Fitness Friday Link Up

It's been a long time since I've done a link up... but I have been inspired by Aubrey over at ALG.  I don't consider myself very tech savvy, but I'll give it a go.

So far this week, I have been REALLY motivated, without very much success on the scale.  Some weeks have just been like that.  When I weighed in on Monday, I had lost 2.6lbs (for a total of 17.2 since September).  The scale has been stuck. on. my. weigh-in. weight. all. week.  It's been frustrating, but I'm hoping that it will start to nudge down (even a little!) before I have to go face the "official" scale again after the weekend.  On the plus side....  

My fitness this week has been fabulous!  On Monday, I splurged and bought myself a Vivofit and I LOVE it!  I can be a total gadget girl and this makes my heart happy.  It's a watch, a pedometer, it totals miles, sets goals, AND tells me how many calories I've burned.  Woot! Woot!  I figured that I "needed" it to help track my progress in the 100 Mile Walk/Run Challenge that I decided to do.  I was a little afraid that I was being unrealistic (100 Miles?  In a month?  Seriously?), but now that I am just a few days in, I think it is totally doable.  I have increased doubled my dreadmill use and actually look forward to ticking off the miles every day.  It's just the motivation I need as we roll into the holiday season.

My plan for the upcoming week?
- Keep walking/running everyday, even if I can only fit in a short period of time.
- Keep tracking those points.  It's working.  Don't give up!
- Make good food choices.  I have some challenging days coming up... Two birthdays, lunch out with friends, and a work related dinner... I got this, right?
- Be nice to myself.  Celebrate the positive... 

25 miles down....75 more to go!!

Happy Friday! :)

          

October? Where did it go??

Holy Moly... October is a blur!! We've been caught up in volleyball season. I have loved it, but I am relieved, on some levels, that it is over. Sadly, this is going to be a year of "lasts". Girlie is a senior, so Tuesday was her last game. Last Friday was Senior Night and I managed to not embarrass myself (I cry during sad commercials, so this was quite an accomplishment for me!) This Friday will be her last Homecoming Dance. "Soon" (as in, before we know it!), it will be June and she will be saying good-bye to High School. Amazing, just amazing. We still have Bubba, who is a freshman, to get through school, but it's different with the first. In less than a year, I am going to be the mom of a college student. I shudder to think that far ahead. Anywho...

It's been a while since I have posted. I finally stopped whining about my weight and kicked my butt back to Weight Watchers. So far, it's been the best decision I've made in a long time. I NEED the accountability. As I have said before, I have the tools and theoretically "know" what to do, but I have been uninspired and unmotivated to help myself. My official Weight Watchers start date was September 22nd. As of last Monday, I have lost 14.6lbs. Yay, Me!! I love the ease of the phone app where I can track points every day and the meetings keep me motivated as far as new food ideas and "wanting" to exercise. Nothing is more motivating than success. My clothes fit better and I feel better overall. I don't care if I lost half a pound or three pounds in a week...I am going in the right direction :)

So, what's my end goal? Hmmm...I'd like to lose about 26 more pounds. I *may* decide to do a fitness challenge this month (I know the month has already started...no time like the present to start, right?) While surfing through some blogs, I came across a 100 mile challenge for November. Yeah? Maybe. I walk/jog about 2 miles on the dreadmill every other day. I don't wear a step tracker, but I could. At tomorrow's weigh in, I'm going to see what they have for activity monitors. If I ramp it up, maybe more every other day or increase the number of days, it may be doable. With the holidays coming, I'm going to need all the help I can get. We'll see! As we can all tell just through my blogging habits, commitment and follow through are not always a strength for me! I'll leave you now with some final words (this sums up how I feel on this cold and rainy Sunday afternoon)...

September Photo A Day

I am trying... This month has been REALLY tough (and we are only 7 days into it!).  The difficulty started at the end of August.... I didn't see it it coming.  This has been a year of "firsts" and I have tried to mentally prepare myself for each milestone.  Birthdays, holidays, events, traditions... all the things you would "expect" to be hard after someone has passed...well, this one blindsided me.  It never occurred to me to prepare for going back to school.  Oh, I know that I need to brace myself for the changes to my schedule, the new pressures, and unexpected "stuff" that comes up, but I never expected to feel so alone, so bereft, so incredibly SAD at the beginning of the school year.  I am feeling the loss of her so much right now it is sometimes physically painful.  It takes my breath away.

I am and have been reflective, but...WOW....it has not been good.  I know the "why"....but knowing why doesn't make it any less painful.  This would be the time of year where Kerri and I would be together, a lot.  Talking about our classes and kids; getting together to just sit and talk as we prepped things to start the year; trying to solve the problems of the world as we moved into another year of teaching.  We would be commuting "together", chatting up a storm, on the way to work every day; comparing notes and commiserating on the way home every afternoon.   That was our daily/weekly/yearly "routine".

Okay.  So this sucks.  Now what?  I don't have an answer for that.  Counseling?  Maybe.  (I never thought I'd be "there", but it's an option I can't ignore.)  Do SOMETHING (like take a class, go on vacation, get a massage)?  Possibly.  But things aren't good here.  Financially, it's been a difficult couple of months.  After thinking about what IS possible, I decided to get back into "Photo A Day".  It was something I enjoyed doing with Kerri, so it is bittersweet, but it gives me a daily distraction.  It also gives me a reason to get out of the house...because sometimes that is a problem too!  So, today is Day 7 and I have managed to complete every day (though I was a little late on days 5 and 6!)  I'm going to try to collage the pictures at the end of the month (we'll see if I can do a whole month!).

The photo at the top is one I took today.  The prompt was "Upside Down".  My life feels topsy turvey right now, but it was nice to take a break and focus on something fun.  I'm going to look into some photography "Meet Ups" to see if I can get involved with a group who has interests similar to mine.  My husband even mentioned taking a photography class to learn how to use my fancy camera.  We'll see. 

It's overwhelming, but I'm going to get through this. 

Checking in...

The last few weeks have been a blur.  I kept thinking that I *should* sit down and blog, but it just didn't happen!  So, what's up?

Well, the busyness of the school year is upon us.  Back to school for Girlie, Bubba, and me.  Setting up my classroom, getting through the first week, helping Bubba finish up his summer packets, figuring out this whole college application process with Girlie... the list just goes on and on.  One moment of panic I have recently had is over the realization that I am going to have my picture taken with Girlie at Senior Night at the end of volleyball season.  Yikes!  I avoid pictures like the plague.  Not. A. Fan. At. All.  I guess it's time to get serious.  I am never going to be happy with my weight, but I could be a whole lot happier than I am right now.

I THINK I have about ten weeks until the season ends.  I am challenging myself to lose a pound a week, for the next ten weeks.  If I lose more, that would be FABULOUS.  But we'll start with baby steps, after all...I've been talking about losing weight forever now and have had many "restarts", yet I am STILL in the same exact place I was in June (at least...without thinking about it too hard.  It's probably been a lot longer than that!).  No one to blame but myself, moving on.  I am returning to Weigh in Wednesday as a way of "owning it".  Let's see if it can happen... 

One by Wednesday.  That's all, just one.  Baby steps!!   

This Week

   

       Holy Moly!  What a quick week!  I haven't been feeling very accomplished lately, but when I sat down to write "something" tonight.... and figure out Where In The World Did This Week GO??.... I should probably cut myself some slack.  This week was busy with end of the summer/back to school stuff.
       Girlie is entering her Senior Year and hasn't been all that wild about figuring out what she would like to do after high school.  She wants to go to college, but isn't really ready to face it.  Well, this week we began the process of figuring out the "where".  After visiting three colleges out of state, and what feels like a million miles in the car, she has one in-state and two out of state colleges in mind.  All three are winners for me, but there is still a mountain of paperwork and the question of how to pay for it all.  If you haven't had a reason to pay attention to the cost of a college education, all I can say is WOW!  The sticker shock is UNBELIEVABLE.  I'm going to think about all that "later".
       I started setting up my classroom (where did the summer go??).  Thursday and Friday I went to work to begin the process.  The first couple days in the building are always spent catching up with friends, unpacking storage areas, and trying to wrap my head around the fact that it's actually time to begin again.   I have tons of things to do at home (labels, packets, planning), so I probably won't make another trek in until Wednesday.  We'll see.  Once I get back into the groove of things, it's hard to stay away!  Next Friday is kindergarten orientation... ready or not, here they come!
       On the home front, I tore out another carpet!  Bubba's room is now carpet free and it is such an improvement!  Oh, the floor underneath leaves much to be desired, but that funky odor that was hanging around (boy funk, cat funk, carpet cleaner smell) is gone.  Hooray!  I did have a moment of anxiety over the fact that we don't have a plan to have it replaced for a while, but it needed to be done.  Again, I'm just pushing everything off and believing that this will all somehow work out.

       I guess those are the major highlights.  I also managed to attend three meetings, bag up and deliver items for donation, do some back to school shopping, go to an anniversary party, hang out with friends, get my hair cut, and take Girlie to volleyball practice and work (because, ya' know, the whole truck thing....which is working itself out, too.  It's not totaled.  I'm glad about that. Right?).

Accomplished?  Unaccomplished?

  Nothing feels "finished", but lots of little things have been checked off the ever growing list of "poo2do".  

So, I guess it depends on how you look at it :)   

       

Tough Love

        It's never dull around here.  Bubba is away for a week camping; this is his first "away" trip...ever.  He is 14 and likes to stick close to home.  He has a close friend and they have done many sleep overs (here and there), but this is with a different friend.  A friend I don't even really know.  He called me last night, just to say goodnight.  As I was having a little "awww" moment, I realized that we/I am definitely transitioning into the next phase in a life with children....they are moving apart, breaking away, and beginning to find their own way.  It makes me a *little* sad, but I know it's what is next and it's not always going to be easy.

So, there I was, having a peaceful moment, feeling a twinge of bittersweet...

       And then the text came.  My husband was at the local park with my daughter.  Her truck is most likely totaled and they were waiting for a flat bed to take it away.  My first response was... Is she okay?  After the "yes" came the.... "I'm gonna kill her."  This is the second time THIS MONTH that she has done significant damage to her truck.  The first time cost me 1,000.00, with the agreement that she will be paying it back.  We have tried to instill good values, an appreciation for what has been freely given and the understanding that a vehicle is not a TOY.  Obviously, we have failed.

     Grrrr....Totaled means no truck.  Totaled means I AM NOT replacing it.  Totaled means....hey, it sucks to be you and you need to figure out the when and how YOU are going to get a new one.  Totaled means that my husband and I are going to need to stand together (something he will struggle with because Girlie is his princess and princesses should never be sad).

       I'm not really sure what to hope for... totaled does mean no truck, however then I play taxi service (when I can...I do have somewhat of a life) and have to deal with teenage angst.  Not totaled means another repair bill... on top of the first repair bill and the bill we had to pay last week when my husband's truck broke down.  I guess we'll have to wait and see what the repair shop says.  Good times, good times.

Seriously now, is boring too much to ask for?

Progress?

       Alright, I'm in a slump.  So, I thought I would reassess and do a little check in to see how I am progressing with my "poo2do" list.  Not bad so far!! 

Summer Bucket List:
1) C25K - on hold :(
2) Los Angeles Trip - It was Great!
3) Get a Tattoo **YAY**
4) Organize my school world (especially in the area of Science!)
5) Take advantage of some tech training through work
6) Beach Time - Some, but not enough!
7) Get some scrapbooking done - My niece's baby book is done! She's 8.  Don't judge me :)
8) Get some cross stitching done
9) Hang with friends and family - Never enough of this!
10) Get some house "stuff" done - Hmmm...what else can I get into around here?
11) Read - Yay! 
12) Fix the template of this Blog! (Ugh!) - while still a work in progress, the template is "better".
13) Blog at least once a week - A work in progress.

There are some things that just aren't going to happen (#5 - tech training); it just wasn't meant to be.  Other things have worked their way on to the list.  Things I had either forgotten about or have just come up.  I think this sums up where I am right now...

 
       Looking back (and ahead!), I need to get moving on some of the goals I have set for myself!  I have things that MUST get done, but I don't want to do them (ignoring them hasn't made them go away).  Organizing my school world is clawing its way to the top of the list.  A plan!  I need a plan!  I only have a couple more weeks until I go back to work... Yikes!!  Time goes by so fast!!