Last week....

I was on vacation. It was great. I got a bunch of things done. Katiekatherine's room got rearranged, and her work station is where I wanted it to be. She now has a work area big enough to accommodate her computer (which doesn't have the internet) as well as work space to do her homework at. There's room for a lamp, there's a small book case at one end and a drawer unit at the other to hold various supplies (paper, folders, etc.) I'd like to resurface the top with something, but I'm not sure what. Right now, it's just plywood. I'm thinking some sort of tile surface. Any ideas?? After the fair, last weekend, we both wound up sick. Katie started on Saturday, and mine kicked in by Tuesday. Because I'm prone to sinus infections, whammo! My sinuses took the hit, and I was on the phone and in the Dr's office by Wednesday afternoon. I've been taking antibiotics, ever since! Katie is finally feeling better, too. (she went to the Dr's on Thursday, and had nothing more than a cold). However, I had a weird week at work. It started off slow...had a regular client completely blow me off...called me at home 2 days later to apologize. Which brings me to this: When it occurs to you, just 24 hours before you're supposed to go to ANY appointment, please actually make the effort to call the place and cancel the damn appointment!! And, DON'T wait two days to buck up the courage to call!! Especially if you've recently complained about someone keeping you waiting at an appointment!! The even bigger kicker of all this?? The salon has an answering machine that you can actually leave a message on, to cancel your appointment. Enough said. Okay...anyway...My week started off slow, and picked up speed. I went in on my day off to take care of a client, and was busy both Friday and Saturday (today). YAY!! I've also noticed, quite regularly, that I'm running ON TIME now, which is very exciting! I still need extra time for new people, and for certain services, but I'm on time more often than not!! :) Out of all my projects, I still didn't get to work on MY bedroom. It currently looks like FEMA needs to be called in and Federal Relief needs to be applied!! However, it will get there. I also managed to walk a total of 50 miles while I was on vacation, which enabled me to lose 2.6 pounds that week!! My first "large" weight loss since I started WW!! Then, this week, I lost another 2.4 lbs!! WOO HOO!! I made my 5% goal!! I did go walking Friday morning, while still feeling rather cruddy. I made sure to not take my MP3, so I wouldn't push myself any further than I was by walking 5 miles in the first place! My walk, which usually takes me 1 hr 20 minutes, took me 2 hours!!! But, like I said, I kept my pace pretty even, and didn't have too difficult a time walking up and down all the hills that I normally do. I just did them slower. So, I'll be back to walking again tomorrow, same as always. I walk, normally, 4 days a week, 5 miles at a time. I'll try sneaking in an extra walk, too, weather permitting, each day that I do walk, just so I can have decent results at weigh in on Wednesday. I'm not expecting another 2+ lbs loss. Any loss will do!!

Oooohhh look....Squirrel!!

Otherwise known as, totally random post!! I'm on vacation this week. The last one of the year. And, it's turned out to be a fabulous week, again! (my last vacation was fabulous, weather-wise, also) What have I accomplished?? Well, let's see................................ Katiekatherine's room has been re-arranged and cleaned all at the same time...just have her stereo (which only the radio portion now works) and the craft corner to deal with. As an aside....I'm also seeking any of my things that she's helped herself to while I've been at work. So far, not too bad, mostly because I've searched her room before. However, nothing has solved the problem of keeping her out of my private things (aka: the things in my room), so more drastic measures WILL be taken.... I've been going to Weight Watchers since July. I've only had one week where I didn't lose anything...it was "That Certain Week", too, so I felt I did well! Anyway....I've been losing it slowly, anywhere from .2 to 1.6 pounds a week. This week, however, I lost a surprising 2.6 pounds!! Woo Hoo!! And, I felt I was really struggling, too... (realize, a week runs from the previous Thursday to the current Wednesday, as WW is on Wednesday nights), So, this week, because of vacation, I've been walking more. Both to and from school, most days. So, I've logged an amazing 32 miles...12 miles more than what I'm used to doing!! I'm definitely feeling it in my lower calves (down around my ankles)...Mama 'Zan showed me how to "rip" some CD's, so I was able to load up my MP3 with fast paced music to walk to. Managed to shave off 10 minutes of my walking time, too!!! Getting my mix of foods down has been tricky, too. WW uses the "points" system, which is okay, except that it doesn't keep track of things like how many carbs you eat, how many calories you're eating, etc. So, sometimes, the points value of what you've eaten may stay the same (say, 25 points), but you've eaten 1200 calories today, 1700 calories tomorrow. All the research I've done (thank you, internet!) has shown me what I need for calories, carbs, fats (including the dreaded saturated fats), fiber, protein to complete my day. Thank goodness, at a health magazine website, you can use their calorie counter and activity counter for FREE...you just have to sign up for some newsletters. Which is okay by me, the more I learn about utilizing my body effectively, the better! So, I keep track in both...keeps me relatively honest. I'm not one of those people who constantly "BLT's" (Bite, lick, taste)...once in a while, but not all the time. I'm a SNACKER who doesn't remember to eat fruits and vegetables!!! So, that's a huge effort for me. But, I'm getting there. My doctor informed me I needed to lose 60 pounds, so I'm working on it. With WW, I've lost 7.4. On my own, I managed to lose 2.4. So.....ten pounds down, 50 more to go!! I've broken it down by pounds and weeks, divided it out, and figured out what the minimum is I need to lose each week. Truly, it's not a lot...1.2 pounds a week. It's making sure I do that every week that's the challenge!! I'll also be incorporating other exercise into my schedule, since I won't be walking 32+ miles a week once I go back to work!! I have put off my color study all summer...not going to lie about that one. However, now that it's fall, I'm getting back to it. The child and I switched work stations (made hers bigger, mine smaller), in an effort to reorganize my stuff (and hers, too!). That being said, I'll be back at it, soon! Tonight, we'll be going to the Franklin County Fair with our friends...should be a blast!!!

Hmmmmmm.....

Let's see...what's been going on since my last bloggage?? I missed commission by thismuch, again! Talk about frustrating!! My weight is coming off oh so slowly...my own doing, although I don't want it to all come off in a week, either. What I really need to do is quit sabotaging myself!! So, the salty veggie sticks (which really aren't good for you) are going away, TODAY. Thank GOD there's a dumpster in the driveway!! We hiked Mt Monadnock on Monday...a good-bye to summer kind of thing. Having never hiked before, I slowed the whole thing down, considerably. It didn't help that it was 85 degrees & sunny out, either. The climb up was all rock...BIG rocks. The climb down was all smaller rocks, once you got away from the top area. By the time we were about 3/4 of a mile from the end, I got very snivelly and nearly cried, it hurt so bad! I had Katie come back (she was ahead of us, but still within eye sight) and help me down. My right knee couldn't take it any longer (and that's my good knee!!) and both legs were shaky! She's truly an awesome kid! I'm so proud to know that she can totally step up to the plate like that! After the hike was when I sabotaged myself. We went to Mom's the next day, even went swimming. I stepped on her scale (which lies in terms of accuracy) and there was a drop in my weight. What did I do?? Apparently, had an internal panic and started eating salty snacks, knowing I retain water. Idiot. What the hike taught me is that I really CAN do anything! What my reveal at the WW scale taught me....can't use the extra points gained from activity...it allows me to eat too much. So, back to the routine. I'll still be walking and doing other exercise, just not using those activity points!!