Highly Emotional

I am highly emotional today and have a really tough day.

I couldn’t sleep last night/this morning because I’m stressing about time off at work (not our NYC/New England Cruise but the Missouri trip in late September).  I didn’t set my alarm properly but thankfully I woke up at 2:12pm when I had to be to work at 4pm.  When I got to work, I struggled getting into a particular computer system in order to monitor something important.  Then, we had a radio/phone surge and my console wouldn’t clear the phone lines.

Ughhhhhhhh…..

I am hoping the rest of the shift doesn’t go as poorly as the start of the shift did.

My day off yesterday was pretty laid back.  My food choices were less-than-stellar.  I’m not sure if I sabotaged myself a bit or if my care meter was low.

Anybody know how much is in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream?

 

Thankfully the WW app does.

 

Goodbye Weekly Smart Points Allowance.  Normally I’d say it was delicious and worth it, but I didn’t feel so good after. 

I’m pretty much mentally checked out but trying to hold on.  My monthly visitor is also waiting in the wings so that isn’t helping with keeping my tears at bay.  Being a woman sucks sometimes.

Okay….it is out there, I’ve vented, and now I’m moving on.  I got the side of the room with the treadmill at work so hopefully some exercise will put some pep in my step.

Weekly WI: What Have You Gained?

I had a loss of one pound at my official scale check-in at my meeting today.  I had not been on the WW scale for two weeks so it was nice to see a loss.  I was also glad that the temporary gain last week was temporary because I got myself back on track.  This week I am working on staying focused on NOT going into vacation mode early.  It is so very tempting to not think about food/tracking/points this week but I’ve got to stay on track so I can enjoy not thinking during my upcoming vacation.

I updated my monthly calendar.  For the month of August, I lost 2.4 pounds and my overall total loss since July 2016 is 31 pounds.  As you can see, it is quite a bit slower this go-round than last time.  I try really hard not to be hyper-focused on that and just keep plugging along.  Down is the end result, not a timeline.

 

We talked in our meeting that while we often get compliments on how much we have lost but instead we don’t get asked is how much we have gained.  So, we took time to share what we have gained through our weight loss.  I can agree with so much of what was shared:

Better health (less meds, lower cholesterol, etc)

More active (able to walk a whole mile, walk the dogs, etc)

Social/Friends/Networking/Support (all my awesome WW Buddies around the state along with all the meeting members and leaders)

Skill set (able to use the tools/tips learned when dining out, etc)

Confidence (feeling better in our clothes, feeling proud of how we look, etc)

As you can imagine, the list goes on and on.  I would love for you to share what you have gained through your weight loss.

 

Family

The older I get, the more important family becomes.  I realize that some of my elderly loved ones won’t be around forever.  It makes me really sad to think about it.

My cousin Brittany is getting married in October and we celebrated the bride at her shower on Saturday.  It was so wonderful to see many family members and close friends.  Brittany is married Jake, whom I don’t really know, but comes from a terrific family.  Jake’s Uncle Tony and my parents have been friends for many years.  Tony was in my Mom and Dad’s wedding party along with his ex-wife Ann.  It is always such a small world.  I look forward to seeing everybody again at the wedding in a few weeks.

I was most excited to see my Great Aunt Delores, who is Brittany’s grandmother.  Brittany’s Dad, my Great Uncle Dick, and my Grandma D were sister and brother.  It is weird to use both of their names in the past tense, but sadly, they are both gone.  While Aunt Delores was related to my Great Grandma B through marriage, they both have such spunk.  Aunt Delores had us laughing the whole time and I couldn’t quit smiling.  I also found myself looking at her tearing up knowing that she won’t be with us forever.  I honestly don’t have any idea how old she is but I surely somewhere in her 80s.

The shower was beautiful and had a rustic country vibe to it.  The bride is a chef so the appetizer spread was delicious.  There was mojitos, infused water, and sweet tea.  We dined on china collected from the great grandmother of the bride along with really fun antique looking water glasses. 

Brittany says the weeding will be elegance with a touch of country and I am very excited to see her dress.  I’ll make sure I take loads of photos.

 

Waitin' On Vacation

14 days to go until we set sail on our next 7-day cruise.

 

And….10 days to go until I’m officially OFF work and officially ON vacation.

I’ve been researching airport transportation from LaGuardia to Manhattan.  What I am finding is the shuttle services seem a bit unreliable as far as reviews go.  I’m not sure that I checked the reviews when I booked in Seattle or Miami but we didn’t have trouble using either of the shuttle services in those cities.  I’m guessing we will end up using a cab.  My only worry is that we will get caught in rush hour and owe our driver extra money.  We shall see.  Kenyon is pretty nervous about travel in a big city so I am trying to stay calm and research the heck outta it before we leave.

Mostly, I’m just ready for a break from work-life and some uninterrupted time with Kenyon. 

We got upgraded to a mini-suite on our cruise so that was exciting.  We are now also at the front of the ship by the bridge area.  We can literally see the bridge from our balcony.  I’ve been also researching the ship/rooms and I found a You Tube video of our room.  I love finding trip blogs or videos about where we are doing.  And, I get tons of tips that way too.

If you have any tips for navigating NYC, please share!

Back To Work & A Look At My Trackers

My single-day off was good but went quick (as expected).  I’m thinking after work seven days in a row, my four day work week will feel quick.  At least I hope so!

I have been doing really well on honest tracking and posting my tracker each day with my WW buddy group.  The extra accountability has been great because there have been a few times I’ve wanted to go crazy but kept myself in check knowing I had to track it.  Really, what I wanted to do what eat said item and NOT track it at all!  So, this has helped me a ton this week.

What has also helped is not eating out as much.  With Kenyon on day shift and me on night shift, plus working an abundance of days in a row, I’ve been bringing my food from home and not eating out.  Also, I didn’t have my high point day (or two or three) this week where I didn’t track and indulged a lot.  I peeked at the scale today and was pleasantly happy.  I do hate that the scale can affect my moods, but that is just how it goes.  I’m super excited for WI this week.  That is much different than my mood for WI last week.  I also excited I might see the 2-teens, but I won’t count my chickens…

Here are my trackers and a few photo collages I put together of my week so far:

Wednesday Randomness

I’m almost done with my seven-day work stretch so my brain is functioning pretty slowly today.  It has been a very exhausting week with the eclipse events and the excess of traffic traveling into and around Idaho.  I have Thursday off then I’m back for my usual work week, thankfully just four days.  Since I’ve only got the one day off, if you need me, you’ll find me sitting on the couch watching TV.

My post today is sort of random because that is about all I can muster up.  Yesterday, I called Mor Furniture to ask about their 40-month no-interest promotion.  Kenyon and I were going to buy a new larger table and chair set back in May but I had buyer’s remorse and cancelled the order.  At that time, the best we could get was six-months no-interest financing and with our upcoming travel, we didn’t need to be spending that much money.  With the 40-month promotion, our monthly payments are just $35.  Score!  We still liked the table and chairs we originally picked out and the chairs were on sale so we ended up getting 10 chairs for less than what we would have gotten the table and eight chairs for back in May.  Double Score!  Here are what we selected.

 

I’ll show you the final set up once it is delivered.  We wanted a bigger table as our current one only seats four.  So, we got one that has an internal leaf and opens up to seat six, which we feel we can easily get eight chairs around.  The other two chars will replace the existing bar stools at our island counter.  The bar stools have always been a bit too tall so this was a good way to replace it for less money.

Since I won’t have a day off with Kenyon until this coming Tuesday, we ran a few errands to include Costco and Best Buy.  We had dinner at Sizzler and then had to get home so I could head to work.

I’m not sure yet if I’ll check in on Thursday or just be super lazy.  I am still going strong with my tracking this week.

Weekly WI: Pass

I made the decision to skip my WW meeting (and the scale) this week.  So I’m going to also skip right over my Weekly WI and work on getting myself re-focused.

I knew I would be at the very minimum skipping the official scale this week.  I had thought maybe I’d at least attend the meeting since that is when you really need to be in the seat.  The timing just felt too rushed between waking up for the eclipse, napping again, and then getting ready for work.  Plus, I had Kenyon at home, which always makes it hard to leave him. 

I really do want to get myself back on track.  I exchanged my size 16W jeans at Lane Bryant for 18Ws on Sunday.  The 16s were just too snug and it was part of what was making me feel bad about myself.  The size 18s fit really well but can feel snug after a day of overindulging.  This makes me want to keep working my way down the scale so my jeans fit comfortably all the time (even after washing!)  I had some fun, ate some high calorie/point/sugary foods and yesterday, I got myself back on track.

 

My WW Buddy Dave reached out to us on my WW Buddy FB page on if we want a tracker accountability this week.  That was exactly what I needed to hold myself accountable.  And, when I got to work, the supervisors treated us to a banana split bar.  It was easier to choose not to partake since I’ve been giving into temptations the last few days.  Plus, I had just gotten myself back on track and if I am going to continue to be successful, I’ve got to make better choices.  I had a banana sans split.

This week I am going to work on being kinder to myself and honest tracking.

The Great American Eclipse

The Great American Eclipse has come and gone, but the residual traffic in many parts of Idaho is still hot and heavy.

 

We have all worked a lot of hours and there are still more hours to be working the remainder of this week.  Thankfully, we are all mostly in good spirits although feeling exhausted.  The actual eclipse happened during my sleep time but since Kenyon was awake (he is rotating back to day shift a few weeks early) he woke me up in time to see the big show.  My neighbor was having a small get together with breakfast and eclipse viewing so we popped outside to say hello and watch the final moments of the 99%-something total eclipse we were able to see from Boise.  We were lucky in that we had beautiful weather and clear skies.

I didn’t know what to expect from the total eclipse other than “don’t burn your eyes off” and “it will be dark”.  I was surprised to learn that it got very cold and somewhat quite/calm.  Also, very weird looking shadows.

 

After we came back inside, we watched some of the footage on TV.  It would be really cool to live hear that city in IL that is not only on the path of the total eclipse for 2017 but will also be on the path for the next one in April of 2024.  It was overcast there but they were able to get a slight clearing just in time.  I heard some people paid thousands for a seat in the stadium.  Wow.  I was impressed by how much darker it was for those in the “path of totality” and although I wouldn’t have wanted to mess with the traffic issues, it would have been neat to see.  Maybe Kenyon and I will road trip to IL in 2024, if I’m not required to be at work!

Other than that, I might have slightly burned off my left retina.  It is still yet to be determined.  I only looked at it for a second after I woke up so I could see where it was before putting my very dark eclipse glasses on.  No joke, my eye hurts.  Either I made an unsafe move or I’m just a big hypochondriac. 

One Year In Our New Home

On the 18^th, Kenyon and I celebrated the one year anniversary of building our new home.

 

She is still holding up well.  We had our inspector back out at the house in July with only a few minor issues.  The biggest one is the side patio yard near the front of the fence is sinking.  They think mostly it is due to being on the line dug under for drainage and will send somebody out to level it out.  Between that sinking area and the vole damage, it looks pretty bad.  But, Kenyon and I don’t even like grass/yard/landscape so eventually we do plan to get some quotes for getting rid of the grass on the patio side in the fenced area.  If we did that, I might even go back to mowing!

Once we got our fence, mowing was a bit more difficult because you had to now edge/trim around the fence and also wasn’t able to just walk back and forth the length of the yard with the fence now in the way.  I’ve been hiring out a service bi-weekly and have liked how it is turning out.  If we had even less grass, I would probably force myself to mow it rather than pay.  I’ll be happy come October when I can save that money I’ve been spending on lawn care.

We had a few cracks with the house settling but they seem to have re-sealed on their own.  We also have some nails working their way out of the walls/ceiling.  The inspector said that was due to a nail that went in wrong and was never taken out.  We have some gashes in our pocket doors due to screws behind the door in the wall area.  It was decided to leave the doors as is because replacing them would take more work than we want to put up with.  When it comes time to move, we will have to address it then with our realtor.

Overall, still very happy with our new house.  We still love our location and our neighbors.  Our ‘hood has not grown into the second phase yet but we do have many more alley load houses than when we moved in.  The traditional homes are also finished.  We learned we are getting some apartment complexes around us and will soon have an influx of extra people and cars.  We aren’t too pleased about that but there isn’t much we can do.  It is just a huge bummer.

I'm A Bit Of A Negative Nelly Today

I’ve been in a little bit of a funk this week.  I never really know what sets these bad moods off.  I know part of it I am burned out on night shift at work (going on nine months since I was last on a day shift).  I am just not the type of person that likes to stay stagnant and not being able to rotate to different shifts is really getting me down.  I’ve been lucky in that Kenyon and I have been on nights together since he did a back-to-back night shift stint.  But, he just got word he gets to rotate early to day shift and will start day shift next week.  I am really happy for him since he is starting some college courses and needs to be on day shift.  I’m keeping a small glimmer of hope that I can get back to day shift in October – December.  We have enough new staff, we just need to keep them from quitting and they need to open more shifts for rotation.  I’m hoping one of the new employees will replace me on graveyard so I can go to a day shift.

Another part of work burnout is waiting for our upcoming vacation and being able to spend more than just one day off each week with Kenyon.  We don’t have many days off together and that makes me bummed.  I’m taking a good chuck of September off due to back-to-back vacations so I’m trying to stay focused on the break that will be here soon.

I’m also struggling with my WW program this week.  I don’t feel as focused and energized as I have been in the weeks prior.  I’m starting to doubt that I can keep losing weight now that I’ve dropped my personal training sessions.  But, I know my food this week hasn’t been as planned/prepared as weeks past so that is a big component.  I hate having to track all my food and think about what I have to eat all the time.  It is exhausting.  I’ve recently been having thoughts of wishing I could be that person that can eat whatever I want with no consequences.  Although, I know I don’t feel as well when I eat crap so…

It didn’t help my mood today when I got on the scale hoping maybe I was down and just needed to keep trudging forward only to see I’m currently showing a gain.  WI day isn’t until Monday (which is why it is always best to stay off the scale between weeks) so anything can change by then.  I’ve been wearing my old size 16 slacks but they are still a bit snug.  I went to put on the new size 16 Lane Bryant jeans I bought and they also too snug.  I think I’m realistically an 18, not a 16.  That bums me out because it feels like losing weight this time around is taking forever.  My first time down the scale I was losing weight much more rapidly.  This time, it has taken me 10 weeks to lose five pounds.  I know I let those thoughts get me down too.

Somebody from our WW FB group posted something I needed to read today:

 

Thanks for letting me unload.  I needed to just write all these negative thoughts out of my head so I can move on.

Learning To Pack In A Carry-On

I’m not exactly sure where the idea of considering packing carry-on only developed.  I stumbled across a packing video and it started to interest me about learning more on how to pack lighter.  I’m not the best packer and the times I’ve worn a backpack carry-on, I’ve been miserable.  Once we selected some new luggage (international carry-on sizes are smaller than domestic carry-on sizes) the task of learning to pack in a carry-on suitcase took hold and major research begun!

I’ve heard of the rolling method and watched a zillion videos on You Tube with suggestions for the best way to pack.  I’ve also learned of packing cubes, which can help keep your rolled clothes contained.  I’ve been using packing folders for a few years now after Kenyon introduced me to them.  It is nice to travel with your clothes compact and organized.

Three weeks ago, I did a test pack with all the clothes I thought I would take with me on our upcoming NYC/New England Cruise vacation.  Then, I rolled them and stuffed them all inside my new Eagle Creek Load Warrior 20 inch carry-on suitcase.  I was able to get it all in there and the final weight was 17 pounds.  The next test would be using the packing cubes.

My second test pack didn’t go as smoothly.  Using the packing cubes felt difficult and I wouldn’t figure out how to make the “puzzle” fit.  By the time I had packed, unpacked, and tried several more times, I was frustrated and sweating to death.  I was mostly angry that I was able to fit it all in once but with the packing cubes couldn’t seem to get it all in there.

I started to look closer at what I was packing and if I could “stretch” the length of my clothing longer.  Kenyon and I have watched a ton of packing videos and other travel videos and have found tons of trips and tricks.  One thing experience carry-on travelers do is pack less and sink wash their clothes.  Also, Rick Steves explained that American’s seem to think they need to wash their clothes more often than other countries so the answer was to pack less and wear my clothes for more days and/or sink wash.  (Side note: we can pay to do laundry on the ship so that is also an options)

After we visited Shapiro, I also got some ideas on which packing cubes/folders fit best in my type of suitcase and how I can maximize the space with the smaller amount of clothing I now planned to pack.  We left Shapiro with several packing items and went home to try another test pack.

 

Thankfully, it was a success!  I got everything I needed into my carry-on only and it was now 14 pounds.  I ended up using a packing folder and rolling my pants and dresses in the bottom of my suitcase.  I also used the pocket on the inner part of the suitcase to house my socks, undies, swimsuit, and sports bras. 

The answer definitely was to pack less clothes.  Another part of the equations was knowing what outfits I will wear (jeans vs. capris) on what days.  That allowed me to pack less socks because I know I can sink wash socks on our first at-sea day on our cruise.  Now, we just have to wait until it gets closer to see what the weather will look like.

Here is what I am planning to pack for 9-days (I’ll wear the same items over/back) in my carry-on as far as clothes go:

2 maxi dresses to wear during the cruise

1 swoop neck shirt to wear during the cruise

1 shrug that matches both dresses and the swoop neck shirt

1 undergarment for my dresses

3 t-shirts

3 tank tops for under my t-shirts

1 t-shirt hoodie for layering

1 jean capri

3 short socks for capris

3 regular size socks for jeans

4 pairs of underwear

1 workout capri for lounging and working out on the ship

1 workout top

1 sport bra

1 swim suit

1 pair of sandals

 

I plan to wear my jeans, a t-shirt, a t-shirt hoodie, a pair of socks, and my tennis shoes.  This way I will have these items to use throughout the vacation and I’ll plan to wear the same items home so I can re-pack my carry-on.  I am also wearing my ScottEvest Chloe Glo jacket, which has lots of pockets making it an easy carry-on addition.

Other items to note: I plan to sick wash undies and socks.  I plan to use my lounge/workout wear for swimsuit cover-up if we use the on-ship amenities.  I also mapped out the days I would be likely to wear capris and sandals (we have two at-sea days) and what days I am likely to wear jeans.  I had planned to pack on pair of jeans and wear one and pack two pairs of capris.  But, as Rick Steves says, between the whole 11-days, I can wear the same jeans/capris without washing them.  It won’t kill me (but we will see if I start stinking).  I plan to wear my shirts/tanks at least three times each.  If it appears they are starting to stink, sink washing the pit area should be fairly easy.

And once again, we can pay to do laundry on the ship.  Norwegian Cruise Line doesn’t have laundry rooms on the ship so you do have to pay a perineum for them to wash your clothes.

We are using this trip as practice for Europe and hopefully we can keep perfecting our skills and our packing list.  We really like the idea of hassle-free carry-on only travel.

Days Off Fun

I am starting a 7-day stretch at work and was one of a few that had two days off beforehand so I made the most of my free time.

Tuesday, Kenyon and I met with our travel agent Rachel to talk more about our Europe River Cruise next year and which cities we would like to visit pre and post cruise.  Kenyon and I need to talk more and come up with a game plan so Rachel can put together an estimate of hotel rooms, train passes, attractions, etc.  Not knowing how much it will all cost does stress me out a bit.  So, as long as we start early, we’ll have plenty of time to iron out the plans and save up money.  Afterwards, we had dinner at Sizzler (steak and salad bar for $9.99) and stopped into Shapiro in the mall to look closer at the different packing cubes.

We met Phoenix and her boyfriend Stacey for a beer at Slanted Rock.  One beer turned into two and we had a great time.

 

Wednesday, I spent some time with my nieces as my sister and parents had something to tend do.  We had lunch at Costa Vida and then frozen yogurt at Le Crème. 

 

Since we had to be back home to meet up with Katie and my parents, we ran my car through the car wash and then headed that way.  The girls were begging to stay the night, which I couldn’t promise them that, but I did tell them they could hang out longer.  We went to Wahooz for their $18.99 cheap Wednesday deal and had a ton of fun.

 

They wore me out and I didn’t really want to give up my only other day off so I ran them home after.  I ended my night on the couch wanting Bachelor in Paradise and The Story of Diana.  I also met Kenyon for a midnight meal at IHOP for some pancakes and strawberry syrup.

Last Week's Activity Goals

My goal  for the last week were to commit to better activity.  My WW meeting was going to hold me accountable so I checked in with them on our group FB page.  I thought I’d have fun by adding some photos as well.

Commit Day 1: Tuesday - 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill, 15 minute Tone It Up Girls (TUG) total body tone up video on You Tube, and 1 mile Walk Away The Pounds (WATP) DVD in the walk-a-day app.

This is actually what my hair looks like when I wake up

Commit Day 2 & 3: Wednesday – no formal exercise but I completed my Apple Watch movement goal by overall general movement throughout my day.  Thursday – 30-minutes of WATP DVD in the app.  I did part of one that used weights and one that was just a fast paced walk.

Commit Day 4 & 5: Friday & Saturday – I started back to work and had a meeting on Friday and a prior engagement on Saturday.  That left me tired and not enough time to exercise.  I planned to ramp it up on Sunday.

Commit Day 6: Sunday – I pushed back a meet-up with a friend so I had time for some activity, which means I had no excuses!  I did about 20 minutes of a TUG DVD before I had to get myself ready to go.  I am glad I did something even though gearing up for it felt like hard work.

My WW weeks stars again on Monday.  I didn’t exercise last Monday before my meeting nor did I exercise yesterday before my meeting.  I got myself dressed in my workout clothes and ate some breakfast while I wanted for Kenyon’s Schwan’s order to be delivered.  Soon, I decided instead to paint my toe nails instead of exercise. 

I’ve been thinking about a comment my hair dresser made last week: don’t give yourself time to use an excuse.  Just get up, get dressed, and do the workout.  I’m going to keep this motto in mind for the week ahead. 

Weekly WI: A New Charm

Since my home scale and the WW scale don’t sync up, I was doing one pound at home but showed a maintain at my meeting.  I am a bit bummed but hopeful next week I’ll be rewarded with a good size loss.  It is also the week after Aunt Flo visited (yes, I have a real Aunt Flo but this visitor was the biological one) so that could be swaying my results.  I’m not going to get too wrapped up in the numbers since my home scale did show a loss.

This week is the 11^th week of our 13 week WW meeting attendance challenge so I earned my new charm.  It is a cute pair of sunglasses.

 

It will make a nice addition to my key ring holding all my other charms.  Boy, I really can’t wait for one day to start collecting goal/lifetime keys again!  I don’t think I shared last week that I don’t usually look at the overall loss (starting weight was 304.8 pounds) since I’m often looking only at my re-gain/re-loss totals.  The leader totaled up my weight last week as 82 pounds lost.  I did some quick match and that is about 48 pounds to go to get back to my goal weight of 175.  I’ve not decided if that is where I want to end up, but for the first time, it felt doable.  It will still take a lot of work, but it is doable.

We shared our celebrate stories in the meeting since the sticker this week is Celebrate.  I didn’t get a chance to share but my celebration last week was my visit to Lane Bryant and my size 16 jean purchase.  Last year, I was in tears in my WW meeting about my ever growing waistline and how uncomfortable I was in my jeans.  The meeting was so therapeutic and the answer was for goodness sakes Lindsay, buy bigger pants!

I went to Lane Bryant and had a very pleasant experience buying some size 20 jeans.  I again had a good experience when I went to the mall last week.  I picked out some size 16 jeans in the T3 type I bought last time.  They fit, but maybe a slight bit snug if I had to sit for a long time in them.  With fall approaching, I decided to get them.  She asked if I wanted to try on a size 18 and I said no.  If the 18s fit comfortably, I’d have been tempted to buy them.  I feel I can get more use out of the size 16s and I’m hoping if I can get another 10 pounds off, they will fit well.  I’m also wearing my old size 16 slacks I had tucked away in my closet.  Again, slightly snug when I’m sitting all day but they button!  There was a time they didn’t button and I also had to buy size 20 work slacks.

Not having a super large loss at the scale doesn’t mean my hard work isn’t paying off.  I’ve got a meal plan laid out and will get myself prepared for the week ahead on my days off.  It will be a very long week with the upcoming solar eclipse (aka the apocalypse) but the good news is we get to wear jeans three days at work.  And, I just happen to have some new smaller jeans to wear.