One thing I love about my job is that we close for a week around July 4th. I still remember my first summer with this special treat back in 2001. I was going to maximize my time off by planning all of these personal goals. I was going to work out an hour a day, make homemade smoothies, cross stitch, read several books. In actuality, all of these were things I already did on a regular basis, but I was going to fit them all in such a compressed amount of time.
And what would happen every year? I got into this bad habit of staying awake until 4am putzing around the house, sleeping til noon, and if I was on a roll, the most productive thing I’d do is to have dinner ready before the husband came home. From noon – 4am, I would lay around the house either reading or cross stitching. Those were pretty much my standard activities from 6pm – 10pm on worknights, but doing it for 16 hours continuously for over a week in a row was an extra special treat.
Next week work is closed, and I get my 5 workdays off. Actually, it is 6 workdays off this year and 10 days off if you include weekends. The famdamily will still be here; 6 of the people will be here until next Tuesday, and the other two will be here during the entire time. Around this time I start to get excited about the prospect of having the time off, and I’m trying to come up with my list of “to do’s.” Because, after all, if there isn’t a list of to do items, I might just lay on the couch all day. Perhaps my challenge should be to be honest with myself and come up with to do items that can be accomplished while laying on the couch.
Well, two of the most needed items are to finish painting the 5 rooms that are yet to be painted and yardwork. Both require getting up though. Anything else? I suppose I’ll need to clean, but that is a non-couch activity unless you’re actually cleaning the couch. Doing taxes, which is a perfectly valid couch activity, aren’t needing to be done. Maybe upgrading the computer? How about going through pictures and editing them and uploading them for prints? That’s a valid couch activity.
Reading. I have plenty of reading on my list. It’s been so long since I’ve read. With the whole toddler + big move + work + remodeling the house, reading has really fallen by the wayside unfortunately. My goal for the latter half of 2010 is to definitely read more. Since I’ve been introduced to Goodreads, I’m definitely making that a priority. And always after I go on a reading spree, I get into a mood where I think I’m a writer, and then I write 50 pages of a story and then drop it when it becomes boring.
You may ask why we don't go on a vacation. For the record, if I don't say it enough, I do not like vacations, Sam I am. If I did not like going to San Diego for a few days, I'm certainly not liking the idea of going somewhere for a week. The logistics are awful, little sleep, it sucks to take the munchkin on a trip, it sucks to leave her behind, the whole thing just seems completely exhausting before we even leave. Last year we went to Olympia for a few days. It was okay. I don't need to do the 'getting away thang' again anytime soon.
I should want to put some effort into losing weight this summer. I have about 20-25 pounds to go, and then I would feel good about my weight. But, ya know, I like food. Considering all the crap I eat, I have a good metabolism. It’s sad when (many) people tell me that I should be at least 300 pounds considering how much I can eat. And it’s true, I should be. So I’ll be thankful for my metabolism. I don’t have the inclination to live on 1,200 calories a day, and I don’t have the inclination to work out 4 hours a day. So if I’m unwilling to do either of those things, then I have to accept the consequences of eating 2,500 – 3,000 calories a day and exercising 3-4 hours a week. Frankly, I am willing to be comfortable about where I am now because I don’t want to give up the food or exercise myself to the brink. I fit into cute jeans (although 2 sizes bigger than I would like). It would be nice to be 2 sizes smaller, but will I be happier? Nah, I’ll be even MORE cranky because I won’t be eating what I want to and constantly depriving myself. My husband will love me regardless. So will Miss J. As for health, yeah, it would be nice to not be considered overweight by the doctor charts. Perhaps I should just make my goal to be not overweight by the doctor charts. That means losing 5-10 pounds. Completely do-able, at least in theory, right?
I have 2 months and a few days before September. I can get to that goal by then, right? Well, at least in theory. It depends on how much I want it. That's the real question.
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