#2875 the end of week 1

Hello from snowy SLC. It's been snowing most of the day. There's not a lot of accumulation in my yard, but it is cold, and I can see that the roads are slick. I've been feeling a little under the weather this weekend, so I didn't leave the house. I went out in the backyard with the dogs for about 10 minutes yesterday, and today I took the garbage out. I guess I figure if I didn't have to go anywhere, why would I?

When I wrote on Wednesday, I mentioned my No-Spend January challenge. As of today, I am seven for seven - no restaurant spending so far this month! I did go to Dutch Bros on Wednesday, and paid with money I had on the app, and I had Starbucks on Thursday, also paying with the app that had funds on it. Other than that, I haven't been to a restaurant or fast food place this week. It is a minor miracle, to be honest. I almost caved yesterday. MT went to Pocatello for the day, and it would have been so easy to hop in the car and hit a drive through, I didn't, though. I figured something out to eat at home, and I was fine. It is tough. The dependence on fast food is strong. 

This week had a really big day in it. The third of January is the day my dad passed away. It has been six years that he's been gone. I think about him at least a little bit every day. There are some days that I find myself talking to him (in my head) as if he were sitting with me. He is missed.

On January 3, just three years ago, we adopted our sweet lab, Harley. She is the snuggliest dog in our little pack. She's totally mellow until people come over or she gets to go for a ride or for a walk, then she's loses her doggie mind with joy and excitement. I'm glad she's here. Her arrival really calmed Mac down, so I'm grateful to MT for suggesting we get another dog.

The first week of the year at work is all about closing the books on the previous year. I was busy, but it was manageable. I am working just eight hours a day, and it's good. 

Usually I like to share some art on Sunday.  My doodles this week were lack-luster - the prompts were kind of lame. Not Jill's prompts; I don't consider those doodle prompts. Jill's prompts usually push me to work a little harder on the art, and it is more fulfilling. The little daily doodle prompts I find are to keep drawing something. This week's doodle prompts are: evergreen tree, bare trees, pinecone, cardinal, snowflake, snowballs, and icicles. Feel free to doodle and share, if you want!

I also find a lot of art that I'd like to try my hand at on Pinterest. I think I'd like to do a Pinterest- inspired project once a week or so, and maybe even practice sketching from a photo or something. I find that I can totally lose all sense of time when my pens, paints, and sketchbook come out. Drawing and painting have been a fun hobby. I'm glad to be doing it. 

What am I looking forward to this week? On Thursday night, MT will come with me to the Red Butte Garden volunteer reception. This year, the reception will be held at the Natural History Museum. We haven't had the reception at this venue before. The reception is always fun. On Saturday, Jill is having a workshop called "Let's Talk Creativity."  Other than that, it's back to five days of work, two at home and three in the office. We are supposed to get more snow this week. I also still need to clear out some Christmas decorations. (teehee)

You know what else is on my mind? Making my house a little more cozy. I haven't spent a lot of time or energy making my house cozy, like with lighting or pillows or...oh, I don't know. I just feel like nesting, I guess. We'll see where that goes. 

Ok, that's all for tonight. Have a great week. Take care of yourselves and be nice to you.

xo

#2874 three things: no spend January, dance party, my word

 

I decided to use some of my art for heading! How do you like it? I used the Snapseed app to put a frame around it, and I added some text. The drawing is in a book that I gave Mamacita for her birthday. In true little kid fashion, I drew pictures in a perfectly good book. I bought the used book in a cool little bookstore in Barcelona, and I always intended to draw in it. The decision to give it to my mama for her birthday came when I was trying to figure out what to give my mama for her birthday. LOL It was a terrifically fun project for me. 

Also...happy new year! 

Now let's get on with my three things.

1. No spend January. The past few months, I have spent quite a lot of money on eating out. I've been traveling, and of course you'll eat out when you are not at home, but even at home, I was uninspired and often too wiped out to cook anything, or sometimes even tp go to the grocery store. My budget has suffered because of this particular aspect of my spending, so I decided to challenge myself to not spend any money eating out in January. Now, you may know that I have a bit of a coffee habit - I really like Starbucks and Dutch Bros. I have money and gift cards loaded on those apps, and I can use the money in the apps, but I can't reload them out of my checking account this month. Fortunately, I got a couple of Starbucks gift cards for Christmas, so I will be okay there. I know this challenge will, in fact, be challenging, but I really want to see if I have the will-power to do it. So far, I'm 3 for 3! I'll update the status throughout the month. 

2. The dance party. When I was talking to Mom and Lizzie on Monday night, they told me that while waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve, they had an impromptu dance party, just the two of them. I'm sure Lulu the Dog was bemused by the situation. I can't stop thinking about it, though! I can picture my sweet little mamacita and my beloved sister swaying and twirling, waving their arms in the air like they just don't care, and smiling with glee the whole time. The mental images make me so happy! Keep dancing!! (Maybe my choice of art for the header of this post was inspired subconsciously by the dance party, and I inserted myself in the dance, too?)

3. My Word. For the past several years, I have chosen a Word to be a talisman, I guess, for the year. Last year, I chose the word  Allow at the beginning of the year only to change it to Slow a few months later because I didn't feel like it fit anymore. Turns out that nothing about last year was Slow, but the word was a good reminder to pump the brakes and take it easy every now and again, so I guess the Word did what it was supposed to do. 

I was tempted to keep Slow again this year, or find a similar word to instill that feeling of quiet and peace. Then, suddenly, I didn't want that vibe. I didn't want something super energetic, and I didn't want anything too passive, either. Suddenly, as I was sort of going back and forth about it all, a word came to me and it was so vivid and loud in my head, that it could not be denied. My Word for 2024 is CONFIDENT.  

Doubt, self-consciousness, and anxiety frequently dominate my thoughts. When I think of my word, I get a boost. Maybe I fake it until I make it, but hopefully I will be the only one who knows I'm faking it. (heehee) 

There are a couple of supporting words, too: Authentic and Grace. These words will remind me to be true to myself and to give myself the benefit of the doubt as well as putting me in a good mindset.

Usually, I will create a mandala with the Word in the center. This year, I thought of a photo that Lizzie took of me when we were in Barcelona. I don't often like to see photos of myself - I can always find something that I don't like (don't we all?) This pic is an exception; I actually like everything about it. I like my hair, my glasses are cool, I like what I'm wearing, and I like my genuine and authentic smile. Not only that, I vividly remember sitting at this cafe in the Plaza Real. It was Mother's Day. We'd just finished touring Palau Guell, and we were having a drink before going to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Can Culleretes. Mom, Lizzie, and I were relaxed and happy, and it was just so fucking awesome to be sitting there with them on that beautiful Sunday afternoon. It seemed like the perfect photo to embody everything I want from my Word this year. 

Peace!

xo

#2282 hello December!

The last time I wrote I said I wouldn't write again until Monday the second - you know, even day, even month writing. Then I decided that since I missed the fun and challenge of writing every day in November, I would write every day in December. I'm still going to write about the movies tomorrow though.

I like December. There are quite a few social events to look forward to which is fun. This week I have stuff on Thursday and Friday. Next week I am going to California for work and I'll be able to squeeze in a visit with my aunt and uncle and spend a long weekend in southern CA celebrating Mom's birthday a bit early. The following week is basically a food fest at my work and the following week is Christmas!

Even though I just got back from vacation, having this four-day weekend at home has been very nice. I didn't do much on Thursday or Friday. I did get out and about yesterday a little, and that was good. Today MT and I went out for breakfast, then we did some paperwork for the rentals. After that, I settled in on my bed to watch the 49ers - Ravens game. I fell asleep right at the end. Osi woke me up early this morning because she doesn't understand weekends. I understand the Ravens won the game.

Tonight I am making chicken posole soup. It smells delicious. Oh! On Friday I cooked a ham and made some cheesy potatoes, AKA funeral potatoes around these parts. It was kinda like a late Thanksgiving meal, even though that's all we had, ham and potatoes. Everyone was happy. Later there was cheesecake, then we went to a movie, which I will write about tomorrow.

On another note, last night the Utah Utes football team wrapped up the PAC-12 South championship. They will play on Friday for the PAC-12 championship against Oregon. #GoUtes





Happy December y'all! More words tomorrow!

#2197 food Friday: fiber

About a month ago I bought myself a fitness device, of sorts. I got a Shapa scale. It is a scale, but it doesn't tell you how much you weigh or your body fat percentage or anything like that. Instead, it links to an app on the phone and tells you how you are progressing to your goal on a color scale. Dark gray means you are not doing well in your progress; bright blue means you're doing great, sweetie. Along the way, Shapa gives you daily"missions" which could be anything from 'do ten pushups' to 'write a letter to your 85 year old self'. I've learned that you must do the missions or you will go straight to dark gray. It's not a good place. Don't ignore the missions if you choose to get a Shapa. It won't matter how well you think you're doing with your eating and your exercise. Shapa thinks you suck if you don't do the missions.

Today's mission was to eat 20 grams of fiber. I accepted the mission and quickly realized that I don't know much about fiber. What foods have fiber? How much was I currently getting each day? Doesn't 20 grams seem like a lot? What is the recommended daily fiber intake?

When you have so many questions, there is only one place to go: Google.

Turns out that most fruits and veg have a bunch of fiber in them. So do whole grain products like oatmeal or whole wheat bread. Black beans are also an excellent source of fiber, as is popcorn. The American Heart Association recommends that you have 25 grams of fiber each day.

I'd packed some strawberries for breakfast this morning, along with Greek yogurt. There's no fiber in Greek yogurt, if you were wondering, but strawberries have three grams for a cup.

For lunch I had a nice big salad with edamame (fiber), avocado (fiber) and lettuce (fiber). The total of fiber in the salad was about four grams. That got me to seven grams.

I had 13 grams of fiber to go and no idea how I was going to get there. I'm not going to lie: I was going to mark this mission a success even if I didn't make it all the way to 20 grams just because I learned a lot and had never paid so much attention to fiber.

When I got home I looked at everything in my cupboard and freezer to find something to eat with good fiber content AND that would be within my WW Smart Points. I ended up having two chili lime chicken patties from Trader Joe's (2 g of fiber each) and two whole wheat sandwich thins (4 g of fiber each). Now I was at 19 grams. So close! What was I going to do?

That's when I remembered I had a couple of apples in the fridge. There are four grams of fiber in an apple! BOOM! Done! I didn't even have to cheat on the mission! The other thing was that I came in right at my WW Smart Points budget for the day, so win/win!

I'm feeling very full. Fiber is filling and typically low in calories and Smart Points. Here's a good list of fiber-ful foods to you to feast upon.

It was a good day. I like learning about things, so I consider this day a success.

#2185 3 things: small pants, a whole bunch of movies and why does that happen?

Have I ever got three random things tonight! Let's go!

1. Small pants. At the WW workshop on Saturday, we had a substitute coach who gave us an interesting challenge. She instructed us all to go out and buy a pair of pants in a smaller size. The pants should absolutely not fit. We were to try on the pants every Saturday noting to ourselves how they did not fit. The first week the pants may not get much past our knees. Maybe in a couple of weeks the pants can get up over the thighs. In awhile the pants will be fully on the body but not able to be zipped up, etc. I have to say, I was kind of excited about this idea. It's fun to have a non-scale goal and new clothes is a good one. I'm going to buy my small pants this weekend. I would have done it last weekend, but I got sidetracked. I'll keep you updated on the small pants challenge.

2. A whole bunch of movies. I like the Marvel movies, you know, Iron Man and Captain America and The Avengers. Last month after I saw Captain Marvel I was curious about the chronology of the MCU (that's Marvel Cinematic Universe). Of course I googled it and there are lists that go through the whole chronology including the TV shows. I really only care about the movies. I thought it might be fun to watch them all in preparation for Avengers: End Game that comes out in a few weeks. We don't own many of the movies in the MCU because, as T tells me, they are expensive. I'm sure I could find some of them On Demand or Netflix. Imagine my delight when I found out that a local movie theater will be one of a dozen theaters in the U.S. to screen all 22 movies finishing with Avengers: End Game! The movies start on Tuesday 4/23 at 7:30 AM and End Game starts at 5:30 PM on 4/25. Oh my gosh! I am thinking about this WAAAAAY more than I should be.

3. Why does this always happen? I'm talking about books now. I like to read the books Reese Witherspoon recommends for her book club. In March she recommended a book that I was excited about so I went to the library website, both for physical and ebooks, and put the book on hold. I was far, far down the list, but the book finally became available on Monday and I happily went to pick it up. In the meantime, Reese announced the April pick and I put that on hold too but I must have been much quicker on the draw because that one came in on Wednesday. It seems to always happen that the books I put on hold, regardless of when I put them on hold, become available at the same time. Now I find myself once again actively reading three books. I've got the book I'm reading with #EkpesBookClub (Becoming by Michelle Obama); a YA book I checked out because I had read to the required page for the book club discussion and didn't want to get too far ahead (13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson) and now Reese's March book (Daisy Jones and the Six by Tara Jenkins Reed). You tell me how I'm supposed to watch any movies when I've got books to read.

First world problems, friends.

Speaking of books, I have finished 17 books this year. You can click on the 2019 Reading tab at the top of the screen to see what I've read. Maybe you'll find one that you want to read also.

#1954 three things: Dad, bike rides and a catchy tune

I've got three things on my mind tonight, friends, and none of them have anything to do with each other.

1. My dad is in the hospital. Hopefully it will just be for the night so the doctors can make sure everything is okay. I'm just putting it out there that good thoughts and healing vibes are appreciated.

2. A bike ride. I've been chatting with a nice lady I met at cycling class at the gym. I met her in cycling class, and then I've seen her in many other classes also. One night before our cycling class, she asked me if I ride on the road or just in the gym. I told her that I do have a bike and I like to ride outside, but for whatever reason I didn't do any riding outside this year. My bike never left the basement. I regret not getting out for at least one ride this year, but there's nothing for it now. Kristeen, the lady from the gym, is active in the Bonneville Cycling Club and was telling me about some of the rides the Club organizes every year. One of the big rides is a ladies only ride called Little Red Riding Hood. Tonight after Zumba class, Kristeen told me that the lottery for Little Red opens on January 8. She explained that there are three or four distances to choose from and that it is a ride, not a race and she encouraged me to sign up. She said that as much as I exercise, I would have no problem with at least the 30 mile ride. The ride happens on June 2. I think I might put my name in for the lottery.  3,500 riders get in and it is full every year. I've heard the other ladies at the cycling classes talk about it for years. I'll mark January 8 on my calendar!

3. A catchy tune: Feel it Still by Portugal, the Man is a song that is stuck in my head all the time. I remember the first time I heard it this summer. It was a blistering hot Saturday afternoon, probably in July. I was in my car, coming down the hill from Red Butte Garden, listening to X96  with the air conditioner blasting. The radio guy said, "I know it's over 100 degrees out there, but if you're in your car, roll down all the windows and turn up the radio. It just feels like that's the right way to listen to this song." I did as I was told and I was hooked. I used to only hear it on X96, now I hear it on all the stations. I thought it was a woman on lead vocals, but it's not. Tonight I watched the "official video" and I didn't love it. Then I found this stripped down version video and I'm going to share it with you so you can have this tune in your head, too (if you don't already!) Enjoy!

#1746 not a capsule, but progress

Oh. My. Gosh. What a day!

If you read yesterday's post, you know that today is the day that I began the process of "tidying up". Based on what I learned from the Japanese clutter book, officially called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, I have decided for once and for all to de-clutter my house and take charge of my unkempt and too-much-of-everything world. The first step, according to the KonMari method, is to tidy up your clothes, keeping only the items that "spark joy."

The KonMari method is very specific and easy to follow. I really only intended to sort through my tops today, but once I got started, it made no sense at all to stop at tops, so I just pushed on through all of the clothing categories. In case you are interested, it goes like this: tops, bottoms, things that hang, socks, underwear, bags, accessories, clothes for specific events and shoes. You are supposed to put every item of clothing on the floor, then touch each one individually, deciding if it sparks joy. If it does, keep it. If not, discard it.

My first step was to take out every top I had from t-shirts to button-up shirts to sweaters and pile them on the floor. It was by far the biggest pile. I have a six drawer dresser that had t-shirts in at least four of the drawers. I had a closet full of tops and three space bags full of sweaters. It was overwhelming.

For the most part, though, it was easy to decide what gave me joy and what I was ready to discard. I piled the keepers up on my bed and put the others in garbage bags to take to Goodwill. When I was done with tops, I moved to bottoms and moved down the list. At the end of the process, here's my keep pile:

Osi was a little put out by the activity I had going on. She looked a little frightened by the giant pile of clothes on the bed. And let me also tell you that during this process, I was working my tail off. I was sweaty. I was dismayed and elated all at the same time. I couldn't believe I had so much stuff, but on the other hand, I knew I had way more than any one person could possibly need.

At this point, I had been working on the project for a couple of hours. I was folding my socks when I had an epiphany - I had a boatload of socks. What the hell was I doing with so many socks? There's no way I would wear so damn many socks! That was when I started to get a little shaky and loopy, so I decided to take a quick break. I came downstairs, got a glass of water and had a snack and decided something monumental: I did not need to have so many of the same thing (like socks). I could get rid of some socks even though they were perfectly good socks. I just don't have to have that many! I kept saying it over and over to myself. Remember that the first reason this whole thing got started was the idea of the capsule wardrobe. The capsule doesn't need 50 pairs of socks!

With renewed energy, I came back to my room to finish the task. I got out another garbage bag and filled it with more stuff from the pile that gave me joy. Turns out that some things gave me less joy than others the second time around. Don't get me wrong. I'm still very far from a capsule wardrobe. I still have way more of everything than I need. I feel pretty comfortable saying that I may very well get rid of more things at some point, but the difference is already measurable and significant.

Take a look:

a t-shirt drawer before

after

the closet before

after

bags and jeans

seven bags of stuff for Goodwill plus a couple of bags of garbage

Overall, the process took me a good five hours. I'm mentally tired right now, and physically tired as well. I went through my clothes only - I didn't mess around with any of MT's things. T was here and I think that he may have a session himself on Monday. He has lots of stuff too - so many t-shirts! And like I said, I am far from a capsule wardrobe, but I'm a lot closer than I was at noon today.

And as crazy as it was, I just want to keep getting rid of stuff. The shelves in my closet? I'm cleaning those tomorrow. There are things that belong to MT and I won't touch those, but my stuff is either going away or being stored neatly. I don't need the things. I need the peace of mind that comes from clean clear spaces.

Tomorrow I need to spend some time outside, but I will work on clearing some more space inside, too. I'm only sorry that I'll have to wait for MT to come back to take all these bags to Goodwill. They won't fit in my car!

Talk to you tomorrow...

#1745 life changer or down a rabbit hole

Stay with me on this one...there are some twists.

A few weeks ago my friend Nicole mentioned that she would like to have a "capsule wardrobe".

I wasn't sure what a capsule wardrobe was, so she explained it and I immediately got on Pinterest to learn more about it. Basically, it means paring down your wardrobe to a smaller number of items that can be mixed with each other - I think of adult Garanimals. In looking at the various lists of suggestions for items to have in your capsule wardrobe, I realized that I have most of the things, but I have a whole bunch more things, too.

The trick, I decided, was paring down what you already have to a manageable amount and accessorizing. I told Nicole about my ephiphany relating to the wardrobe. She nodded wisely and asked if I'd ever heard of the Japanese clutter book.

Weirdly, I had heard about the Japanese clutter book just a few weeks prior to this discussion in a Weight Watchers meeting. The topic was clearing out the clutter in your kitchen to make it more plan friendly. One of the ladies talked about the book and mentioned that it was the most aggravating, horrible book she'd ever read because how could she be expected to look at every little thing she owned, including socks, to see if that item "sparked joy" in her?

Friends, I do not believe in coincidence. I think everything happens for a reason, so I absolutely felt that I must own the Japanese clutter book. If you Google the words "Japanese clutter book", you will find this:

I took myself right down to the Barnes and Noble store, and there it was, looking right out at me from the best seller shelf. I picked it up and felt the power in the slim, light tome I held in my hands. I thought, "This book will change my life or send me right into a rabbit hole."

The next day I packed the book in my purse and got on a plane to San Diego to visit my sister. She recently moved from a house to a one bedroom apartment. The girl de-cluttered and capsulized and it really suits her. I told her about the capsule wardrobe and showed her the book. I started reading the book the next day. All of the stuff Lizzie said about her experience of de-cluttering matched up exactly with what Marie Kondo was saying in the book - and Lizzie didn't even read the dang thing! She just gets it!

Kondo suggests tidying/purging by categories and she is very specific about the order of the categories and how to go about tidying up effectively. Most of what she said made very good sense to me, although there were some parts that made me smile and shake my head. Still, when I got home and looked at my closet and in my dresser drawers, I knew that something had to change. There's just so much stuff! Do I really need all those old vacation t-shirts? What about those things that fit me a few years ago but don't fit anymore? By the time I get back into them, they will be old and out of style. It's time to move on.

So...tomorrow is the start of my path down the life-changing path of tidying up. I will be tidying up my tops - t-shirts, sweaters, blouses, etc. I plan to take pics and I'll show you my progress tomorrow night. I admit that thinking about this undertaking has cost me some hours of lost sleep as I think of the pile of clothes that will be on my bed tomorrow. I think about taking each item into my hands and deciding if it sparks joy. I really only want to have clothes that make me feel good about myself and happy when I put them on. It's gonna be painful and slow and hopefully rewarding and great in the end.

Wish me luck!

~~~~~~

I read these four books. Check out the 2016 Reading List page for info!

#1637 need to stop lying to myself

Today was my weigh-in day. I thought I had done a good job this week with tracking and working the plan, but when I stepped on the scale, I was up nearly two pounds. I was disappointed and angry at myself. I talked with the leader about the gain before the meeting started. She knew that I was bummed out and annoyed. I sat through the meeting feeling bad and sorry for myself. I listened to what was being said and applauded for other people's success, but through it all I felt bitter and upset.

When I got home I sat down and had a little talk with myself. I really thought about what was going on and I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't being honest. I wasn't really tracking everything that I ate. I eat stuff that I don't record, mostly sweets because I know I shouldn't eat sweets because they are very "expensive" points-wise. If I'm really going to work on the plan and see success, I need to track everything I eat. If I don't want to track it, I shouldn't eat it. I've got to be truthful with myself because I am that suffers by fooling myself with not tracking everything.

I have written before about a goal I set to reach a certain weight by my birthday. There are about 11 weeks until my birthday and I'd like to lose around 17 pounds, so that's about one and a half pounds a week. It might not sound like much, but I can assure you that it's a lot easier to gain a pound and a half than to lose it. It crossed my mind today that I might not achieve the goal. Does that mean I shouldn't try? Again, I'm the only person who suffers if I don't at least try. Even if I don't reach the goal, if I'm close I'm still better off.

#1616 a big goal announcement

This past week I've been focusing on the food I'm eating. I've been watching my portions, not going back for seconds and really cutting back on sweets and snacks. The only exercise I did was 20 minutes of walking, and I didn't do that on Monday or Tuesday because I was ill.  I tracked (wrote down) everything I ate and focused on staying within my WW points limits.

Today is my weigh in day at Weight Watchers. How did I do? GOOD! I lost 4.4 lbs!!

YAY!! I really needed that loss to boost my spirits.

You see, I have set a goal for myself to be below a certain significant weight by my birthday. My birthday is about 90 days away, and I need to lose about a pound a week in order to achieve my goal. There's not a lot of room to mess up, but it is exciting to have a goal that I really want to reach.

In our WW meeting today we talked about fitness and activity. We were talking about apps we use to help us with our fitness. One was Map My Walk. I've used Map My Ride for when I go for a bike ride, and I think I would like Map My Walk. I'll check it out. Another app that was mentioned is for helping you track how much water you drink and it's called Plant Nanny. I guess you have an eplant and you have to keep it alive by drinking water and logging how much you drink each day. Sounds cute. I gotta check it out :)

I didn't wear my Fitbit today and I feel kind of lost without it. I took it off this morning and plugged it in to charge while I showered and then forgot to put it on. I even went for a walk today at Red Butte Garden and I felt sad that the Fitbit wasn't tracking all my steps. That thing is addictive.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! Talk to you tomorrow.

#1611 better eating habits needed

I know a woman who is overweight and is in need of a hip replacement. Her doctor told her that she needs to lose weight before she can have the hip replacement surgery. She feels like she is in a Catch-22 situation: she needs to lose weight but she cannot be active because of her bad hip and her weight. The woman is going to do water-based activity to try to lose the weight.

Another lady and I were talking about the situation and I boldy said that I thought what a person ate made a bigger difference than being active. I think that portion control and making good food choices will help a person lose weight more than just exercise. Ideally, eating well and exercising will maximize weight loss results, but if you can only do one, at least to start, I think eating well is the place to start. For example, several years ago I hired a trainer and worked out with him several times a week, but I ate whatever I wanted. I did not lose much weight, maybe a pound or two. I did get lose an inch or two, though, which was nice.

I was thinking about the conversation this morning, and I think I want/need to reaffirm my belief in this theory. In January and February my weight loss wasn't a loss at all - I've gained a few pounds. :( I wasn't surprised about the gain in January since we were on vacation, but I thought I would get back in the weight loss groove in February, but NO.

What's bad is that I pay a monthly fee to Weight Watchers and I have full access to their program and I know the plan works as long as I work the plan. Clearly, for the past two months, I have not been working the plan.

So...I have decided to challenge myself this month to work the WW plan, track what I eat and really pay attention to what I'm eating. I won't be doing a lot of exercise, though.  I will limit the amount of exercise I do to walking at least 20 minutes a day (remember the safety challenge from my work I wrote about a couple of days ago?)

As I'm reading back over the last paragraph, it seems like it should be so simple, but I really, really like food that isn't exactly low calorie. I like bread and cheese and potatoes and cookies and chips. And yes, those foods are absolutely allowed in the WW plan, but they cost more Smart Points than other foods like fruits and veggies and lean protein.

That's really all I have to say today. This is my last post for February; I plan to post daily in March, so I'm sure we will talk about my challenge in the month to come. Wish me luck!

#1601 this year for Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I am not a religious person, but over the years I have sometimes practiced giving something up during Lent. Last year I gave up sweets. It was tough, but I did it. In other years I have given up soda. I wasn't thinking of giving up anything this year, but I've been thinking about it and maybe I will do something, but it doesn't involve food. It's more of a positive challenge, I think.


GOOGLE ALERT: Of course I had to Google why we give things up for Lent. I found this website that offered a reasonable explanation. In the last paragraph, the author writes about giving up a bad habit for Lent, and that's kind of what I was thinking about.

I feel that I am lazy. I want to lose weight and have better physical fitness, but it's easy to find an excuse to not go to the gym and even go for a walk. What I was thinking of doing for Lent is adding activity to my life every day. I want to break a sweat by doing some physical activity daily.

The irony is that I will be starting this challenge tomorrow because (here comes the excuse!) tonight I went to parent-teacher conference with my son. It's the last one, since he will graduate this year and there are no parent-teacher conferences in college. There were some people at my work who thought it was strange that I still attended parent-teacher conferences. I don't think I've ever missed one. T's education and progress is very important to me, and I feel obliged and lucky to talk to him and his teachers about his grades and his future. I don't tire of hearing his teachers tell me that he is a great kid with a bright future or that he is intelligent and funny and they like having him around.

So now that the parent-teacher conference is done and I have had some time to lay on the couch and watch TV and ponder my Lenten choice, I'm gonna do it! Starting tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes :)

#1599 well put-together ladies

When I was on vacation in Barcelona with my mom and my sister, we had the chance to do a lot of people-watching. It's one of my favorite things, when I think about it. I like to see the way people dress and behave and react to their experiences.

One thing that Lizzie and I noticed and admired was what we called "well put-together" ladies. There were many Spanish women who looked so effortlessly stylish that I spent most of the two weeks feeling more frumpy than I usually do. From the hair to the makeup to the accessories to the shoes to the clothing itself, I admired the style.

An close-to-home example: my mom has a cousin, Ferran, who has a daughter named Gloria. We met Gloria at her parent's home when we went to lunch there to celebrate Ferran's wife's saint day. (Sometimes people are named after saints and the saints have a day and then that's your saint day, too.) Gloria was wearing a navy blue sweater with sleeves to the elbow and a navy blue skirt with a floral pattern. I don't specifically remember her shoes, but I think they were a low-heeled pump. Her hair and makeup were clean-looking, nothing fancy or overdone. She was wearing a simple pendant on a chain and earrings along with her wedding ring. I specifically remember Lizzie and I looking Gloria and then at each other and saying, "Well put-together Spanish lady."

Another example: Lizzie and I were on the train coming back to Barcelona from Montserrat. A young couple sat in the in the seats across from ours. The woman was wearing a sun dress with a denim jacket and a scarf around her neck. Her hair was just above her shoulder and curly. Her make-up was minimal, probably just some mascara and maybe a bit of lipstick. Her shoes were ballet flats. She was wearing cute dangling earrings. She looked great!

In two weeks, I saw dozens of examples of well-put together ladies. It was inspiring.

Then I came home and although I would like to be a well put-together lady, I find myself lacking.

I looked for more well put together ladies when I was on the cruise. I saw some, but I also saw a lot of women that looked like they were trying really hard and the result was not natural and elegant. Too much makeup, too much jewelry, the clothes didn't fit properly...it's just my opinion of course. The thing is that I'm looking for my own style and looking for what I think works well for others that I might incorporate.

Having style doesn't come naturally to me. I've always dressed more for comfort than for style. I haven't mastered the balance between comfort and style. I wrote earlier in the week about my problem with shoes. It doesn't stop there. I don't really love to shop so I get in a rut. When I do shop, it takes time because you have to try clothes on. Not all clothes are the same sizing. A pair of pants in one shop might be the same size as the pants in another shop, but they don't fit the body the same way at all. It can be so discouraging.

I didn't really make any resolutions for myself this year, but I do have some goals. (I guess goals and resolutions are the same thing, but goals sound better to me.) I aspire to be well put-together. I have a lot of work to do to achieve this goal. I frankly don't know if I will ever achieve it because I am basically pretty lazy. Like today, for example, I could have dressed better. I went to WW to weigh in (up 0.4 lbs GRRR). I wore my usual weigh-in outfit of track pants and a t-shirt. It was cold so I put on an old oversized fleece jacket with a little bit of paint on the wrist. I had an appointment at the hairdresser after the WW meeting. I could have come home to change, but I didn't. I went to get my hair cut (feels and looks a lot better!) then I actually went to the store with my cute hair and my weigh-in clothes. Not a good look! Not put-together! Yes, I was comfortable but I was not putting my best self forward. I was bummed out when I thought about it. I can do better than that. I want to do better than that. I will do better than that.

The whole style thing has been on my mind for awhile and it just seemed like the right time to get it out there. Now that I've said to my seven readers on the world wide interwebs, it's out there and I need to hold myself accountable and reach my goal.

I'll let you know how it's going.

#1477 plan B kicked my bum

On Monday night I like to go to the spinning class at the gym. I've missed the past few Mondays because I have had to work late. Since I knew this was a possibility, I packed my gym clothes in a bag this morning and vowed to get to class tonight. It starts at 7PM.

I did work late, but I changed my clothes and headed right to the gym, getting there at 7PM. The bad news - the spinning class was full. There were no bikes to be had. I take that back. There was one bike, but it didn't have any pedals, only clips. I don't have shoes with clips and I have tried to use the bike without pedals but it really sucks. I left the spin class and thought about going home, but there was another class being held, so I decided to try that instead.

The instructor was one of the personal trainers; he was filling in for the regular teacher. I think the class is usually cardio kickboxing. This guy made the class his own. We did a bunch of squats with kettle bells, pelvic lifts, punching with weights and ended up on the bag doing various kickboxing moves. It wore me right out. It was a small class (because everyone was spinning!) so the instructor got right in and worked individually with each of us. I punched the crap out of that bag when the instructor was around, then I had to rest! LOL

I wasn't feeling very well to begin with. I didn't take enough food with me to work today. I used all my Points but I didn't make good choices. I had a headache and I was hungry, then I pushed myself hard in the class. I thought I was going to throw up by the time I got home. I could barely eat my bowl of cereal; in fact I didn't finish it. I couldn't do it.

Now I have taken a shower and had some more water and I feel better. I'm sure I'll be super-hungry in the morning!

#1443 two things that aren't worthy of me

Back in January, I did an exercise where I found a word to help guide me through the year. The word I chose was WORTH. I think about my word fairly often, like when I'm buying myself something to wear or something to eat. I ask myself, "Is this thing worth the money? Is it worth the WW points plus? Is it worthy of me?"

Tonight I had to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I was pretty hungry, even though I knew I was going home to make spaghetti for dinner. I thought that I might enjoy some ice cream which is very unusual for me because I don't care that much for ice cream. I wandered over to the ice cream aisle and looked at several different items. There was an chocolate covered ice cream bar with caramel and pretzels. There was a chocolate creamsicle. There was salted caramel gelato. There was a tiny little Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream container. Mmm...cookie dough. I put it in the cart, feeling pretty pleased.

My beloved iPhone was sitting in my purse and it caught me eye. Not because there was a message or a missed call, but because the sight of my phone reminded me of the WW app and it's scanner feature. I decided to scan that little box of ice cream to find out the points plus value of it. That little tiny container was 8 points plus. I decided it wasn't worth it and I put it back. I decided that I didn't like ice cream enough to spend the 8 PP on it. I was pretty proud of myself.

Here's another thing I'm proud of and will continue to be a work in progress. A week ago Tuesday morning, I decided I wouldn't drink soda anymore. I even wrote in my journal at 6:42 AM that I was done drinking soda. It's been eight days now without a soda. It's a one-day-at-a-time thing, but so far so good. I do miss the bubbles. I tried drinking some sparkling water but I just don't like the taste. i have been drinking lots of water. When I want caffeine, I drink chai tea or an Arnold Palmer (tea with lemonade).  Wish me luck on keeping to the soda-free path. I'm not exactly sure what spurred my decision to stop drinking soda; i guess it was just time.

:)

#1412 finally...some rain

I'm so happy that it is raining a little today. It has been so dry that I think everyone felt relieved and happy to see the showers.

Plus, April showers bring May flowers! :)

It's weird when I write every other day. It feels like so long ago since I wrote, but it was just on Monday when I was watching the NCAA Championship game. And it's not like I have been busy doing really cool things on the day in between the writing. Last night I worked a little late, went to the grocery store and cleaned up the kitchen. Big fun at my house! MT watched TV, T did homework and I squeezed in a little reading.

Tonight, another late evening at work (I'm training a new employee and she hasn't hit her groove just yet). When I got home, I quickly put on some gym clothes and headed over to take the cardio kickboxing class. It was fun. The instructor is nice and energetic.  She is an apple-shape. She's kind of round. Her punching style is funny. Her arms kind of flail about because she's going so fast that her form isn't very pretty. I have to remember the sequences she calls out, "Jab! Cross! Hook! Upper!"  and not watch her because I can't tell what the hell punches she's doing. I still enjoyed the class. :)

I haven't been doing a very good job of getting to bed by 10 since the sleep challenge of our safety meeting. This month's challenge is getting in 64 oz of liquid every day. This one has been easy. It seems like I'm always sipping on something. The safety challenge organizers even said the 64 oz don't have to be just water. Any liquid is ok except for alcohol. Like I said, easy. I'm told the next challenge will be a lot harder. It will probably involve vegetables. I'll find out next week.

Speaking of challenges, Easter is over, so my Lenten fast from sweets is finished. I was really looking forward to having some Easter candy and I made a special trip to the store to buy what I wanted: a Reese's peanut butter cup egg. I bought some little Cadbury cream eggs for good measure. On Sunday afternoon I unwrapped the Reese's, smelled it and took a bite. It didn't taste very good. I put it down and walked away. About 20 minutes later, I took another bite. Still not good. I threw it away and left the candy at Linda's house. I did eat a cookie with lunch. It was all right. On Monday I had a cupcake that my friend Gabby made. That was good. 

I am going to make some cookies on Saturday or Sunday. I've had the recipe pinned (from Pinterest!) for about 45 days now and I think I'd like to make them, eat one (or maybe more?)  and get them out of my system.

When I think about the weight I've dropped in the past 40 days and the willpower I have demonstrated to myself, I think, "Why do you even want to have a sweet? You don't need it and you're doing so well." I just try to take it one day at a time and give myself something to look forward to.

I think what I want to try to do without is diet soda. It would be good to get out of that rut.

#1405 spring, basketball, and Lent is almost over

Today was a flip flops and capris day. The weather here was gorgeous. It was so nice to drive around with the windows down, letting in the nice spring air!

I got a little confused this morning when my alarm didn't go off when it was still dark. I thought I was going to be late for work. It was a little bonus to realize it is Saturday.

At WW, I was down .4 lb today! I'm happy with any loss. I'm totally bummed when I gain .4, so I should be totally happy to lose that much, right?

Most of the day was spent puttering around the house, doing some laundry, swiffering and vacuuming. I cleaned the fridge, too. There were a lot of old condiments in there. We didn't use them, but I never got around to throwing them away until today. There's a lot more room in the shelves on the refrigerator door now.

Tonight, MT and I watched basketball. The Notre Dame/Kentucky game was incredible. I really thought ND might pull off the upset of the ages, but it was not to be. Kentucky is now 38-0 this season. If they win two more games, they will be undefeated and the national champions. Fun to watch that team.

After that I switched over to the Jazz game. The Jazz were playing the Oklahoma City Thunder. What made the game more interesting is that the Jazz traded a player, Enes Kanter,  to the Thunder about a month ago, and it was this guy's first trip back to Utah. After the shoot-around practice today, Kanter spoke to the media about how he was so much happier to be with a real professional team like the Thunder. He had nothing good to say about his time in Utah and Jazz Nation responded in the arena and on Twitter. Former Jazz players take note: do NOT disparage the Jazz. The fans here hate that and even if they liked you before, mean words about the franchise will only bring hatred upon you. Plus, the Jazz beat OKC tonight and so that just added to the overall Twitter beat-down that was rained upon Kanter.  Some of the tweets just made me laugh. I like it when people are scathing without being offensive.

I am now officially counting down the days until Easter. I really want to have a sweet treat! I think Lent is about 10 days too long. :) I confess that I did have a couple of bites of T's birthday cake, but other than that, no cookies, no candy, no ice cream, no brownies. Weekends have been the hardest. I'm pretty proud of myself, though. It's been a test of will. I'm glad that Kelsie was abstaining from sweets at the same time because whenever I thought about cheating, I saw her disapproving face and I was able to move on.

#1387 two and a half books

I am currently reading two and a half books. I know it sounds weird, so let me explain.

There are two books that I am actively reading every day. The books are actual physical paper books. I got them from the library. One of them, While Beauty Slept, is a Reader's Choice book that has been on my to-read list for awhile and I was completely excited to see it on the table. I snatched it up and checked it out and began to read it immediately. The second book, Landline, was on hold and it came available a couple of days after I picked up the first book, so I had to get it or risk going back on the waiting list again for a long time.

The other book, the one I call the "half" book, is an ebook on my Nook. I keep my little Nook with me and I read it at lunch sometimes or when I'm waiting for something. For example, I took my car in for an oil change on Saturday and I read the Nook while I was waiting.

The thing is, I really like all of the stories. They are all interesting and entertaining and each is completely different from the other.

It's an interesting position for me. It's pretty fun, but I don't think I'll make a habit of reading multiple books simultaneously.

~~~

I was back at the gym tonight for my fourth class this month. It was fun :)

#1385 struggle

Today was a struggle. I really, really wanted something sweet: a donut, a brownie, some ice cream - and I almost never want ice cream. I was at the grocery store and it seemed like there were cupcakes  and cookies on every aisle. I found myself in the cereal aisle staring longingly at a box of Frosted Flakes. I texted my friends and they helped me stay strong, but man, it was tough. Only three more Sundays to go until April 5. I can do this.

The other struggle was to get anything done. I woke up at 8AM but because of the time change it was already 9AM. I still laid in bed for a little bit, looking at stuff on my phone, then I took a shower and went to yoga. (Third class this month!) After yoga, I had an appointment for some girl maintenance: brows, mani & my first pedicure of the year. I came home for a late lunch, then I was going to do some laundry, go to the grocery store, pay the bills, but none of that happened. I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. I went to my bed intending to take a 3o minute nap, but it ended up being around 90 minutes. I felt better though. I did get to the grocery store, but all those other things...well, they will have to be done through the week.

Now it's time to get ready for bed and I am really looking forward to crawling between the sheets, turning off the lights and turning on my white noise app for seven minutes until I fall blissfully, peacefully asleep. I only wish that I had changed my sheets this weekend (on the list, but didn't get done.) Oh well.

#1377 now sweets for 40 days

For the past couple of weeks I have been abstaining from eating sweets. I gave it up for Lent. It's not a religion thing, it's just a test of my willpower and I chose Lent because there is an easily recognizable start and stop date - Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

So it has been about a week and a half and it's been kind of a struggle every day. I have a tremendous sweet tooth and I crave sweets. I didn't realize how much and how often I was indulging in a little sweet treat. There's almost always candy somewhere in the office and I would pop a little bite-size chocolate in my mouth without even thinking about it. Cookies, donuts, cake...that stuff shows up in the office a lot! Here at home, there is almost always cookies and ice cream around.

Wish me luck!