little. Julia was in a great mood, and she drank well. She ate 6 vienna sausages for dinner.
AND...we see 2 teeth that are popping through! Her frequent wakings in the past few weeks must have actually been due to teething.
Tired and my head hurts. Catch you later!
Today I walked to the park (12 minutes each way). I don't think I'll be doing any official exercise today. My head hurts & haven't been sleeping.
Today was a decent food day until we got Domino's for dinner. They have been touting their new pizza formula, and it is better. I really like it! Pizza Hut had been my favorite, but I think Domino's has edged them out now!
Still working on this kitchen remodel. We found a cabinet place that warrants being checked out in person. These cabinets are so darn difficult to pick out! Unfortunately it's closed on Sundays, so we'll have to wait til next Saturday.
Last night I went to the old house and worked some. Today we put some shelving units together, hung a picture over one of the fireplaces, consulted with our kitchen contractor, and unpacked a little. Julia was in a great mood, and she drank well. She ate 6 vienna sausages for dinner.
AND...we see 2 teeth that are popping through! Her frequent wakings in the past few weeks must have actually been due to teething.
Tired and my head hurts. Catch you later!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Good but insanely busy
Things are looking optimistic that we will sell our house. Yay! However, the last week and a half has been insanity.
Last Tuesday afternoon we got an offer on our house. Our agent wanted us to accept the offer as is, and she said she didn't think we'd get anything close to it for the next few months. Blah blah blah, her whole speech pissed me off. Then after she leaves (and she was PO'ed we had the audacity to counter the offer), we get another offer. And then on Thursday we got another offer. 3 offers in 2 days. Then you have to go through all the countering and haggling, etc. But with 3 offers, we could choose to be picky.
We sign paperwork, go through all that hoopla. We knew of some things at the old house we had to fix, so we get the process of get estimates and stuff for that. Then we deal with our real estate agent twice a day at least. She will prattle on for half an hour at a time while Julia is screaming in the background. Monday was the inspection. We get the buyer's inspection counter on Wednesday. We formulate our response while our real estate agent is annoying the heck out of us. Today was the appraisal. They are going FHA & there's extra criteria & we won't find out the results of the appraisal til Tuesday. Since there was a bidding war, there's some anxiety on the part of our agent that the house won't appraise for what it sold for. We have to fill out the title documents. We have to coordinate people to come fix things. We have to carve some time out to go steam clean the carpets in the old house and clean the old house.
Remember the part that we work full-time and have a toddler and have a buttload to do in the new house? Yeah, there's that part too.
Then I'm trying to get things going on our refinance. If we refi with Bank of America, we have to close BY March 13th in order to not have to pay for another appraisal on our new house (120 days from the last inspection on the new house). Plus they will match the rate & closing costs ING would give us. If we go with ING, we can't even APPLY until March 14 (90 days after our previous closing). Isn't that funky? So we have to close by March 14 or apply no earlier than March 14, depending on where we decide to get our loan from. I'm thinking we should just refi with BOA now.
Oh yeah, and we are working out the details on the kitchen remodel. That will be starting soon.
Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled (beyond thrilled) that the other house will likely be sold soon. It's just all so daunting and tedious and lots of things to do without firm answers yet. Like we don't know if the buyer will accept our counter to the inspection, we don't know if the appraisal will come through to meet the FHA criteria, so we're not 100% ready to start the refinance process. But we need to close on the refi by March 13th, so that means we need to put it in high gear the moment we are almost certain the house sale will go through.
We knew going into this house swap thing that life would be quite hectic and uncertain for a considerable amount of time. But we thought the advantages outweighed the risk, and we could withstand the stress. And we can. It's just life is hairy right now with an epic to-do list, most of which there is not enough time in the day to do. You just have to set it aside and do what you can as these more urgent things come up.
As I keep learning time and time again in the home buying and home selling process: Trust your gut. Don't let your agent or the opposing side sell you up the river. You are the only one who works for your best interests.
I'm exhausted, mostly mentally. All of this will be worthwhile if the house indeed sells. Right now, though, I'm impatient and want to start tying up loose ends.
Last Tuesday afternoon we got an offer on our house. Our agent wanted us to accept the offer as is, and she said she didn't think we'd get anything close to it for the next few months. Blah blah blah, her whole speech pissed me off. Then after she leaves (and she was PO'ed we had the audacity to counter the offer), we get another offer. And then on Thursday we got another offer. 3 offers in 2 days. Then you have to go through all the countering and haggling, etc. But with 3 offers, we could choose to be picky.
We sign paperwork, go through all that hoopla. We knew of some things at the old house we had to fix, so we get the process of get estimates and stuff for that. Then we deal with our real estate agent twice a day at least. She will prattle on for half an hour at a time while Julia is screaming in the background. Monday was the inspection. We get the buyer's inspection counter on Wednesday. We formulate our response while our real estate agent is annoying the heck out of us. Today was the appraisal. They are going FHA & there's extra criteria & we won't find out the results of the appraisal til Tuesday. Since there was a bidding war, there's some anxiety on the part of our agent that the house won't appraise for what it sold for. We have to fill out the title documents. We have to coordinate people to come fix things. We have to carve some time out to go steam clean the carpets in the old house and clean the old house.
Remember the part that we work full-time and have a toddler and have a buttload to do in the new house? Yeah, there's that part too.
Then I'm trying to get things going on our refinance. If we refi with Bank of America, we have to close BY March 13th in order to not have to pay for another appraisal on our new house (120 days from the last inspection on the new house). Plus they will match the rate & closing costs ING would give us. If we go with ING, we can't even APPLY until March 14 (90 days after our previous closing). Isn't that funky? So we have to close by March 14 or apply no earlier than March 14, depending on where we decide to get our loan from. I'm thinking we should just refi with BOA now.
Oh yeah, and we are working out the details on the kitchen remodel. That will be starting soon.
Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled (beyond thrilled) that the other house will likely be sold soon. It's just all so daunting and tedious and lots of things to do without firm answers yet. Like we don't know if the buyer will accept our counter to the inspection, we don't know if the appraisal will come through to meet the FHA criteria, so we're not 100% ready to start the refinance process. But we need to close on the refi by March 13th, so that means we need to put it in high gear the moment we are almost certain the house sale will go through.
We knew going into this house swap thing that life would be quite hectic and uncertain for a considerable amount of time. But we thought the advantages outweighed the risk, and we could withstand the stress. And we can. It's just life is hairy right now with an epic to-do list, most of which there is not enough time in the day to do. You just have to set it aside and do what you can as these more urgent things come up.
As I keep learning time and time again in the home buying and home selling process: Trust your gut. Don't let your agent or the opposing side sell you up the river. You are the only one who works for your best interests.
I'm exhausted, mostly mentally. All of this will be worthwhile if the house indeed sells. Right now, though, I'm impatient and want to start tying up loose ends.
Day 4
I got into the cookies at lunchtime today. Baaaaaaaaad me!
I did 30 minutes of exercise. 10 minutes of leg pilates and 20 minutes of Jackie Warner core. Ouchie! Particularly after 20 minutes of abs yesterday. My abs are pleading for a break from exercise now. 155 minutes total for the month of February so far.
The Jackie Warner core exercise are a lot like Jillian Michaels'. Jackie Warner has a troop of really pretty people exercising with her. Really pretty people. So pretty it's disgusting. On the whole, I find Jackie far less annoying than Jillian and Denise Austin. Jillian has that smug, I work you hard attitude. Denise Austin is so perky that you want to slap her. Jackie isn't perky or condescending.
I did 30 minutes of exercise. 10 minutes of leg pilates and 20 minutes of Jackie Warner core. Ouchie! Particularly after 20 minutes of abs yesterday. My abs are pleading for a break from exercise now. 155 minutes total for the month of February so far.
The Jackie Warner core exercise are a lot like Jillian Michaels'. Jackie Warner has a troop of really pretty people exercising with her. Really pretty people. So pretty it's disgusting. On the whole, I find Jackie far less annoying than Jillian and Denise Austin. Jillian has that smug, I work you hard attitude. Denise Austin is so perky that you want to slap her. Jackie isn't perky or condescending.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Day Three
Yesterday my allergies were really acting up, so I took my allergy pill and went to bed by 8pm (then woke up at 11pm). So no exercise. Food was so-so yesterday. I ate about 1800 calories.
Today I think I stayed within 1500 calories. And I did some exercise:
30 Day Shred (25 minutes)
Denise Austin - 2 different ab workouts (20 minutes)
Biggest Loser Cardio jump start on demand (15 minutes)
So I did a total of 60 minutes of exercise AND stayed within my calorie allotment. Total exercise for February thus far: 125 minutes
Today I think I stayed within 1500 calories. And I did some exercise:
30 Day Shred (25 minutes)
Denise Austin - 2 different ab workouts (20 minutes)
Biggest Loser Cardio jump start on demand (15 minutes)
So I did a total of 60 minutes of exercise AND stayed within my calorie allotment. Total exercise for February thus far: 125 minutes
It's only 20 years away
Melissa, that was a very BLUE cartoon! :)
Am I the only person who retreats into a fantasyland during bad days? Probably not. I sit and dream of retirement. Most of the time, I do like my job, but I don't care much for politics and have the patience of a gnat. And we spend oodles of time preparing for retirement, why not envision what it will be like?
My retirement dreams are likely in a class of their own. And they say so, so much about me.
First, I would like to work part-time at See's. I want to don a white apron. I want to work retail since I never have. And I want to make people happy by giving them truffles. Yes, I want to make people happy by giving them food. Does this at all indicate that I am an emotional eater? I plead the fifth.
Then there's my second retirement dream. I want to see lots of plays with my husband, and I want to eat those cute brownies they sell during intermission. I love, love, love plays. And if you add in those cute brownies and a fancy cup of tea, it's an afternoon of utter perfection!
So both of my retirement dreams revolve around food. Unhealthy food to boot. If you know me, you know my life revolves around food. It makes complete sense if you've ever spent a day with me. But when you're trying to develop a healthier relationship with food, you realize that you either have to change your mentality now or your retirement dream later. Or I can be fat & happy & be a sample lady at See's in 20 years. I'd be a gosh darn good sample lady, complete with a pouty face if you don't take the truffle I try to give you!
Am I the only person who retreats into a fantasyland during bad days? Probably not. I sit and dream of retirement. Most of the time, I do like my job, but I don't care much for politics and have the patience of a gnat. And we spend oodles of time preparing for retirement, why not envision what it will be like?
My retirement dreams are likely in a class of their own. And they say so, so much about me.
First, I would like to work part-time at See's. I want to don a white apron. I want to work retail since I never have. And I want to make people happy by giving them truffles. Yes, I want to make people happy by giving them food. Does this at all indicate that I am an emotional eater? I plead the fifth.
Then there's my second retirement dream. I want to see lots of plays with my husband, and I want to eat those cute brownies they sell during intermission. I love, love, love plays. And if you add in those cute brownies and a fancy cup of tea, it's an afternoon of utter perfection!
So both of my retirement dreams revolve around food. Unhealthy food to boot. If you know me, you know my life revolves around food. It makes complete sense if you've ever spent a day with me. But when you're trying to develop a healthier relationship with food, you realize that you either have to change your mentality now or your retirement dream later. Or I can be fat & happy & be a sample lady at See's in 20 years. I'd be a gosh darn good sample lady, complete with a pouty face if you don't take the truffle I try to give you!
Achoo!
I am allergic to simply everything. I found this out in 2005. It's not like in 2005 that I developed all of these allergies. It's just in 2005 I was officially diagnosed. It really wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. I sneeze in the presence of anything.
Back in 1988 we had a crazy cat lady neighbor. She was a nice lady with 5 cats, but once you have 5 cats in a very small space, you get the "crazy cat lady" designation from me. Well, anyway, every time I went over there I would sneeze up a storm and then be miserable for a day afterward. Everyone in their right mind would conclude that I was either allergic to dust or cats or both, but not my mom. She would just tell me to knock off all the sneezing (as if I could control that).
It was only when I got married and my lovely husband could actually see I wasn't faking symptoms that I felt like my allergies were valid. And he was such a nice husband that he would rub my sinus cavities to try to drain them. Was? He still does. It is oh so lovely to have your bulging sinuses rubbed. And he even rubs in the direction of emptying them. Oh so lovely feeling.
In 2005 I went to the actual doctor for these symptoms. Heck, I knew I was allergic to cats, grass, maybe dogs, pollen, dust & a ton of other stuff, but I wanted medical confirmation that I wasn't sneezing all the time to get attention (as my mother claimed...since why else would I sneeze since she didn't have allergies).
I found out that my system was pretty close to allergy overload. Not only am I allergic to anything that is airborne, but my system has been fighting it for so long that it's completely worn out. I left the office with about 8 prescriptions to fill and to take religiously for the rest of my life.
And I haven't taken many of them. I still claim that I don't have asthma like the doctor said. I refuse to take the asthma prescriptions out of protest. Now that Zyrtec has generics that are sold over the counter, I take that every so often. I very rarely take the nasal steroids, and I can't remember the other stuff I'm supposed to be taking. Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to go get allergy shots too.
I've been puttering along with my allergies. During grass pollen season I'm miserable. I have to take Zyrtec daily to get through that misery. Even then, I have to add a Tylenol Allergy & Sinus every so often. I love, love, love Tylenol Allergy & Sinus. It makes you fall asleep. It's a nice drug-induced sleep, and when you wake up, your nose is dry.
As I've been complaining out since we moved in, I am allergic to this dang house. Seriously allergic. It's like the world's longest grass pollen season. I do not know what's in this house, but I can't take it anymore. Since we've done all we can do (that I know of), we're down to cleaning the air ducts (I think professionals do this) & changing out the carpet.
I've resorted to taking Zyrtec AND the nasal steroids. You know it's gotta be bad when I'm hitting 2 drugs a day. The combo is putting me in a drug-induced stupor that allows me to get a few hours of sleep here and there. I'm asking for nightly sinus massages.
I'm contemplating sleeping at the old house. Whatever I'm allergic to in the new house has definitely invaded the sleeping quarters. I'm much better downstairs where there is hardwood. So that leads me to think it's something in the carpet. I think the Hwangs changed out the bedroom carpet recently, and I don't think they had pets. Even so, we've steam cleaned the bedroom twice. And we've painted all the walls in the bedrooms.
So at night I'm wanting to extract piles of cat dander from the ductwork and carpet. I'm dreaming of hour-long sinus massages. And I'm envisioning taking my pillow and blankie to the old house and sleeping in a vacant bedroom. Because people who are faking allergies to do that sort of thing all the time.
Back in 1988 we had a crazy cat lady neighbor. She was a nice lady with 5 cats, but once you have 5 cats in a very small space, you get the "crazy cat lady" designation from me. Well, anyway, every time I went over there I would sneeze up a storm and then be miserable for a day afterward. Everyone in their right mind would conclude that I was either allergic to dust or cats or both, but not my mom. She would just tell me to knock off all the sneezing (as if I could control that).
It was only when I got married and my lovely husband could actually see I wasn't faking symptoms that I felt like my allergies were valid. And he was such a nice husband that he would rub my sinus cavities to try to drain them. Was? He still does. It is oh so lovely to have your bulging sinuses rubbed. And he even rubs in the direction of emptying them. Oh so lovely feeling.
In 2005 I went to the actual doctor for these symptoms. Heck, I knew I was allergic to cats, grass, maybe dogs, pollen, dust & a ton of other stuff, but I wanted medical confirmation that I wasn't sneezing all the time to get attention (as my mother claimed...since why else would I sneeze since she didn't have allergies).
I found out that my system was pretty close to allergy overload. Not only am I allergic to anything that is airborne, but my system has been fighting it for so long that it's completely worn out. I left the office with about 8 prescriptions to fill and to take religiously for the rest of my life.
And I haven't taken many of them. I still claim that I don't have asthma like the doctor said. I refuse to take the asthma prescriptions out of protest. Now that Zyrtec has generics that are sold over the counter, I take that every so often. I very rarely take the nasal steroids, and I can't remember the other stuff I'm supposed to be taking. Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to go get allergy shots too.
I've been puttering along with my allergies. During grass pollen season I'm miserable. I have to take Zyrtec daily to get through that misery. Even then, I have to add a Tylenol Allergy & Sinus every so often. I love, love, love Tylenol Allergy & Sinus. It makes you fall asleep. It's a nice drug-induced sleep, and when you wake up, your nose is dry.
As I've been complaining out since we moved in, I am allergic to this dang house. Seriously allergic. It's like the world's longest grass pollen season. I do not know what's in this house, but I can't take it anymore. Since we've done all we can do (that I know of), we're down to cleaning the air ducts (I think professionals do this) & changing out the carpet.
I've resorted to taking Zyrtec AND the nasal steroids. You know it's gotta be bad when I'm hitting 2 drugs a day. The combo is putting me in a drug-induced stupor that allows me to get a few hours of sleep here and there. I'm asking for nightly sinus massages.
I'm contemplating sleeping at the old house. Whatever I'm allergic to in the new house has definitely invaded the sleeping quarters. I'm much better downstairs where there is hardwood. So that leads me to think it's something in the carpet. I think the Hwangs changed out the bedroom carpet recently, and I don't think they had pets. Even so, we've steam cleaned the bedroom twice. And we've painted all the walls in the bedrooms.
So at night I'm wanting to extract piles of cat dander from the ductwork and carpet. I'm dreaming of hour-long sinus massages. And I'm envisioning taking my pillow and blankie to the old house and sleeping in a vacant bedroom. Because people who are faking allergies to do that sort of thing all the time.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Big Ol' Pile of Random
1. FB flirting with lollipops when you're 40 is just disgusting. Seriously. Please refrain from using that application. I don't want to know who's been sucking on your lollipop. Put your lollipop in a private place so the rest of the world doesn't have to see it. Thank you.
2. I'm hungry. I ate well today, and I'm not gonna ruin it. But dang I'm hungry!
3. Denise Austin exercise videos are losing their allure. She just does what the fad of the year is. Remember when tae bo was all the rage? Yeah, Denise has a video. Pilates? Check. Interval training? Check. I did her Boot Camp video, which seems like a Jackie Warner rip off. I check all these workout videos out from the library (at least Denise's, since she's not on Exercise TV on demand). Then I do on demand workouts too. Gotta mix it up.
4. Possibly cautiously optimistic on something. We'll see once we know more.
5. Our health insurance plan gives us a $50 check if we fill out this online profile. I just took it. Hmmmmph... I need to lose weight. I could have told you that without being paid $50, but I'll take the $50.
6. I found the checks that S's aunt sent!!!!!! YAY!!!! It's not so much the money, but that I had lost them (even temporarily). I get so mad at myself when I lose things.
7. Julia ate a whole scrambled egg tonight with some olive oil and whole milk. YAY! And half a cookie.
8. I'm allergic to something in this house. I sneeze all the time, produce way too much mucus, and have a constant headache. We've changed the air filter, steam cleaned the carpets, washed and/or painted the walls. What to do? What to do?
9. I want to take a vacation. Just to putz around the house and not feel like I have to cram all the house stuff on evenings and weekends. I have about 6 weeks of vacation to take through August. Everyone seems to take their vacation in July and August, but why can't I take it in February? It's not like I want to take weeks off. Just a few days here and there. Once you have off more than 3 work days in a row, it's easy for it to degenerate into wasting time. A day or two off a week keeps you a bit more motivated.
10. I still don't go to the basement in this house by myself. I can't wait for the day when I don't think twice about going down there. For now I accumulate stuff in a pile and then try to solicit "assistance" to carry things down. Do you think he's onto me?
2. I'm hungry. I ate well today, and I'm not gonna ruin it. But dang I'm hungry!
3. Denise Austin exercise videos are losing their allure. She just does what the fad of the year is. Remember when tae bo was all the rage? Yeah, Denise has a video. Pilates? Check. Interval training? Check. I did her Boot Camp video, which seems like a Jackie Warner rip off. I check all these workout videos out from the library (at least Denise's, since she's not on Exercise TV on demand). Then I do on demand workouts too. Gotta mix it up.
4. Possibly cautiously optimistic on something. We'll see once we know more.
5. Our health insurance plan gives us a $50 check if we fill out this online profile. I just took it. Hmmmmph... I need to lose weight. I could have told you that without being paid $50, but I'll take the $50.
6. I found the checks that S's aunt sent!!!!!! YAY!!!! It's not so much the money, but that I had lost them (even temporarily). I get so mad at myself when I lose things.
7. Julia ate a whole scrambled egg tonight with some olive oil and whole milk. YAY! And half a cookie.
8. I'm allergic to something in this house. I sneeze all the time, produce way too much mucus, and have a constant headache. We've changed the air filter, steam cleaned the carpets, washed and/or painted the walls. What to do? What to do?
9. I want to take a vacation. Just to putz around the house and not feel like I have to cram all the house stuff on evenings and weekends. I have about 6 weeks of vacation to take through August. Everyone seems to take their vacation in July and August, but why can't I take it in February? It's not like I want to take weeks off. Just a few days here and there. Once you have off more than 3 work days in a row, it's easy for it to degenerate into wasting time. A day or two off a week keeps you a bit more motivated.
10. I still don't go to the basement in this house by myself. I can't wait for the day when I don't think twice about going down there. For now I accumulate stuff in a pile and then try to solicit "assistance" to carry things down. Do you think he's onto me?
Day One
So today begins Day 1 of my February Exercise Challenge to myself. I'm pretty sure I can do 600 minutes of exercise in February. It has to be intentional exercise. Like I'm not going to paint and then say that counts as exercise. Cuz that's just lame.
Today I did a 45 minute walk (about 3 miles) at lunch, and I did a 20 minute Boot Camp workout video. That takes me to 65 minutes of exercise for the day.
As for food, I stayed within my 1,500 daily calorie allotment.
All in all, it was a good day because I stayed within my calories and hit my exercise target. We'll see if this has any relationship to my weight in February!
I found a good deal on Target brand Up & Up diapers. It was only available online. I bought 4 boxes, and we will see if these things ever ship. That's my problem with Target Online. I buy stuff, and it NEVER ships. I'm not even making it up. I've put in 4 different orders over the last 2 years, and I only successfully received one of them. The others I get so fed up waiting for it to ship that I end up canceling. We'll see if this cool diaper deal ends up being the same way. I'd prefer to go to the store vs. waiting for 2 months to get my dang diapers. But I'm cheap, so I'll wait some time (as long at it's a reasonable amount of time) to get them.
Today I did a 45 minute walk (about 3 miles) at lunch, and I did a 20 minute Boot Camp workout video. That takes me to 65 minutes of exercise for the day.
As for food, I stayed within my 1,500 daily calorie allotment.
All in all, it was a good day because I stayed within my calories and hit my exercise target. We'll see if this has any relationship to my weight in February!
I found a good deal on Target brand Up & Up diapers. It was only available online. I bought 4 boxes, and we will see if these things ever ship. That's my problem with Target Online. I buy stuff, and it NEVER ships. I'm not even making it up. I've put in 4 different orders over the last 2 years, and I only successfully received one of them. The others I get so fed up waiting for it to ship that I end up canceling. We'll see if this cool diaper deal ends up being the same way. I'd prefer to go to the store vs. waiting for 2 months to get my dang diapers. But I'm cheap, so I'll wait some time (as long at it's a reasonable amount of time) to get them.
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