Let's get this move over with already.

Hi all! This is a week that I'm just trying to get through. I feel like I have been moving forever, but I guess that is what happens when your house falls through and you have to make alternate plans. I move to my new apartment in downtown Dallas on Sunday. I go pick up the keys at lunch today. Once I get all my stuff in the new place, I can start figuring out what won't fit and will need to go to storage.

I discovered last night that the cedar chest I was expecting to use as my coffee table has a giant spot on the side where the paint has come off. Sigh. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. I'm sure I will figure out something.

Tonight we are going to go see Tom Petty. The funny thing is that our new apartments are less than a half mile away from the venue, but we still have to drive 30 minutes back to our current homes tonight. Tomorrow is a busy day: Jazzercise, Lunch and errands with Debi (who many of you know!), another trip down to the new apartments, and probably some more packing.

Luckily, my housekeeper (who I'm losing because downtown is too far a way, booooo) took away most of my g00dwill stuff. I have a few things like my disgusting grill and an old full size bedframe that I will leave down by the dumpster. They aren't worth it to me to store them.

My brain is all over the place. I don't actually dread the work part of the moving, it is the waiting that I hate. I just want to start doing it so I can be done.

Two more sleeps.

Hugs!

Steady, but not slow!

First things first...I lost another 3.8 pounds this week. Woohoo! This is the first time in over 2 years that I have lost at least one pound three weeks in a row. Slow (or not so slow!) and steady is working! Honestly, I'm a little surprised because I had plenty of treats over the last few days and I haven't been logging. But my post fill restriction is working. I am satisfied with a little bit at a time.

The weekend was lovely. Friday I took off work and hung out with Mama. We had a leisurely morning, then picked up BFF for lunch. She had worked that morning. We went to a new place called Rustic for lunch and it was great! After we went over to see our new apartments. Did I mention that I'm moving downtown? Anyway, it is official now. We are moving into apartments in a low rise complex in Dallas near the West End and Victory Park. There should be all sorts of fun things we can do!

I was a little horrified to find out that there was no Starbucks in my general area, but I did find out today that there is a nice coffee shop within a couple of blocks. Whew!

Anyway, while visiting the apartment I discovered that I was allowed an accent wall. I've never had anything other than white walls so I'm super excited. I narrowed it down to two colors.

I know I would love the red, but blue is my favorite color. They both go with my painting and my rug. I decided that this would be the best time to test out the blue. I will post pictures when it is done!

Saturday, BFF , Mom and I went to the casino in Oklahoma which was fun. Mom lost the least, but we all enjoyed it. We got some good Tex Mex and hit DQ on the way home, as you do. That night we just hung out and watched TV and enjoyed each other's company.  We have been watching the Ken Burns Roosevelt special and it has been perfect to watch together.

Sunday, we met BFF and her uncle and his wife for breakfast. Then we ran a bunch of errands before sitting down to watch seven hours of NFL Red Zone. We love football!

Today I got up and went to work in the morning but took the afternoon off to spend with mom since she is leaving tomorrow. We grabbed some lunch and took a little trip down to the new apartments but my mom got sick. It was a little scary because she felt faint. It came on quickly and would come in waves. We headed home instead of doing other errands and after a few hours she feels better. I'm so glad because traveling tomorrow would have been tricky if she were feeling that was at all still.

Tomorrow I take her to the airport at lunchtime and then she will be headed home. I have to say that even though she has been here a week and we both need to get back to our routines, I will miss her. I'm so fortunate to have such an awesome mom and she made this week so much better.

Next weekend, the new Downtown Adventure will begin. I hope to have some fun stories for you!

Hugs!

Staying on track

I have very little to say, but I feel strongly that when I don't blog, I stray, so HI! My mom came to visit for a week because you know, I was supposed to be moving into my new house. But I'm not. Sigh.

Really though, I enjoy her company. I picked her up at the airport yesterday and it was so crazy because I picked up her suitcase in baggage claim before people were off the plane. That was a first! I brought her back to my office and she hung out while I finished up some work. We headed to lunch with BFF & ShareBear which was really nice. We went to PF Changs and I had most of a cup of hot & sour soup and 4 pan seared pork dumplings. I love those things.

Afterward, Mom & I went shopping. She had a coupon for the Chico's outlet and I needed some retail therapy. I bought a pair of jeans and a white button up at Chico's, but I did some super big damage at the White Black store. Sheesh. It was fun though!

For dinner we stopped by the grocery store and picked up a rotisserie chicken. We had that with a side of some leftover tangy veggie salad I made for a party next week. Here is the recipe in case you are interested:

Bring to a boil and let cool:
3/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 c Oil (I used avocado oil, but you could use olive oil or anything else)
1 c sugar (I'm sure you could use Splenda)
Salt & Pepper to taste

While that is cooling, chop & prepare the veggies. Drain & add:
16 oz. white shoepeg corn
16 oz French style green beans
8 oz. peas
1 c chopped celery (I think next time I might use jicama or bok choy)
8 chopped green onions
1 c chopped Green peppers
2 oz. chopped pimentos

It is easy, delicious and lasts forever. I'm sure that we will have a fun weekend!! The biggest deal is thay we are keeping each other on track and not allowing me to eat my sadness.

Hugs!

How do I shut off my brain?

Okay, good news first. I lost 1.2 pounds last week. Again, it isn't stellar or anything for the record books, but that makes two weeks of solid losses. The focus of slow and steady is working so far. I will take it!

The other good news is that I worked out 5 times last week. Four Jazzercises and one run. This week, it is going to be a little more challenging. My mom is coming tomorrow to spend a week. Originally, the plan was to move and spend time organizing my new home. Since that has fallen through, we are playing it by ear. I'm going to Jazzercise tonight and I'm going to run on the two full days I work this week. I'm taking 1/2 days off for two days to spend time with mom. One day at a time...

This weekend was a bit emotional. We were still feeling a bit bummed about the condos, but like troopers, BFF & I went looking on Sunday. We found new options that we liked, but our bids were too late. It was one giant emotional roller coaster yesterday. Today we are both feeling more than defeated.

We are working on a temporary housing answer and I think once we have that in place, we both will feel better about everything. Hopefully we will have that all resolved in the next couple of days. If I don't push down my problems with chocolate and bourbon, I will consider it a success.

Once this all blows over things will be great. I just underestimated the toll it would take on our emotions. But how great would I feel if I conquered the sadness with some weightloss instead of just compounding the issues?

Hugs!

Perspective

So yesterday happened.

I'm not sure how much I have talked about my new condo on the blog, but since I have talked about little else "in the real world", I feel sure I have mentioned it. Anyway, I have been a Pinterest fool, thinking about paint colors and accent walls, floating shelves and area rugs. It has been a blast planning the decor. BFF's new condo was to be just across the neighborhood...things couldn't have gone better.

Yesterday, we got the news that there has been a bizarre snafu with the HOA and the lenders backed out. No one I have talked to have ever seen anything like it. I was devastated. Two days from closing. My mom flies in on Tuesday for a week. We were scheduled to move the following Friday. Plans were made, everything was set. Then *poof*.

I was numb most of the evening. I wanted to cry, yell, whatever. So many emotions!

I woke up this morning feeling sad and dejected. Then I realized that it was 9-11. That has a way of putting things into perspective. My life is one big gigantic blessing after another. BFF said that it took her until late this morning to realize what she felt was sadness. She said that she just doesn't feel that way often and it was hard to identify. I totally got what she was saying. I mean, doesn't that say something? We are so rarely sad that when it happens it takes us off guard. Wow. This is just a temporary blip. The sadness will fade and everything will be fine soon.

I have choices about how I react to something like this. Being negative only sucks life out of the world. I choose to feel that things happen for a reason and the right thing is going to come along soon. It is a bummer that there is money spent that can't be recouped, but perhaps more would have been lost had we not discovered the issue.

Tomorrow is another day. Instead of closing on our first homes, BFF & I will have some drinks with lunch and toast that we have each other. Who know where this detour will take us?!

Hugs!

Monday Thoughts

Good Monday morning to you! I'm proud to report a 2 pounds loss for the week. Woohoo! Not spectacular, but solid and perhaps easier to stay on track? We shall see, only time will tell.

 

I have a couple of things to share. I remember reading this once long ago and then saw it on Faceb00k this morning:

 

 

 

I think that it is SO true. As I have been packing to move, I have come across a lot of pictures and other things that have reminded me of those who have passed through my life. I'm so fortunate to have some really close friends that have become my extended family. But I'm also fortunate for so much more. Just because a friend doesn't stay in your life forever, doesn't mean that the friendship wasn't worthwhile. Even with a couple of friends that I have "divorced", I realize that I learned something from the friendship, maybe even to be a better friend.

 

I think we all get caught up in our own head sometimes, but it is important to take stock every once in a while. Are we being as good of a friend (spouse, parent, sibling, child, etc.) as we can be? Don't expect something from someone else that you aren't willing to give of yourself.

 

Friendship shouldn't be a burden, but it is important that you give in addition to receiving...or conversely that you receive and not just give. If a friendship is completely lopsided, maybe it is time to give it some thought. I know sometimes I try to hang on too long. At least with Faceb00k, now you can pull back a bit without losing touch. Although that does make it a little more awkward if you have to dettach altogether.

 

Then I saw this:

 

Isn't this the truth? No one else can make us do anything. It has to come from within.

Hugs!

Five Things

Let's make it a Five Things Friday, shall we?

1. I have a hole in my jeans. Said hole is not a fashionable knee fray, no...it is right at the seam about three inches below the crotchal area. This cannot happen, people. These are the only jeans that fit that make me feel good. I guess that should give me inspiration to work to fit in my lower size jeans. If memory serves, I actually have 3 pair in that size I like. The unfortunate part is that they are about 12 pounds away and I haven't been that size since summer 2012. Those odds are disconcerting.

2. I am making myself stay in for lunch today even though it is Friday and I want to go play with my friends. Waaaahhhh. But:

• I'm going out to dinner tonight, so I will have good social time then and I don't need to eat two meals out today.
• Although I would like to make myself run, my promise to myself is that I will stay in and go to the gym. What I do is gravy.
• While thinking about whether or not to run at lunch, I saw this:
  
  How's that for direction? I KNOW it will make me feel better this afternoon and tomorrow, so I just need to make it happen.

3. The fitness & food thing is going very well this week. I got a little too fast with eating on Wednesday and I have been paying for that the last couple of days. But I have been sticking to mushies and the like and I feel better today. I do feel like the fill has helped control my hunger, so I'm trying very hard not to mess it up.

4. Now that I'm planning to move into my very first owned home, I have begun my relationship with Pinterest. I have been on the site before for about 5 minutes, but I didn't really use it much. Now I find myself on every night pinning decorating ideas. My current favorite idea is an accessories wall. I have been thinking about one for a while, but I'm actually going to do one in the new house.

It will be in my bedroom and I'm leaning toward grays and blues. I saw a picture of a gray chevron striped wall, so now I have that in my mind as an accent wall for the background. Then I will paint my wooden box shoe shelves vibrant colors like turquoise and maybe yellow or orange (still working that out) and in between I will have places for my jewlery, scarves, hats, etc.

I like the idea of doorknobs to hang things. Or crates hung like floating shelves. I don't want it to be too busy, so I will have to give it more thought once I move in.

5. The upcoming weekend is busy, but not too busy. I'm having dinner with BFF & ShareBear tonight. Tomorrow, BFF & I are volunteering downtown for a first responder event. It is a little exhausting, but the firefighters, police, & EMTs get a lot out of the event, so it is also fulfilling. That should last into the afternoon.

My plan is to go home and clean out my outdoor storage area. My apartment complex is remodeling the exteriors and my building was first. There is a layer of dust on my deck that is just crazy thick. Unfortunately, my storage door was open (I have no idea how that happened) while they were working and the layer of dust is all over everything in there too. So I want to switch out everything even if it is in a box already. Ugh. But I figure that after that, I can take a shower, have a drink and relax the rest of the evening.

Sunday will be church, more packing, FOOTBALL, and a 90 minute massage. Woohoo!

Hugs!

Slight setback, but moving forward.

Last night at Jazzericse I was SO proud of myself. I have been using 10 pound weights over the 8 pound ones I have used in the past. But I cannot do tricep dips with the 10 pounds weights. I have to put one down or do tricep kickbacks instead. Last night, I did every single one of the tricep dips with both 10 pounds weights. Woohoo!!

However, I woke up this morning and my back has chimed in that it was a very bad idea. I think I knew on the last set I was pushing too hard, but we were almost done! The good news is that I have strengthened my core enough that this kind of injury is more of a little tweak than a "omg I have to spend the day in bed because I can't move" injuries of the past. It isn't bad enough to skip cardio. :-) Tonight I will go to Jazzercise, but I will use my 5 pound weights. If they bother me at all, I will put them down and I should be a-okay.

Tomorrow, if it is better, I will run as planned. If it is not, I will improvise. It's all good. Saturday I'm volunteering most of the day and I don't typically work out on Sundays. Plus, I have a massage scheduled Sunday afternoon which will be awesome! By Monday, I should be good as new.

Food plan is going well. I got a little carried away yesterday and ate too fast. I didn't get stuck, but it did irritate my band. Today I'm taking it very easy. I had a small spoonful of peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch I'm having the inside of a loaded baked potato. I did order everything on the side, so I was able to control the butter/sour cream, etc. Snacktime I will either have some nuts or if I need smooth stuff still, I will have a SlimFast. Dinner is homemade chicken salad. I have found that I like making it with Light sour cream and mustard instead of mayo. Delish!

Slow & steady!

8 days to close and 15 to move!!

Slow & Steady

Yesterday, as I was running, every single moment I thought about how much I hate it. And I do...truly. My body is meant for many things, but running is not one of them. While I'm doing it, it is miserable. Runner's high? I've never come close.

However, when I'm done, my body feels its best. I slept well last night and I feel good today. I only ran for about 24 minutes, but it just does something for me that no other type of workout does. I'm exactly the same size today that I was yesterday, but I FEEL different. Hopefully, I can stick with it for a little while. Slow & steady.

Yesterday BFF & I had visitation with our new condos.  :) I did a bunch of measuring. I have a piano and a cabinet that are not going to fit where I had hoped they would, but I found new places for them, I think. It is interesting because BFF & I have the same floor plan, but there are little differences that change them up quite a bit. For example, as you walk in the front door, the entrance to the kitchen is about 3 feet in on the left for both of us. However on that wall before the kitchen, I have an opening between the entry and the kitchen where BFF has all wall. It isn't a big difference, but it does change what you can put in that corner of the kitchen.

I would love to move some of my kitchen cabinets, but then I would have to redo the floors in the kitchen, dining room, entry & bathroom. I kind of want to redo all the floors, but I'm sure that would cost a fortune. The flooring in each of the rooms is nice on its own, but there are so many. Tile in kitchen/dining/entry area, stained concrete in the living room, hard wood on the stairs/2nd bedroom and a different hardwood in the master bedroom. Each bathroom upstairs has something different beyond all that. AND there is tile on the stair risers which doesn't match anything else. Don't get me wrong, it is all lovely individually, but it does seem a bit hodgepodge.

The biggest issue at the moment is that I can't envision my things in there yet. The current owner still lives there and her taste is very different from mine. She has lovely things, just not to my taste. So I think it will be so nice when I can see it empty and then start to put my things in the rooms. Who knows, after I use some area rugs, I may not even notice the varying floors.

Have my meal plan set for today. Pretzels & cheese for breakfast. (Sidenote: I'm having a hard time with breakfast. SlimFast isn't enough, but I can't eat a lot of other things. Oatmeal and quiche cups are a no go and they are my standbys. Any ideas?) Leftover baked chicken and rice for lunch. (I have noticed that 1/2 serving is working right now. Woohoo!) Apple & nut butter for snack. Homemade chicken salad for dinner and egg white chips (delish!) for "dessert". Slow & steady!

Jazzercising tonight! I don't have a ton left to pack in the apartment, but there is still a bit left. Tonight I will try and get myself to clean out one of my bathroom cabinets. Slow & steady!

Hugs!

Feeling good

I had a wonderful holiday weekend even though most of it was spent packing. I got my fill on Thursday so I was on liquids/mushies for most of the weekend. I ate too much ice cream, but in addition to Jazzercising on Saturday, I really did pack and clean for hours through the weekend. I'm trying very hard to purge as much as possible.

I put the trash out last night for pickup today...I had EIGHT bags! That is in addition to all the trash I had last week AND all of the charity bags in my closet. I have gone through absolutely every single thing in my apartment from jewelry to medicine to kitchen utensils to clothes/shoes to electronics. Everything must have a purpose or it must go.

Today I'm back to regular food. I plan to be conscious and log to MFP. But the biggest thing is that today I started running again. The first 8-9 months after my surgery, I lost about 75 pounds, but then I stalled for several months. Then in about 3-4 months, I lost another 20 pounds. When I went back to look what I did to do that, it was running. So, I'm giving it another whirl. I do remember though why I cut my hair off. This mid-length is not great for lunch time runs.

 

I didn't have to completely start over, but I did have to scale back quite a lot from where I ended up before. At my best, I was running about 2-2.5 miles at 4.8 mph. That is still really slow for most people, but it was great for me considering I could barely run 4.0 mph for 30 seconds at the start. Today, I ran for about 24 minutes total (with a 60 second rest in the middle) at 4.2 mph. I did go faster in the last five minutes, but the majority was 4.2. It is a start.

 

Tomorrow & Thursday are Jazzercise days. I would like to get myself to run Friday at lunch, so we will see if I can get that done. I have to remind myself that I KNOW I can do this.

 

 

 

Tonight I have visitation with my new home. :) I'm going to go measure some of the rooms to try and determine where some of the furniture is going to go. I have to say, I am getting VERY excited. 10 days until close & 17 days until I move.

 

Hugs!