I'm Sick, and Date #6

I've been sick since Monday. Sore throat, achy, headache and my voice is mostly gone. I've missed 2.5 days of work and my voice still is not back to normal. This is a big problem considering that I'm in sales and I need my voice to do my job! I've done no exercise and my eating is crappy. Ugh. I hope to have this sickness behind me soon.

On the bright side, I have finished 3 books this week. The Horse and His Boy (good), Dedication (terrible) and Home to Holly Springs (pretty good).

So, Date #6. On the day that I managed to work a half day, I also motivated for a date. I had been trying to meet up with this guy for some time now. Between his schedule and mine it has been a challenge. So I did not want to cancel unless I had to... Plus, being sick gave me an excuse to make it an early night. The guy was nice enough. Good conversation, we seemed to have some things in common. He was a little heavier than his profile had indicated, but who I am to cast stones there? I was surprised that he went into the details of his divorce on a first date. The date was fine, but there were no sparks for me at all. He had some effeminate habits - speech patterns, gestures, etc. that struck me the wrong way. I think that would be hard for me to overcome. So I sent him a nice thank you email with the "no spark" message today. Moving on. My match.com subscription ends this month. I won't miss it that much.

Bloggy Slacker

Oh - so much to catch up! For starters, I was down 1.2 lbs at weigh in last week. Shocker! I'll take it.

Last Thursday I drove to the Jersey Shore for a friend's 40th birthday party. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by the party. I didn't know many people besides the birthday girl, I was unfamiliar with the area and I was afraid that these party attendees live a more lavish lifestyle than I do. Normally I can hang, but money is kinda tight these days. The party agenda included time at the beach, a BBQ and then a limo to Atlantic City. Meaning I needed 2 party outfits - casual for the BBQ and then dressy for AC. Whew! That's a lot for a party. You can understand my trepidation.

I considered not attending, but this friend has been very kind to me over the years. Plus she is in the middle of an ugly divorce. I wanted to be supportive of her. So I put my big girl panties on and went. And I had a GREAT time!

On the way there, I got caught in traffic. Ugh. I ended up arriving just as the limo pulled up for Atlantic City! So I had to race inside, put on my dress and join the party fast. The good thing about this is that I had no time to graze at the party table. And I missed the cake! Someone put together a plate for me to eat in the limo. I had just a few bites of a sandwich and some fruit salad. Then we got to AC and stumbled into a private party with an open bar. Free drinks! Later we took the limo to another casino and danced at the club for at least an hour. I got some nice compliments over the course of the party and everyone was very friendly.

So I rocked the food, drank just enough and got tons of exercise at this party! Awesome. We didn't get home until 3:15. I popped awake at 8am feeling great and got in a walk before breakfast. What a great road trip. I had so much fun that I'm headed back to the shore this weekend to visit my friend again. Although I doubt that a limo to AC will be on the agenda this time.

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I made a really yummy recipe for dinner tonight. Summer Succotash with Chicken. Of course I modified it slightly, using less onion and garlic and subbing poblano pepper for the bell pepper. This one is a keeper. Cooking Light lists it as 4 servings, but I got six 1-cup servings instead. Only four WW points per serving. Yum!

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Oh, I finished The Book Thief by Zusak. A very worthwhile read.

Nevada

I'm back from Nevada. Oh, how I hate being so far away from my sister! I had the best time hanging out with her, my almost 5 year old nephew, my 7 week old niece and my brother in law. We went up to Tahoe, did a kids activity at the art museum, attended church, played, wrestled, danced. Those kids are so darn cute. Seriously, they are the beautiful family. Our country should just pay them to stay home and pop out beautiful babies. (Author's Note: I am not kidding about this. One time a friend asked when I was going to put a picture in my new frame. It was a picture of my sister, brother in law and nephew!)

Every time I head out there, I think to myself "I should move here and be closer to my family." I even scope out neighborhoods and try to imagine myself living there. But here are the reasons why I stay put:

1. All of Nevada is brown. I'm used to green. While the mountains are striking, I prefer the beauty of the East Coast.
2. Forest fires and earthquakes and droughts, oh my!
3. Reno is a fairly small city. And nothing else is close by to visit except San Fran (which is a 4 hour drive).
4. I love my job, I love my house, I have great friends, a great church and I love living downtown.
5. My parents are in Florida. While I'm still a flight away from them, I'm a fairly short flight. Reno is a day's travel to get to them. If something were to happen, I'd want to be able to get there quickly.
6. I'm not proud of this, but I think my sister and I are better friends because of the distance. We make an effort to keep in touch. And our little annoyances aren't quite as visible from across the country.
7. I'm totally a type A East Coast personality. I don't think I'd blend well with either the native cowboy Nevada culture or the laid back it's all good California culture.
8. I hate gambling with a passion. I hate the way it can turn people into addicts. I hate the way it can cause people to root against their own teams. (What is up with that?!?!) I hate the sneaky psychology behind casino layout and operations. And I hate that the majority of nightlift in Reno revolves around the casinos.

Whew! Guess I needed to get that off of my chest. I still feel so conflicted about being far away from them. I wish I could be more of a support system for them. But this is how it is. I'll have to do a better job of keeping them in prayer. That is the best support anyone can have.

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Oh, you want to know about my food and exercise in Reno? Meh. Not horrible, not great. I definitely succumbed to boredom eating on the flights. We'll see what tomorrow holds. Don't get excited.

Motivation

I'm hanging in there this week. Exercise yesterday and today was a 21 minute morning walk. Not a lot, but better than nothing. This weekend I should be able to get in some exercise with my sister. I can't wait to see my nephew and meet my niece! (Oh, and visit with my sister and brother in law as well!).

While packing for the weekend I tried on my clothing to make sure it looked nice. Imagine my disappointment when my favorite pair of khaki shorts was too snug to make the cut. What a bummer. But it has been a good motivator for me today. I really want to wear those shorts again this summer. When I think of eating snacks I remember the way they felt last night. Yuck.

Today I saw a new chiropractor. I'm in chiro-love! This guy really knows his stuff. He listened to me, identified my hurting areas and told me that we can fix it. I really feel hopeful about working with him. He has more of a sports medicine focus that seems to be a better fit for me. Of course then I had to tangle with insurance to get switched over from my old to new chiropractor. I prayed about it and asked God to make that as simple as possible. (Since we all know that insurance is rarely simple!). God came through in a big way. I'm terminated with the old and am set up and ready to go with the new. Praise the Lord!

I'm off to Nevada for the weekend. Woo hoo!

Weigh In Wednesday

I didn't make it to my WW meeting today. My girl kept me up most of the night and by morning it was clear that we needed to go to the vet. She's going to be fine - just some kind of stomach bug. She keeps throwing up and pooping a lot! I hope the meds kick in soon.

So I was late into work today and missed my lunchtime meeting. I was tempted to skip altogether, but I had a morbid curiosity to find out how much I had gained. I stepped in for weigh in after work. It is shocking to me that I am only up .6 this week.

BUT

That means that I now weigh 145 exactly. If I gain anymore I'll be close to 150! Yikes! Time to get back on track. I really would like to be in the 130s for my high school reunion.

Here are my challenges:
1. Work has just gotten crazy busy. And I'm taking 3.5 days off out of the next 7 working days. I'm feeling guilty for not putting in more hours (not to mention the half day I had to take today for my girl). Plus, since I'm on 100% commission, my vacation days could directly impact this month's salary potential! I'm feeling stretched among work and extracurricular stuff (foster care meeting, band practice, trying to have a social life, etc). Getting in exercise will be a challenge.

2. I'm going out of town twice in the next few days. Friday I head to Nevada to see my sister and her family. Fortunately my sister is trying to lose weight too, so that helps, but I always have to fight the "I'm on vacation - let's eat!" mentality. Next week I'm doing a quick overnight to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday. Lots of eating and drinking opportunities there.

This is what I'm going to try and do:
1. Remember what Mom says: "This too shall pass." I may feel crazy and hectic right now, but things will slow down.

2. Practice saying no a few more times. No to activities, no to requests, no to time-suckers, no to things that seem important, but really aren't.

3. Make peace with imperfection. Yep, I'm still sleeping in the guest room, on sheets that are past their prime. Yep, my own mattress is still bare and waiting for fresh sheets. Yep, the house needs vacuuming. (Author's Note: If you ever met my girl, you would realize that the house perpetually needs vacuuming. She's out of control!) Another week of this will not kill anyone.

4. Drink more water. I've noticed that I'm not drinking as much as I usually do and I'm not sure why. But I wonder if there may be any correlation between that and my weight gain.

It's late and I'm off to sleep on my dirty sheets. Don't judge me!

Fat Bridesmaid Spoke To Me Today

Here is a quote from her post:

"Sometimes the hardest part of losing weight isn’t finding the motivation to try; it’s being able to stay focused once you start to succeed."

I have not been focused lately. I'm coasting (and gaining) and it doesn't seem to be bothering me a whole lot. The good news is that I'm still doing pretty well with exercising. But my eating is in the toilet. I'm not quite sure when I'm going to end this free fall. Hang on, it looks like a bumpy ride!

Weigh In Wednesday

aka Juice weighs more and I don't care (sing it like Jimmy Crack Corn).

Well, I do care, but I'm not going to get obsessive about it. I've been coasting these past few weeks and making poor eating choices. Sooner or later I was going to have to pay for it. I'm up to 144.4, which is a weight I have not seen since October. Time to refocus and buckle down for these last few weeks before my high school reunion.

Jill had an interesting post the other day about weight loss and pride. Gulp. Vanity, thy name is Juice. I'm really glad she posted about it. It was a healthy dose of perspective for me. Yes, I want to feel good about myself at my reunion. But is it really important that I make all the women jealous and all the men filled with regret? Umm, no. How about I focus on showing off my peace in Christ, my trust in my Savior and my joy in the life He has given to me??? (Note to self: read this post again August 6).

On to other topics. I'll number them so you can skip any that seem boring to you.

1. Saw the chiro again today. I liked the chiro better today, but I still plan to check out Chiro 2 who was recommended to me. Chiro 1 did some work on me and I am feeling it tonight.

2. Had a great night tonight. My friend B came over and I cooked us a healthy dinner based on this recipe from Happy Texans. I modified it slightly to get it to 5 points per serving. While the meal was cooking we did a power walk. Exercise AND great food - what a perfect combo!

3. Did I ever tell you about that novel Safely Home by Randy Alcorn? If you are looking for a good read pick this up. I have bought 5 copies to give to friends. Me, who never buys books! I have Randy Alcorn on the brain because my small group just finished a study of his book Heaven. That's a pretty good book too (nonfiction) but perhaps could be reduced in length. He tends to repeat himself.

I guess that's it for now. I have to get to sleep!

Mission Accomplished and Other News

I succeeded in my Saturday cookout challenge! I ate no desserts, although I did take one item to eat in the car on the way home. I was really proud of myself!

Unfortunately I've been eating like crap since then. My mojo is missing. I'm still exercising, but not enough to account for the chocolate I'm consuming. Sigh. I need to refocus.

My hip is still hurting from dancing the other weekend. I broke down yesterday and went to a chiropractor but it was a very unsatisfying experience. I'm supposed to go back Wednesday to see the x-ray results and talk about next steps. Not sure if I'll stay with this guy or try a different practitioner. I just don't feel like this guy understood me! He kept saying "well, you're very strong and you seem to be in great shape." Duh, I AM pretty strong and I am pretty darn flexible, so my range of motion is probably going to be better than most of your patients. Plus I think I have a decent pain tolerance. But that doesn't mean that I'm not in pain. It hurts to drive, it's uncomfortable to sleep, it hurts to carry things and exercise (especially running) seems to make it worse. Houston, I think we have a problem.

My girl is continuing to decline. Saturday night she yelped in pain when I lifted her down the stairs. It about broke my heart. I gave her some pain meds and called the vet Monday to discuss next steps. He prescribed a low dose pain pill for her twice a day. She seems to be doing better. But I'm carrying her down even small staircases (2-3 steps) now in the mornings when she is stiff. If you see a girl with dog hair plastered across her chest, it's probably me modeling my latest accessory: fur.

On to more fun stuff. I've been emailing with some new guys on match.com. I think there will be some dates in the near future. Of course I'll post about it. :)

Our book club has selected The Book Thief as this month's read. Have any of you read it?

A Challenge for Today

Today has started off great. I picked up my CSA share, did a great walk with my friend B and got my grocery shopping done. B and I even ran for 1 out of every 10 minutes that we walked. Baby steps, but it felt good.

Later on I'm headed to a cookout. My challenge to myself is to not eat any dessert. I'm just going to ignore that table altogether. I'm hoping that by making it not an option right now, I won't cave once I get there. I plan on bringing some cut up watermelon, honeydo and cantaloupe as my contribution. That will be my dessert!

I'll post later and let you know how I do. Keep me accountable friends!

What Did I Learn?

I know you all have been on pins and needles waiting for my wisdom. Ha! Ok, maybe not. But I'll tell you what I learned anyway.

I've discovered that I'm pretty good at preparing for an "event." For example, Thanksgiving dinner, or a party. What I need to work on is preparing for the time around the event. Particularly when said time is away from my home.

This past weekend my friend had a 40th birthday party. It was a couple hours away at a dog-friendly inn, so my girl came with me. The event included an afternoon at the outdoor bar, a cocktail hour with appetizers and then (but wait! there's more!) a five-course meal followed by a DJ and dancing. Talk about a fun party and talk about temptation! I was really proud of myself at the party. I ate as sensibly as one can when presented with 5 courses. I left food on the plate and asked myself whether each dish was really worth eating. Believe it or not, once the ice cream was gone, the cake was a little dry, so I stopped. I danced until 1am and had a really fun time.

So guess where I fell apart? The next day! I hadn't planned my food and I succumbed to delicious muffins and a too-large breakfast. Then part of the day was spent in a vacation town and I ate a huge serving of ice cream. After that I fell for the "in for a penny, in for a pound" fallacy and ate my way home. What a dingaling... Honestly I haven't really pulled myself back into healthier eating since. I just want to eat without calculating points. But I know that does not work for me, so I'm taking it minute by minute.

Lesson learned: Plan for the entire trip, not just the difficult meal! When I look back at Thanksgiving this year I see the same pattern. I did well with the meal itself, but I fell apart before and after.

I have a trip to Nevada at the end of this month. I finally get to meet my new neice! Let's see if I can use the lessons learned from this weekend to make that weekend successful.