Final Cruise Payment Complete: Destination Norway

 We made the final payment on our P&O Norwegian Fjords Cruise. 

 

We were a little ahead of schedule as we have 137 days to go.  Better to pay early than late!

 

We have booked two excursions so far, at our port of Balestrand.

 

Scenic Fjords and Waterfalls: Discover some of Norway’s finest scenery including picturesque fjords, quaint villages and tumbling waterfalls on this leisurely experience.

 

Scenic Flam Railway: Relax and ride one of the most scenic railways in the world.

 

The railway excursion came highly recommended by the Cruise Monkeys, which are our travel hosts for this group cruise.  They wanted to organize a group excursion but were unable to.  I am waiting to see what else they might offer before booking a other ports, however, we may still consider booking some excursions.

 

From what I can gather through travel research, every port is small, quaint, and walkable…the BEST types of port in our opinion.  But we also want to make sure we do as much as we can because you never know when you’ll be back.  I think this cruise will be a taster for Norway and we WILL be back.  Just not sure if it will be to these ports or this portion of the country. 

 

It is very excited now that final payment has arrived.  There are still many months to wait, which I’m sure will fly buy in an instant!  I’d like our weather in Idaho to warm up a bit.  Boy has it been windy and cold lately.  I fear we will miss Spring and go straight to HOT.  But we do have another month a half until the official start of Summer.

15-Year Weight Watcher Anniversary

 Goooood Morning and Haaaaaaapy Thursday!  

That is a lot of pep for 6:30 a.m.  I have an overtime shift later today and I am taking Saturday and Sunday off this weekend.  It has been so nice to sprinkle in some days off with the husband the last two months.  

With our return late Sunday from our couples weekend in Spokane and Coeur d’ Alene, I decided to not step on the scale this week and risk feeling bummed about the progress I had made over the last three weeks.  Instead, I got back on track and am working towards making this week successful.  It has been hard to get back into activity and while my bum hip is telling me I need to walk, I felt so sluggish when I finally got out and about yesterday.  I will follow up with a walk this morning to continue to stretch out that side of my body and ramp back up the intensity as I had last week.  

My 15-year Weight Watcher Anniversary was also this week.  

What an amazing accomplishment.  I’ve been reading my blog post from when I reach maintenance in 2009.  These portions especially jumped out at me.  

I suppose I just started getting heavier and heavier in college. Living the single life and enjoying life in general. I can’t really say it was one thing or another. Poor food decisions and no exercise. I remember going to the doctor and slowly the scale started to increase. When the nurse weighs you, to be police they always started the weight at the 200 lb marker. I always told them to start it at the 250 lb marker as I knew I was over 250. One day she moved it to the 300 lb marker. I couldn’t even believe I was over 300 lbs. How did I get this way and why didn’t anybody tell me?? Because YOU have to be ready to change. Nobody can make you do it. Nobody can make you want to eat healthy and exercise. It has to be your choice and it has to be for the reasons you want to do it. 

It is amazing what an impact weight loss can have on a person. It is way more than just losing pounds or looking good. For me it was a whole life change. It was making the outside match how I felt on the inside. No longer hiding and no longer allowing myself to make excuses. I’m active, I’m alive, and I love my life. I have a great husband, great family and great friends. My support system is HUGE! And I am grateful for each and every one of my supporters. 

That last part is still true today.  I have been so lucky to have such great support along my journey.  As a coach, I get so much support from my members.  I love our WW Community.

It’s a beautiful morning so I’m going lace up my shoes and go for a walk.  Have a fabulous day.

Weekly WI: I'm On A Roll & National Telecommunicators Week

 Happy Wednesday!

 

I am counting down until quittin’ time as I have lot of fun this weekend to look forward to.

 

I had a great loss this week, which makes a three week stretch and it is making me feel so much better.  Now, as I said above, I am headed out of town this week but that doesn’t mean I need to go cra-cra.  I mean…there will be fun!  But, it can be controlled fun.

 

This week has been tough as it is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

 

That means a whole lot of food and treats have made their way into the dispatch center.  It has not been easy to be faced with so many pre-vacation splurges.  We haven’t even left town yet and I am already craving veggies!  I know when we get back into town on Sunday it will be 100% back on track!

 

Last night we celebrated with a game night at Intermountain Communications.  I raided my parents game closet and played some old school games.  We had so much fun.

 

My activity the last few days has been low due to a stressful and busy weekend at work.  I have also been swamped with my time outside work.  I know my activity also contributed my loss and plan to be as active as I can on our mini getaway and then resume my normal routine once we get home.  As I type this email, I am feeling so tired I should move over to the treadmill for a walk.  I might just do that!

 

I will check in after the weekend and share all our fun.

Weekly WI: Two Weeks Of Losses

I am so sorry I have neglected this space.  It has been busy but that isn't an excuse.  Let’s rewind…

Despite being super nervous to step on the scale this week, I just never feel like I’ve done enough, I had a 1 pound loss with puts me back on the downward trend.  Yippie!

I was down 1.4 pounds since my last employee weigh-in which put some pep in my step.  It has been a good week so far and I’m on Day 3.

I’ve been getting in extra movement too.

We are headed out of town next week and my goal this week is to not slip into vacation-mode early.  My two weeks of losses has been feeling on cloud nine and I am so glad I have another week to log a (hopeful) loss.  I am doing my best to make that happen!  

When out of town, my focus will to control myself and I am posting here and now that I WILL step back into focus mode when we return. 

Weekly WI: Consistency Is Key

Good Morning!  Happy Wednesday.

 

I took some time off over the weekend making it very tough to return to work this morning for an overtime shift.  I still have Thursday off and then it is back at it, full force, including having a trainee for a few weeks.  Already today we have a sick call out for night shift.  DOH!  I do not miss this line of work.

One positive to look forward to, in two weeks, we are off on a long-weekend adventure.  WhoooHoooo.

 

Despite being off work and on “vacation” this week, I was mindful of my food and limited splurges.  We focused more on eating in, when we wanted to eat out, and I limited my alcohol, when I wanted to drink beer.  Wanda and I held each other accountable at the Elks Lodge twice where we didn’t drink alcohol beverages or eat salty popcorn.  All were a huge WIN, which did not show on the scale.  On Monday, my home check-in was up 0.2 pounds.  Grrrrr…. I got on the scale on Tuesday and was down 0.8 pounds.

 

I continue this week to remind myself that it is about being consistent and I am committed to working at it each week.  The plan this week is less eating out and less alcohol along with more activity.  I’ve taken more rest days recently and it is time to ramp it back up again.

Progress can look differently for everybody.

 

It is so difficult to feel like you are doing all the right things and the scale won’t budge.  I know my members have shared they feel this way sometimes too.  It is all those little things that add up. 

 

On Saturday, our home builder had a block party with a tethered hot air balloon.  We waited about 30 minutes for a very quick ride, which it was fun. 

 

Our weather has been so hit-and-miss this week.  Welcome to Springtime in Idaho!  I managed to get the lawn mowed yesterday on what is the last of our sunny days for a bit.  The wind has been relentless. 

We celebrated Easter at the annual Melba Fireman’s Pancake Breakfast.  All you can eat for $5!  It has been a nice lazy week where I busted out a jigsaw puzzle which has kept me occupied.  I have a few social events with week with winetasting and NCAA final four.