Weekly WI: Goodbye 2022

It has been a rough month.  Work is crazy busy and life in general is just flying by.  I have so much to catch up on, including a lot more of my beer calendar!  

I decided to skip the scale this week and end 2022 with my weigh-in from last week.  I somehow managed to squeak by with a maintain only to follow up this week with off plan eating and an abundance of sweets because…you know…Christmas!  I am always inspired by the WW members that step on the scale even when they don’t want to but I just am not ready to see the gain.  I want to end my year on a positive note and just refocus for the weeks ahead.

We are officially four weeks until the cruise and the time between now and then is sure to pass in a flash.  

I am ridiculously busy at work between training our new employees and working on my employee evaluations.  I have a slight break this coming week and then it will be go-go-go again.  I did some practice packing so I could prepare myself for the cruise and start to narrow down what all I will pack and if I want to check a suitcase or carryon.  The jury is still out.  

I was talking with a member today about how 17 weeks ago the pain was to loose a pound a week.  Yeah, I’m not very good at sticking to that plan!  But, with four weeks to go, four pounds is still four pounds.  So, re-focus and hunker down I must!  It was a beautiful day where the freezing cold temps finally gave and the sun came out.  I went for a walk and enjoyed every moment of it.  Vitamin D is good for the soul!

I need to make a better commitment to myself to eat better, move more, and keep going.  I know I’ll feel better if I just pull up my big girl panties and do what I know I need to do.

German Beer Advent Calendar: Days 1 - 6

One of my online WW pals opens really fun advent calendars from Aldi every holiday season.  I finally joined the advent group last year with a wine calendar.  I don’t really love wine so I still have several tiny bottles kicking around one year later.  I spotted a German beer advent calendar at Costco for $90 and debated each visit on if I should spend the money.  I caved in and snagged one before they were gone.

I am going to highlight the first six days of beer.  I am loving it!  I am so glad I got this calendar and other than when beer (day nine) it has been delicious.  I open the calendar in the morning for a reveal on Instagram and Facebook stories and then drink one most nights.  Considering I had a two pound loss, I am thinking the “beer diet” might finally be how I can lose weight!

Without further ado, here is Day 1 - 6 of the German Advent Calendar.  I will also include the tasting notes from the Beer Tasting App.

Day 1: I love a good light German lager.  This was a nice way to start off the countdown.

Day 2: This weissbier (white beer) was really, really good.  I think weissbiers might be a new favorite.  Plus, the can looked cool.

Day 3: Similar to a lager, you can’t go wrong with a pils.  This was nothing special but still tasty.

Day 4: Kellerbier is also a new favorite.  It is light and tasty.  There are several of this variety in the pack so far.

Day 5: You cannot go wrong with a stout and I hope to uncover more in the mix as the month continues.  Currently, I have opened through Day 14 and this is t he only stout so far.

Day 6: I don’t love the taste of a marzen, an amber type German beer and after getting sick following too much marzen at Oktoberfest a few years ago, it brings back memories when I drink a marzen.  But, this pack has a few and I do enjoy drinking them.

More beer to come…stay tuned!

Weekly WI: A Loss

I was feeling pretty good about my week and also feeling lighter so I was hopeful the scale would show a loss.  I was pleasantly surprised to see two pounds had dropped off.

 

I was awoken at 3:30 a.m. yesterday by a text message for sick coverage at my full-time job on the same day I was scheduled to worked my part-time job.  Oy!  It all worked out and I was able to break away for a few hours for my Tuesday morning WW Workshop before coming back to ISP for coverage.  I had not planned to get on the “official” scale but still needed to get my employee weight-in on record.  I had eaten breakfast, drank coffee, and was wearing my work clothes so the decision was made to step on the scale and if I was at least a maintain from last week, I’d put in on record.  I had another pleasant surprise when I showed a loss!  I am pretty close to where I was in October 2021 when I started monthly weigh-ins as a WW employee and I am down from my January 2022 employee weigh-in.  I am not where I wanted to be at the end of 2022, but I am feeling better about it now that the scale has come down.  Plus, I still have two weeks to go.

We are six weeks away from the cruise and I just can hardly sand it.  I am so freaking excited. 

I suspect December will fly by between the anticipation, training a new employee at work, and finishing up the edits on my annual evaluation for my other four employees.  Busy…busy…busy.  If we can keep the unexpected overtime coverage needs down (i.e. sick coverage) then maybe it will feel like I can have some normal time on days off.  I tell ya, I really miss having days off.  I am just plum exhausted!

I plan to get back into activity today as this is my only day off after a 7-day stretch followed by an upcoming 6-day stretch.  I really want to start rebuilding a healthier work-life balance and it has been so hard feeling the weight of coverage needs on your shoulder.   I said for years I wouldn’t get another job that required you to find coverage for days off, sick, etc.  And yet, here I sit between and full time job and a part job that requires both.  Sometimes I think I am insane!

Weekly WI: A Gain

I am popping in real quick to fill you in on my Weekly Weigh-in.  After a difficult week getting back on track after our trip to Jackpot, I had a dream I gained 5 pounds.  Thankfully, just 1.4 pounds.

The Weight Watcher’s App updated and now syncs all the number with my new WW scale.  I am so happy for this update as it was just odd to have a scale were you couldn’t see the other numbers.  I completed employee training on the new scale/app update and am ready to answer questions members might have.  

I don’t really pay attention to the other numbers but I have enjoyed having our other scale track those and then graph them.  You can see the trends, which I like most.  I have just been so up and down lately on the scale I would love to re-focus and really see a downward constant trend.

I am running out of time before our upcoming cruise and the days are passing so fast.  December is sure to go by in a flash with all the business at work this time of year.  I have seven weeks left until the cruise and a goal of one pound per week will still make a difference for sure.  

I think I have a bit of mental hang up worried about all the weight gain during vacation and how long it takes to lose it.  But, I can’t continue to let that deter me from reaching my goals now.  Anything more I can take off will be helpful for sure.

A Quick Trip To Jackpot, NV

On Thursday, Danielle and I had tickets to see Hotel California, a Salute to the Eagles in Jackpot, Nevada.  We both took Thursday and Friday off work so we could have extra time to relax and well…just not be at work!  As usual, it went way to fast!

 

We stopped into Twin Falls so we could try out two different breweries and support the Boise Beer Buddies Hubs. 

 

Koto Brewing Co. is a really fun place with good beer.  We tried an appetizer and split a burger.  The appetizer was amazing, but the burger was undercooked for my liking.  We also shared fries and homemade chips, with were really good.

 

My favorite beer at Magic Valley Brewing was the Downtown Broadway Brown.  It was really tasty.  We also shared a pretzel which was out of this world.  I loved the mustard as it has a little spice to it.

 

We spent the night at Cactus Pete’s in Jackpot where we managed to avoid the winter weather arriving before it started snowing and leaving later the next day when the roads had cleared, and the sunshine was out in full force.  Since it had snowed and it was super cold, we didn’t venture out of Cactus Pete’s where we enjoyed drinks, gambling, and had dinner in the Desert Room. 

 

I wish I could go back and have twice as much fun.  One night was just not enough.  I hope to go back to Jackpot soon.  I managed to play off my winnings so it made it enjoyable.