1/31/17

Weekly WI: First Gain Since I Re-Committed


I ended up with a one pound gain at my WW meeting this last Monday.  I knew the scale was up from my home WI last Sunday before I left town, however, it appeared as if I mostly just gained what I had lost that week.  As I was driving to the meeting I was hoping for a teeny tiny loss.  However, I am not worry about my one pound gain as I am already looking at it as temporary!  I’m keeping my sights on getting out of the 240s.  I looked at my weight progress chart and I am still down over the last six months.  That makes me really happy.

 


We had a huge meeting with a lot of new members.  Since we only have the leader and receptionist for checking people in, the line was long and backed up for quite a while.  Our meeting also started late.  I hate to say it but it would be nice to have new members in one line and those of us just doing our weekly WI in another line.  But, we do love new members and it appears for a while our meeting will be popular.  I’ll have to remember to get there early from here on out.

I’ve got my tracker front and center this week and on Monday I declined any treats from Dairy Queen as well as sampling a cookie that a fellow dispatcher brought in for us.  They looked delicious and smelled good too (hey, smells are zero points!).  I even had some daily points I could have used on a taste but one taste never suffices and before I know it, I’d have eaten the whole cookie.  Instead, I chose to start my week of on the right foot as I reign my sweet tooth back in.
 


On Thursday Kenyon and I are going to have a date night at Tucanos and on Friday I am hosing a Jamberry Ladies Night where we will have pizza and wine.  So, I am saving my weekly points for those two days.

Oh yes, this was funny.  I tracked for one day on eTools last week and noticed I had a message alert.  Then I found this.

 


Ha!  I guess eTools was happy I tracked my strawberries and pineapple.

1/30/17

Cheers To 10 Years As A Weight Watcher Member


I’ve been a Weight Watcher member for 10 year now and all I can say is: what a journey it has been.  The good, the bad, the ups, and the downs…and a few more scale ups than downs. 

 


One thing is for certain, I wouldn’t be where I am had it not been for Weight Watchers and all this program, its members, and its leaders have taught me.  Add to that all the fantastic support I’ve had from both near and far, family and friends, and even from strangers.

In 2015, I lost my way.  I wasn’t attending my WW meetings except for once a month, I wasn’t weighting and measuring my food,  I wasn’t tracking nor was I getting in my activity.  I was avoiding the scale and burying my head in the sand when it came to facing the re-gain that had been making me feel bad about myself.  You could pretty much say that for all intensive purposes that I quit WW.  But, it wasn’t until 2016 when a coworker asked me, “are you still doing WW?” that I realized I had basically quit even if I didn’t want to admit I had quit.

Why would I quit something that was such a large part of my life and what used to make me so happy?  Mostly it came down to a shift in my priorities and not putting myself first.  For the first time in almost 10 years, WW didn’t feel fun and encouraging or positive.  It felt shameful and negative.  You see, nobody was making me feel this way.  I was just really good at negative self talk and it felt like I was drowning.  Suddenly, losing weight again felt overwhelming just as it had when I started this journey weighing in at 304.8 pounds.

I needed an intervention…and quick!  In July of 2016, I finally got serious again when my weight reached an all-time high since reaching my goal weight of 253 pounds.  I was living at my parent’s house while our new house was being built and started to attend my original WW meeting on Monday nights in Nampa.  For the first time in a long time, it felt like I had a WW home and that I could once again start to get my grove back.  For several weeks, I lost really consistently and almost earned my 10 pound sticker.  Over the next few months, I continued to stay in the 240s floating up and down the scale. 

In December of 2016, I gave myself a pep talk as I have many times before only this time it stuck.  I joined a meeting on Monday nights in Meridian (the same meeting I joined after I reached goal, however, a different leader) and continue to feel at home among the members and leader.  This is a great group and a great leader.  If I can’t be at my Tuesday morning meeting with Leader Donna, then my Monday night meeting with Leader Gretchen is a very close second.  I’ve also occasionally attended Tuesday night with Leader Susan.  Both meetings have wonderful support in its members and he leader.

IT FEELS GOOD!  It feels good to focus on me again.  It feels good to track.  It feels good to meal plan.  It feels good to exercise (when I’m not ridiculously sore after a session with the personal trainer I hired in December).  It just feels so good to be successful and as the scale moves down, Weight Watcher feels positive again.  I am so happy I re-committed and while I did quit…I’m glad I never actually quit.  WW will always be my center.  It will always be what grounds me no matter how far I seem to stray from it.  WW is home.

Cheers to the last 10 years and a toast to the next 10 years to come.
 

1/29/17

Sometimes The Best Laid Plans Fall Through


So I actually forgot my WW tracker when I went out of town to Coeur d’ Alene for training.  I made notes in my tracker along with carefully scouting out some places to eat near my hotel and the training location. 

 

I attempted to track using eTools on day one but that only lasted through breakfast and lunch.  Since our lunch service on Monday at the training was catered by CafĂ© Rio, it didn’t take long to blow through my daily points allowance and was pretty much the end of my tracking.  From there I shifted into the mindset of paying attention to my food in general.  Pretty soon that turned into reaching for an indulgence and/or stress eating.

I’m pretty sure surpassed both plans A and B and was probably on plan F or G by the time the week ended.  The good news is that any gain I show at my meeting Monday night is only temporary and as my new week starts Monday.

I have to admit that Saturday morning, I was glad to be back home and back in control of my environment.  It is nice to be able to prepare my own food again.  Attending a 30th Birthday celebration for my friend Kelsey on Saturday night meant I wasn’t back on track ASAP and has me looking forward to tracking even more this coming week.  There is a direct correlation between tracking and making healthy eating choices so I’ve got my paper tracker all lined up for this coming week.







We had a great time at the party and Kelsey’s mom set up a photo booth.  I love my group of friends and I love how much fun we have together.  I’m looking forward to the Jamberry Ladies Night I am hosting on Friday night.  It’s just one more reason to get my friends together for fun.  Without some fun in life…then life is boring.

1/27/17

Kaminsky FTO Training In Coeur d' Alene

It has been a super busy and very stressful week.  So I'm sorry I have not had a chance to check in.  This training was the hardest training I have ever had and the hardest I have had to work for a certificate.  But, I did.  It's over with and now I can go back to my cushy night shift hours and easier workload than the last few days.

And I get to see Kenyon.  Unfortunately my flight is delayed so it will be even longer until I can see him.

The course I just completed was Kaminsky Field Training Officer Seminar and is required attendance to become a trainer in the dispatch center.  The class is geared more towards officers than dispatchers but I wasn't the only dispatcher in the class.  There was one from Washington and one from Clearwater County in Orefino, Idaho.  There was also a few detention jail deputies from various counties around the state and we had police officers and deputy jailers from Montana.  We spent mostly of our time this week in groups and I really enjoyed my group (well, one guy was bugging us all by the end of the week).  

I was one of four women in a class among 32 men so we never had to wait in line to use the bathroom.  And, when you attend officer trainings vs. dispatch trainings, there is much more eye candy.  I got the charger stuck in the snow/slick parking lot and was thankful my team mates helped rescue me.

The Fish and Game office that hosted us provided lunch each day as part of our registration fee.  We were joking how we all expected Dominos or Subway but we actually ate like kings and queens this week.  Twice the meal was catered by Cafe Rio and one day was Meltz Xtreme Grilled Cheese.  We had sandwiches from a local shop and some really yummy BBQ one day that included pulled pork.  We were spoiled.

I ate my breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express where I stayed and was pleasantly surprised by the breakfast options.  They have a healthy start meal plan that includes egg white omelets, turkey, sausage, and one day ham steaks.  The omelets were really delicious.  I also had oatmeal one day.

I swayed from my plan of healthy eating and activity after day one.  I really struggled with exhaustion from trying to turn my sleep around and also exhaustion from all the stress of the class.  I did my fair share of stress eating and also indulged in sugar more than once this week.  I've noticed I seem to be craving sugar now that I've eating out all week.  I'm looking forward to getting back on track with my eating ASAP.

I've also got to get my schedule turned back around for the three days of work this week.  I'm taking Friday off for my Jamberry Ladies Night get together so I'll have three days off this week.  I am looking toward to some much needed downtime and time with Kenyon.

1/25/17

Pineapple Habenero Jelly

I am not a fan of really spicy foods so I often shy away from jalapenos and especially habaneros.  Around Christmas time, my Mom served some jalapeno jelly over cream cheese which you then spread on a cracker.  The mix of the sweet and spicy jelly with the cool and creamy cheese made for a very addicting appetizer.


I later went to a Jamberry Ladies Night where again this wonderful concoction was being served.  This time though it was homemade jalapeno jelly made by our hostess for the evening.  It was just as delicious.

I received a jar of pineapple habanero jelly as part of my generic gift in my Christmas family gift exchange.  I knew I would be serving this jelly over cream cheese at my upcoming parties. 






As I was waiting for guests to arrive, I sampled the delicious appetizer to find shortly after my taste buds were ON FIRE.  Holy cow!  I think I much prefer the delicate spice in the jalapeno jelly vs. the hot-and-heavy spice in the habanero jelly.  However, after my taste buds returned to normal, I was much more wise to snack on the dish putting more cream cheese and less jelly on my cracker.  I warned my guests the appetizer had a kick to it but it still managed to catch a few people off guard.

Over all, I do like this jelly but once it is gone, I’ll return to the jalapeno.  I think at my next party I’ll do a little more liberal with the jelly as well.  Who knows, we might have guests that love that taste-buds-on-fire feeling.

Happy Snacking!

1/23/17

Work Travel Is Stressful

I am in Couer d' Alene all this week for training.  Travel yesterday felt stressful.  I think the hardest part is that I am traveling alone so I needed a pick up from the airport, a drop off to collect a state vehicle, and then got checked in at a hotel where I don't actually have the P-card in hand for charging the room fee.  By the end of it, I needed french fries.

But, let's rewind.

I worked graveyard on Saturday night and got off work at 6am Sunday morning.  My flight out wasn't scheduled until 6:30pm so I grabbed a few hours sleep and got myself packed.  Kenyon and I had dinner at Cracker Barrel before parting ways at the airport.  It was a small flight so before I knew it, I had the whole emergency row seats with the extra leg room all to myself.  That was pretty neat.


                                       
                                       

      
Just before take off, a late passenger joined me in my row.  I joked on Facebook that I noticed he put a portable oxygen tank under the seat in front of him as his carry-on item.  There was only four of us total sitting in the emergency exit rows and he now made the fifth.  I didn't think he increased our odds of rescue personnel due to him needed oxygen already.  But, thankfully the plane didn't crash and we arrived at the Spokane airport safely.  However, we did have to go without a beverage service since it was too bumpy for the flight attendants or passengers to get out of their seats.

Melissa, the manager of our North dispatch center picked me up along with her cutie five year old daughter.  Upon parting ways her daughter Mia told me "this isn't goodbye forever, just for now."  And she wanted me to sit with her in the back seat when I rode with her next.  She was adorable.

It turns out the state car I was slated to use was buried under several inches of snow and also had several inches of snow around all four sides.  Oops.  So, my ride for the next few days is an unmarked black Dodge Charger.  Not too shabby but does make me extra nervous at the cost of any damage I would potentially do to it!  So far, the weather up north is just as crappy as it is down south right now but the roads are plowed.  They are slightly narrow so that did trip me up and time or two in the dark last night.  I'm pretty sure I'll me limiting my driving while I am on this trip.

Checking into the hotel was a bit of a hassle but thankfully since I am staying for five nights, they weren't too worried I'd actually be checking in with a stolen credit card.  Hey, I also have State Police identification with me but I guess that only still makes me partially legit.  I don't have my own P-card but I do have a copy of my supervisors along with her photo ID.  I guess I just needed one more bit of paper, an authorization form, so hopefully we will get this sorted out in the next few days.  Next time I travel, I better bring a completely legit person with me, just not my partial status.

I wanted to eat dinner close to the hotel since I need to see this area in the daylight to become more comfortable.  I went to Red Robin and treated myself to french fries (i.e. ate some of my stress). However, I was pretty bummed with my fries came out looking a bit sad, underwhelming, and overcooked.


                                         


I kept debating if I should ask for better fries or if this was the Weight Watcher Gods telling me I shouldn't give into stress eating.  The waiter came by and asked if I wanted more fries.  Well now...I asked him if I could get any less done fries and he quickly ran out a fresh hot basket.  By then I convinced myself that a few fries would do just fine and I didn't need to hoard the whole basket.


                                           
  
Don't worry, I balanced out my fries with some fruit after stopping at Albertson's before heading back to the room to watch more Gilmore Girls on Netflix.  I was craving a beer so bad but didn't know what the rules are of transporting alcohol in a state vehicle so I opted for healthy fruit instead.


                                         


Training is Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm.  I am also planning to see my bud Dawny from Spokane while I am in town.  I'll try and check in when I can during downtime. 

It is currently almost 3am and I need to wake up at 6am.  I woke up around 2am and didn't fall back asleep.  I better get a little more shut eye before that alarm goes of.

1/21/17

The Last Few Days


Happy Weekend to most of you out there.  I’m on a short work week since I am flying out of town on Sunday for training all week.  It is sort of exciting to travel for work and I wish Kenyon could come with me.  I guess I’ll just have to get used to a big king size bed all for myself!

I hosted my Lipsense Party on Thursday night.  It was a little touch-and-go on if I’d have any guests as (once again) we had a large winter storm that dumped several inches of snow.  Seriously?

 


I cleaned house just in case and even woke up after going to bed just a few hours prior worrying about where I was going to park everybody.  I hired a neighborhood kid to help me shovel and my neighbor Trini also helped.  We managed to clear a path from the sidewalk through the grass and into the part of the street that was plowed.  I couldn’t have done it without their help. 

 


I confirmed that there would be five in attendance (plus my nieces and my sister’s boyfriend).  Just before the party began the snow plow came through and helped clear the road further.  Yahoo!  While we didn’t have an abundance of parking, it all worked out.



 

It was a very small party but we had a good time.  I was able to get most of the women to order.  I think I am at least earning a free color and I was able to exchange the color I had not liked much, Precious Topaz, for another color, Lexi Berry.  I’m looking forward to my Jamberry Ladies Night in two weeks.  Maybe by then we will have more parking but I’m going to say probably not likely.

Later in the evening Phoenix and her daughter Kiki stopped by for a visit.  On Friday I invited my friend Brenda over to look at the product colors and then met up with my friend Dorothy to also look.  So over the last few days I have been able to visit with lots of people.

On Friday at work I organized a crockpot soup night.  We had a good spread of food and it was all so delicious.

 


Between the Lipsense Party (44 SPV consumed at the party and a daily consumption of 64 SPV) and the soup party at work (47 SPV consumed at the party and a daily consumption of 51 SPV) I have officially blown through my WSPA and am now in the negatives.  I knew I would have some high points days but it sure does add up when you really look at how much you consumed.  I did the best I could with estimating.  I’ll do my WI at home on Sunday morning before I leave town.  There won’t be an official WW meeting and WI this week due to my work travel.

But, I’m going to be tracking while I am out of town to help keep me accountable.

1/20/17

Weekly WI


My WI on Monday came and went.  It was a good energetic meeting.  I really do love the Monday night leader and the Monday night group.  We had lots to celebrate.  One woman has lost 20 pounds (I swear she just started like 6 weeks ago) and one got to goal again.  I love successes!

So, how was my success?  I maintained my loss from last week and my total loss over the last four weeks remains at 7.2 pounds.

We got a new scale at home and I was a little freaked out since it was saying I had gained three pounds.  Three pounds?  I didn’t eat enough to gain three pounds.  But, I was trying to stay positive as I headed to my meeting.  I knew I wasn’t off track so all I could do was continue on as I have been these last few weeks.  I was really happy with the maintain.  It is easy to get thoughts of how fast you can lose but the reality it, you won’t lose each week.  And, I’m a woman so it isn’t surprising that every four weeks I will see a spike in the numbers.  It happened when I was working my hardest to lose the weight 10 years ago. 

Being a women + Having surging hormones = The scale lying to you

It is what it is and we just keep going forward.  I’ve been thinking ahead and making plans for a successful week.  I will also be meeting with my trainer three times this week.  Since I’ll be out of town next week he talked me into three days again.  I’m still nursing a bum knee with ice but overall, I feel good.  I hope I have turned over a new leaf with this personal training stuff because I was actually energized when I went in on Monday to meet with Tyson.  We worked out with medicine balls.  I’ll tell ya, I’m turning into a pro just like you see on TV!

1/18/17

Super Bowl Sunday


I am not a football fan.  I will admit that I got sucked into the World Series this year but I have no desire to follow along with the football playoffs as we near the 2017 Super Bowl.  The game will be on when I work (well, assuming it is still going at 8pm) but other than that, you won’t find me stressing over it.

On the 2008 Super Bowl Sunday, I went wedding dress shopping with my Mom.  Kenyon and I were engaged on December 18, 2007 and were planning a possible destination wedding to the Oregon Coast in September of 2008.  My sister Jenny was engaged to (now husband) Will and I didn’t want to over shadow their wedding plans.  I had a conversation with my Grandma A. who wanted to know why the delay in the pending nuptials.  She said, “if you two love each other, than what are you waiting for?”  We had time off on the calendar at our respective jobs for March of 2008 and when I casually mentioned to Mom the idea of getting married sooner she said her and Dad would fly to New Mexico to join Kenyon’s family if we wanted to get married during our time off.  Kenyon and I wanted to move in together but we both believed in the traditional values of being married first.  So, a wedding was planned in just a few short months.

When we arrived at David’s Bridal explaining that our wedding was roughly six weeks away, they sort of panic.  In order for a gown to be ready in that amount of time you have to buy off the rack.  Despite my hard work at losing weight as a Weight Watcher member, and being down 80 pounds, I was still a size 20.  I wasn’t even looking for a traditional wedding gown at first.  The plan was to get married in the living room of Kenyon’s brother’s house.  That didn’t scream white dress and black tuxedo.

I found a pale purple bridesmaid dress that fit me really nicely.  It has rousing across the middle area and pleats along the length of the dress.  It was beautiful.  When I went to try it on, my mother suggested I at least try on a few white gowns since we were there.  I didn’t find anything I really loved and worried about the cost.  The sale clerk came out with a dress that had previously been put on layaway, was paid in full, and never picked up.  It was a size 20 and they were going to sell it to me for $99.  I tried it on and it fit perfectly.



The time I spent in that dressing room debating on if I really wanted the white gown, I remember looking at the photos on the wall of the brides in their white gowns smiling next to their grooms in black tuxedos.  I secretly longed to be one of those brides smiling next to their groom and that picture in my head didn’t include getting married at my soon-to-be brother-in-law’s house.  My Mom and I debated back and forth so long the store had closed and the kind clerk was waiting on us to make our decision.  I knew this was my dress and I knew I wanted a more traditional wedding.

I called Kenyon and informed him he was getting a tux and we were looking for a new wedding venue (that is another long story but eventually we found the perfect place).

As it turns out, by the time I added the undergarment, the wrap for my upper arms, and made some slight alterations to bring the straps in tighter make it less revealing in the boob area, it was no longer a $99 dress.  But, it was beautiful.  And I felt beautiful in it too.






We will celebrate nine years of marriage on March 21st.  I am so very lucky I have Kenyon in my life.  He is a fantastic husband and lifelong companion.  I wouldn’t want anybody else by my side.

*On a side note.  My Grandma D. passed away on Super Bowl Sunday just last year.  It is nice to have a happy memory there along with the sad memory.

1/16/17

Another Successful Week Of Tracking Complete


It’s another week of food tracking in the books and I have my WW meeting tonight.  I’m hoping for continued success at the scale with another loss.  I know I’ve set myself up for the best success I can and the rest will end up as it should.


Regardless of the number on the scale, I’m getting myself prepared for another week of eating and activity.  I’m a bit more hyper focused on the following week as I am going to Coeur d’ Alene for a weeklong training.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity to travel for work but also a little bit stressed (aka quite a bit stressed) about all the eating out combined with being out of my regular food environment.  I know once I get settle into my hotel room and scout out the nearby restaurants and grocery stores (which I’ve already been looking at Google maps) then I’ll feel more prepared.  I am not going to some deserted private island where I’m forced to eat only McDonalds each day.  There will be plenty of options available and most importantly I am going to remind myself each day: YOU AREN’T ON VACATION!

If I’ve learned one thing over my last 10 years with WW it is that I am my own worst enemy.  I am in control of what I put into my mouth and just because I am away from my usual routine doesn’t mean it is a free-for-all.  Keeping sugar/desserts at bay will also help me be successful.  Again, there isn’t any reason to indulge each day but since I am not able to prepare my own meals, I also need to give myself a little bit of a break.  And hey, if I can weight then it will only be temporary.

I’ve been looking at and posting on WW Connect the last few days.   If you are on there you can find me at lihli1025.  I miss the old WW message boards but I do love that you can post photos now.  It is sort of like Facebook but minus all the political bull crap.  I put together some before and after photos of me as I reflect on the last 10 years with WW.





As of today, I’ve kept off 64 pounds.  I’m hoping to increase that number at my weekly WI.

1/15/17

Our Cruising Experiences: Alaska, Bahamas, and Hawaii (Soon To Be New England Coast And Eurpoe)



Three years ago was our Hawaiian Vacation and since we are experience freezing temps and a brutal winter, it make me wish I was on vacation in a warmer climate.  I read over my Hawaiian blog posts and instead of sharing just those again (I shared them last year) I thought I would share with you the three cruises we have been on.  I’m anxious for our fourth cruise in September 2017 and our first River Cruise in September 2018.


All three cruises (and our fourth booked cruise) have been with Norwegian Cruise Lines.  I have only been on Norwegian but Kenyon has sailed on Carnival too.  What we love most about Norwegian is their Freestyle Cruising philosophy in that you can eat when you want and wherever you want.  Unlike other cruise lines, Norwegian isn’t an all-inclusive cruise.  There is at least two sit down restaurants and one buffet included in the cost of your cruise and also room service.  If you want to dine at some of the other restaurants there is a specialty fee associated with it.  This doesn’t bother Kenyon and I one bit and we often make do with the free food offered just fine.




2010: Our first cruise was 7-days to Alaska, including the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay.  We sailed in/out of Seattle, WA with Ports of Call: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Victoria, BC.  We booked an inside cabin due to the enormous cost of upgrading to a balcony and I do think this was the best idea.  We didn’t have to worry about the daylight/sleeping issues and when we wanted to watch the scenery we just found a place on the community deck somewhere along the ship.  Sadly, Kenyon was sick on day two and pretty much miserable the entire cruise/vacation.  I wasn’t sure if I would ever cruise again but decided to give it another go.  I’m glad I did as I love cruising.









Alaska was the best cruise with the easiest ports to get around at.  You pretty much could walk off the ship and either be right in town or for just a little farther walk you could get wherever you needed to go.  We booked an excursion to Zipline that did require a van ride.  Other than that we either just walked around the port and/or paid four our own tours.  I did a lot of trip research and made some calls so it all worked out okay.  I had THE BEST homemade black bean veggie burger at a bar off the side of a hotel in Victoria, BC and I am dying to get back there and have another.


2012: Our second cruise was to warmer climate and included an upgrade to a balcony room.  We sailed for 4-days in/out of Miami, FL to the Bahamas.  Ports of Call: Freeport, Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay (the NCL private island).







We booked a fantastic excursion kayaking down a river in a National Park in Freeport.  There wasn’t anything to do off the port in Freeport so you did need to book something for entertainment.  In Nassau we decided to just get off the ship and walk around.  There is plenty to do but it is very crowded and the locals try desperately to get to you take public transportation (included horse drawn carriages).  We booked an excursion to swim with the sting rays at NCL’s private island but the recent events of Hurricane Sandy had made them all escape and they didn’t come back.  I was sad we had to miss out but we were able to spot some fish while we snorkeled.




2014: Our third cruise was a 7-day cruise in/out of Oahu, HI to all of the Hawaiian Islands.  Ports of Call: Maui (overnight), Kona, Hilo, Kauai (overnight).  We booked a balcony upgrade and I highly recommend spending the extra money to do so.  1) It is warm and 2) It is fantastic sitting out on the balcony on the overnight stops where you can just watch the scenery and the people out in the water near the port.  It was a great investment. 







The one thing I didn’t like about Hawaii that I did about Alaska is that there just isn’t much to explore right off the ship.  The small areas like Hilo and Kona had stuff right there but you really do have to book an excursion.  We booked our excursions with an outside company called Roberts Hawaii that had a guarantee they would get you to the ship on time or they would refund your cost of the cruise.  It also turns out that Roberts Hawaii runs the transportation for the NCL booked excursions so we ended up saving a boatload of money.  You never know if you should take a risk on an outside company but if you do, you will save money.  Just don’t miss the boat!




Our fourth cruise will be in September 2017 for 7-days in/out of New York City, NY and down the New England coast.  We had to re-book from September 2016 and push it out a year with our new house purchase.  So, I’m even more excited.  We are planning a few days ahead of time in NYC and I had wanted to end the cruise with a few days in Boston.  But, I don’t think we will try all that.  The cost starts to add up really fast.



Oh vacation…why do you have to be so fun and yet so far away??






1/14/17

Not Much To Say But Checking In


Good Afternoon?  Evening?  Morning?  I really don’t know what time of day it is anymore.  I’m on day three of five days at work this week and today I am just not feeling it.  It is one of those days too where I keep dropping stuff and I ended up lacking items for two different recipes.  So I ended up winging it.  I had a moment of weakness where I wanted to give in to a sweet treat but I quickly squashed the thought and continued on.  A sweet treat won’t help me come WI day on Monday!

 

I met with my trainer before I came into work and I wasn’t feeling that either.  I am just tired and run down.  I could have used a nap before work but I ran out of time.  I’m hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

 

I met with Tyson three days this week.  I’ve learned that I am not a three-day-a-week person when it comes to a hard(er) workout and being sore.  I also tweaked my knee on Monday and it got worse on Wednesday so today we just worked on upper arms.  I am working on icing my knee and hoping it is improved come Monday for our next training appointment.

 

I still feel like I am a weenie when it comes to working out.  I know my trainer goes much lighter on me than he does on other clients and I worry that I am letting him down.  He is always nice and encouraging so that helps.  Much like weight loss, I want it to all come together NOW and I can’t realistically expect that since I am so out of shape.  All I can do is to keep building one day at a time.  I’ll be honest, it was really hard to psych myself up to go to training later in the week.  My mind knows it is good for me but my body is saying, “um…we are just fine sitting over here on the couch.” 

 

Sorry to be so down today.  I thought I should post something but I don’t have much to say.

1/13/17

YOUR Friday But Not Yet MINE


Happy Friday (although I still have a few days to go until I get to my Friday).  I hope you have lots of fun on your weekend agenda!

I ended up offering to come into work early today to cover for coworker that was having car trouble.  In doing so, that meant that I couldn’t keep my appointing with my trainer.  I was sort of relieved!  My body (and my right knee) is very sore.  I’m not made for three-days-a-week training.  It is just too much.  Of course I offered to come in tomorrow and we are meeting before I go in for my usual shift.  I know I this push is good for me I just hate being sore.

Our new troopers are currently attending their POST/ATC training right now.  It would be miserable to have to be out in this weather so I know I’m not cut out to be a trooper.  I spotted them earlier in the week outside in short sleeves and shorts doing some sort of scavenger hunt.  Yep, not my cup ‘o tea.

For the bulletin board at work I’m going to print off some of the funny snow/winter related comics I’ve seen on Facebook recently.  We are going to title it “Wishing For Warmer Weather.”  There are some funny ones out there.

 
 
 
 

1/12/17

I've Been SAD Some Days


I’ve been working as a police dispatcher for the past 11 years.  During those 11 years, I’ve worked every shift from days, mids, swings and graves.  I guess you could say I am good at rotating and being flexible with my schedule.  It isn’t easy to uproot your schedule when it is time to change shifts but over time you just learn how to and adapt to your environment.

Last year sometime after I returned to ISP, the idea of a shift bid started floating around.  For those that aren’t familiar with a shift bid it is basically a way of picking your “preferred shift” usually based on seniority within the agency.  We had a shift bid when I worked at the prison and being a new employee, I was always one of the last ones to pick my shift so you sort of get to pick from whatever shift is left.  Maybe that is a desirable shift to you and not to another or vice versa.

Once the topic of shift bid became known all the employees that have been here a while started to get excited.  Most people said they wanted the same shift all year so they could plan their lives and events accordingly.  I personally liked our current schedule rotation as we were guaranteed weekends off every six weeks.  But, I was in the minority.  The other excitement involved getting to pick shifts based on seniority to “reward” those employees who have been with the agency the longest by letting them pick their shift first.  Well, since I left the agency for six months and returned before the shift bid was even a forethought.  However, it was decided that I would not be getting my seniority back and instead I would be bidding based on my most recent hire date with ISP: January 11, 2016.

I went through all the stages of grief and finally came to acceptance.  I was going to accept whatever fate the cards dealt and I’d work whatever shift was left.   I figured there had to be a reason I went from number three in seniority to now the second from the bottom.  My worst fate came true and the four graveyard shifts (one with Saturday, Sunday, Monday off and one with Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday off) is all that was left when it came time for the bottom four to pick their shifts.  My fate was sealed: graveyard shift for an entire year.

2017 has just begun and I’ll tell ya, I’m depressed!  It is common for me to feel SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) during the winter months when I work graveyard shift. 
 
 
What is SAD? According to WEB MD: “Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression that occurs during the same season each year. You may have SAD if you felt depressed during the last two winters but felt much better in spring and summer. Some people may have SAD during the summer months”

I do hope this depression will lift when the warmer months come.  It isn’t easy being covered by all this snow and cold weather we have been dealing with either.  Kenyon has just switched to graveyard so that helps.  I don’t know really it just feels hard.  I’ve been pretty depressed coming into work and one day last week had trouble keeping the tears at bay.  I texted Kenyon and asked him why we can’t just live off our love.
 
 

I am so ready for retirement!

I’m trying to compact SAD and also trying to shift my mindset into having more positive thoughts about coming to work.  It is hard to find the shining light in a gray world.