Outdoor Workout

Good Afternoon.  Happy…Wednesday.  It took me a moment to remember what day it is.  Ha!  I am working a quick 4-hour OT this evening.

It was a low key partial day off today.  After breakfast I watched some of the online virtual Dare To Be Great 911 Conference.  I was in need of a workout and it was a beautiful day so I took my workout onto the patio.  I moved the chairs so I could have a space to do an Aaptiv lower body workout.

 

My lower body is still burning!

It was just such a nice day that I decided to take the rest of my virtual conference viewing outdoors as well.  I saw on the patio for an hour or so watching some of the online training.

I am really ready for summertime, warm weather, and time with friends.  The end of COVID-19 can’t come soon enough.

Weekly WI: Small But Mighty

Happy Sunshine Tuesday.

I hope you have sunshine in your neck of the woods.  We are going to be absolutely beautiful in the Treasure Valley this week.  I am looking forward to it.  I’ll be headed to my parent’s house soon to take a walk with Mom and Emma.

I peeked at the scale yesterday.  After a good week and especially since my tiny gain last week, I have have been anxious to see how the scale would shake out this week.  Yesterday was a maintain.  Today, it was down 0.2 pounds.  Small but mighty.  I’ll take it.

I just love seeing that 1 in front of the total loss number.  I don’t ever want to lose that again.  I worked way too hard to get it back.  It will be even better when I can see a 1 in front of my scale number to.  I have 3.2 pounds and four week until our in-person Workshops possibly open.  I fear we will have another month of closures and might not even see ourselves back in the studios until July 1 at the earliest.  I have plenty of time to get this 3.2 pounds off.  But, of course, I would love to see that huge drop next week.

I am down 2 pounds for the month, as well as I am down for 2020 thus far.  As I shared last week, I am also down 15 pounds from last April.  There is so much to be grateful for when you consider the COVID-19 pandemic.  Even as Idaho starts to open back up, the rest of the US and the world has a lot ahead of us.

Hang in there.

Dare To Be Great Virtual Conference 2020

Good Morning.  Happy Monday to you all and Happy Friday to me.  WhoooHooo!

I am up “early” so I can take part in some of the Dare To Be Great Virtual Conference that was put together for 911 dispatchers.  I am so thankful this training is offered to us for free and what really great is that I don’t have to watch it in real time.  

The conference started early.  It was 8:30am eastern time and that means 6:30am Idaho time.  Oy!  I woke up around 10am and got myself ready for work so I could sit down with breakfast and watch some of the virtual conference that is available to stream after each breakout session ends.  Talk about am amazing opportunity!

I have a staff meeting at 1pm so I won’t be able to watch more than just the keynote speaker and the first breakout session.  But, it is a great way to get some pep in your step and a dose of leadership motivation as I tackle my Friday.  I’m struggling a bit this week mentally with the desire to go to work.  I’m not sure exactly why or what is behind it.  It has been a rough month for intense calls so I think that puts me on edge being a supervisor.  I want to make sure my employees go home at the end of the night feeling strong, confident, and proud of how our shift went and that we got all of our troops home safe to their family.

The job of a 911, or other type of police, fire, and emergency services dispatcher can be a tough one.  I am always proud of the job I do.

The Time I Attending 50 WW Virtual Workshops

The WW 50 State Virtual Workshop Meeting Challenge is complete!!

I had so much fun doing this challenge and I met so many wonderful people.  It was exhausting at times but in the end, I am really glad I decided to join the challenge.  I even connected with a few people on Connect, Facebook, and Instagram through the process.

Here are the meetings I visited.  If you are a WW member, you can search for the group name in Connect.  Join the group to find the meeting times and the Zoom link.  I put in bold some of them I really liked.  Of course, the day, time, and leader would be helpful to share.  I didn’t track all that.  I will have to rely on my calendar to go back to the date/time I first attended.  I would love to pop into a few of these meetings again.  I’d also like to explore other meetings in other stages too. 

*Alabama - Montgomery

*Alaska - Anchorage

*Arizona - Cactus Corner

*Arkansas - Little Rock

*California - Riverside - Moreno Valley

*Colorado - Colorado Springs Academy

*Connecticut - New London

*Delaware - Wilmington Independence

*Florida - Fort Myers

*Georgia - Atlanta Buckhead

*Hawaii - Aiea

*Idaho - Boise

*Illinois - Peoria

*Indiana - Terre Haute

*Iowa - Coralville

*Kansas - Merriam

*Kentucky - Lexington

*Louisiana - Magnolia Metairie

*Maine - Portland

*Maryland - Bel Air

*Massachusetts - Danvers

*Michigan - Madison Heights

*Minnesota - Minnetonka

*Mississippi - Southaven

*Missouri - Independence

*Montana - Helena

*Nebraska - Omaha Eagle Run

*Nevada - Reno

*New Hampshire - Lebanon

*New Jersey - Westfield

*New Mexico - Albuquerque Wyoming

*New York - Albany

*North Carolina - Durham Mary

*North Dakota - Fargo

*Ohio - Westerville

*Oklahoma - Oklahoma City

*Oregon - Beaverton

*Pennsylvania - Harrisburg

*Rhode Island - Woonsocket

*South Carolina - Columbia

*South Dakota - Rapid City

*Tennessee - Franklin

*Texas - Lubbock

*Utah - Salt Lake City

*Vermont - Williston

*Virginia - Old Towne

*Washington - Spokane Valley

*West Virginia - Charleston

*Wisconsin - Greendale South

*Wyoming – Cheyenne

There is a WW Virtual App Academy that I plan to attend as well as hitting up the Salt Lake City/Murray, Utah meetings so I connect more the franchise location.  I am sure I’ll pop into a couple extra Virtual Workshops a week, especially if the topic is one that I really enjoy.

It has been really interesting to see that no matter the diverse group, we all have the same struggles and we all celebrate the same successes.  It is always good to have more support in your corner.  Thank You WW for making this happen.  If we have to go into this another five weeks (or longer) at least I can do it with “friends.”

Random Saturday Musings

This is the lane I drive down when I pull into the work complex.

 

I love this time of year with the lilac bushes in bloom.  They smell amazing and look gorgeous.  I went for a walk this afternoon before work.  I love seeing the flowers and trees in bloom when I’m out for my activity.  It makes the walk 10x more enjoyable.  Yesterday, I tried out a Pulse Fitness class that was offered on FB Live.  I learned about this class through an Indiana WW Virtual Workshop I attended last week.  It just so happened one of the classes was in session and that encouraged me to get my sweat on.  I did 15 minutes of the workout and enjoyed the high intensity movement.

 

I was super sad when I finished up my last round of pudding.  I have been on a pudding, strawberry, and whip cream kick for three weeks now.  I have other pudding I can make but I think it is best if I take a break.  It is good to switch it up.  I have also been under counting the points for my serving…which is not good!  So for now, I’ll take a break from making anymore.

 

I found this funny on FB and thought I would share.  With Idaho about to start opening up some of the COVID-19 restrictions, we hope there will not be an increase in new cases.

 

My WW week is going well since returning to work.  That always helps keep me on track.  I didn’t indulge in the snack items at the baby shower we had for a coworker and his wife yesterday.  I did tuck away some snacks for another time and so I must stay disciplined while I am in my office working and boredom or stress snacking starts knocking at my brain.  I have been earning my blue dots and I have 21 WSPA left as of today.  I have planned low point meals so I shouldn’t be using any other weekly points during my work week.  With that being said, I am feeling “heavy” this week and starting to freight I might have a gain. 

 

I am doing my best to try and ease my mind and just continue working the program and stay on track.  What will be…will be.

Fresh Start After The Weekend

Good Morning and Happy Friday.  Sadly, it is my Monday and once again, my weekend has flown by.  Today is the last state of my 50 State Virtual Workshop Meeting Challenge.  That will free up some time on days off as well as not having that all day training on Thursdays.  I do have a dispatch-related seminar that is being offered online next week that I will try and take part in.

My eating was all over the place this weekend.  I was feeling the sadness of my in-person WW Studio closure extension, the frustration of eating on-track and on-plan last week and having a 0.4 gain, and just wanting to eat something but not wanting to blow my points out of the water and make this 0.4 gain an even larger one next week.  I did a lot of snacking this weekend and a lot of drinking.  I went back today and tracked more honestly still earning blue dots of all but one of my weekend days.  So, that makes me feel better.

Plus, just like the meeting topic is Fresh Start this week, I have a fresh start to my day today as well as back to work, which always helps.  I am currently doing some meal prep for the week.  Here is was is on the menu:

Salsa Chicken & Rice

Pepperoni Pizza Pasta & Salad

Salad with Turkey, Cranberries, Blue Cheese & Sunflower Seeds

Blacked Chicken, Mashed Potato & Veggies

That should get me through my work week with a combo of meals.  I also have the ability to throw together some Chicken Noodle Soup, which I might do Sunday or Monday.  The Hubs is back on site at work next week so I’ll be home Tuesday and Wednesday by myself.  I might as well get some meal prep ahead of schedule for my days off.  That tends to be the easiest way for me to stay on track on days off.

I guess I had better get back to my meal prep before jumping onto my WW Zoom Workshop.  Have a great Friday.

State Of Idaho Will Be Opening Again...YEAH!

We broke for an early lunch during the last day of my DHR Supervisory Academy training so we could watch Gov. Little’s press conference.  Thankfully, Idaho has a plan in place to start opening Idaho back up following the COVID-19 Pandemic.  It is about time. 

This is going to be a Four-Stage Tier Approach.  I am looking froward to Stage 2, restaurant openings, and Stage 3, non-essential travel is allowed again.  So, that bring me to mid-June.  It feels good to have some form of idea of what to look forward to.  The downside is that if we have an increase in COVID-19 cases.  It also means wearing masks when out and about, which can be difficult.  But hey, I’d be willing to wear a mask and social distance if it means I can attend my WW Workshop in person again soon.  Obviously, WW as an organization has decided that closures are needed through May 30th.  We will see what comes of that next month.

My gal pals and I had a fun Virtual Zoom happy hour last night.  It was just Kelsey, Danielle, and myself but it was still nice to chat.  We are putting together another one next week.

I may or may not have counted all the points for my alcohol.  Ha!  And, I planned ahead so I had a dinner in the crockpot all ready for when my inebriated self was hungry.  That was gooooood planning.

Weekly WI: Up A Bit But That Is Okay

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!

I didn’t get a change to check in yesterday with my Weekly Weigh-in results so I am doing that today.

I wasn’t sure if I’d have a loss this week but I am definitely glad it wasn’t a huge gain.  I had a rock solid week of blue dots, low points meals, some activity, and low stress.  So…I am just looking at this as a blip on the scale and continuing on with my originally schedule programming.  I am going to work on getting that 0.4 back off this week.  I also want to plan in some higher point meals.  Last week I had rollover points each day that I think I ended my week with 43 WSPA.  I don’t quite have my meal plan laid out but I am thinking of what foods I’d like to eat this week.

Regardless of the 0.4 gain, I am 15.2 pounds less than I was in April of 2019.  That is crazy.  Last year, I had a really low weight at the end of March.  From April - July, the scale climbed back into the 220s.  You had better believe I am keeping a better handle on things this year.  It is going to be tough after COVID-19 and feeling like I want to eat all the food and drink all the beer.  But, I just have to stay focused.  It would be silly to spend all this time working so hard at these last few milestones to mess it all up with an increase in social events.

Here is the difference between April 2019:

And April 2020:

Obviously I am seeing a killer weight loss.  Look at those blue dots.  I am a Rock Star!

We also got some bummer news that WW is extended Virtual Workshops through May 30th.  

I am so thankful for these Virtual Workshops and right now, they feel like a bit of a lifeline.  But, I am sad I won’t be back to my in-person workshops for possibly another five weeks.  It feels as though this will for sure give me the time I need to get the home scale back under 200 before I face the “official scale.”  And for that reason, I can’t really be bummed.

11 Year WW Lifetime Anniversary

It’s the eve before WI.  I have had a great week and I’m planning to bring it home today with another blue dot.

It turns out that lack of social events and vacations are really helping myWW program.  Of course, I already knew this!  I just hate that a pandemic is what is needed to confirm it.  Oh eating out…how I miss you.  Breweries…how I miss you.  Travel…how I miss you.  sigh.

According to FB Memories, I reached my Lifetime status with WW 11 years ago today. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this memory.  It was 11 years ago that I had lost 130 pounds and after maintaining within a two pound goal range for six weeks, I became a Lifetime Member.  For those that don’t know what that means, it is where you are FREE and no longer have to pay to attend your WW meetings and you get all the program material for free.  If you continue to weight-in once a month within the two pound goal range, you earn additional charms each year.  

In the days before my WW meeting 11 years ago, I prepared a poster of some before photos, stats on both my weight loss and my weight percentage, and some motivational quotes.  The Hubs came and my parents surprised me with balloons and flowers.  

It was a really great celebration.

I can’t believe that 11 years has gone by so quickly.  I have no way of imaging how or where my life might be had I not made the decision to join WW.  That day in December 2006 that started the wheels turning about re-joining WW and that fateful day in January 2007 when I mustered up the courage to walk into my local WW Center changed my life. Really, it gave me my life back.  The ups and downs and all the struggles don’t really matter when in the grand scheme of things…I’m down 100 pounds 11 years later.  That alone, is life changing.

Time To Hit Refresh

Good Morning and Happy Sunday.

I’m feeling super energized and motivated after a fantastic start to a new week of WW Virtual Workshops.  This week I am going to push through and finish the 50 State Challenge, a week early.  I was hoping for a more upbeat meeting topic and boy did I get a good one!  

I’ve been to Georgia and North Carolina and I’ll finish my Sunday in Texas.

You all know I love a fresh start.  That fresh start is still really tough.  The possibilities are so inspiring.  I love talking about growth mindset.  My fresh start in 2016 that turned the scale around after my huge gain was meeting with a personal trainer and shifting that mindset from food/tracking/and weight.  Here are some WW tips for getting back on track:

• Set Up Your Space - if you can’t control it, don’t bring it into the house.  Instead of the Oreos, which are delicious to everybody but my friend Dawny, maybe stock your fridge with fresh fruit or a low point treat.
• Go Back To Basics - a fresh start is a great time to try out a different recipe, switch to another one of the myWW plans, look over your old WW journals from when you were a new member, or pull out those old photos to remind yourself where you started and where you want to go.
• Track Smarter - pre-track some foods you will plan into this week.  Have you been holding out for an enjoyable meal or treat?  Pre-plan and pre-track it for sometime this week and plan your week around it.
• Spring Clean Your Mind - try and purge your mindset of those negative thoughts and “poor me” attitude.  You have a lot in your control, you might need to dig deep to see it.
• Focus Your Intentions - remind yourself why you are on this journey.  What is important and why did you join?
• Get Creative With Activity - is it time to shake up your movement?  Google some activity ideas and try out something new in the comfort of your new home.

I am eager to try out this WW recipe on the back of the WW Weekly this week.  These looks delicious.  And with it being such low points on the Purple Plan, I have room for some chips to go along with it.  Yum.

WW 50 State Virtual Meeting Challenge: 33 States Completed

Good Morning.

I didn’t sleep well and I’m up early to start in on my 50 State Virtual WW Workshop Meeting Challenge.  I have completed 32 of 50 states and here in about an hour, I’ll be popping into Reno, Nevada for may 33rd state.

*Arizona - Cactus Corner

*Arkansas - Little Rock

*California - Riverside - Moreno Valley

*Colorado - Colorado Springs Academy

*Connecticut - New London

*Delaware - Wilmington Independence

*Florida - Fort Myers

*Hawaii - Aiea

*Idaho - Boise

*Illinois - Peoria

*Iowa - Coralville

*Kentucky - Lexington

*Louisiana - Magnolia Metairie

*Maine - Portland  

*Maryland - Bel Air 

*Mississippi - Southaven

*Montana - Helena

*Nebraska - Omaha Eagle Run

*New Hampshire - Lebanon

*New Jersey - Westfield 

*New Mexico - Albuquerque Wyoming 

*New York - Albany

*Ohio - Westerville

*Oklahoma - Oklahoma City

*Oregon - Beaverton

*South Carolina - Columbia

*Utah - Salt Lake City

*Virginia - Old Towne

*Washington - Spokane Valley

*West Virginia - Charleston

*Wisconsin - Greendale South

*Wyoming - Cheyenne

This challenge has been fun but is feeling really exhausting.  I can’t believe how fast my days off pass by.  Plus, after an all day Zoom training for work yesterday, I attended two back-to-back Virtual workshops.  I was tuckered out.  Kenyon decided to take a nap during my WW meeting and afterwards, I joined him.  I slept until about 10:30pm and then got back up until about 1:30am.  I’m feeling tired today.  After my WW Virtual Meeting in Virginia this morning, I got in a 10 minute upper body weight workout and then did some meal prep for the day.  I have early morning WW workshops this weekend so I guess I had better get accustomed to less sleep.  I really want to push to try and get as many workshops completed as I can.

Blue dots this “weekend” are on point/track and with my meal planning and prep for the week, those blue dots will continue.  I love feeling in control and successful.

Have a great Friday.

Wednesday & Thursday Catch Up

Good Morning.

I am attending a DHR Supervisor Academy via Zoom today.  There has been so many audio problems.  Ugh.  It is going to be a looooong day.

Yesterday was super busy that I didn’t get a chance to get a blog post written.  Despite having some snags with the Central Time Zone meetings and having the wrong time adjustment scheduled, I was able to attend four WW Virtual Workshops: Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado.  The Colorado meeting was an invite from my friend Angela, whom I’ve not met in person but have been talking with for a few years now.  It is great to “meet” some of my online friends even if it is still a virtual meeting.

I had to run out and grab groceries yesterday.  Our governor extended the stay-at-home order through the end of the month.  He is allowing some businesses to open back up again so I am hopeful in another two weeks, even more can open.  Yeah.  

It is crazy to think this could be our new normal.  I hate wearing a face mask when I am out in public.  I also got caught in the rain, thankfully, after I waited in the Trader Joe’s line.  I would have hated to be soaking wet while waiting in line to get into the store.

The benefit of grocery shopping is STARBUCKS.  I have been trying to bring coffee from home to work most days so when I get the “real deal” it tastes so good.  

We ordered dinner from Sizzler last night.  Thankfully Kenyon gave me a heads up early in the day so I could adjust my food/points to account for a 10 point steak.  I heated up Kenyon’s left over baked potatoes for my breakfast this morning.  Yummy!

Okay, break time is over.  See you later.

Weekly WI: Slaying My Goals - Down 50 Pounds Of Re-Gain

Gooooood Morn….er…Afternooooon….

Hello!  I feel like I’m getting a late start to the day.  I went from my WW Virtual Meeting with my usual Tuesday Boise Peeps into two phones and then breakfast.  I had a loss the scale and I am still riding the high today!

I even got the downstairs of the house cleaned, vacuumed, AND mopped.  I am planning a quick walk outside before my second WW Virtual Meeting starts, which is Delaware.

So, back to the loss.  whOOOOOhOOOOO.  I was so excited when I got on the scale this morning.  Yes.  My hard work this last week paid off and I got the 2 pound (plus) loss I was hoping for.  Oh man.  I am feeling energized to do that again this week.  And, I’m also planning some different meals so I can shake it up.  If I have a maintain next week, that is a win in my book.  But, I am going to try for another loss, even if I it is a tiny one.

As I sit close to my next milestone of getting back under 200 pounds, I know that mentally, it can be a struggle.  For some reason when I get close to a milestone I seem to get a little silly with working my program.  Since the stay-at-home order has not been lifted and we aren’t sure what our governor will decide, I suspect for the remainder of April, I’ll be spending my days off at home.  That is good.  Clearly, this stay-at-home is helping me stay-on-track.  I’ll take it!

I looked back at my weight record doing my usual reflecting on where I was in April past.  I am almost back down to where I was in early 2015.  Boy, that feel amazing.

It has been quite the year as well.  In the summer of 2019, starting in April, I climbed back up the scale.  It is crazy to think that soon I’ll be down 20 pounds from just last summer!!!  Wow.  This is my biggest weight loss different in the last four years.  I am floored.

What has helped me with this success?  I feel it is paying attention.  While I felt like I got a handle over my fall/winter 10 pound gains, I also wised up and got a handle on spring/summer gains.  Well…technically, summer has not begun.  But you better believe will make this summer different than last summer.

Now, that is easy to stay with us being homebound, not having social outings, and not vacationing.  I will commit to myself to pay closer attention once the world opens back up to whatever this new normal will be.  In the meantime, I’ll just be over here slaying my goals if you need me.

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2020

Happy National Public Safety

Telecommunicators Week

2020

 

We are celebrating our Telecommunicators this week.  Thank you to all the police, fire, and emergency services dispatchers that come to work each day and ensure our men and women go home safe each night.

 

It is a bit weird this year to be in a supervisory role and able to celebrate my people…yet we can’t celebrate because of COVID-19 and the need to keep our employees healthy.  We do plan to have a delayed celebration once the stay-at-home order has been lifted and life, or the new form of life, has returned. 

 

In the meantime, we were able to decorate a few windows in the dispatch center as part of a challenge from one of our local agencies. 

 

 

Thank you to all who support us in all we do.