Category Archives: Ramblings

Day 22: TGIF

And how am I spending my Friday evening?

Well, first Social Diva and I had Chinese for dinner. (I also had cake at work, so there goes my diet today!)

But with the holidays coming, I said I wnated to get the house cleaned up.

Tonight, I focused on cleaning up all the papers lying around, and Social Diva reorganized her “school” bookshelf in the dining room.

She’s now enjoying the Pens Game while I am ready to head to bed.

Tomorrow’s another day! (and with the cold forecast, it’s going to be a perfect one to stay indoors and clean!)

Day 21: The LONG Week

What is it about this week that it seems to be taking FOREVER for the weekend to get here?

Is it because the last few weeks have been so hectic in preparing for my New Orleans trip?

Is it because I was away from work/out of town for three days last week?

Is it because I’m anxiously awaiting next week — the week that begins short workweeks until January 2014?

I haven’t figured it out yet, but Thank Goodness It’s Friday Eve!

Photo Credit: SomeECards.com

Photo Credit: SomeECards.com

Day 20: Scattered

Today started with a trip to Children’s Hospital for a routine eye exam for Social Diva. I then got to drive back out of the city to take her to school, and drive back into town to go to work.

I feel scattered today. My thoughts seem to be jumping from one thought to another. I’ve been feeling a but Luke a hermit lately. I haven’t been out with my friends in a few weeks. Hopefully, I can remedy that soon, although this weekend’s weather forecast may not allow it to happen.

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is next week. That means Christmas will be here sooner than we’re ready for it. I wonder if I can get myself ‘into’ the season this year? I guess we’ll see!

Day 19: Still Digging Out

I love taking time off, but I hate the days following because it seems to take forever to play catch up.

Today is my second day back after being away for three days last week. I seem to just be moving the piles from one side of the desk to the other.

With the upcoming holidays (and planned days off to bake), I need to get my desk and my workload organized.

Does anyone have any extra motivation lying around that they could share? I’ll trade with cookies!

Day 18: The Countdown is On

I saw on twitter today that there’s only 13 days left in November, which will lead into the countdown to Christmas.

I’m not ready!

I’m not ready for the cold weather, and snow, and shoveling.

The malls and other stores are playing Christmas music.

I’m not ready!

Thanksgiving used to be my favorite holiday. I loved hosting for my family and my in-laws. Divorce changed that.

Christmas should get easier as my kids get older and I no longer have to pretend to be Santa. They’re at the ages that they can tell me (and their dad) what they want for Christmas. That’s the easy part. They still want the Christmas tree and decorations. That’s the not so easy part.

I tell myself that I’m going to try to get excited for the holiday. I ended up buying stuffing and a turkey this evening, as well as stockpiling cookie ingredients.

I can do this, right?

Day 7: I Hope to be a Guinea Pig

Last night I attended an information session for a clinical trial at the local university. The study is to help people lose weight and present weight regain. The program will include physical activity, nutrition, and weight loss intervention for reduced cardiovascular risk.

While I did buy a Fitbit at the end of August, I haven’t made much progress with increasing my exercise.  This study will require weekly group meetings and my weight and eating habits will be reported to the study coordinators via a wifi scale and the Lose It! app.  Accountability (and no cheating)!

At the end of the information session, we had to answer a few questionnaires to see if we qualify to participate. The coordinators will review our answers and will let us know our eligibility to participate by early December. Baseline testing will  start in January, with group sessions beginning in February.

I hope I’m eligible to participate. While I’ve done well this week with my modified eating, some nutritional advice for this picky eater would be very helpful and greatly appreciated!

Day 6: Guess Who Fixed Her Garage Door?

Guess who fixed her garage door?

This gal!

My manual garage door has been popping out of the track more frequently these days. I researched solutions via Google (of course!). When Vampire Boy was home this weekend, I had him help me.

We first tried a hammer but it did nothing. I then tried using pliers to bend the track just enough so that the roller wouldn’t jump out when the door was lifted. After opening and closing the doors a few times, we noticed that the hinge holding the roller wasn’t sitting level. After a few more adjustments to this hinge, the door now works perfectly!

This will make winter so much easier for me! (though I’d also love a garage door opener!)

UPDATE: Jinxed myself! Door jumped the track tonight! Grrrr!

Day 5: Progress

I had a post prepared in my head while at work today, but for the life of me, I can’t remember it now. I refer to that as #MadCowBrain. I wish I could remember my topic, because I think it was a pretty good one. It will probably come back to me around 3 AM tomorrow morning.

In any case, I am almost through day 2 of my modified eating plan (trying to cut out carbs and sugar). Over the weekend, I committed to joining a social diet group called DietBet. It’s a game among friends where you donate $20 and have 4 weeks (28 days) to lose 4% of your weight. You submit a picture to the web site of yourself standing on the scale (full body shot) and a close up of the scale reading with the secret word. A DietBet employee verifies your submission and approves your weight submission.

In preparation for starting the modified eating plan (I don’t want to say diet), I overdosed on leftover Halloween candy on Saturday prior to my weight in on Sunday. Weighing in on Sunday was de-pres-sing! (Between you and me, I’m pretty disgusted that I let myself get this overweight.)

So I’ve been clean eating for the past two days. I have given up bread. I have given up processed sugar. I have a craving for sweets right after finishing lunch and dinner, so I’m trying to substitute fruits for sweets.

I’ve also tried increasing my water intake, which had me waking up twice last night. I was not happy with this new development!

I’m looking forward to weighing in tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed that I’ve dropped at least the Saturday Starburst weight!

Day 4: The Voice

The Voice ~ Shel Silverstein

I’ve been ignoring the voice for a few years now.

It used to be a quiet voice that whispered “something isn’t right.”

But I tried to give the benefit of the doubt.

I tried to be flexible with my thoughts and feelings. My wants and expectations.

I tried to not want for everything to be about me.

But the voice kept getting louder and louder.

And as my unhappiness grew and the pounds packed on, the voice finally yelled loud enough at me.

But it IS about me. My health is important to me. My happiness is important to me. And while I can’t make everyone around me happy, I need to start with allowing myself to be happy. And work on making that happiness happen.

So I’m listening to the voice inside.

Day 2: Do Overs


Wish I had a 'Do-Over'

Earlier this week, Flawed Memory and I exchanged a few tweets about a ‘do-over’ button. We had seen a screening of About Time the week before which involves the trait of time travel.

Today was a pretty laid back day for me, so I caught myself thinking about this topic a few times. If we had the ability to Time Travel (and knew about it), how far back in our lives would we go?

Would I go back to my teenage years and try not to be such a rebellious teenager?

Would I go back to my late teens and not be so anxious to get out of my mother’s house?

Would I go back and try to have a better relationship with my mother or father?

Would I make go back and make better decisions about my relationships:  the high school boyfriend I wanted to marry; the ‘bad boy’ who drew me to him like a moth to a flame; the man I would eventually marry?

How far back would I wish to travel? Regardless of my choice, a do-over of any of the above options would have resulted in a completely different life. While my life hasn’t been perfect, I don’t know that I’d wish for it to be completely different. I am who I am because of the experiences I have had so far.

Where would you go if you had the option to ‘Do-Over’? Would you take advantage of the ability to time travel or would you be happy with your life as it is?