New Challenge

So, it's time to start the next challege over at the Sisterhood. This one lasts 7 weeks and will consist of changing our attitudes about food and exercise. It will also consist of lots of mini-challenges. So, according to my Wii scale, I'm starting this challenge at 136-and-some (I hate that it doesn't say what comes after the decimal point.)

For this challenge, we are supposed to pick a food plan, an exercise plan, and a support group.

1. I am going to get back into my favorite food plan from Dr. Miles Hassel (in the book Good Food, Great Medicine). Whole grains, no processed food, no sugar, lots of fruits and veggies, beans, fish, all the good stuff.
2. I am starting my training plan for the 1/2 marathon we are doing in the summer with the Sisterhood.
3. I am checking in regularly with the girls at the Sisterhood, so they can kick me in the butt! And I'm getting my husband involved. He wants eat better and exercise more too.

The first mini-challenge already started. We are supposed to write 3 goals for this challenge.

1. I will exercise 5 days each week (this includes walking for my 1/2 marathon training).
2. I will drink water BEFORE I decide whether or not I need a snack.
3. I will lose 3 pounds during this challenge.

We are also supposed to track our progress. I'm not a technology gal, so I'll just post about it every week. And we are supposed to reward ourselves when we reach our challenges. My reward each week for reaching goals 1 and 2 will be a nice, long, relaxing bubble bath. At the end of the challenge, if I meet goal 3, I want a new exercise game for the Wii.

Life is Funny - It's all in the Delivery

So, a few days ago I promised you a Life is Funny post. Yes, I know I'm late. If I was ever on time for anything, people might die of shock. But this was too good to pass up, no matter what day I type it. Good fodder is hard to find. So, let me start at the beginning...

On Christmas Eve, I got a cryptic phone call from my cousin Stephanie. "Did you get a package from Tim and Bruna?" (This is her dad - my uncle - and his wife, just FYI.).

"No, I didn't."

"Were you expecting one?" Um, no, I was not. But she got one. And we she received the package from the Fed Ex guy that was so perfectly addressed to her and her hubby Jeff, she realized that in little tiny writing on the the box, were the words "Tiff & Jerrod". Hmmm. That's a little strange. That's why she called me. I see. Well, I wasn't going to be home for the rest of the day, but I told her I'd call her on Christmas if we had a package waiting when we got home. We did. By then she had opened the box she got. On top was a card that was definitely addressed to "Tiff & Jerrod". My box didn't have writing on it, so I opened it as well. The card said "Stephanie & Jeff". Hmmmm. Okay.

I called her to let her know that my box was meant for her. We vaguely compared contents to make sure we hadn't received the same thing. There were definitely similarities: dog toys, wine accessories. But nope, we got the wrong boxes. The reason this is so funny, however, is that we both know WHY this happened. I'm sure Bruna lovingly picked out special gifts for us, filled out cards, and wrote on the boxes. Then she gave then to Tim to mail. Yes, Tim is special like that. I'm pretty sure if it weren't for Bruna he'd never find his keys or remember to pay the bills or....

Anyway, I ripped the label off my package, so I could re-address it. Under the label was some careful writing, "Steph & Jeff, 5 pounds, 12 inches by 12 inches by 10.5 inches". Yup. Wrong package.

The funniest part were the texts back and forth with Stephanie. From her: "Jeff said 'what if it was Bruna, who mixed them up?' I said that even if it was, Tim will still take the heat!"

From her: "I haven't even called them yet... I don't want Bruna to kill Tim b4 Christmas."

And my personal favorite. From her: "Effin Lewis genes". My reply: "Glad to know we come by it honestly." From her: "Oh my, I hope this isn't a sign of what'll happen to us when we get older." Of course it is. But at least we can laugh about it now!!!

Holiday Update

Well, miraculously enough I made it through Christmas. Christmas Eve morning we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more in preparation for having the fam over for Christmas dinner. Then we drove over to have dinner at Grandma Viv's and then went to visit my hubby's Uncle Jim. We stayed the night at the in-law's.

Christmas morning, I drove into work. Yes, SOME of us have to work the holidays. They do NOT close all the hospitals for Christmas. I'm not sure why. I only worked 3 1/2 hours, though. It was very slow - no one wants to be in the hospital for Christmas unless they have to be. Then I drove home, called my parents, ate a yummy meal (that I didn't have to cook), mostly cleaned all the dishes, and watched Christmas movies.

The next day (let the stress begin again), we finished cleaning up, packed in a hurry (without arguing TOO much), and were on our way to the cabin. We spent the rest of Saturday, all day Sunday, and the first 1/2 of Monday at the cabin. Tuesday was back to work for me. Later this week is a New Year's Eve formal dress party at our friends' house. Then on the 6th, we fly out to see my family. I love all the events (and of course getting to see the fam), but the stress of all the go-go go just isn't quite over yet...

I'm Planning - Post Holiday Edition

Thankfully I don't think I have as much planned this week as I did last week. That's always a good thing. But I'm planning anyway. It needs to be done. So, this week I'm planning:

• to pick up my new prescription sunglasses from the eye doctor (whether they call me back today or not, because I've waited FAR too long for them to be ready)
• to mail a package to my cousin (long story, but I might have to do a new Life is Funny post for everyone about that one - it'll just be later in the week)
• waterproof my winter shoes
• attend a formal dress New Year's Eve party at friends' house
• stay at said party until only midnight since I have to work the next day
• take down the Christmas decorations
• start my walking training plan for the 1/2 marathon I'm doing (walking) in San Diego in June with my friends from The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Wanna donate? Let me know!

For more planning, visit Kirsten. She always planning away...

Holiday Wishes

This holiday season, I wish....

that is was freakin' OVER already!!!

Yes, I know. I'm scrooge. Bah humbug! But I'm done. I'm ready for this to all be over. I'm stressed. I eat too much (and not good food either, just tons of JUNK). It's causing marital tension. It's causing family tension. It's causing work tension. (And no, all this tension is NOT being caused by me. It's just all happening to me. Okay, I'll be honest, some of it might be my fault, but a good deal of it isn't.) I think I might rip somebody's head off at this point, and Christmas isn't until tomorrow. And then there's New Year's shortly thereafter. And then a trip to see my family. Who I love very much, but a trip anywhere after all the stress is just adding stress on top of stress. Somebody make it stop already! I think I might go back to bed. Wake me around January 11th. Thank you very much.

Final Weigh In

It's time for the final weigh in for this challenge over at the Sisterhood. I'm up. Imagine that. Current weight 138.2 pounds. That's up 0.5 pounds overall in 7 weeks.



I'm blaming the Christmas candy.

People are Crazy

Okay, so you know those people? Yes, THOSE people. The ones who have everything in order? Clean houses? Cute clothes? Christmas decorations? Yes, those people. The ones who have everything together. I know that we all know those people. Well, this morning I decided that those people must not sleep. Ever.

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned. Then I ran and got dog food and went to Target to finally finish my Christmas shopping. This took a little while longer than normal, because I was determined not to leave until I had something for my mom and my sister-in-law. And I love Target. I could spend all day in there anyway. Then I ran to the dollar store for a white elephant gift for the company Christmas party at work tonight. I couldn't make up my mind. That was frustrating (and time-consuming). Then I ran to Ross. Why, oh why did I pick the holiday season to re-decorate the living room? I mean, there are Christmas decorations up now, but the few accessories left just did NOT match, and I can't handle that kind of thing! :)

After all that, I came home, shoveled snow, worked on the laundry, picked up the house, looked for throw pillows online at Etsy, went to karate, ate dinner, watched Christmas movies with my friend Whitney, then snuggled up in bed to get caught up on the blogs (I hadn't read anything in over a week!). I was up until 2AM. I was expected late at work due to weather and slick roads, so I slept in this morning til 9. Then I got up, fed the dogs, picked up some more, did more laundry, paid the bills, showered and got ready, got gifts for co-workers ready and loaded in the car, got dog food ready, loaded up the dogs, drove to work....

And then I worked. Only 4 1/2 hours, but I worked. Granted I have to drive 45 minutes each way, so that's a 6 hour work day, but I hardly worked today. Our Christmas party is at 7 at Sizzler (woo, hoo!). Right now I'm just killing time. I checked Facebook and decided to blog. Then I'm going to go visit with my in-laws for 45 minutes or so before it's time to leave for the party (and I will thank them profusely for watching the dogs all day, so I didn't have to drive home to feed them and drive back).

But how do people do this when they work full time? I only work 3 days a week! And I still need to go home and finish laundry and do the dishes at the very least before I go pick my husband up at the airport at midnight. I'm hoping to get home in time to also clean the house some. If I don't get the cleaning (bathrooms, vacuuming, etc.) done tonight, I'm not sure when it's going to get done. My husband has been out of town for what seems like forever lately, and I want to spend the day with him tomorrow. Then I work again Friday.

Okay, so enough of my rambling. All this just illustrates why I was thinking that crazy people who get it all done must never sleep. I only slept 7 hours last night, and I still feel like I'm running around like a crazy woman. How do you work, keep up with housework, spend time with family, and still have time to play around online or have hobbies? And working moms? They amaze me.

Out of Ideas

Okay, guys. I'm out of ideas for posts. Maybe I've already said everything that I thought I needed to say when I started this blog. Ha! For anyone who's met me, this is funny. I NEVER stop talking. Ever. So, I'm sure I'm not out of things to say. Either that, or I think I've said it all on Twitter. Most of my readers are on Twitter anyway. Why be repetitive?

Also, I just can't think of anything original lately. Any suggestions? Is there something anyone wants to hear about? Is there anything you want to know about me? Do you want to see pictures or video of anything (now that I know how to work the video camera - kind of)? Let me know. I could really use some ideas! :)

I'm planning...

Okay, so I haven't posted in a week and half. Sue me! :) This post isn't going to be long, but I've got to get back in the saddle somehow. So, this week I'm planning:

• to make fudge with my friend/hairstylist Teresa
• to finish getting the last couple little Christmas gifts on my list
• to finish wrapping said gifts
• to watch Christmas movies with my friend Whitney
• to get my teeth cleaned! :)
• to go to my department's Christmas party (and to buy a white elephant gift before this party)
• to finish my Christmas cards
• to finish the artwork I decided to make to match my new living room decor
• to get my blocks sewn before Saturday Sampler
  

Okay, that sounds like enough, right? To see more, visit Kirsten's blog.

Lazy, Lazy

Okay, so I was just chatting on Twitter with my friend Christy. She was getting all "Jillian" on me about exercising. (If you don't know what this means, please watch The Biggest Loser.) See, I have been sitting in front of the computer all morning (after sleeping in). I justified this by saying I needed to catch up on a week's worth of blog reading, blah, blah, blah. The truth is that the more I sit, the lazier I get. Does that happen to anyone else?

I was so excited on Monday. I weighed in a couple of days early for the weekly weigh-in over at the Sisterhood. (For some reason, I can never remember to hit the scale at work on Wednesdays.) I was 136.2 pounds!!! That's down 1.5 pounds from the start of this challenge. That's a record for me - and a good start. It's even better considering I gained 1/2 a pound the first week! :P

Last night I was catching up on my Biggest Loser episodes, and I saw a poster on the wall with a quote from one of the trainers, "Words, words, words....enough talking, just DO it." Wow. Seriously. I need to get off my butt. I HATE exercise. I know that if I would just move more I'd be good in the weight loss department. I know all the food stuff (and if I don't, I SHOULD), but I just can't get motivated to exercise.

So, the Sisterhood girls decided that we are doing a 1/2 marathon in San Diego in June. Yes, you heard that right. Now I plan on walking it, not running. I always say that the only way I run is if I'm running away from something.... But I downloaded a training program for walking. Jerrod would laugh at me. No, I do not need to train to walk 13 miles. I could do it tomorrow. But this gives me an excuse to get off my butt. I need motivation.

Oh, and as I was typing this, my new straight-leg, almost-skinny-jeans came in the mail from Nordstrom. They don't look half bad. Just think how good they'll look 6.2 pounds from now. Hee haw!

Now, in the words of Christy, "Here's an idea! Turn off the computer and go walk the dog NOW!!!!!!" Besides, I have to clean up my house and run some errands before Kirsten and family get here this evening!!!