Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The people want an update!
Darcy asked me what I wanted for my birthday meal, and I picked a turkey dinner. I didn't want it on the day of my birthday because there was too much going on, so we decided on the next day. All of the neighbors were going to join us, and it was going to be a big celebration...of food. No luck. All the turkeys in NH were frozen. I've never encountered that before. I can always find a fresh one. The world is ending.
I bought the only frozen turkey I could find in the store, and it was 21 lbs! That's insane. I can only eat 3, MAYBE 4 oz of meat at a time. I could never get through this thing, but that's all they had, so I took it. I got to the register, and it said "young turkey" on it. Okay, a *young* turkey has no business of weighing 21 lbs! I didn't get it at the natural foods store (mistake one), so I should have known better.
We finally cooked it yesterday, and it was the fattiest poultry I'd ever seen in my life. Ew. It was a bummer - I was looking forward to a yummy (small) meal, made with healthy sides, and I couldn't fully enjoy it. I have no idea what to do with the rest of the thing.
Anyway, I had a great birthday spent with friends (way too generous friends), and we all had a good time. I'm now 32. That catches you all up.
:)
Friday, September 26, 2008
I can see what Katherine Heigl was saying
Let me back up first... I'm re-reading _A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius_ by Dave Eggers. This was supposed to be a ground breaking book. I'll admit - his methods were somewhat different than others, although I don't believe (necessarily) that they were his own...that's neither here nor there. Why am I re-reading this book that I read ages ago? I'm not sure. I keep skipping large parts of it. I found it mildly amusing the first time I read it, and I now find it completely torturous and self indulgent (to the author).
I mention this because something he said struck a cord with me. He and Toph (his little brother he was raising due to the strange death of his parents, 32 days apart) were not fans of food. If they could take a pill each day instead of eating, they would. Wow. I have days when I feel like eating is a bit of a hassle, and maybe if I could just take a pill, I would, but those days are very few and far between. I can't imagine always feeling that way. How sad.
So Katherine Heigl - when I was reading AHWOSG, Egger's writing reminded me of the circular writing on Grey's Anatomy. I love/hate that show, so I do watch it, but I also thought it was a riot (and so true) when Katherine Heigl refused the Emmy nomination for her work on that show, citing the terrible writing. I hope those big babies don't write her off as a result. Grow up. If the writers don't know their writing is terribly cheesy, they have NO business writing.
All this to say the following: I've decided to have a guest author series on my blog. Today's blog author will be none other than the folks on the writing staff of Grey's Anatomy!
********************
(Read in the voice of Meredith Grey)
For those of us on a weight loss journey, we find ourselves fighting. Fighting to live, to breathe, to love...fighting to be accepted...fighting our cravings...fighting ourselves. We fight so that we can live...live long healthy lives. Lives filled with love. Lives we fought for - are fighting for - will - always- fight-for.
We do this because we are strong. We do this because we need to. We do this because we love ourselves. We do this.
Losing weight can be very difficult, so difficult, immensely difficult. Not losing weight can be more difficult - so difficult that it can kill us. Kill us dead.
And so we fight. We fight for our lives. We must live. We must. We are strong, extraordinary people, and we fight for our lives.
*********************
I'd like to thank our guest writers for that very...er...insightful post. Yes, fight we shall and fight we must. ;-)
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Nobody loves me like me
I'm soooo glad about this. It's surreal. I found out about San Fran yesterday, and now FLL today! Happy Birthday to me! This is what I got myself for my birthday. Nobody loves me like me. ;-)
I need a vacation
It's been a very stressful and very busy week at work. Yesterday I got up at 4AM, and started working immediately. I worked until 9PM last night, minus the time I took getting ready for work. My driving time counted as work, as I was on work calls 90% of the time I was on the road. So that's like a 17 hr day. I've been working since 6AM today. I'm starting to get grumpy.
I need to make sure I'm preserving my emotional health as well as my physical health. I have plenty of vacation time, so I should use it. The challenge is - the trip I want (and truly feel I need) to take is so much money. I really, really, really want to go somewhere tropical. That's how I unwind. I love the beauty, the air, the activities - all of it. I suppose I shouldn't be planning any vacations with my surgeries coming up... We may be going to Costa Rica next March to visit friends who just retired there (at 50 - lucky!!!), but I certainly can't wait until March.
I need the promise of Florida in my future. That's something I can look forward to during these long, stressful days.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Lots of updates!
Yes, I took a picture of a page in my chart - what can I say - I'm Nixonesque. This was from April, as you can see from above! They found gallstones in April, and never mentioned it. I found a second one from July that found gallstones as well! I asked my MD about this, and I'm not exactly sure what the answer was, but after reviewing both of the results I shared with her, she said I will need to have my gallbladder removed.
So today was a twofer for me. I went in with one issue and left with TWO surgeries needed. That's a little crazy. My lap band surgeon does Cholecystectomies (aka gallbladder removal surgery), so I'm booking an appt with him. I'm also going to ask if he does liposuction, because while he's in there... ;-) Hey, why not?!
At my work, they always have a little gathering for birthdays with cake. I don't really go for sweets, and now that I'm eating healthy, I almost never ever eat sweets. Cake was never a big thing for me - when I was growing up, my Mom would make me brownie cakes or other alternatives. So today, for my birthday gathering, instead of doing the cake they always do, they put out a big veggie spread with dip and they had crackers and cheese too. I thought it was SO thoughtful of them to go to that trouble, and it really meant a lot to me.
Big fat winner
I mention it because I lost 3 more lbs to a total of 162 lbs lost. Now I'm 15 lbs away from losing TJ. Get out of here!
Yesterday, I was doing my stair push ups, and I decided to do one on the floor - like a normal boy one, not a girl one, and I did it! In fact, I did two! I don't think I've ever done a push up in my entire life! That was neat.
My shoulders and back are sore from all the push ups yesterday, but I should be able to do most of my arm exercises at the gym today. I'll keep you posted! :)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Reporting back from art class
Watercolor is nothing like oils - oils can be corrected, watercolor just has a mind of its own. I had no idea!
So our professor told us to bring in yogurt containers to use to hold water to clean our brushes. Interestingly enough, 50% of my classmates had organic yogurt containers. Who knew! What a healthy bunch those New Hampshirites are! :)
I was pleasantly surprised to see that. Maybe by 2010, 50% of my fellow residents will be on grass fed meats as well!
Move over, Michael!
Monday, September 22, 2008
And the cardio...
I'm off to my class for the rest of the night. I'll get home around 9:30 or 10:00, so I'll get a tv show in and then bed.
I would like to go swimming tomorrow!
Hey, stop taking pictures of me at the gym!
Not feeling so hot
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Why are you staring at me?
"Why are you staring at me?" I asked.
He came up with some ridiculous excuse about not wanting to watch as he spent money, so he needed to find something else to look at, oddly not even attempting to deny the staring, and I was polite to him and he left.
The clerk at the register said she was glad I said something and she would have to, but most people wouldn't dream of it. Staring at someone is strange and rude and skeevy if you ask me.
In the past, I *never ever* would have confronted someone for staring at me. I would have been afraid of what their answer was! Now, I just don't care. I'm still a good 40 lbs overweight, which is still fat in the real world, and he could have said he was staring at me because I was fat (he was fatter), but I wouldn't have cared about that either. I just lost 160 lbs, and I'm going to lose 40 more, and I don't feel fat (usually), so it just wouldn't bother me.
I say what's on my mind more now, and I like that. A lot of times, fat people have to be overly nice or funny in order to get past the fat discrimination they face. I didn't realize I was doing that until now that I've stopped.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Cardio
I *really* need to make time to start out with the free trial at Lanie's gym that has the pool. Lanie? Call me! :) I want to go there tomorrow morning to do laps.
I didn't work out again yesterday. I worked until 8PM and then I just vegged out in front of the TV. I'm hoping that I can get caught up over the weekend so that next week won't be quite as crazy for me. I know I need to get back into the groove of carving out time each day to exercise.
Tonight I'm making grass fed delmonico steak on the grill with zucchini and corn on the cob. I'm looking forward to it! I had two Kashi whole grain waffles with sugar free syrup for breakfast. I'm going to have a small apple as a mid-morning snack, and for lunch I'm planning to have hummus and tabouli on a multigrain mini-pita with a cucumber on the side. If I'm hungry for a midday snack, I'll have some yogurt.
I don't think we have any plans this weekend, which is a good thing. I have a lot of work to get caught up with and I want to finish the guest bedroom project. I hope the weather is nice, because rain isn't very motivating to me.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Salsa!
I brought it to a meeting I had today, and I couldn't stop eating it. I was full, but I kept taking bites. Naughty.
I'm in the weird post fill stage right now. I'm not on solids yet, so I'm eating foods that are softer, and that is never a great idea. I should be on solids tomorrow, so all will be well with the universe.
This week has been quite stressful, and I do not get stressed out easily. I'm not stressed out, actually, but I need some time off. I'm taking 3 days off around my birthday weekend next weekend, and it is much needed. We were going to go away, but I don't know if I feel like it. I may just want to chill and get caught up on projects/work/etc... I know that's not fun, but if it's good for my mental health, it's worth it.
I only worked out once so far this week. That's not good.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Full
Too much food
Now that I'm buying organic foods that cost more, I *really* hate throwing out produce that spoiled or left over dinner meats that we didn't have a chance to finish. I just bought fresh produce on Saturday to make a nice salsa with, and the fresh cilantro is already starting to go bad.
I don't think the natural produce lasts as long...possibly...I'm not sure yet, but that's what I suspect. They aren't coated in wax and preservatives, so I suppose that would make sense. I just need to know that if I'm buying certain produce items, I need to use them quickly.
I can't eat it, but I plan to make the salsa tonight before the cilantro goes bad all the way. There are still parts that are perfectly fine. I have more cucumbers than I know what to do with, and D can't eat them because they don't agree with her.
I'm constantly buying meat that I have to freeze, but as long as I freeze it in time, we're okay. I think part of the problem is that I get busy and then decide to order something rather than cooking, and then I have leftovers to eat, so I still don't cook, and it's just a vicious cycle.
I hate to waste food, so I must find a way to have enough food on hand that I make the right choices, while not having too much that I end up wasting.
What kind of fill is that?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Living an active lifestyle
In the past, I probably would have said I like to entertain, spend time with friends - aka eat and sit. LOL I've always loved to do active things but I couldn't before, and as we went around the room and heard about all the active things so many of my classmates participate in, I felt good to be able to do the things everyone else could.
I got in 12 hrs of work yesterday (as I was on work calls my entire way to class), and then about 3 hrs of class. We got out a little early, so I was home by 9:15. I was exhausted, but we watched Law and Order and then called it a night. Today I have a fill mid day which is going to get in the way of all the work I have, but I'll live. I can finish up after.
Sadly, I did not have a minute of time to work out yesterday, but today will be different.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Another Monday
I bought all kinds of heirloom tomatoes that they grow there - I can't wait to make a colorful salsa with them! We got lots of fresh herbs and veggies as well as the apples that we picked. I even climbed an apple tree, and it was fun! :) We plan to go back there at least one more time this fall.
The customer appreciation day at our natural foods store was great - there were samples of so many things that I wouldn't have tried otherwise, so it was a neat way to expand our horizons.
We made some good headway reorganizing the downstairs bedroom and starting to paint all the furniture white. It looks so much better white. I'm hoping to finish that project during the week, but we'll see. It's another busy week for moi.
I start my watercolor class tonight. I'm looking forward to it, although 6-9:30 every Monday night will be kind of annoying. At least I'll get the class out of the way early on in the week.
Yesterday we decided to have a lazy day, and we went out to breakfast and then just watched movies and lazed around the house the rest of the day. It was very relaxing, but I'm glad to be back at a productive level today. I've been working since 6 this AM, and I will work until 5:30 tonight when I leave for class, although I do need to take a break at some point to exercise.
I have a fill tomorrow, and I think I'm quite ready for it. Have a great week!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The slow crawl to the finish line
Today Boston is a little healthier than it was yesterday
According to today's article on Boston.com, "Studies estimate that having as few as 40 calories of trans fat a day can boost the risk of a heart attack by 23 percent. A fast-food meal of chicken nuggets and french fries, if prepared with artificial trans fat, can easily contain more than 100 calories of the substance." It doesn't take much to be at risk.
I applaud Boston and New York, and I predict that within the next decade, trans fats will be banned in most civilized countries. It is so important to carefully consider what we put into our bodies. We can't rely on the FDA to protect our health.
I'm so glad that my healthy journey has lead me to a heightened awareness regarding my overall health. When I lost weight in the past, I didn't care what chemicals or processed foods I consumed as long as they were low in fat and calories. That is not the right way to get healthy, and as I shared with Alison recently, shopping at a natural foods market, buying locally grown produce and meats, and having a heightened conscience about not only what I'm putting in my body but the cost of my food on the environment, makes me feel like a better person. I feel like I'm caring about the bigger picture, beyond ME, and looking at the total impact of the choices I make daily.
I'm sure my Dad thinks I'm turning into a hippy for saying that - LOL - but that's how I feel! :)
Today I'm picking up a breadmaker I found on Craigslist for $10. I'm going to buy some type of shelving for my kitchen or in the hallway by the kitchen (My Mom will be jumping up and down for joy, as she's been hounding me about this since I moved in!), so that I have a place for my new breadmaker, the coffee maker that we only use when we have company, the crockpot, the food I buy in bulk, and all the other kitchen items that are currently in the guest bedroom.
I am looking forward to reorganizing the guest bedroom today, and the next step of that process will be to paint all the furniture in it white. I may or may not tackle that piece of the project today. The furniture in it is still new, but I'm not wild about the color, and I'd like the room to have a more beach/vacation feel to it, so I think white will be a good step in that direction. I am not wild about the carpet in that room either, but that will be a project for another day. I think I would like to replace it with a light colored hard woodflooring to go with the beach theme.
I am so glad it's the weekend! Today is my day for project work (and apple picking!!) and tomorrow is my day to get caught up on work. I guess that doesn't sound fun for the weekend, but I will be sure to fit fun in. We went to see a movie last night, and that was fun, we're going apple picking today, and tonight we're going to have a BBQ, so that will be fun, and tomorrow I'm sure we'll do something fun too.
Oh yes, health updates: my CT scan came back fine, but my knee xray came back funky. It's not broken, but it's injured - there is degenerative something going on, and it's filled with fluid. I'm supposed to baby it and see if it gets better in the next few days, and if not, see an orthopedist. My MD thinks that if I hadn't gone biking and hiking and up and down the stairs so much, it would probably be better by now. I hope that's the case, because I don't want knee problems forever!
Friday, September 12, 2008
A short walk up a steep hill
There is a fairly steep hill at CSEMC leading from the cafeteria to the office building I work in. In the past, I would go over the river and through the woods to avoid this hill. I had a route mapped out from that area of the campus to my office that was the easiest possible route, though it was longer.
There were a few times I had to walk up that hill because I was meeting with someone and we were walking together, and I would never want to disclose what a load I was (as if they couldn't tell- LOL), so I would huff and puff and wheeze my way to the top of the hill, praying they would carry the conversation because there was no way I could talk - it would send me into an asthma attack each time.
I haven't attempted that hill in over a year. I'm just used to avoiding it, so it never occurs to me to use it. Today, I had some unplanned events arise in my schedule, and I found myself walking up that hill with a colleague. I had absolutely no trouble at all, and I couldn't believe that I used to have such a struggle with that hill!
When we arrived in the conference room, a young woman on my team, who appears to be in excellent shape, mused that she was horrified that walking up that hill made her winded. I told her I couldn't believe it, because for me, it was the first time it didn't make me winded! What an awesome NSV! First, the hill, and then, the feeling that my lungs may be in better shape than someone who is much thinner than I am, thanks to all the benefits of exercise!
That is exciting for me.
I wore my black suit again today, and I had a lot of comments about how much weight I'd lost. That is always nice. Someone asked me how much weight I was up to now, and I told her I was down about 160. She knows I was at 150 6 week ago, so to lose under 10 lbs in 6 weeks is slow for me at least. She asked me if it was frustrating to be on a plateau since I'm still working so hard, and as I shared with her, it honestly isn't.
I feel fantastic. The weight isn't coming off as fast as it was, but my body continues to shrink, and I continue to have NSVs that just propel me forward. This is a new way of life for me. I'm not on a diet that I'm going to go off. This is it. I'm someone who eats healthy and exercises for the overall good of my health. My weight will fall in line.
If I don't start losing again within the next few weeks, I'll meet with my MD and nutritionists to see if they have any advice, but it takes the body a while to adjust to a major loss like the one I have had, and I'm okay with that. Progress, not perfection. :)
Where did the water go?
Our lake is a dammed up section of a 54 mile river with many lakes along it in NH. Due to the storms last week, the boards broke, and the water is *really* low right now. My boat is sitting in the mud, I think. I moved it to the end of the dock at the beginning of the week, but the water keeps getting lower and lower.
I didn't end up kayaking last night because when I was cooking, I realized my arms were still sore. They are still a bit sore today, but I plan to go to the gym at some point anyway. I have to head into Boston shortly, but I feel like I have accomplished a lot today already. It's 7:30 and I paid all of my bills, Darcy's bills and my grandmother's bills. It's a lot of bills to pay, and it takes a while, so I'm glad that is done!
I also got some work done this AM, so I feel well prepared for my day. I was hoping to spend some time boating this weekend, but I can't if the water doesn't come up! I can still kayak though! I'm looking forward to a busy and productive weekend!
I still have no change in the scale. Wednesday I ate just under 500 calories and yesterday I was just under 800. I have a business lunch again today, so I'll do my best, but it's never ideal. I'd like to keep it closer to 600 for today, but that may not be possible. I'll do my best!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
What's in your cart?
Grades are in
I finally figured out my plan for classes for the fall semester. I've been so busy, and I have an opportunity to start another side project which I would love to do, but I need to finish up with my undergrad too. I'm going to be very busy in these next few months, but I didn't want to take time off from classes, so I'm taking two in person classes that I think will work well for me: one class meets every Monday night from 6 - 9:30 PM in Concord, and it is a watercolor class! How fun! I still needed an art requirement. The other class is a higher level management class, but it only meets one Friday night and two full weekends (all day Saturday and all day Sunday).
The weekends that I have to spend the entire time in school will not be fun, but at least I will be able to get the class over with without it being an interruption to my weekly schedule. I will have homework to do on my own, but I can fit it in when it works best for me, rather than completing weekly assignments.
I need to continue to try to balance my health with all of my other priorities. I wanted to go to the gym this AM, but there was nothing for me to do since my knee is out of commission and I did upper body yesterday. I'm really hoping the xray tells us something or that I'm somehow on the road to recovery because I need to get back into my full routine.
I kept my calories low yesterday, as planned. I think I landed at 482 which was lower than planned, but today will be challenging and I'm ordering lunch for an off site, and restaurant food is almost never ideal. My arms are pretty sore from my work out yesterday, but I'm hoping by tonight they will be less sore so that I can at least go kayaking.
I'm craving Margherita pizza. I need to get over it. :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!
Hey skinny people, here is another fat person secret: when you're fat, they have to take johnny's out of a special stash for you, and they give you two to wear to be fully covered. I was pleased to receive a normal johnny today at the hospital, as well as only one. What a victory. ;-)
The barium was nasty, but that's in the past. I drank it all like a good girl... I had the knee xray first, so hopefully we'll know what's up with that soon. After that, I had the CT scan. It wasn't bad, although that iodine they pump into your bloodstream sure feels funny.
I felt a little crampy after, but I'm fine now, and I hope to have the results tomorrow, but we shall see.
Wimpy work out
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Barium goodness
Not your average restaurant
I had a business lunch today, and we went to Not Your Average Joe's. I love that place. I was hoping it would be cancelled because the things I love there are so naughty, such as their delicious bread and oil dip, and everything else on the menu. It wasn't cancelled, so I went. I did have one piece of bread, and it was fantastic.
I ordered the mustard crusted chicken for lunch. It's a 5 oz piece of chicken breast, marinated in different mustard sauces, and then baked with panko crumbs. It's phenomenal. It comes with a side of garlic mashed potatoes as well as a generous portion of green beans. I ate a little less than half of the chicken, as I was full from the piece of bread. I also had about a quarter of a cup of mashed potatoes, and I ate all of my green beans.
I have no idea how many calories I ate. I already gave my best estimation when I logged them into fitday just now, but I have emailed the restaurant to get the specific nutrition information. I'll be interested to compare my estimation with the cold hard reality. :)
This restaurant is a casual restaurant with very reasonable prices, but it just stands out to me as different from other restaurants in it's class. The food is tastier, better quality, and it doesn't feel like you're sitting at a Friday's or Applebees or other inexpensive chain. As I was leaving, it was raining out, and the host offered to walk me to my car with an umbrella. I can't imagine that happening at the 99 or Friendly's! :) (Obviously, I declined.)
It was a delicious lunch, and I'm having salad for dinner!
I haven't had a change in my weight. I postponed my fill because I cannot leave work this afternoon, so I'll be going next week instead. Next week works better for me anyway. This is another busy week for me, and I'll be on the road a lot - I'm going to do my best to make sure to exercise and plan healthy meals.
I have been averaging 1000 calories per day for as long as I haven't been losing. I think my body was used to the 600 - 700 calories per day, and now it's more maintaining. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to eat 600-800 calories per day with one day per week of 1200 - 1400 to spike my metabolism. We'll see if that gets me past this hump.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The snowball is rolling...
Now that I had such success with the garage cleaning, and felt the wonderful feeling of accomplishment and serenity at having organized one little piece of my life, combined with the fact that my new body allows me to do whatever I want, apparently, I have a laundry list of projects I want to take on now! Yes, my next "project" will be to re-organize the guest bedroom, but on a more exciting note, I have decided to construct a third bedroom.
The house has a decent sized master bedroom, with a perfectly appropriate sized guest bedroom, but the rest of the house is a giant open space. Other than the bathroom and guest bedroom downstairs, it is all wide open and open concept, and the same is true of the upstairs, with the exception of the master bedroom and master bath. The upstairs has a second living area with a balcony overlooking the living area on the first floor. It is a *fantastic* space for entertaining, but it's not very practical.
I do not need two giant living areas for us. I need a second shower (as the current one is in the master bath), and I need another bedroom. Both of those will help with the resale value, as well as add practicality while we are here. The best spot for the third bedroom will be in the upstairs living area. It would be a very small bedroom, but a small third is better than no third. I measured it, and if I split the space up, it would be a 13x8.5 bedroom, and a 13x7.5 living area.
I can sell the entertainment center on Craigslist and buy a flat screen tv to mount on the bedroom wall that I'll build, so that will save a ton of space. We can just hook our Wii up to the downstairs TV so that we'll have more space to move around, since 13x7.5 wouldn't be enough room. We currently have 2 couches and one big leather oversized chair in this area, and we would just get rid of one of the couches. I haven't built any framework in a house before, and I have never hung drywall, but I think I could manage both, especially with the help of my wonderful boys in the hood.
Bruno is one of my neighbors, and he is very ambitious. He has his own company that is successful, and he is constantly working on projects at his house. He does great work. Now that I have my life back, I would like to be more like Bruno, constantly working hard to upgrade my home and living spaces. It creates such a feeling of satisfaction.
Today for exercise, I plan to go kayaking and either hiking or biking. It's a beautiful day!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Busy Saturday
Much better!
Strange Day
.
As I mentioned in the past, it is easy to let the "little" things in life get away when you are so busy with the "big" things. My house has been a thorn in my side for months now. With my schedule, as well as our summer entertaining schedule, I do not have time to really get ahead with organizing the house. Keeping up with the cleaning is about as far as we can get, and even that doesn't happen all the time, which makes me mental.
.
I have *no* regrets about all the wonderful sunny days I spent out on the water, but I am also excited that today is a bit of a gross day because I can finally start to organize the house, starting in the garage, as planned (pictured below:)
Yes, I have my work cut out. I want to start on the garage this AM while it's not raining. I can work later when/if it starts raining again, and I can even work in the garage when it's raining, but right now, I'm pulling out all of the junk that I'm taking to the dump. (Does anyone have a truck I can borrow? Pretty please?? :))
Yesterday afternoon, Darcy and I went to home depot and we bought some shelving for the garage. I'm hoping it helps. Our house has NO storage, and we only have a one car garage, so it's really really hard to keep it organized as well as to use the space effectively. It's a bit overwhelming as well, since we have to not only fit all of our storage items in there, but also a motorcycle, two bikes, an inflatable hot tub, lawn mower, weed wacker, leaf blower...you get the idea.
Also, the man we purchased the house from left several items in the garage when he moved out, and we never really got rid of his junk either. It was a weekend home for us originally, and we paid a little extra to buy the place furnished, so we moved in with a suitcase in the winter. We slowly accumulated things, and they ended up in the garage, but we never cleaned it out initially, which is step one of the problem.
Wish me luck! (I'm hoping to burn some calories!)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I was so happy to be down 2 lbs yesterday after not losing in so long, but today I was up like 5! I don't know how that's possible, and I can only assume it's a fluke, but it's still very annoying. I was within my calories yesterday, and I worked out - twice!
Well, I climbed Rock Rimmon twice and then I kayaked to cupcake island. This time, the trip to cupcake and back was only 32 minutes, 8 minutes shorter than the day before. I have a slow kayak which I enjoy because it's very easy to maneuver, and it's a better work out than a cruising one, but Lanie and Billy have one that really cruises, so I may have to borrow that from time to time, so I can go the whole length of the lake and back. That would be cool!
Anyway, my weight always fluctuates, so this is nothing new for me. I've never seen anyone's weight fluctuate like mine. I'm sure it will all be gone tomorrow, but it's just annoying! :)
It's a rainy gross day in New Hampshire. I heard all week it was supposed to be nice during the day, and then raining in the late afternoon, but it was all lies, I tell you! I may have overworked my knee hiking yesterday because it's been a bit off, so I'm hoping to go swimming today for my cardio. Oh, Lanie!!!!!!! (She's going to get us a 14 day pass to evaluate her gym that has a pool. Technically, they just let their members use the gym of a nearby hotel, which would not be convenient if I were actually working out there, but since I already have a gym to work out in, I don't mind that at all. I want to make sure it's a place I can do laps in though!)
I finished all my schoolwork yesterday - thank goodness. I'm so glad to have two weeks off. I woke up at 6:30 this AM, and I've been doing work, which I will continue to do for the next few hours while D is sleeping, and then we are off to see my grandmother.
Have a wonderful rainy day.
Friday, September 5, 2008
A nice little hike in 95 degree weather
I climbed it twice, and it took me just over a half hour. It was HOT out, so I really felt like I got a good work out in. At some points, I was jogging, which was fun, because I had an iPod with me! TJ loaned me his iPod shuffle until I can fine mine, and it's been wonderful to have!
My knee is still bothering me, and I hope I didn't hurt it, because it was soooo nice to be outside and hiking again! If I have time later, I'm going to continue my work out. I can't decide if I'll go to the gym or go for a brisk kayaking tour. I'm thinking kayaking. I will murder myself this winter when I'm snowed in thinking back to one of the nicest days of the year when I chose to work out inside rather than outside. That's just plain silly. Kayaking like I did yesterday is a fantastic work out, so I guess my mind is made up!
Right now, I'm working at Panera. Sometimes when I work from home, I work from Panera for part of the day. It's a nice change of pace, even though it's often driven by me losing my internet access. I always get the low fat strawberry yogurt smoothie. It has 240 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. So, it's high in calories, but I don't have them often, and I only get them so that I can get my yogurt in. I hate yogurt, but I know it's important. Now I'm up to 687 calories for the day, and I'll have plenty left for dinner.
I had a grass fed beef (all beef) hotdog for lunch today. It was good! I bought them last week at my health foods store, but I hadn't tried them until today. I ate it on a joseph's flax tortilla with some ketchup and mustard.
I chose the Panera on South Willow St. so I could stop by my health foods store on the way back. I need to pick up some meats for the weekend. I'm thinking a delmonico steak and pork chops. This grass fed meat is sooooo good. I am a bit embarrassed, however. Brooke went to Oklahoma and she brought me back a T shirt that says "In Oklahoma," and then below it is a picture of the state with a cow upside down in the middle of it, and the back of the shirt says, "Nothing tips like a cow."
It's funny/obnoxious (much like myself), but here I am going into a crunchy hippy foods store with a t shirt making fun of cow tipping.
Oh well. Love me or leave me. ;0)
Stay cool!
Oh, thank heavens
Thursday, September 4, 2008
A little late with the blog today!
I took this picture of the sun setting with from my kayak. Every time I stopped paddling, my kayak started spinning around because I was going fast, so I kept missing it. That's why it's already set in the picture above, but you still get the idea. What a wonderful way to get in cardio, as well as a good workout for arms and back! I want to go hiking tomorrow.
I'm living through my very busy week. I've postponed tomorrow's root canal because I just can't afford to spend time doing that when I have so much else on my plate. I took one of my finals, and I did well, so that is good. Tonight I plan to work on my two research papers, and hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be done at a reasonable hour tomorrow night.
I do have work I need to do this weekend, but that's okay, after tomorrow I will be out of the woods for a little bit at least. Saturday we are taking my grandmother out to lunch and to run some errands, and after that I want to pick something...It's a little soon for apples, but raspberries are still around, so that may be fun. There is a batting cage on the way back from my grandmother's house too, so I'd like to stop there as well.
I'm going to do my best to try to find active things to do on the weekends, now that summer is (allegedly) ending, but I'm going to spend as much time on and in the water as possible too!
Oh yes, I have a fill scheduled for next Tuesday. I'm really hoping to lose some weight before then, but if not, not. Life moves on. I'm doing the right things, and I will reach my goals whenever I do. :)