I Knew It Wouldn't Last

So I'm all out of the running for NaBloPoMo. I figured I wouldn't make it to the end, but this year, it was out of my hands. My Internet connection has been spotty to say the least for almost a week now. As a result, I've had to turn in homework late, answer work emails days after I get them, and drop out of NaBloPoMo. I'm completely frustrated. I called Time Warner and they verified that I was having problems with my connection saying that my modem wasn't receiving info (No! Really?!?). I had a tech out on Friday and he blamed the problem on my wireless router. The wireless router tech blamed my Internet connection. I'm inclined to believe the router people because I've never had as many connectivity problems as I've had with Time Warner. We've had several issues with our connection since we moved here. We also have continuous problems with our cable too. For instance, my on screen guide doesn't work on my downstairs DVR box. My DVR also regularly will record only the first 10 minutes or so of a show. My HD channels tile so badly that I can't watch them occasionally too. Thus far, I'm am not impressed with Time Warner.

In other news...

As you may or may not have read in a previous post, the Mister and I are having a weight loss competition. So far, he's beating me by about 2%. We both decided to boost our weight loss with supplements. I don't know if you have had any experience with weight loss supplements but they suck. They work, but with side effects which suck. I'm not promoting them so I'm not giving names and don't ask. Do your own due diligence should you decide to try them out. The ones we both opted to try out have large amounts of caffeine in them. This means that we can't ingest any other forms of caffeine while taking them. No chocolate, no coffee, and certainly no soda. I haven't had any liquid caffeine in over a month. That's the longest I've ever gone probably since I was a toddler, lol. Lucky for me, I don't crave chocolate so that's not a big deal. However, I love my soda and coffee so it's been a challenge to give them up. I know. There's decaf but I don't believe in decaf. It's all or nothing for me.

Another result of our challenge is that I have given up fast food. I admit, I was a fast food junkie. If you've never watched Supersize Me, you should and you will understand how fast food can be an addiction. But you know what? I don't miss it at all. I feel really good about eating healthier. The biggest challenge of giving up fast food is that the kids don't understand it and they constantly ask to eat out. I need to sit them down and make them watch Supersize Me. I actually have it on DVD so I just might do that. The problem with making kids understand why eating bad food is bad for you, is that they are young and thinking about the long term ramifications of eating unhealthy food is beyond them. My dad has had so many procedures for heart disease that I've just about lost count. The Mister's family also has a history of heart disease. My kids have it coming at them from both sides. I need to change their eating habits now while they're still healthy and while I still have any influence in that area, lol.

The Great Sandbox Challenge

The Mister left on his deployment yesterday. When I got home from dropping him off on base, (which, btw, I was up at 1:30 AM!!! because of it.) the first thing I did was go to our room. When I hit the switch to turn on the overhead light, the bulb blew. I really hope that’s not indicative of what this deployment is going to be like for me, lol. I think deployments are what made Murphy’s Law a thing.

Anyway, I was able to talk to him last night from the airport in Bangor, Maine. He was leaving the country from there. :( I’m not sure when I’ll hear from him next. Today is his birthday. I’m sure, while it’s not an ideal situation, it’s one he’ll never forget. ;)

So, what does my post title have to do with anything? Well, the Mister and I have a bet going on while he’s deployed…The person who loses the most body weight percentage wins a prize. The prize that I have picked out is a new purse and the prize the Mister has picked out is a bicycle. The rules are that I cannot buy a new purse while he’s deployed which really SUCKS! but he won’t have an opportunity to buy a new bicycle so it’s fair. Also, the loser has to wait a minimum of three months to buy the prize that they lost because let’s face it, I will buy a new purse eventually, lmao. Now, he has somewhat of an unfair advantage. While in The Sandbox, he has to wear a bullet proof vest which weighs 35 pounds. Add 100 degree heat to that, and he’ll lose weight just walking around. However, we both want to lose approximately the same amount of weight which means that if we both reach our goal, I will lose the greater body weight percentage because I weigh less than him.

I really want to win!! Buying a purse, guilt free, would be a nice change of pace, heheh. I need motivation! Nag/ask me about it. Nag me here, on Facebook, Twitter, on the phone, nag me in the snail mail. I’m really good at getting started with exercise and eating right, but I lose motivation and fall off the wagon after about 3 months. With the holidays coming up, this is going to be a real challenge for me. I want to wiiiiinnnnnn!!!! Can you imagine the trash talk I will get from the Mister if I lose? Plus, that would be 9+ months without a new purse. Ouch!

Wish me luck on both fronts. ;)

Wild and Crazy?

Just crazed. I have moved into the crazed portion of the program. And before you tell me it will all work out, see the following post:  STFU It’s really not what I need or want to hear right now.

House hunting isn’t going well. Our number one favorite pick is a house that’s 4 miles from the Mister’s new base, it’s HUGE, the dogs aren’t a problem, and the rent is right. HOWever, they have someone that has already put a deposit down, sight unseen last I heard, so we probably won’t be getting that house. BIG BUMMER!

Our number two pick house is in San Marcos which is a bit of a commute from the Mister’s base but not terrible. It’s also a really big house but it’s nice and allows dogs. Couple issues:  It doesn’t have a refrigerator and the owner wants us to provide our own or raise the rent to buy one for the house. Really?!?!

Another house is the right rent, right distance, allows dogs, but wants us to start paying rent on it beginning on March 1 even though we won’t be moving in until March 19 and will still be paying rent on this house until March 12. I really don’t think that’s reasonable at all.

Other houses that we are considering are either too far for too much rent or too small. What I mean is that we would consider a longer commute for less rent and will take a small house if that’s our only choice. This really sucks out loud.

As for base housing, they won’t put us on the waiting list until March 10th. This means that we would have NINE days to get into base housing. Last time I checked, waiting lists were much longer than NINE freaking days especially for housing that allows dogs.

On top of house hunting for ourselves, our house we currently live in is listed for rent so I have to field calls from potential tenants and have our house ready to show at any time. That effing sucks out loud. On top of that, my semester starts on Monday, I still have work, and I still have homeschooling the youngest. You really gonna tell me not to worry? I wouldn’t risk it if I were you. Cuz on top of all that, I’m dieting and exercising again. Probably a bad time to start but at the same time, the exercise is good for my mind. I’m still sleeping at night and I haven’t killed anyone. Yet. However, denying myself chocolate and other comfort, fat-filled foods at this time is probably a risk to others, lmao. But, I've already lost five pounds in one week. Yay me!

 

Ugh.

Also, I need some sort of program that will sync between my laptop, my desktop, my iPod touch, and my Blackberry. I really don’t think such a wondrous thing exists but if you know of something I could use that would keep all my tasks, to do’s, calendar items, and e-mails up to date on all my devices, I would appreciate a point in the right direction. I need something that will work with MS Outlook.

Two Month Update

April 1st was the last day of month number two of my new eating right and exercising regime. I’m very happy to report that I’ve lost 12.4 pounds so far. Not too terrible considering those three pounds I put back on in GA. I’m not losing at the same rate that I was in the beginning but I expected that so it’s not getting me down.

I’ve had the most ups and downs with eating right. The biggest hang up that I have is that I get entirely sick and tired of cooking every single day of the week. I’m beginning to hate the whole process:  Planning meals, making a shopping list, grocery shopping, figuring out what I’m in the mood to cook and eat every night, then prepping and cooking dinner and then eating my own cooking ALL THE TIME!!! Ugh, ugh, and UGH! This is leading to burnout which results in us eating out once or sometimes twice a week. I try not to go crazy on the nights we eat out and without giving out TMI, I can’t eat too much greasy, fried food anymore. I’ve had a major thing for Quiznos. I can’t seem to get enough of it. I could eat a chicken carbornara right now. Or a Baja Chicken. Hmm. You get my point though. What’s more is that the more weight that I lose, the less calories I’m allotted a day, lol. Doesn’t seem fair, right? Well, the less you weigh, the more it takes to burn fat so the fewer calories you can eat in a day and still lose weight. I started out being able to eat 1,464 and now I’m down to 1,384. 80 calories may not seem like a lot to you, but to a person on a diet trying to lose weight, 80 calories is a lot. I miss those 80 calories, lmao.

Exercise is still going really good. I’d have to say that this is where I’m the most proud of myself. I started out only being able to run for about a mile to a mile and a half in 20-25 minutes on the elliptical. Today I ran 4 miles in 40 minutes and 50 seconds. That’s a really good time for me. Sunday the Mister is taking me out for my first street run. It should be interesting. I’ll be sure and update you all as to how it goes. I’m also going to integrate some other exercise into my routine. Probably some yoga and some strength training. My legs and butt are really firming up with all the running and my upper body is being neglected. Plus, mixing it up will keep me from getting bored and will push me over any plateaus I encounter. :)

 

And We’re in Business!

I am officially in business. I finally applied for and received my business license last week! Woot! I figured it was about time. It’s actually past being about time but hey, better late than never.

In other news…

We’ve been having the most excellent weather. It’s been in the 70’s and 80’s for a few days now. I LOVE it. I have the windows open in the house and I’ve been wearing shorts and sandals. It’s supposed to cool back off to seasonal temps this week, but it was a sweet taste of spring while it lasted. As for daylight savings, as usual, it sucked. I wish we could do away with it altogether. The youngest child walks to her bus stop in the dark now. How much fun is that?? It’s also a lot harder to wake up in the complete dark as well. I just don’t like it at all.

AND!!! I have lost a total of TEN pounds now. Woot woot!! Yup. I’m still going strong on the dieting and exercising. My plan is to lose 1 1/2 pounds a week so I’m ahead of the game still. I ran for five miles on the elliptical yesterday and I’m actually going to  hit the streets with the Mister this weekend. I’m nervous about running for real, but he says it’s about time, lol. I’m hoping I don’t chicken out.

In the world of being a gadget whore…

The Mister and I got BlackBerry Curves last weekend. I figured with having four business e-mails (and counting) and a couple personal e-mail addresses I could use a mobile way of checking my e-mails. BlackBerrys are good for a lot more than that, but it’s a start. ;)

Also, I downloaded a Kindle app for my iPod touch and I LOVE it. I’ve been really reluctant to buy a Kindle and for a few reasons.

1. 1.  I like to own my books. This means that any books that I digitally download will also have to be bought for my bookshelf. That’s one book for the price of two.
2. 2.  Kindle makes it waaaay to easy to download new books and I would have to learn a way to control myself, lol. I’ve had the Kindle app for less than a week and I’ve already downloaded and read five books on it. I’ve been on reading roll.
3. 3.  They are freaking expensive!! I don’t know if I can justify spending $359.00 on this gadget which is only the beginning of the cost. Refer back to numbers 1 and 2.

So, I figured the Kindle app was a compromise. Kindle e-books are cheaper than most other e-books and if I ever do get one, all the books that I’ve downloaded will work on the actual Kindle as well as my iPod. Ho hum.

I think that brings you all up to date. Work has been pretty crazy but now that I’m settling into a routine, I hope to be able to blog more often. It’s just that by the time that I’m done sitting at my computer for hours working, I don’t feel like being in my office anymore. I don’t even play games on my computer these days. I’ve been reading books on my iPod, crocheting a throw, and hanging out on the couch in my off time. Excuses, excuses, lol.

On Being Consistent

The only thing consistent about my blog lately is that I update inconsistently. Funnily enough, it’s not because I haven’t had anything to say. Lots of stuff has been going on in my little world of late. Now I need to figure out where to begin. It’s been a while.

First off, I’ll start with some good news. I took on a new client this week. Yay!! It more than doubles my work hours and the pay is really good. I love starting new projects for clients because it keeps things interesting and me interested in working. I hate monotony where my work is concerned.

Even though I now have two steady clients, I applied for a third last night and I’m also thinking about volunteering at my local library. I talked with them last night and they said that they don’t have many volunteers at all. The only thing is that I’m not sure how much spare time I have now that I have two clients. I think I’m going to wait a couple weeks to see how much work this is actually going to be before committing myself to volunteer work. I’d feel bad if I said that I could help out and then discover that I didn’t realistically have the time to do so.

Next up, the teacher thing…I don’t really have a resolution to that. I talked with her teacher and she denied having told the kids that bringing in something for the party was mandatory. Normally, I’d be more inclined to believe the adult but I had three different kids tell me the same thing when I casually brought it up to them separately. Also, this teacher doesn’t have the best track record for being reasonable. Having decided not to make a big deal out of something that turned out to be a non-issue (I’ll explain why next) in the end seems silly. I dunno.

Why was it a non-issue? Because the youngest child ended up missing school half of Wednesday, and all of Thursday and Friday anyway. She came home from school Wednesday with a fever that ended up going up over 103 degrees and involved a trip to the hospital and a round of antibiotics. We’re still not sure what she had. The Navy doctors prescribed penicillin guessing that she had strep throat. They guessed because they didn't have any rapid strep tests and it took six days to get the lab results of her throat swab back. I find it disturbing that they arbitrarily prescribe antibiotics with them losing their effectiveness due to over-prescribing but what do I know. And btw, I still sent in the snacks that I bought for the party and the youngest’s Valentine’s cards so that they could be given out to her classmates.

Anyway, remember a while back when I blogged about how some neighborhood kids came to my door after dark to ask if they could use my cell phone to call their friends? Well, we got a knock on our door Monday and someone from child protective services was standing there. Turns out that these same kids were almost hit by a car on our street while they were playing in the street after dark recently. I have no idea when or who almost hit them. NO, it wasn’t me that called. While I don’t necessarily agree with letting young kids out after dark and I found it really annoying that they thought it was okay to ask neighbors to use their phone  to call a friend, I didn’t think it was dangerous at the time. I didn’t know they were out playing in the street after dark too. Well, after knocking on some of my other neighbor’s doors, they went to the parent's house and questioned them. I don’t know the results of all that, but if I were her (she’s a single mom) I would be so embarrassed that I would probably look into moving, lol. I didn’t let my kids run roughshod over the neighborhood before, but now I’m keeping an even tighter reign on them. I stressed their rules and told them that if they break them, not only will they be grounded but they won’t be allowed outside unsupervised anymore. I told them that they could probably guess how often I would feel like sitting outside in the heat to watch them play, heheh. I also discovered a black scratch down the side of my car the same height as a scooter’s handlebars. I had to tell some of the neighborhood kids to stop playing in my driveway around my car (my kids were inside and weren’t even playing with these kids at the time.) but it turns out I was too late. My kids don’t have scooters because they were dopes and left them outside in the front yard to get stolen at our old house. Irresponsibility doesn’t get you a new scooter at my house. I would be so angry if I found out my kids were playing in other people’s driveways or around cars in general. That’s why we have yards and sidewalks for pete’s sake.

As for the healthy lifestyle thing, well, I’ve slacked off a bit in the last week. Instead of working out 7 days a weeks, I slacked off to 3 ::blush:: I kind of have an excuse though. The elliptical machine has started making this really high pitched squeak that makes you want to stab out your eardrums. I’m not ready to run out in public yet. I’m too insecure. There. I admitted it out loud. I had to get gas in my work out clothes this morning (the Mister ran it out of my car and I wasn’t anticipating having to stop) and I was pretty embarrassed, lol. The Mister is going to take a look at our machine tonight so I can get back into the habit again. Eating right is still going good though. We had two days where our dinners were less than stellar but we're still doing good overall. It’s starting to get to me psychologically however. Constantly keeping track of how much I’m eating and how much exercise I’m getting is a little depressing. Also knowing that I can’t eat at the brand new Dunkin Doughnuts that just opened like a block from my house is also depressing. I loves me a chocolate cream filled doughnut gosh darnit! They are over 300 calories a piece though and most of that is from fat. Big surprise, right? Still :( The only thing that keeps me going is that I’m still losing weight. Not as fast as the first week which is to be expected, but it’s still coming off. My jeans fit nicer nowadays.

And now I’ve got to hit the shower (I managed to put in a bit of time on the elliptical this morning) and get some work done. Yay!! Work! Woot!

Title Me This

My weekend went just as planned…Do as little as possible, lol. Saturday without the Mister went just fine. Other than a minor skirmish with the oldest child (again) it was amazingly quiet. We had excellent weather so the kids spent most of the day outside. The turkey tetrazzini was awesome. For fun, we played some games, rough housed a bit, and watched Psych. It was a good all girls night.

Sunday, the Mister and I drove downtown to check out the supposed sidewalk sale that the downtown shops were having. However, we got down there and most of the stores were closed. Our downtown is suffering a bit because one of the main roads that leads downtown is closed while they replace a drawbridge. It’s sad because downtown New Bern has quite a few locally owned, one of a kind businesses. The Mister and I like to stroll down along the waterfront whenever we get a chance.

Anyway, that was all we did on Sunday and it turned out to be not so much fun. Sunday night, we had Southwest Pasta and Beans for dinner. It’s a vegetarian dish that is so very YUMMY and super easy to make. For my first week of dieting and exercise, I lost a total of 4.8 pounds. I’m feeling really good about that. This morning, I almost doubled my time on the elliptical and ran for 5.1 miles. I was pretty tired but it felt really good. My only thing is that my running shoes cut off the circulation in my toes. It’s uncomfortable and makes me want to stop before I’m even tired. I think it’s time for new shoes, lol.

I’m off.  Have a fab Monday.

Saturday Update

Get this…I have lost 4.8 pounds since Monday. Woot!! AND, I have done it with exercise and withOUT starving myself. Oh. And without taking “miracle” pills. This is the most success I’ve had with weight loss ever. Even back in Cali when Jennifer and I were walking five miles a day. I didn’t lose ANY weight at all then.

Last night for dinner we had baked rigatoni. Once again, it’s a recipe that I got from Cooking Light and it is one of our favorites that we have just because we like it. When we’re not dieting, I don’t follow the recipe and add whatever amounts of cheese I would like, lol. I also make the sauce from scratch which is so much better than jarred pasta sauce and it has a lot less sodium.

This morning, I cut five minutes off my elliptical run because I was struggling BAD. I didn’t drink my Cranergy this morning and I could really tell a difference in my energy levels. I knew it boosted my energy, but I didn’t know by how much until this morning.

The Mister is at work on duty this fine Saturday morning. I’m trying to brainstorm some ideas for stuff for the girls and I to do today.  I’m thinking movie and popcorn night. We’ll see.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!

In My Neighborhood

It snowed again. This snow is much wetter than the other snow so it’s mostly slush. Weird thing about it is that the last time we  got snow, school was cancelled while it was still raining. This time, it was actively snowing and at a good rate and school wasn’t even delayed. Not that I mind. I get much more work done when the kids are in school, but it was still a bit intimidating being out on the streets with people that can’t drive in the rain.

Also in my neighborhood…

We got Bailey back in 2005. She has lived in three different houses. We got Hannah in 2007. She has lived in two different  houses. In all that time, with all the different neighbors, my dogs have never barked at people. They don’t bark at the mail carrier, the UPS delivery person, the neighborhood kids, people on a stroll, nobody. That is, until a couple weeks ago. I’m not sure if we got new neighbors or if they are just behaving differently, but every time the guy that lives directly behind us comes out of his house (our backyards butt up against each other being separated by privacy fences.) Hannah goes crazy barking at him, scratching at the back door, and jumping at the fence. She does not  like this guy. It’s weird. Even more weird, the oldest child and I saw him standing inside his house, staring out his patio doors, and into our kitchen yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t just glancing, he stood there for several minutes. It was so odd that I closed all the blinds at the back of the house. I know it’s probably wrong to judge a person based on how your dog reacts to them, but her behavior is so out of the ordinary and then the watching our house, I’m beginning to wonder what the heck is up with this guy. I’m probably just being paranoid.

Also in my neighborhood…

One of our neighbors moved yesterday. They moved into their house a day before we moved into ours and they are already moving. We’re sad about it because their daughter is friends with my daughters. She’s a sweetheart too. She calls me Miss Trisha and gives me a hug whenever she sees me. The turnaround time in my neighborhood is huge. There are several houses for sale and for rent and there’s only two streets. That also makes one wonder about the neighborhood. Oh well.

Living healthy update…

Prior to typing this entry, I was on the elliptical. It was a pretty good workout and no nausea, lol. Last night for dinner, we had seasoned tilapia, broccolini, and corn. We were supposed to have polenta with it but I bought the wrong kind and it looked like nasty, gooey, slop in the pan. The recipe was another one from Cooking Light. For the day, I was 382 calories under my total allowed for the day AND, I wasn’t even hungry. Nifty, eh?

Now that I’ve stopped sweating, I’m off for my shower and breakfast. Oh! That reminds me. Something that I’ve added to my daily routine is a glass of Cranergy. I honestly can’t stand the taste of the stuff. For one thing, I hate artificial sweeteners and for another, it has a celery taste to it which is odd considering that isn’t an ingredient. Even so, it gives the most awesome energy boost that lasts for several hours and it’s only 50 calories per 12 ounces. You can’t say that about coffee or soda. At least not the coffee or soda that I would normally drink trying to perk myself up.

Ok. Enough. I’m off

Putting it out There

The Mister and I started something new this week. We have both gone on a new diet and exercise regimen. This isn’t really all that new. We both regularly go on diets to try and lose our extra poundage but it never seems to last. I hate that. This time, I hope it’s different. I have a philosophy about weight loss and it’s by no means unique, lol. Losing weight should be more about making a lifestyle change than about finding a quick, and usually, temporary fix. You don’t lose weight and keep it off by popping pills, starving yourself, and then sitting on your lazy butt while you wait for the pounds to melt off. It should happen by modifying your diet and getting a healthy amount of exercise. Thus, our newest journey is beginning.

The Mister is trying out this program that a coworker introduced him to. I don’t remember what it’s called, but the Mister said it’s Satan at work, lmao. After his first workout, he couldn’t walk straight for days. My regimen includes regular abuse on the elliptical machine (I laid on the floor and dry heaved after my first workout yesterday, lmao) and some weight training. I’d also like to throw some yoga in there because I don’t think there is anything more relaxing while being stimulating at the same time than yoga. I love it.

We are also modifying our diet. Eating out is a thing of the past. Normally, I cook very healthy meals. I don’t fry anything, we have veggies with every meal, lean meats, etc, etc. The only bad thing I cook is starchy carbs. We likes the pastas and potatoes. Eating out is our Achilles heel when it comes to eating right. It has got to stop and we have already been making positive steps toward to this goal. Last night, for example, we got a late start to dinner. Our old selves would have rationalized that we didn’t have enough time to cook so we may as well pick up some Burger King instead. HOWEVER, last night, we sucked it up and made our planned meal at home like responsible adults. It felt really good. Plus, it was excellent!. We had a healthy fried rice. Sounds UNhealthy, right? Well, I got the recipe from my Cooking Light magazine and it had very low sodium and fat while still being loaded with nutrients. Loves me my Cooking Light magazine.

So, if you’ll bear with me, I would like to start posting regular updates about how we are doing. I figure that if I talk about it, it’ll give me more motivation to keep going. So, I’ll be talking about my exercise and our meals and how we are doing. You will NOT be given updates on how much I weigh, lol. I don’t even tell the Mister that even though he probably knows. That’s a skill he picked up as a recruiter, being able to tell how much people weigh by just looking at them. He’s kind enough not to tell me that though, lol. I will tell you, however, how much I am losing. For example, I lost 2.1 pounds in my first day which was awesome. My jaw dropped when I saw the scale this morning. I know you lose weight faster in the beginning, but I didn’t expect to lose 2 pounds in a day. Neato and very encouraging. Plus, I had no nausea after my elliptical run this morning. Improvement already! I am also open to comments about this topic. If you ask me what I had for dinner or what I did for exercise every once in a while, I’ll be more motivated to keep up with it so that I don’t have to lie, lol. This blog is NOT going to turn into a weight loss blog though. You know me, I’m never on topic nor do I stay on any sort of topic for very long. This is just something positive to post about instead of my usual whining, heheh. Plus, maybe you’ll get some healthy meal ideas from me which would be cool.

Last night at dinner, the youngest asked why we are dieting. The Mister and I both replied that it’s because we are trying to lose our fat, lol. She said that we weren’t fat which was very sweet of her. But the real reason is that I’m unhappy in my own skin. Before I had kids, I weighed 115  pounds. Gosh! I can hardly remember being that little, lol. I have no intention of trying to get back there but I would like to be happy with how I look in the mirror and I would like to have fun shopping for clothes again. I don’t think those are unrealistic goals. Plus, I feel tons better mentally when I’m exercising.

Anyway, enough blah, blah, blah’ing for now. There will be more to come laters!