Downward Spiral of WTF!

Do you ever wake up and realize that indeed you do live on a glacier (thanks Grace for that lovely adjective) in June and you have 6 kids (adults but I am old enough to be at least their older sister) looking up to you for guidance? Well I have...today actually. And the bitch of it is that I have no clothes for Christmas in June nor any freaking clue what to tell these kids. I am at a complete loss as to where to go next.
I feel kind of like the poem "Who's on First". All discouraged and confused and the beginnings of a bottle of wine a night habit. Ugh...although on the bright side at least last night it was a bottle of Kung Fu Girl. Very tasty indeed.
Silver lining in all this...
A beautiful view of Lake Superior (even though it has been through rain clouds and fog since I got here) everyday on the way to work and a family vaca in 4 days.
I'll make it because it's what I do. Although it is the first time in a while that I am truly worried about my sanity and dedication to getting the job done right.
But then again maybe this is just what a girl (and boy) needs to kick their asses into gear to get started on the next chapter of their lives and get rid of this crazy lifestyle.

Until next time folks....

Boxes, bins and bottles of wine....

So countdown to moving day: T-minus 5 days and counting

75% of my life is packed neatly into boxes and plastic bins, labeled appropriately and entered into my notebook. The other 25% will either be making the journey to the Arctic Circle with me or when I try to shove everything into Shady I will find that it will not fit and will have to find someplace to store it.
The joys of moving.

I have no real news per se. Marvin is healing from surgery, we are trying to tie up all our loose ends here in Lexington and I am trying not to eat everything in sight. I pretty much gave up tracking this past week for fear of going insane. I have tried to make OK choices but am not stressing yet because I just can't deal with anything else on my plate right now (unless it is chocolate-covered or cheesy deliciousness). I will attend my final Lexington WW meeting this Wednesday and then move on to the new meeting location in Marquette next week. If nothing else I am going to try to not miss meetings while all this transitioning is taking place. Hopefully the rest will fall into place.

I started this post because it had been a while and although I am not sure who still is reading I thought it would be good to check in. But folks I am tired. Bags under the eyes, yawning, drinking a glass of wine and typing in bed tired. So I am signing off for now. I hope that this new change in scenery will inspire a bit more writing on my part.

Thanks to those that still check every once in while to see if I write. I appreciate the support!

Stress and Emotional Eating Premonition

So what do you get when you have two weeks to close your account, pack your life, attend a useless work seminar, support your boyfriend as he has his gallbladder removed, move 766 miles to a new place that doesn't even have a chain grocery store, and then start a new account 48 hours after unpacking your suitcase????
Well I'll tell you what you get...some tough ass emotional eating situations.
I have being doing great on the WW although not exactly following the plan (basically not tracking). I have lost just over 15 lbs. which is awesome but still quite a bit to go. I have been having to eat out a lot and I have tried to make good choices but lately the stress is getting to me and I am struggling to stop myself from eating pizza every day for lunch. And not those Lean Cuisine cardboard microwave pizzas...but the deep dish pan pizza from Pizza Hut. I am winning some battles though. Today I was famished and rushed and wanted to head straight to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. But instead I ran into Subway and had a 6" turkey on wheat with some Baked Lays and a Pepsi. Not too bad considering the alternative.
But I am concerned that the next few weeks and the change in jobs and homes is going to throw everything out of whack. It will just really be a test for how much I want this. And fitting into the smaller size pair of jeans is quite a good feeling.
I'll let you know....

Bikini as motivation

So I sailed the seas and made it without hurling over the side of the ship. Caught a wicked cold on the last day but all in all it was a sickness-free journey to the Caribbean.
And guess what???
I wore a bikini (actually 3 different bikinis) in public! And I didn't even rush to get in the water or strategically place the towel to hide my tummy roll. I proudly wore the swimsuit and felt good!
So why with all that goodness am I back in reality and not tracking?????
I could blame it on the sickness. When I catch a cold I lose my appetite so basically if anything looks good at all I just eat it regardless of whether it falls into the "good for you" zone or not.
But truth be told I am just being lazy and all that is doing is probably de-railing my progress.
I missed my WW meeting while on the cruise and then unfortunately I was hacking up a lung last week so decided against bringing the death to my WW peeps. So two weeks of unaccountability is not good for the weight loss.
And of course this week I have another excuse waiting in the wings as we (my team and I) have been invited to attend the horse races at Keeneland in a box seat this Wednesday afternoon. So there is a chance that I will not be able to skate out on time since it is a work-social function.
But I miss it....I miss my leader and all the folks who say hi and ask how I'm doing and you know what? I miss knowing. I feel that I didn't do so bad on the cruise but then when I couldn't weigh in right after I think the eating to feed the demon (read mac-n-cheese, happy meal, fudgesicles, pudding, etc...) has skewed me off course. Very frustrating.
So I've decided to really try and make the meeting. I will drive separately and maybe I can slide out without anyone noticing.
I really need the motivation and accountability because this weekend Marvin is taking me to Asheville for my birthday and I want to be in the healthy choices mindset.
Well enough babbling for now. Wish me luck.

Off to Sea I go....

Today Marvin and I jet-set ourselves to Ft. Lauderdale and tomorrow board the Celebrity Solstice. I am a little nervous, a little jittery and a whole lot excited!!!!!
This vacation is very need for both of us and I can't wait to see all the awesomeness everyone keeps telling me that cruises provide.
So wish me luck, pray for good weather and I'll chat when I return!

Bon Voyage!

All things green and Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day all! I hope that each and every one of you find a little Irish magic today.

I can still see the green of Ireland's fields and smell the damp peat bogs (as well as see the stain they left on my tennis shoes when I stepped in one). If you have not yet ventured to the Emerald Isle I highly suggest it. Beautiful views, welcoming people and of course there is the beer;)

I for one am heading to my normal St. Patrick's Day ritual of drinking the dark nectar of the God's (Guinness for those who aren't in the know), listening to Irish music and participating in celebrating the day like a good Irish-American should!

Be safe and have fun all!

Almost my favorite holiday...

Is it bad to be getting up at 6am to work out so that you have extra activity points to drink more delicious Guinness on St. Patrick's Day????

Just checking:)

My new addiction

So a few weeks back I picked up Wii Fit Plus because I read it had a lot of cool things the original didn't and it did. But while perusing Amazon I also came across this:

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

So after reading tons of reviews and weighing the options between the original, 2 or 3, I purchased the Hottest Party 3 bundle with the floor controller.

And last night after dinner I was sitting around watching the Food Network and feeling really tired. But I had been wanting to check this new thing out and had gone to lunch with a co-worker and split a piece of Bourbon Chocolate Cake with her. So needless to say a little movement would not be a bad idea.

So I hooked it up and went to the DDR School Mode to learn the moves. After finally figuring out what the hell the step zone was (not a good explanation anywhere to be found) I realized that this is HARD! I was sweating within minutes and had to change into a t-shirt. So what started out as a "learn to play in case people come over and want to play" time, turned into an all out dance P-A-R-T-Y of one.

I ran through the songs (examples include: Ice Ice Baby, Feel Good Inc., and Let's Get it Started) on beginner and even tried out the Wii Balance Board function that allows you to use hip movements and the remote and nun chuck to punch. 2 1/2 hours later I was wiped out. This thing is crazy fun!

I wanted to do it this morning for my workout in my challenge but I didn't want to stomp loudly on the floor. So I did 5 songs on the Balance Board then proceeded to do my strength routine on Wii Fit Plus.

If you have the Wii and are bored with your workout get this game. If you love to dance but are too old to go to clubs with 21-year olds get this game. Do not walk to store, do not take a bus....drive your car at a safe yet aggressive speed and get there! Or do what I did and order online. You will not regret this.

I can't wait till I have an hour to do some more!

Down 1.2lbs!

Well it worked I was down last night. Not as much as I would have liked but a loss is a loss right?
So I am pretty happy. So motivated that even though I was up every hour on the hour last night I dragged myself out of bed this morning and did the Wii Fit (mostly cardio) for 40 minutes. The sun came out today so that was most likely what got me going.
Now of course I am crashing but I am proud of myself for sticking to my WW Rise & Shine Challenge I signed up for.
Oh and to top off the day....

I am an aunt again! Welcome to the world Baby Perry! And congrats to my brother and sister-in-law.

25 Days and Counting

I have been working really hard this week on my "fit into a bathing suit" plan. I have been using the Wii Fit like a champ and have even come up with an extra cardio workout. I had a ton of laundry this week which is done upstairs. I folded everything upstairs then took it 2 pieces at a time downstairs. Last night I did 25 flights (1 flight = up & down)! Go me. I also only used 8 of my extra 35 points this week which is really good for me since by Wednesday (weigh-in day) I have usually blown them all on dessert and wine.
So why am I so nervous about going to weigh-in today? I guess it is because everyone has "off" weeks where no matter what they do they don't lose. I am afraid that this might be one of those and the vacation time clock is ticking away.
And I did a bold thing last weekend. I went dress shopping for the cruise and bought dresses in size 6. They don't quite zip up but I am busting my ass to be sure they do before the time comes. Of course I still have yet to go into dressing room hell to try on a bathing suit but I truly want to wait until it is almost time to go because they are expensive and I don't want to buy one that is too big in a few weeks. (See positive statements!)
So I have my fingers and toes crossed for this evening. I really need a loss to help motivate me through the weekend when Marvin's sister is here.
I'll let you know....

A stop and thinker...

I just finished reading this blog post Round-and-Round by a very funny blogster who I just recently started reading.
The message in this post was that we are often so caught up in the day to day "chores and duties" of life that we miss out on the important stuff. In her case it was playing with her 2-year old. But we can all relate that to our own lives.

I am very guilty of this very thing. There is dinner to be made, laundry to be done, grocery shopping to do, etc... Then something happens and it hits me like a bus that I haven't talked to my brothers or sister-in-laws in weeks, there are good friends that I haven't talked to in months and Marvin and I haven't just enjoyed each other's company all week. Life literally has passed me by.

The post mentioned above does a powerful job describing how we affect those relationships when we engage in this behavior (and admit it people, we all do it). The deflated child walking away is a visual that is bringing tears to my eyes and I do not even have children. But I can see it at home when I don't take the time to truly listen to the happenings of the day because I am doing 6 other things. Or when I rush someone off the phone because there are so many "important things" I have to get done.

I'm not sure how to stop this or at the very least slow it down. But it bothers me to know that I do this and most of the time it never registers just how hurtful or disappointed the affected party is. And on the flip side it has been done to me and I know how frustrating and upsetting it can be.

Any thoughts on how you deal with this in your life, on the giving or receiving end?

And for anyone I may have done this to, I am sorry and I care about you. I am working on it.

Non-Edible Rewards

At WW they try to instill in you a new reward system that involves non-edible awards for your goals big and small. This is proving to be extremely difficult for me to do.
Ever since the dawn of my life almost 34 years ago, food has been a reward. On your birthday it was always what is your favorite meal (back then it was scalloped potatoes and ham) or where do you want to go to dinner (I don't clearly remember but I think I would pick the Spaghetti Factory). Did well at your softball/basketball/cheerleading game? Head to Friendly's for some ice cream. Get good grades or finish your chores? What about a delicious hot and buttery bowl of popcorn from THE popcorn pan.
Now of course it is the you did a great job at work reward or the you made it through a hellish week reward of a dinner out, a cheese plate and several glasses of wine.

So what do you try and replace these edible rewards with?
I tried shopping....wonderful retail therapy but often hard on the wallet. And who really wants to buy clothes when you aren't at your fighting weight yet.
I tried a hot bath a couple of times but frankly sometimes I just don't want to get wet at night.

It is an incredibly difficult mind set to break. This past week was tough for me. I had to eat out a lot and blew it a couple of times. Over the weekend though I did really good and then "rewarded" myself with a Half-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie from Saul Good Pub here in Lexington. Now before I chastise myself it was worth every single point. Heaven served in a cast iron skillet with vanilla ice cream on the side.
But I viewed it as a reward for good behavior. How do you break this habit? And what can you substitute or better yet replace these edible rewards with? Any ideas are welcome.

Well I am off to weigh in tonight so we'll see if the cookie can make or break you! Wish me luck.

And so it goes...

So today we had another snow day...seriously Kentucky get your act together. 3-6" of snow is not a snow emergency!
Anyways so had to truck into work today because $15 million does not raise itself. So did not work out on the Wii Fit.
Had a fairly healthy day of eating. Egg beaters for breakfast, sandwich on an Arnold Thin for lunch and grilled chicken with green beans and sweet potatoes for dinner. My downfall as usual is with the wine. On glass 3 1/2 right now. But haven't given in to the dessert craving so I suppose it all balances out. I think I have 5 unused extra points for the week so better be extra good tomorrow.
I would like to wake up early, do some Wii Fit, get into the office and bust some ass then head off to Marvin's stress test and then go weigh in. It remains to be seen which of these things will actually occur.
Not such an exciting post today but better than a month (or 4) between postings huh?

Back on the Wagon

Well perhaps all it takes is the thought of an entire cruise ship of people seeing me in a bathing suit to kick my butt into gear! Folks I am back on the Weight Watchers band wagon!
For the past two weeks (after the sickness passed that is) I have been faithfully following the Weight Watchers plan. And throw in a couple of snow days last week which gave Marvin and I the opportunity to finally learn to use the Wii Fit...and you have a loser! Yahoo!
And I know you are probably saying to yourselves, "What makes this time different? What makes you think you can stick it out this time?"
Well folks it's the age old piece of clothing that turns rational women into screaming lunatics who curse department store dressing room lights and wonder why they ate that delicious chocolate cake...for breakfast. Yep...it's the bathing suit. Striking fear into women everywhere since 1910ish.
So I am scheduled to go on my first cruise during the Easter holiday with my oh so sweet honey. And everything looks wonderful, the food, the shows, the drinks, the islands, the pool...Yeah right the pool, where one must don a bathing suit in front of a couple of thousand people. And there you have the motivation for the latest installment of me tackling Weight Watchers. However I feel it important to mention that even though I haven't been adhering to all of the plan, I have been attending the meetings. The inspiration and support they bring is key to my being able to do this.
I have high hopes for me this time so stay tuned and see for yourselves how this one pans out!
Wish me luck!

Who is in charge...the Doctor or the Patient?

So Marvin and I have been not just under the weather but beat down, drug out and completely useless with the sickness. Who can really tell what sickness exactly but the rumor is a nasty sinus infection on my part and something much worse on Marvin's. And due to some of our recent happenings at the doctor's office a question popped into my antibiotic/steroid induced brain. Who is ultimately responsible for how effective a visit to the doctor's or in reality your whole relationship with your doctor?
The doctor's go to school, take an oath and I assume have some form of rules and/or procedures that they are to follow when they examine you. So you as a patient expect certain things to occur when you go in with a specific concern. Well what if it doesn't happen? For example: Let's say that your ear hurts. You go to the doctor and they basically just prescribe you some ear drops without even looking in your ear to see what the problem might be. Of course then a week later your ear still hurts and you have to go see another doctor to fix the problem.
Is it the doctor's fault for not looking in your ear? Or is the patient at fault for not saying "Hey doc don't you think you should look at my ear?"
We as patients trust our doctors so completely that maybe we are setting ourselves up for this kind of disappointment. So should we always need to be proactive at the doctor's office? Is that what the doctor expects? Why do they need us to provide them with what they should be doing or not doing?
The argument swings both ways.
However, as someone who moves every year and therefore has a new doctor every year who does not know my history nor me as a person, I find that being proactive (often taken as being pushy) at my doctor's visits is the best way to be sure I fit it all in. Most doctor's appointments are for 15 minutes. So it's often up to the patient to decide how that 15 minutes is spent. I for one make a list of things I want to discuss so I'm sure I don't miss anything. If I am going in for something specific (like the pray-for-death sickness I just had) I jot down my symptoms so it allows the doctor to cut to the exam part.
But on the other hand we (or our insurance) pays a boatload of money to doctors to provide us a service and we should demand an excellent level of service.
So maybe it's a little of both. We should expect our doctor's to give us everything they've got while we as the patient take an active role in ensuring we get the best bang for our buck.

But no matter what side you take on this argument....avoid the sickness because it sucks!

Vacations

Am I the only one that realizes at the end of the year that they did not use any of their vacation time???? I think it's an epidemic in this country and I am guilty as charged. It is a shame too since other countries around the world mandate (which means it is illegal not to take it!) vacation time. Some places it is a whole month!
So I allegedly get 3 weeks of vacation a year. Never have I taken all 3 weeks and only once did I take 2 weeks when that was what I earned. This past year I maybe took a total of 7 days and that's stretching it considering all the weekends I worked.
In my delirium of vacation deprivation we (Marvin & I) made some grand plans to use up all that leftover time. We are going on a Perry family vacation in June to Myrtle Beach which I am super psyched about. And then we had grand plans of taking our 3 weeks to Italy in July. Drink wine, eat amazing food and basically immerse ourselves in all the delicious Italian culture we can get our hands on.
But alas too good to be true. Now the Perry vacation is booked so that is all good. However through the convoluted grapevine that is the company I work for we have been alerted to the fact that we may have to immediately leave Kentucky for another assignment which would not allow us the leeway to take 3 weeks off. But the best part is that we will not know for sure until basically we are on the moving truck heading to the next big thing.
So I am frustrated and in desperate need of a relaxing adult time-out.
Sounds like y'all are saying "hey maybe you should get rid of that crazy job of yours and find something you enjoy doing." Well you would be right. But given the current economic times (insert broken record sound) can I really be leaning away from a good paycheck?
So that was my day of worry. Not solved through blog venting but it always helps me to see it in black and white (or I guess in my case black on red).
Maybe I'll lobby Congress and see about getting legally mandated vacation days and while I'm at it afternoon siestas!
Another day, another time folks....

Easiest Chicken Recipe Ever

I work with food devils. They are constantly bringing in delicious and mouth-watering treats, leaving them out in the open so my temptation is tested daily. But occasionally the other watcher of her weight (actually she is a South Beacher) will come in with a killer recipe that allows us to stop drooling on the treats and talk about some healthy grub. So here is what has to be the simplest and tastiest chicken recipe ever.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts
Taco Seasoning
Salsa
Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take the chicken breasts and place in a Ziploc bag with 1/2 a packet of taco seasoning (use more if using a lot of chicken). Shake to coat. Spray a baking dish with Pam. Place chicken breasts in prepared dish. Top with 1 cup of salsa (again use more if needed). Put foil over baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and top with shredded cheese (I used 2% and made sure each breast had only one serving for WW point purposes). Replace dish uncovered in the oven for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and delicious.

You are done.....

Seriously that simple and you can make it as spicy or mild as you want with the seasoning and salsa. I served it as is with a side of kicked-up green beans but you could also serve with rice. Enjoy!

Crossroads

So I am at a blogging crossroad. (Does this make anyone else think of that Boyz to Men song????) I have no direction and no motivation to write but yet I am constantly thinking of all sorts of things to chat about to the cyberworld. However none of these things goes in any form of a straight line. The only common denominator is me.

So do I throw in the towel? Accept blogger defeat? Or do I rally and go for it, whatever it may be.

I don't know why I am asking y'all. I think the only one who was still checking my slacker blog was my dad and even he gave up long ago.

I think I'll give it another go. No theme, no direction just random ramblings about whatever pops into my mind. So here we go again.....