Diane

I’ve decided to take a break from here for a bit - partly due to life in general and partly due to the computer taking up too much of my time.  The coming weeks are going to be rather stressful for me, as I’m sure they will be for most people.  I need to get a few things straightened out in my head and house. 

I currently do not have a computer in an area where the kids are welcome.   I’m tired of hearing about a pen being moved 3 inches so until my computer is up and running in the main part of the house, I will be using the internet very little.  E-mail doesn’t take as much time.  I will be checking in and catching up on all your blogs from time to time.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season and I’ll see you all in the New Year.

First, for all of you who believe in prayer, and I know this will sound kind of pathetic, please pray that the man who is interested in my puppy will take her.  I was all set to take her to the ASPCA this morning when I checked my post on a site looking for a home for her.  Someone’s brother is thinking of getting another lab mix because his died earlier this year.  I do not want to take her to a shelter, even if it is a no kill one.  If it weren’t for the allergies I would put up with all the rest of the crap she’s causing.  Anyway, I am so praying that this works out.

Other stressors are that my Mom is being released from the hospital today after having a stent put in yesterday morning.  She didn’t have another heart attack, but one was imminent and they caught it in time.  It is partially due to my oldest brother taking the hospital to task for them having to do his procedure twice to complete it.  This time they made sure there were no slip ups.  Thank God he’s well respected there!

I have lost one of the 6 pounds I’d recently gained, but that still leaves me well above the 30 pound lost mark.  I’m sort of stressing about that, but I figure that worrying about that is only going to compound the issue. 

The kiddies are feeling better.  DS didn’t get croup, thankfully.  I’m completely cleaning the house like I would if we were selling it.  Maybe we’ll all feel better with a little less dust.

Sounds like hubby is not having fun with the kids.  :)  He and Play-Doh don’t get along.

to be this tired.  My daughter kept me up all night on Thursday and then my son did the same last night.  DD has been diagnosed with spasmodic croup - croup that is caused because of an allergy.  Scared me to death when she started coughing that way!  On top of that, both kids have colds.  To give my husband credit, he has been up just as much as I have. 

I didn’t get in my workout yesterday.  Between doctor’s appointments, medication shopping and dealing with sick kids, there was no amount of coffee in the world that could keep me awake.  Must remember to have my parents bring some Moxie when they visit.  Not exactly something I’ve found in Ohio, though Jungle Jim’s may have it.  I did do aerobic breathing for about 30 minutes last night and my abs can feel it today.  Really need to add that to my daily routine since I have lost weight and a lot of inches with just that in the past. 

Hope this doesn’t have too many errors in it.  Happens sometimes when I’m tired.   Have a great weekend all.

My goal for this next week is to get in 90 minutes of cardio a day.  My husband is going to be taking the week off so I will have a little extra time for myself.  Probably won’t do it all in one shot, but can get that amount in daily, I think.  

Have a great weekend everyone. 

That’s where I feel like I am today.  I feel completely disconnected from everything around me.  I have managed to accomplish a few things today - went to the gym to lift weights, have feed the kids healthy meals and snacks, cleaned the kitchen.  But it’s like I’m watching it be done.  I hate the day after a migraine.  I feel so weird.  I’d understand it a bit more if I took something other than Excedrin for them, but I don’t. 

My puppy is causing more problems: chewed the Christmas lights on the back porch, completely destroyed.  I had made up my mind that if she got out of the yard one more time I was going to take her to the SPCA.  Well, she got out, through a hole that the neighbor dog dug under the fence!  I can’t blame her for that one.  I just want to pull my hair out sometimes.  I can’t go chasing after her every time she goes under the fence.  The kids aren’t safe by themselves.  I get no enjoyment for having her, just stress and frustration.  I know what action I need to take.  I just can’t do it.

For months I have been trying to come up with some hobby that I can do in the evening that doesn’t allow for food to be a part of it.  I love to decorate cakes, but, yeah, I get that that is ALL about food! lol  I also like pretty much anything to do with paper, except scrapbooking.  The other day it finally clicked and I wondered why it had taken me so long to figure this one out.  They might not be for anything other than family and friend birthdays and Christmas, but I’ve started making cards.  Kirigami, pop-ups, embossing, quilling, stamping, calligraphy - it all sort of works.  And don’t ask why I don’t like scrapbooking since I do enjoy photography as well because I just don’t know.  I just know that I don’t enjoy it.

Well, I’m actually going to be earning a little money this week.  Someone is dropping off some seamstress work this afternoon.  Guess I should make the house look a little bit presentable.  You know, if it weren’t for all the cleaning, washing dishes and laundry, being a SAHM would be a complete dream!

And tonight I will be going for a 4 mile walk - 2 miles with both dogs and 2 miles with just the pup.  Will have to take my cell phone so my husband doesn’t freak out and will be doing it before 8:30!

My husband challenged me to workout every single day from now until the end of November.   We aren’t going anywhere for Thanksgiving and he is taking the week off so I don’t see any reason why I can’t do this.  I even got myself off the couch and took the pup for a 45 minute walk to night at 8:30.   Don’t particularly like walking that late, but since I hadn’t done it earlier.

Exercise is one thing that I have been forcing myself to do, no matter how late in the day.  There is generally no reason for not having done it earlier.  I’m treating it like I do the dishes.  If I let them pile up so that they won’t all fit in the dishwasher I do the ones that don’t fit in by hand.  It’s only happened twice since I made that a self imposed rule.  I needed to do something to force myself into action and this tactic seems to be working.

My husband and I went to the Blue Man Group show last night in Cincinnati.  We had tickets down on the floor, 11 rows from the stage.  A year ago I would have made sure to wear sneakers and questioned whether I could actually get back up the stairs and still have any breath left.  I still had some doubts, but nothing major.  After the show I counted the stairs - there were 45 of them and then a quarter mile walk back to the car.  I did it all without even getting out of breath - in heels.  I never wear heels so I was pretty happy about that.

We’d gone to dinner before the show and I didn’t exactly stick to my diet, but I didn’t do too badly.  It was a little easier with the meal since we went to Red Lobster and they don’t have a single vegetarian option on the menu except for fried cheese sticks.  Wasn’t even tempted because I knew they’d be fried along with the calamari and other stomach turning items.   My husband got his meal and I got the sides.  It was the biscuits that did me in.   Oh, well.  I’d figured they might so I’d been really conscience of what I had earlier in the day.

The show was fun.  Had to make some makeshift ear plugs out of paper, but I can still hear this morning and didn’t get a migraine (Blue Man does that to me sometimes).  I even caught a guitar pick - the only one their “lead” guitarist threw.   Actually, it hit me and I picked it up from by my feet.  No real skill involved.   Now my husband wants to go to Chicago and Vegas to see their shows there.  Already been to the one in Boston.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week.  Keep it healthy!

I just got done cleaning out my dresser and closet.  I’m finally getting rid of anything that doesn’t fit.  If it is shorts or other summer wear, I’m getting rid of it even if it does fit.  By next summer, it won’t fit.  I’m making that promise to myself.  And they’re really leaving the house this time.  Tomorrow on my way to the gym, I’m dropping them off at Goodwill and if it isn’t something worth saving, it will be in the trash tonight.

I’d been putting off loading the dishwasher all day because it meant that I had to unload it before hand.  Don’t know why, but I hate to unload the dishwasher.  Takes 5 minutes and I avoid it like the plague.  When I finally got around to doing it, I opened the dishwasher and my husband had emptied it this morning while I was showering.  I’d been avoiding it all day for nothing.  That, along with my son actually taking a nap today, made it a pretty good day.

Made it to the Y first thing this morning and got in both strength and cardio workouts while the kids played.  My son didn’t even start screaming when I went to pick them up.  He typically cries like he hasn’t seen me in a year and I’ve broken his little heart.  Today he waved bye and kept saying, “Bye bye!”

Today I got to thinking about this past spring when the No Cardio diets/exercise programs were being touted in several publications.  There is one woman at my gym that is there a lot.  She does 2-3 sets of some pretty decent weight.  I have never seen her do cardio and have overheard some of the coaching personel ask her if she’s given any though to doing some to which she’s always answered that now isn’t the time for that.  Well, as near as I can tell, she is living proof that cardio is needed to lose weight.  She works out hard and yet, in 9 months, I can’t see any difference in her weight.  I don’t know her personally so there could easily be other issues.  I just wonder how many people are just lifting weights 2-3 times a week and hoping it will be the magic cure.

That’s my thoughts for the day.  Have a great evening all.

I realized today that it was one year ago this month that I decided I was going to lose weight once and for all.  started with Slim-Fast, but I couldn’t stay on that program for long even though I did lose weight.  I am not where I was hoping to be, but I’m not where I was either.   It’s been a long year and I could beat myself up over the wasted time, but I won’t.   There is no point in that.  I must take what I’ve learned, through both success and failure, and build on that.  I have come a long way.  A year ago it took me almost 45 minutes to walk a mile.  Tonight I did 3 in an hour.  I don’t always want the junk food anymore and most of the time can stick to the decision not to eat it even when I do want it.

I don’t have a new plan, just acting upon the old one - exercise and eat right.  I’m going to take it one month at a time.  If I lose at least 8 pounds a month, I will consider it a good month.  I will do my best to get at least 10,575 steps per day (5 miles) and keep my calories within range.  The one major thing that I am working on changing is treating myself with the same respect I do others.  I must take care of my basic needs so that I am able to do so for my children, husband, family and friends.

I couldn’t have lost the weight I have without the support that many, especially Tasha, WW and Lidecka, have given me.  I only hope that I have given the same support in return.