12/28/23

Weekly WI: 2023 Comes To And End

Good Morning and Happy Thursday!  My weigh-in on Monday concluded 2023.  This was also the first time in a few years I have ended my year at a weight higher than I started.

I’ve had a few days to sit with my thoughts on this and work in building an 

action plan.  As you can see from the 2023 monthly weigh-ins, the entire month was not a struggle.  Since October, it has felt hard to get a handle on the gain and it continues to feel that way.  I made good progress a few weeks ago and this week, I was up 0.4 pounds.  I felt good about how I balanced last week and so the gain is okay.  This week is another week to continue my focus on 100% honest tracking and balance.  That is key for me.  Along with that, I’ve been back at the gym and plan to keep a semi-normal activity schedule this week as well.  




Here is 2020 - 2022.







It is frustrating to be in this place again where I must tackle weight gain.  Catching it at 10 pounds is key.  It is time to turn it back around and I’ve learned over the last couple of years that I feel better when I am under 200 pounds and I really like how I feel when I am closer to 190.  


I’d like to commit here and now that I will get back to my goal of 190 in 2024 but sitting here on the cusp of a new year with 10 pounds to tackle feels like a lofty goal.  If the past has taught me anything it is that losing the weight each week is one hurdle and keeping it off is another!  




My plans for 2024 is to move my body more and feed it foods that make it feel good.

12/24/23

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas


This time of year can be difficult for those missing their loved ones and recently, my friend’s mom lost her battle with cancer.


I’m sending you lots of love this holiday season. 


Kenyon has been in New Mexico visiting his family since I had to work all weekend.  My coworkers will have a Christmas Day brunch and we’ve invited the patrol officers to join us.  On the evening of Christmas Day, my parents, siblings, and nieces will come over for a small get together.  


Spending time with family and friends really is the reason for the season.  Happy Holidays!

12/19/23

Weekly WI: The Last Two Weeks

Apparently I didn’t hit send on my Weekly WI post last week.  So, here is two weeks worth of weigh-ins.

There are times as though there are just not enough hours in the day.  I have no idea how time passes so fast but before I know it, another week has come and gone and here sits this blog space with little on updates.  I finally got the last of our October Ireland vacation published and it is now its December and we have returned from another vacation.  So, here we go…

My Weekly WI two weeks ago was a doozy.  I gained five pounds and I almost skipped the scale. 

After returning from a visit to Oceanside, CA, I did nothing to get back on track the first week and last Tuesday, I needed a shock to my system.  I knew I had to get back on track ASAP so I stepped on the scale.  I am so glad I did.  I also started my restart with a walk on the treadmill before I went to work at my WW workshop.  It felt really, really, good to be back on track.  And that trickled down through my week, which was very successful.



I’m making a dent in my 2023 gain slowly and 100% tracking, moving my body, and being mindful of my food has been my focus.  This week has a few more food challenges sprinkled in the mix but I am committed to feeling better and I want my clothes to fit better too.

12/13/23

Cruising Ireland: Enduring Tropical Cyclone Agnes


You can read about Cruising Ireland: Pre & Post Cruise - London here and about our experience Cruising Ireland: NCL Star here.


Our first port of call was Cobh.  This was the final port of call for the Titanic, which you see on a memorial wall when you come into port.  The ship docks right in town next to a train station that takes you to the nearby town of Cork.  We decided to explore Cork first, re-board the ship for lunch, then go back out on foot to explore Cobh.  Cork is a bigger city than Cobh.  We walked around, checked out the public market, and found a fort, which was free to visit.

 

Cobh is small and easily walkable.  I decided to have pint in Cobh vs. Cork since we weren’t pressed for time, and it was later in the day.  As much as Ireland has a reputation for pubs, they were not open as early as I wanted to drink on vacation!  We picked Kelley’s Pub and enjoyed the atmosphere with a single musician playing guitar and the pub had a lively group.  I met an 80-year-old local, Joe, who you could tell was loved by all.



 

The bar next door had a great musician that drew a huge crowd.  I might have wished we had picked differently but with a lot of the trip still to come, I figured no rush.  Ah…famous last words!

 

We could see the catholic church from below and decided to follow the windy road vs. the straight shot up a huge hill.  The views were beautiful and worth the extra breath it took to reach it.  We also popped inside for a quick tour than visited an old fortress.  After a little more wondering, we boarded the ship saying goodbye to this quaint town.











The following morning, we received the devastating news that we would not be able to port in Dingle.  The weather and rough seas made it unsafe to transport passengers on the tender.  This was a port we were so looking forward to as it would give us a chance to see the Irish countryside.  NCL refunded the excursion we had booked, and I was able to book a last-minute excursion for later in our cruise in Killybegs.  It turned out to be a good thing because later that evening we also learned it was not safe to dock at the next two ports, Foynes and Galway.  We were told Tropical Cyclone Agnes was working her way up the coast and we were forced to move north between Ireland and Scotland to shelter in place until the storm passed.  In one moment, we lost out on visiting the entire western side of Ireland, the prettiest and the portion we were most excited about.  It was very disappointing. 

 

Three unplanned sea days later…

 

Our fifth second port of call was Killybegs. We had booked a Killybegs Walk & Talk Tour at 10am and so there was no rush to exit the ship.  When the time came we made our way into foot and search for a jewelry shop to get a ring my sister Jenny requested.  Again, I though we had plenty more stops along the way but after missing three ports, we found the ring in her size and bought it.  We then joined the tour group for an hour tour around the tiny town.



Our Walk & Talk Tour Guide Margie




We were pressed for time to meet our excursion at the pier so we popped into a hotel for a bite to eat and a pint as all other iconic pubs were packed with tourists.  We boarded the bus to see historic Donegal  as we drove to visit the thatched roof homes.  




While this was not our first choice in excursions, we really enjoyed it.  The countryside was beautiful and the homes were very quaint.  We also had scones and tea before boarding the bus to head back to the ship.







 

Our sixth third port of call was Northern Belfast. In lieu of an excursions, we chose to go on our own using the hop-on-hop-off bus.  NCL had a dedicated shuttle into the town center and we boarded the bus from there.  My first order of business was to get my Starbucks Ireland mug.  Since I had no idea if we would be able to dock at our tender port in Dun Laoghaire and visit Dublin, I decided I better get a Belfast mug just in case.  Once we arrived in Dublin the following day, I  much preferred the Ireland mug over the Belfast mug and brought home two from this trip!  Since the Ireland mug had the thatched roof homes on it, it made that excursion even more special.




I found a pub I wanted to visit and not only had a pint but also an Irish coffee since I missed that opportunity in Foynes.  It was amazing and if I lived nearby, I’d be in trouble.  






We rode the bus for a city tour, which stopped at the Peace Wall for anybody that wanted to sign and the driver shared the story of when there was turmoil between two neighboring towns where a wall had to be put up with entry gates to stop the violence. Afterward, we walked around Belfast a bit and after enduring several hours of rain, it was time to rebound the ship and warm up!







Our seventh forth port of call was Dun Laoghaire, which is a tender port where you then can make your way to Dublin. I much preferred Dublin to Belfast and wished we had more time.  The tendering process was a mess and long delays meant a short port day.  We will for sure have to visit Dublin again on a future visit.




We purchased an NCL excursion for the hop-on-hop-off bus as it also included the transfer into Dublin from the cruise port.  This saved us from having to navigate the train station and turned out to be a wonderful idea.  Although our time was short, we rode the bus listening to the city tour, had a bite to eat at a local pub, and visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery.  








I chose Jameson over visiting the Guinness Storehouse as the distillery had a more interactive tour vs. the self-guided tour of the brewery.  On a future visit, I will for sure stop into Guinness.  Our city tour on the hop-on-hop-off bus took us by the entrance.   







I’ve heard the saying “A bad day on vacation is better than a good day at work.”  We had a great time with some overshadow of disappointment that separated it from being the trip of a lifetime to just a vacation.  I guess this means in the remainder of my lifetime, we need to get back to Ireland.






12/5/23

Weekly WI: Progress Not Perfection

Good Morning!  


The last two weeks my tracking has been sub-par.  With such a large gain the week before, I was worried.  Last week’s gain was quite large and unexpected so this week I was surprised to see a loss.  Pleasantly surprised.




My work week was long and grueling.  It started with our first major snow day in the Treasure Valley which always trips up the motoring public.




Aunt Barb was in town so meals were shared at my parents house and it is always nice to see her.  My brother put up some cute Christmas decorations.




We are going on an adventure!  I am looking forward to warm temps and sunshine as we celebrate Kenyon and Stacey’s 50th Birthdays, both in December, in Oceanside, CA.  I am stoked for some downtime and travel with friends.  Of course, with that comes lots of eating out and adult beverages but hey…that is what makes life enjoyable eh?




I found this funny on FB and though I’d share.





Happy Tuesday.

11/29/23

Weekly WI: WTF?

Happy Wednesday.  So far (fingers crossed) I’m on a three-day stretch off work.  My Aunt Barb arrives from New Mexico and I am looking forward to visiting with her the next couple of days.  Then, back to the grind!


My Weekly WI was not as I had expected.  I expected a gain but not over three pounds!  Grrrrrr….





I’ve had a day to sit with my feelings and I’m going to roll all my disappointment into the week ahead.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were high-point non-tracked days but it didn’t feel like that should have impacted the scale that much.  I am hopeful some is temporary and I’ll see a good portion come off this week.  I have a couple high point days this week so I’ll continue my commitment to honest 100% tracking.  That worked well for me and showed success a few weeks ago.


My week was a lot of fun.  I took Friday and Saturday off and enjoyed social, alcohol, and food!  On Thanksgiving, I made a turkey veggie tray.




On Friday, I subbed at a morning WW Workshop and then picked up Kenyon for the Black Friday gift card promo deal at Meltz and then Payette Brewery for the dark beer event.  As always…both were delicious!






We ended Friday at the Elks where Wanda and Gary went through orientation before initiation last night.  We have two new Elk members!


Saturday, we met up with Phoenix and Stacey for some winery visits.  We started at Williamsons for their barrel tasting, then to Famici, a newer winery, for a fight and some snacks we brought along with us.  






On our way to a soft opening from a really new brewery, the GPS took us on a detour blocked by sheep.  That was an experience.  I won’t name the winery because we didn’t like it.  




We ended at Koenig Distillery where Stacey and I signed up to share a whiskey membership.  They now have cocktail flights for $10 and I bought a bottle of pear brandy to bring home.  Stacey bought the 2023 whiskey membership bottles and we had a mini tasting at home.





Three out of four are amazing so I guess that makes it worth the elevated price for bottles.  We will give the membership a go and see how we feel as it moves along.  For $109 a quarter, you get two bottles of the same speciality whiskey.  This is why we decided to share a membership.  Neither of us need eight bottles of whiskey a year!


It is no surprise the scale is up…I just had no idea I’d see a huge swing.  I am working on getting my mind in check and looking at the bigger picture.  I am down for the month although still a lot of work to go!