Hmm, It Seems Like I am Forgetting Something...

Oh, yeah...I seem to have forgotten about this blog, then I forgot the password to even go in an write a post. About the same time I forgot that I was following the Weight Watchers plan.....


So, now that I have admitted my mistakes I guess it is time to get back on track.

School/Work - There are only 10 more days of school!!!!! I have to go back two additional days for inservice days but that is ok. I am ready for summer though, at this point in the year I am so excited for summer vacation I can't stand it! Really, like it makes me crazy to think about the next 10 days knowing a much needed break is around the corner.

More Classes? - Yes, even though I swore off EVER taking another college course (I have 2 bachelors and a masters degree) I am in the process of gathering information to earn a certification in drivers education. The amount of extra money I would make for teaching driver's education after school through out the school year would give me a MAJOR boost to the ole paycheck.  It is a much better return on my money compared to what it cost me to earn my master's degree.  It is only 3 classes so it won't be too rough, I am just over the whole idea of being a student at this point.

Grant "Sick" - Monday morning was rough getting Grant to get ready for school. He was crying saying he had a really bad headache and that his stomach hurt. Of course, this information comes as we are supposed to be heading out the door to catch his bus. I made the quick decision to take him with me to my school. Shortly after that though he seemed to feel much better. I guess he just needed a go to work with mom day. Don't worry that is the first day he has missed all year and he is on the honor roll, so don't call child services on me it was hardly educational neglect. Besides, he listened to my lectures in Earth Science and Biology and he was able to contribute to the discussion and let me just tell you...that boy is pretty bright, he made me proud!

Grant has Spunk -After school on Monday Grant decided to walk around the school while I did a little bit of work in my room. At one point he had been gone awhile. I was just about to go look for him. Before I could do that though he came back...where had he been? He found a party! And proceeded to party with the group.  The Debate Team was having a pizza party for the of the year and Grant totally jumped in and made himself at home. If nothing else I can say he is not shy.

Puppy - My dad's hunting dog had puppies three weeks ago. She ended up having three puppies; two girls and one boy. When they were first born the girls were just a little bit bigger than the boy. Fast forward 2 weeks....umm, the girls were pretty big an the boy well he was barely growing. I watched over the dogs last weekend and became increasingly concerned as the girls seemed to just keep growing and leaving their brother behind. In fact, if he was nursing the girls immediately went over and knocked him off. Poor little guy didn't stand a chance against his GIANT sisters. (When my dad is around the mom won't lay down to let the pups nurse because she gets so excited, so he had never seen this.)  I decided it was time to intervene. I started removing the girls from the dog pen so the little tiny guy could nurse. I have also started supplementing his feeds with some puppy like formula. My dad took all three of the pups to the vet today to get them checked out. I was nervous what the vet was going to say about the boy. Good News! All three puppies are doing fine; the girls just happen to be HUGE an the boy well he is tiny but his vitals were all good and the vet didn't see any concerns other than his tiny size. We will continue taking the girl puppies out of the pen a few times a day so he can eat without being knocked down and I will supplement a couple of times when needed. I noticed tonight he seemed stronger now that he is getting his individual feeding time and the supplements. Time will tell, I hope he makes it.

Puppy Weights from today.
Girl #1  - 4 lbs 12 oz
Girl #2  - 4 lbs 8 oz
Tiny Boy - 1 lb 7 oz   (Do you see why I was so freaked out?!?!?!)

Summer Job - I am spoiled! I haven't worked during the summer for the last 9 years. I can't believe it has been that long. Anywho, I decided I needed to do something to start making a little extra cash, give me a purpose over the summer, and to get out of the house and see people who are not related to me.  So, my student teacher from this semester got me a job at the reception center that she bartends. I will work on Saturday evenings for $10 an hour plus tips. The tips + hourly pay will give me a chance to earn some cash to pay for all the fun stuff we like to do over the summer without going into debt. Wish me luck, the only bar experience I have is from the other side of the bar....and lots of that though. I told the manager that and he thought I would do fine.  ;-)


My Desk is a Wreck - Not that you care but my desk at school is a MESS! Every day I tell myself I need to clean it up but something always happens and I can't seem to make a dent in cleaning it up. Maybe tomorrow....

Well I better go to bed. Did I mention there are only 10 days of school left? Not that I am counting or anything... :-)

Talk to you soon,
Julie

Follower #2!!!

Welcome Honeybee!

The End has Come!

The end of spring break that is. We had a fantastic and relaxing week off work/school. We didn't go anywhere just did some stuff around the house, went out with friends a few times, went to the museum and last but not least we just returned from the Le.gofest.

L.ego Kids.fest
Let me just say L.ego Kids.fest was fun and absolutely a genius idea. Parents were buying their kids L.ego sets left and right. I know my son has a renewed interest in playing with the L.ego's he already owns. At first it was a little bit overwhelming and it made it difficult to be able to figure out where to start. Once we settled in we began to enjoy the day. My nephew went with us and we only had to use the "Lost Parent" service one time. lol. The boys are big enough to walk a little bit by themselves with me nearby waiting in a line. Well they got a little too engrossed in what they were doing and I couldn't see them. They lost track of time and instead of searching through thousands of people I went straight to the booth and had them paged. Thankfully we were reunited within minutes. I was trying not to panic but trust me I didn't let them out of my sight again, whewhhhhh!



Lightening McQueen - They said it took 1800 hours to build him.




G-Man and my nephew, can you figure out which one is 8 years old and hasn't realized that the obnoxious pictures will haunt him as he gets older.

Not Loose, but Then Again Not Tight!
My W.eight Wat.chers project has been a little lax the last week. I don't think I have done too badly but I didn't count points. However, about 10 minutes after I put on my jeans this morning I realized they were looser than they have been in the last few months! It made me feel better and I hope that is enough to keep me motivated for the next week.

Wahhh, Spring Breaks Over!
While I hate the idea that spring break is over and I will be back to getting up at 6:00 a.m. I know it will be for only 7 more weeks. Then we will have 11 weeks off for summer vacation. I am definitely looking forward to summer vacation. We have passes for the local amusement park for this summer and I am looking forward to going there at least 1x a week. The rest of the time I spend swimming. It's a rough life, I know but hey someone has to do it, it might as well be me. What do you do for fun during the summer?

I Have a Follower!

Yay!!!!! Hi Sarah! I am so happy to have you as a follower... Hopefully there will be more to join us soon.

Thank you!

Woo Hoo!!!! Vaction is planned!

Well, I did it, I made plans for a trip for this summer. It's not exactly a super exciting trip but I know G-Man t will enjoy it and it will be fun. We are going to go to North Carolina and he is going to go to a day camp for Animal Studies on a college campus for 4 hours a day. I have a very close friend who is a professor on this campus and we will stay with them and enjoy the mountains and the college town when G-Man is not in the camp. I will take a few books and my hiking shoes and enjoy exploring the town while he is at the camp. In the evenings we will hang out with my friend, her husband, and their toddler. I am so excited! I have been on many, many, many vacations from my former days of working for an airline. I haven't had flight benefits for a few years and I am beginning to appreciate trips like this even more.

We are on spring break and overall it has been a pretty low key week. Yesterday, we went to the museum with my mom. While we were getting ready to go to the museum he said he was excited about going. I asked him what he was the most excited for? He said because he got to go with, "Gram and you." I said, "That's sweet, thank you." He said, "Yeah, so when I annoy one of you I still have someone to talk to..." He is such a stinker!

Well, I better get outside and get some mowing done. Given I am starting in the middle of March, I am anticipating mowing for 6 months this year! Ugh, the price we are paying for a fantastic spring with great weather.

Back on Track

Today, I will get back on track. I have slipped off the track of recording what I am eating on my Weight Watcher's online program. I don't think I have done horribly bad but I am not sure of the flex points I still have available to me. I guess my punishment should be for the rest of the week that I stick to my allotted amount and only go over if I exercise and I have extra points for that reason. Ugh! Why did I do this? I know why, because I gave in one day and have a little more than I was supposed to and avoided the situation by simply not tracking my points. Yeah, that worked....NOT!

Ok, time to go back to cleaning....right after I logged what I ate for breakfast today.

My Enthusiasm is Waining!

Until 2 days ago I was facing the subject of eating healthy and following Weight Watchers with enthusiasm and devotion. Yesterday I managed to somehow end up at BW3's....I am not sure how that happened but 6 boneless wings later, some potato wedges with cheese, and a tall bud-light later I went home. I know I need to be able to go out occasionally and eat foods like this but it made it hard for me to feel like I had had a good day. Today, I know I ate ok but not great. I guess I should go to bed now (8:07 pm) so I don't eat anything else. I weigh in tomorrow morning so hopefully I will see a loss so I can regain my enthusiasm.

Spring break begins tomorrow at 2:54 p.m. and I am so ready for a little break from the students. Although, I would say they have been behaving better the last couple of days than they have for weeks. I hope they fall back into the routine when we return from spring break.

Speaking of spring break, we are just mainly going to be relaxing and doing a few fun things here and there.

Ideas for spring break include:

• Movie
• Museum Center and Imax movie
• Indianapolis to visit a college friend.
• Maybe stay in a hotel while in Indy so G-Man can swim.
• Columbus to go to the COSI museum
• Lego's Kidsfest
• Attempt to stay home and save $$$$$$
• Clean the house
• Organize stuff
  

Hopefully, I can make it until tomorrow without eating anything else...wish me luck.

Patience and Determination

I didn't go to work today because I had two appointments. I just have to say, I have always thought if needing to take a day of it should be a Friday. Not any more! If I have to take a day off work (which is not very often 1-2x a year) in the future it will definitely be a Monday if I can arrange it. I loved that Sunday night I was not rushing to get everything finished before starting the work week. Of course, that just means it's now Monday night and my house is a wreck and I still haven't folded the laundry I avoided last night. UGH!

After our dentist appointments we had a great afternoon/evening. We did some browsing, shopping, and I even spoiled Grant a bit and we went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and some game playing. Tomorrow morning is going to be rough. He didn't' get to sleep until 10:00 p.m. which is and hour after his normal bedtime.

Weight Watchers is still going strong. I finally understand the saying, "Thin feels better than food tastes (or something like that.)"I am continuing to realize the burden of eating out of control had on my mind and body. Even though I am just beginning this journey I had another confidence filled day knowing I was fully invested in this new beginning for myself. While shopping tonight I didn't feel fat or frumpy I just simply opened my eyes to all the beautiful clothes at Macy's and understood that if I continued on this path in a few short months I could reward myself with a piece of clothing that I could not possibly wear before this journey began.

Time to try out the Memory foam pillow I splurged on today. Hopefully, it will help relieve some of the neck issues I have.

Grocery Success

Well, I went to the grocery. I spent $94 and there was not a single thing in my cart that was bad for us. I am so happy! We had a delicious dinner and desert. My fridge and kitchen is packed full of healthy food that tastes good. Here to a great week.

P.S. I walked again this evening for 40 minutes at a pretty fast pace. :-)

Sunday Morning Ramblings

It's time to go to the grocery. Wish me luck as I try to purchase foods based on healthy meals and not from habit. I have a tendency to purchase the same stuff each time I go to the grocery. They are not always exciting or healthy. So, my plan is to with 3 or 4 different recipes in mind an then purchase some fruit and a few treats to look forward to all day long.

I treat myself to something special each night as a reward to a great day.

Exercise? Yes, yesterday I took a nice vigorious walk with my mom and my dogs. It lasted about 40 minutes and that added 4 points to my activity points.....YAY! I plan to do the same today. We have had such fabulous weather this winter and this weekend the weather has been in the 60's and Sunny. Beautiful weather for the beginning of March, I hope it sticks around for our spring break because I am not going on a trip and it would be great to have nice weather for the entire week.

Laundry? Yesterday I washed four loads of laundry but that was only sheets and blankets. So, today I guess I better get to the clothing so we have something to wear this week!

Cleaning? Hmm, hasn't happened yet this weekend. Definitely has to happen later today because the floors are d.i.s.g.u.s.t.i.n.g! Not to mention I would like to do a complete overhaul of my bedroom.

Daniele? He has had a great weekend. He didn't do much more than play but he had a blast doing that. He enjoyed the musical we went to see last night.

Well, I guess it's time to go to the grocery and get this day started. Until next time...

Trying this Again with a New Focus

I did it! I finally decided it's time to take charge of my life and find ways to help me be happy and actually live my life instead of just going through the motions.

My child is still my focus. Work is still a priority. Family is still a focal point in my life.

So, what was missing?

ME!

I live a rather solitary life once I reach the weekends. I often come home from work on Friday and that is it, I don't make plans with my friends, I don't go out an meet new people, I don't go outside my comfort zone. So, what do I do? I sleep, watch TV, take care of my son, clean, laundry, groceries.

Life is not supposed to be like this. Right? How did I get here? How can I get out of here and start living again?

So, here is what I have decided to do....join Weight Watcher's online. I have tried Weight Watcher meetings in the past and was somewhat successful for awhile at least. Then I found I would be too busy with work and running my son to his activities to really be devoted to the plan and going to the meetings. So, I am trying the online route for now. The online tools are great and now that I have a smart phone and access to computers at home and school I have no excuses of it being inconvenient.


I have been "thinking" about doing something about my weight for years. The key word there is "thinking." I thought about my weight and how I was disappointed in myself many times a day. I would just become discouraged and got into the habit of eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and before I knew it I had gained 30 MORE pounds. I found myself staying home if I didn't have to work, avoiding social situations, and being focused only on my son and ignoring my needs.

I finally joined Weight Watchers (again) on March 4, 2012. I guesstimated my weight to be 230 lbs. I haven't been on a scale in months and the weight was in the high 220's so I figured that was a decent enough guess. I have chosen to weigh myself on Fridays on the scale in the nurses office of the school I teach in, so I did that yesterday and was nervous my weight would actually be over 230! Thankfully, I weighed in at 224.5 lbs. I don't really believe I lost 5.5 lbs in 5 days but I was proud of myself because I know had to have lost a pound or two or three this week. Next week will be the true test of weight loss because I will have "real" weight to compare to as I check my weight.

I have had a range of thoughts and emotions this week. This point system has really made me see that my eating was out of control. Eating anything and everything I desired without concern over how it would effect me. Then later I would spent a lot of time thinking about how I felt fat, like a failure, depressed, sad, angry. In the past couple of years I would say most days I felt bad about how I looked and felt because of my weight MANY times a day. This week I didn't feel that way at all because I finally felt like I was in control. I don't feel like the Earth has shifted or that I have complete control over the situation but I do have confidence that I haven't had in a long time and I was at peace with my body knowing I was doing something for ME!




Prom - Feeling like one of the "big" girls.

College not feeling thin but feeling good because I had conquered the freshman 15 by losing the weight over the summer.


Feeling great because my weight was lower than it had been in years!
My confidence was high and I was proud of myself....it didn't take long for
me to feel out of control and the weight started creeping back on.

Two years ago at Easter. I am a little bigger than this now but this was the beginning of spinning completely out of control and just giving up.