#1 - Not enough motivation for an entire post so Weekly Weigh In is included here. Week 10: -1 lb. Slow, so so slow but steady. I've heard someone say, "You didn't gain the weight overnight, you shouldn't expect to lose it overnight". Pshhhh. A. Gaining weight is hell of a lot more fun and 2. I can gain 10 lbs a whole lot faster (and happier) than losing it. But I lost, I shouldn't be complaining. I'll stop.
#2 - Starting August 22nd, I'm headed back to school! Class is registered for and financial aid has been received. I will be taking Organizational and Human Resource Management. I am nervous about the whole never stepping foot into the classroom aspect of online learning. But you gotta do what you gotta do and I gotta do this.
#3 - So what's worse: Complaining or Bragging? After you decide, please continue reading. My new supervisor at work started yesterday. I'm hoping this will be another great boss in a long line of great bosses (I've been very lucky). She told me she met briefly with the COO of the hospital. For 5 of the 10 minutes they met, the COO apparently went on and on about me. Good things too! Ego inflated. At full tank.
#4 - Lillian was up before I left again this morning (please recall that this means instant guilt trip for leaving my one and only child). With half of my body out the door, she told me to be careful. "Be careful, it's hot. Don't get burned. It's hot out, the sun is out. Watch out for snakes (we live in suburban Chicago). Watch out for bears. But bears are in cages and we can go look at them. Be careful." Huh, she's captured my worry gene rather well.
#5 - I am having issues with Blogger. When I go to another person's blog and try to comment, it won't link me with my account. I am logged into gmail, logged into blogspot but for some reason it will post me as anonymous. Can anyone help me?
Combining all things me into one spot.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Cold Shoulder
Yes, it is hot out. No doubt. I am tremendously thankful that I do not work outdoors and have A/C in my home, work and car. I just looked up on weather.com and saw that the temp is 96 but feels like 109. Yuck. It's definitely not fun weather, just ask Lillian who has been indoors more than outdoors these last couple of days.
But I will take this heat over the bitterness and evil of winter.
I will take this heat because not too long ago, this is what happened....
I was at work when it started. I left early (thankfully I am of no real use at a hospital during a crisis). I chose the side streets over the expressway. I was so fearful that I would get stuck on the roads. Luckily I got home very slowly but safely.
By the next day we were left with the 3rd largest blizzard in Chicago history.
Only 1 person I know actually enjoyed the storm.
She "assisted" me with the shoveling until the appeal of climbing mountains of snow just became to appealing.
I shoveled, brushed off two cars and dug both of them out of their spaces. It took hours. I was incapacitated for the rest of the day.
NO THANK YOU.
Yes, I may sweat during this heat wave but my lack of garage only causes me a few moments of heat until my AC kicks in. It does not cause me to become near frost bit.
Getting to work for the next several days was even worse than traveling during the actual blizzard. NO THANK YOU.
And besides the blizzard, winter just overall sucks. I fell at least 3 times over the dreary months in my parking lot. Two years ago my car skidded into a curb because of the slickness. It gets dark out at like 4pm. NO THANK YOU.
I know some people feel the opposite of me and to them I say, Come over and shovel my sidewalk this winter if you like snow so freaking much.
But I will take this heat over the bitterness and evil of winter.
I will take this heat because not too long ago, this is what happened....
February 2, 2011
NO THANK YOU.
Yes, I may sweat during this heat wave but my lack of garage only causes me a few moments of heat until my AC kicks in. It does not cause me to become near frost bit.
Getting to work for the next several days was even worse than traveling during the actual blizzard. NO THANK YOU.
And besides the blizzard, winter just overall sucks. I fell at least 3 times over the dreary months in my parking lot. Two years ago my car skidded into a curb because of the slickness. It gets dark out at like 4pm. NO THANK YOU.
I know some people feel the opposite of me and to them I say, Come over and shovel my sidewalk this winter if you like snow so freaking much.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Weekly Weigh In - Week 9. I Do!
I want to marry Weight Watchers. I think we'd be very happy together. Hopefully James won't mind sharing me with my new love. Weight Watchers gives me something that he just can't even fulfill. I ate pizza two days in a row this weekend and still managed to lose 2.2 lbs. Oh yes, that is true love.
So tonight I celebrated with 4 oz of wine, 40 cloves of garlic chicken, and bread smothered with said garlic clove. It was good. Very good.
I know many people have their own variation of the Garlic Chicken but this is how I made it. The best part? I did it in the crock pot!
This recipe was adapted from Alton Brown by a couple of women on a forum that I frequent.
Into your slow cooker:
6-8 large frozen chicken breasts
40 whole cloves of garlic
10 large sprigs of fresh thyme
1 can of chicken broth
1/4 cup of evoo
1 cup of white wine
salt and pepper
Cook on low for about 7 hours.
It was suggested to use the juice of one lemon and then quarter it and add to the crock pot. I personally would not do this again. I think the lemon taste took away from the garlicky goodness of this recipe. But that's just me and James.
Warning - peeling 40 cloves of garlic takes awhile. I suggest forcing your significant other to help you the night before or even better, buy frozen peeled garlic cloves.
Hmm perhaps I should marry garlic chicken, or wine, or my crock pot too.
What do you want to marry?
So tonight I celebrated with 4 oz of wine, 40 cloves of garlic chicken, and bread smothered with said garlic clove. It was good. Very good.
I know many people have their own variation of the Garlic Chicken but this is how I made it. The best part? I did it in the crock pot!
This recipe was adapted from Alton Brown by a couple of women on a forum that I frequent.
Into your slow cooker:
6-8 large frozen chicken breasts
40 whole cloves of garlic
10 large sprigs of fresh thyme
1 can of chicken broth
1/4 cup of evoo
1 cup of white wine
salt and pepper
Cook on low for about 7 hours.
It was suggested to use the juice of one lemon and then quarter it and add to the crock pot. I personally would not do this again. I think the lemon taste took away from the garlicky goodness of this recipe. But that's just me and James.
Warning - peeling 40 cloves of garlic takes awhile. I suggest forcing your significant other to help you the night before or even better, buy frozen peeled garlic cloves.
Hmm perhaps I should marry garlic chicken, or wine, or my crock pot too.
What do you want to marry?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Post Vacation Blues
James: "Lillian clean up your toys?"
Lillian: "Ahhh. Again?"
Dear Lillian, Mommy feels the same way.
I have fallen into the doldrums, the ho hums, the blahs. The "I did laundry yet can't get the energy to actually hang anything up so the clothes will stay here on the chair next to the closet." It's a terrible funk to be in because I know, I will surely pay.
As I was washing dishes (a chore that I normally do without 2nd thought but have only been doing as of late out of pure guilt. James does all the shopping and cooking these days after all), I thought to myself, "Self, when did this feeling take over?" and the Spot on my Brain said "DUH! It started on Friday" Of course! Friday! The first day back to work and reality from vacation. The first day back to life without too much excitement (aka VACATION) to look forward to.
This evening, as I was continuing to get Lillian to clean up in the back room, you know what I did? I read. Not like this is a big sin but if you saw my house, you would know that there was PLENTY of things needing to be done. Plenty of more important things than reading a book that I really, really don't like (anyone read Husband and Wife?). But that's what I did.
It's times like these I spend thinking of how nice it would be to stay at home full time. That way this house would be spotless. I would be able to run around to 5 different stores to ensure I get the best price for bacon. Lillian would be reading at a 1st grade level. Only if......
Of course, I know entirely too many stay-at-home Moms who can assure me that none of the above would happen. But a girl can dream and make herself all depressed, right?
And why is it, in these moods of pure laziness - both mentally and physically - I feel like a total failure at my weight loss? Can I BE any more self destructive? Even with a good weight loss this week, I can't help but to think how I'm f'ing up this week. My scale, my obsession, says I have gained. Yes, I have time to lose it but what if I don't? The sane part of me says "If you don't, there's always the next week. CHILL OUT". The crazy part of me, you know - Spot, says "If you only started this program 5 months ago, think about how skinny you would be."
I have had this funk before. The problem is I can't remember how to snap myself out of it. Maybe the clutter will become too much eventually. Maybe Lillian will say "Hey Mommy, why don't you do a little bit of cleaning yourself there?" Maybe I just need to force it upon myself. Like now, I will be forcing myself to get up and finish the dishes (I stopped just to come here and write this) and take the remainder of the garbage out.
Maybe tomorrow night, I will actually straighten up the living room. I hope mybrain Spot begins to cooperate. I'll let you know.
Lillian: "Ahhh. Again?"
Dear Lillian, Mommy feels the same way.
I have fallen into the doldrums, the ho hums, the blahs. The "I did laundry yet can't get the energy to actually hang anything up so the clothes will stay here on the chair next to the closet." It's a terrible funk to be in because I know, I will surely pay.
As I was washing dishes (a chore that I normally do without 2nd thought but have only been doing as of late out of pure guilt. James does all the shopping and cooking these days after all), I thought to myself, "Self, when did this feeling take over?" and the Spot on my Brain said "DUH! It started on Friday" Of course! Friday! The first day back to work and reality from vacation. The first day back to life without too much excitement (aka VACATION) to look forward to.
This evening, as I was continuing to get Lillian to clean up in the back room, you know what I did? I read. Not like this is a big sin but if you saw my house, you would know that there was PLENTY of things needing to be done. Plenty of more important things than reading a book that I really, really don't like (anyone read Husband and Wife?). But that's what I did.
It's times like these I spend thinking of how nice it would be to stay at home full time. That way this house would be spotless. I would be able to run around to 5 different stores to ensure I get the best price for bacon. Lillian would be reading at a 1st grade level. Only if......
Of course, I know entirely too many stay-at-home Moms who can assure me that none of the above would happen. But a girl can dream and make herself all depressed, right?
And why is it, in these moods of pure laziness - both mentally and physically - I feel like a total failure at my weight loss? Can I BE any more self destructive? Even with a good weight loss this week, I can't help but to think how I'm f'ing up this week. My scale, my obsession, says I have gained. Yes, I have time to lose it but what if I don't? The sane part of me says "If you don't, there's always the next week. CHILL OUT". The crazy part of me, you know - Spot, says "If you only started this program 5 months ago, think about how skinny you would be."
I have had this funk before. The problem is I can't remember how to snap myself out of it. Maybe the clutter will become too much eventually. Maybe Lillian will say "Hey Mommy, why don't you do a little bit of cleaning yourself there?" Maybe I just need to force it upon myself. Like now, I will be forcing myself to get up and finish the dishes (I stopped just to come here and write this) and take the remainder of the garbage out.
Maybe tomorrow night, I will actually straighten up the living room. I hope my
Monday, July 11, 2011
Weekly Weigh In - Week 7 & 8
I missed my weigh in last week since I was catching fireflies in Kentucky.
Today was what I considered a big weigh in not only because I missed a week but also because I spent several days with James' family in the hills of KY. I was nervous that the temptation of homemade breakfasts of biscuits and gravy, 4th of July fixins' and the inevitable sweet treat would cause me to once again fall of the plan and once again gain.
To add to the temptations of southern cuisine, once we got back in town, I also had dinner out on both Saturday and Sunday. I hate having to weigh in on a Monday.
My goal since gaining those 2.whatever pounds was to not gain an ounce.
Maybe I sweated it off in the heat and humidity but somehow I managed to lose...3.2lbs. I am now down a total 11.2lbs. Which is great and happy and yay-ness dampened slightly by the fact that my WW leader wrote down that I was down 14 total lbs. Isn't that false advertising by her? I think I should be automatically given those 14lbs off since it was her mistake afterall.
I really do love the program. I really don't feel very deprived. I eat regular everyday food. I do continue to obsess a bit and drive myself, and I'm sure James crazy. (I still weigh myself every morning). Hopefully I can get a bit more zen about this process soon.
My Little Guide to Losing Weight On Vacation
- Continue to track
- Enjoy homemade peanut butter cookies with chocolate chip - even if it means skipping lunch
-Allow people to make accommodations for you (within reason of course). I did not want to tell James' family about being on WW but word eventually got out. His aunt was kind enough to grill some chicken breast for me on fried chicken day. (I did have a few bites of James' plate to satisfy the fried chicken craving).
-Exercise. Well you should...I really didn't though. I brought my sneakers so I had good intentions. I did spend some time on "hikes" with Lillian and my nieces and everyday I thought greatly about going outside and climbing up and down a rather significant hill.
- Shoot a gun! OK, this won't help you lose weight but I forgot to mention in my last post that I shot a gun for the first time. At a tree.
I'll leave you with a funny:
“I’ve been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.” ~Erma Bombeck
Today was what I considered a big weigh in not only because I missed a week but also because I spent several days with James' family in the hills of KY. I was nervous that the temptation of homemade breakfasts of biscuits and gravy, 4th of July fixins' and the inevitable sweet treat would cause me to once again fall of the plan and once again gain.
To add to the temptations of southern cuisine, once we got back in town, I also had dinner out on both Saturday and Sunday. I hate having to weigh in on a Monday.
My goal since gaining those 2.whatever pounds was to not gain an ounce.
Maybe I sweated it off in the heat and humidity but somehow I managed to lose...3.2lbs. I am now down a total 11.2lbs. Which is great and happy and yay-ness dampened slightly by the fact that my WW leader wrote down that I was down 14 total lbs. Isn't that false advertising by her? I think I should be automatically given those 14lbs off since it was her mistake afterall.
I really do love the program. I really don't feel very deprived. I eat regular everyday food. I do continue to obsess a bit and drive myself, and I'm sure James crazy. (I still weigh myself every morning). Hopefully I can get a bit more zen about this process soon.
My Little Guide to Losing Weight On Vacation
- Continue to track
- Enjoy homemade peanut butter cookies with chocolate chip - even if it means skipping lunch
-Allow people to make accommodations for you (within reason of course). I did not want to tell James' family about being on WW but word eventually got out. His aunt was kind enough to grill some chicken breast for me on fried chicken day. (I did have a few bites of James' plate to satisfy the fried chicken craving).
-Exercise. Well you should...I really didn't though. I brought my sneakers so I had good intentions. I did spend some time on "hikes" with Lillian and my nieces and everyday I thought greatly about going outside and climbing up and down a rather significant hill.
- Shoot a gun! OK, this won't help you lose weight but I forgot to mention in my last post that I shot a gun for the first time. At a tree.
I'll leave you with a funny:
“I’ve been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.” ~Erma Bombeck
Friday, July 8, 2011
Home Again
Two vacations in a row...this is pretty unheard of for me! After unpacking from a short stint in Michigan, we were all packing again to head south to Kentucky to visit a large portion of James' father side of the family.
In the past, we would make an annual drive to the south eastern part of the state for Thanksgiving. Last year, we went in June to celebrate the wedding of a wonderful woman (Lillian's Godmother) and a very lucky (and kind) man. Being up on the family hill in the summer had us on the look out for snakes but also lightening bugs. The sheer joy illuminating Lillian's face as she ran around collecting the lighted bugs made us know that we would need to have our pilgrimage in the summer. (Yes, we have lightening bugs at home but we seriously see 3 or 4 a night. In Kentucky, there seems to be an endless amount of them)
Our goal was to get all the cousins on James' side (2 of them live in Illinois and another 3 are in California) to Kentucky at the same time so that they could bond with each other and also all the millions of cousins who already live there. We were semi-successful as the California crew had a different itinerary from us and our paths only crossed for one day.
Lillian was able to catch fireflies and boy, she is a pro at it. She would catch one, race full speed down a small hill screaming with such joy and excitement only found in a child. " MOMMY! MOMMY! I GOT ONE! I GOT ONE". Over and over again she would shout and sprint to me. If I won a million dollars I don't think I would have sounded as excited as she was each time she landed a flashing bug.
Lillian and her 2 cousins (one cousin is a year older, the other is a year younger) went on many hikes around the family hill (yup, they have their own hill. Everyone who lives on it is related.). They quickly discovered that their uncle down the road would give them an ice cream bar each time they visited. This was fine by me except on their last evening. Lillian ate 3 hot dogs, chips, and 2 s'mores. The girls went down to say goodbye to the uncle (with instructions to NOT get ice cream) and all three walked back with chocolate on their faces and an empty wooden stick in their hands. We brought a puke bucket just in case for the ride home.
Overall, it was a good trip. I eventually even got some reading done and I didn't have to drive any part of the 8 hours. Lillian had a fantastic time and is currently bouncing off the walls at home. Poor thing doesn't know what to do with herself now that she doesn't have people (especially kids) around her constantly.
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I am writing this at work now because I was ridiculous and decided to come in on a Friday after being gone all week. You can likely tell that my head is not checked into work right now.
In the past, we would make an annual drive to the south eastern part of the state for Thanksgiving. Last year, we went in June to celebrate the wedding of a wonderful woman (Lillian's Godmother) and a very lucky (and kind) man. Being up on the family hill in the summer had us on the look out for snakes but also lightening bugs. The sheer joy illuminating Lillian's face as she ran around collecting the lighted bugs made us know that we would need to have our pilgrimage in the summer. (Yes, we have lightening bugs at home but we seriously see 3 or 4 a night. In Kentucky, there seems to be an endless amount of them)
Our goal was to get all the cousins on James' side (2 of them live in Illinois and another 3 are in California) to Kentucky at the same time so that they could bond with each other and also all the millions of cousins who already live there. We were semi-successful as the California crew had a different itinerary from us and our paths only crossed for one day.
Lillian was able to catch fireflies and boy, she is a pro at it. She would catch one, race full speed down a small hill screaming with such joy and excitement only found in a child. " MOMMY! MOMMY! I GOT ONE! I GOT ONE". Over and over again she would shout and sprint to me. If I won a million dollars I don't think I would have sounded as excited as she was each time she landed a flashing bug.
Lillian and her 2 cousins (one cousin is a year older, the other is a year younger) went on many hikes around the family hill (yup, they have their own hill. Everyone who lives on it is related.). They quickly discovered that their uncle down the road would give them an ice cream bar each time they visited. This was fine by me except on their last evening. Lillian ate 3 hot dogs, chips, and 2 s'mores. The girls went down to say goodbye to the uncle (with instructions to NOT get ice cream) and all three walked back with chocolate on their faces and an empty wooden stick in their hands. We brought a puke bucket just in case for the ride home.
Overall, it was a good trip. I eventually even got some reading done and I didn't have to drive any part of the 8 hours. Lillian had a fantastic time and is currently bouncing off the walls at home. Poor thing doesn't know what to do with herself now that she doesn't have people (especially kids) around her constantly.
I am writing this at work now because I was ridiculous and decided to come in on a Friday after being gone all week. You can likely tell that my head is not checked into work right now.
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