In The Nick of Time

I woke up with a massive headache today and had trouble feeling any type of motivation.  It has been a busy week with little sleep, a two-day conference, line dancing late into the evening, and a last minute dispatch coverage that really threw a wrench in it all.  

Let’s rewind…

I attend the ILETS Conference, the first since I promoted to supervisor.  This was a really great conference with some good content over the two days.  

I won a prize as part of the gift exchange and was a ceramic mug and a $15 gift certificate to Starbucks.  Score!

I navigated the eating out beautifully and have even earned blue dots thus far in the week.  I am really proud of my focus and my commitment to my WW program this week.  Trust me, the three pound gain has been on my mind for many occasions when food and alcohol choices came into play.  Tuesday evening after the conference, DeLisa and I went to dinner at Stagecoach Inn, which was delicious.  Afterwards, we attended a line dancing event that was so much fun but oh so hard on the body.  I also decided not to have any alcohol and was really happy with my decisions.  It was tough though seeing all those people enjoying beer and cocktails.  I was also invited to go out for some karaoke after line dancing but it was already 10pm and I had already woke up waaaaay too early.

Wednesday turned into some last minute sick coverage needed between the graveyard hours.  I was able to get help from three coworkers who split the 10 hour shift with me and everybody leaving me four hours.  I was able to grab a quick nap before working 10pm-2am.  I was exhausted.  Which I think this was why I woke up with a headache.

I had no intentions of earning my special Apple Watch Activity Award for International Dance Day was just too exhausted.  But, in the nick of time, Kenyon and I were talking about streaming options in order to get rid of our outrageous cable bill when I saw FitOn had an app on the Apple TV and the sign-in was free.  I found a dance workout with just 25 minutes to spare!

I actually didn’t like the Hit It Dance workout so I switched to the Get Up & Dance workout last minute to finish off my 20 minutes right before the clock struck midnight.

I am really proud of how this week has turned out.  More on that later!

Weekly Weigh-In: Ouch, That Hurts

Good Morning!  It is early compared to my late night shift.  I have a conference the next couple of days so my sleep has not been the best.  Let’s do this!

I was going to skip the scale.  I probably should have skipped the scale.  I am a bit bummed with how I let last week get out of control.  Eventually the decision to check in with the scale is to make sure I don’t let the lax/over indulgence of last week spill over into this week.  Seeing that scale number, while I stings, can help my mindset.

This isn't accurate.  I didn't earn a blue dot on Thursday.

I am hoping that the last few days of sodium will at least help one pound of that gain drop off.  Ooof…this was one a doozie.  I am also outside of my usual routine this week and a high point day was already possibly on the agenda Thursday.  I’m just trying to get my head in the game.

I won’t be able to attend either of my WW Workshops today.  This week’s technique brings our habit building month full circle.

I’m still not really great at this habit building but I will keep working at it.

April Activity Watch Challenge Is Complete

 It is a rainy day in Idaho and in order to complete my April Apple Watch Activity Challenge I kept my workout indoors.  I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then finished off with some upper body weight.  My April challenge is finished.

While I only had 18 workouts to complete, I ran into a bit of a snag the last few weeks dealing with a sore hip, knee, and hamstring al on my left side.  It has been tough to rest knowing that is what my body need but still make sure I had enough days to complete my monthly challenge.  

I will have a busy week ahead making activity difficult.  I plan to keep up some sort of a fitness routine when I can sneak it in.

Have a great Saturday.

Weekly Weight-In: A Busy Few Days

Happy Earth Day.  I have no idea how so many days got away from me.  It has been a hot minute.  Let me rewind…

My Weekly Weigh-In was at home as I had plans Tuesday evening and that would make the timeframe a little tight.  I had a loss and this makes me feeling really good about where I am at in Onederland.

Tuesday we celebrated Phoenix’s five year divorce-aversary.  She was in a very controlling relationship so it is nice that she broke free and has really been enjoying life to the fullest ever since.  I got her a new shirt to mark the occasion.

Wednesday seemed to also fly by and here we are on Thursday, almost the end of my weekend.  It is a short work week though as I have a conference next week and adjusted days off.  I had an opportunity to earn an extra Earth Day Award for getting outdoors for a 30 minute workout today.  I enjoyed a walk and talk with my Momma on the phone and a check-in with my gal pal Dawny.

I have errands to run and some household chores so I can get my two day work week done and then relax for a few days before the conference.

That's A Wrap For NTW 2021

Our final days of Spirit Week included Dispatch Support Day and Sports Team Day.

A few years ago, we designed a logo to be for our dispatch Twitter page and we also used the design to have t-shirts made.  Since then, it has become the logo we use for most of our public interfacing and I love having any opportunity to share it.

Friday was our BBQ/potluck where we also got to wear jeans and support our dispatch love by wearing our thin gold line/dispatch t-shirts.  At least once a year I get the opportunity to wear my t-shirt and I love it.  

My coworkers also worse their slippers as it as PJ day too.

Saturday was Sports Team Day and while it was a tough decision between my Mighty Ducks Conway jersey or my Vegas Golden Knight jersey, the Knights won.  I also love every opportunity I get to wear it.  I usually take it with me to Vegas if I know there is a home game during our visit.

That wraps up National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week for 2021. 

 

I am so thankful our Captain and center managers decided to roll us back from our COVID restrictions so we could celebrate all of our employees that have worked so hard this year, as well as every other year, and continue to show up each day to answer the call.

NTW Group Bowling Event

Thursday was our off-site group event for National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.  Last year, we planned to go bowling while our north dispatch center covered our center.  Then, COVID hit and all plans or celebrating were cancelled.  It is wonderful to be able to actually show our employees the appreciation they deserve.  

We met at Meridian Bowling Lanes which at our name up on the scoring screens.  The guy behind the counter was hoping he would see officer in uniform.  I explained that dispatchers are just at cool as troopers!

I was able to talk with the manager and get an announcement of appreciation for all our employees.  We had a small group but it also ended up being the perfect size.  With a two-hour bowling reservation and only three to four people per lane, we were able to bowl four games.  My bum hip is telling me I might have bowled one or two games too many.  It was so much fun.

There is more fun to come…

Another WW Wins Redemption

Good Morning.  Happy Thursday.  It is my last day off of work and I am a little sad.  I have enjoyed my days off and a little bit of downtime.  Friday and Saturday is more National Telecommunicators Week fun so it will be enjoyable to get back to work.  We are meeting for an off site bowling event today.  So much fun with my coworkers this week.

I redeemed some WW Wins for free stuff.

After telling my Mom about the low point Blue Moon Blue Sky beer, which comes in the slim can, she thought about getting the coffee can koozies to use with her new adult beverage find.  When I was out at her house for Easter, I also tired the koozies with the Bud Light Seltzer slim cans, which also fit.  I had to get my own.  

Besides the fact the fit these cans too, they are just adorable and support my second and third love…WW and coffee!

The Blue Moon Light Sky is 3 points per can, no mater how many cans you consume.  Don’t worry…I won’t judge!

The Bud Light Lemonade Seltzer is 4 points for one and 7 points for two.  That is important when alcohol is involved…how many points for more than one!

Cheers.

Weekly WI: Looking Good And Feeling Good

After a successful week of really focusing on my tracking, saying yes to some indulgences and no to others, I am really happy with the results.  I was back to my in-person studio workshop and down 0.2 pounds on the “official” scale. 

This marks 8 weeks since I have reached Onederland and I feel like I have finally solidified my spot there.  However, with the scale showing 198, it really only takes one week of sloppy tracking, vacation, social events, etc. to bump me back out of this spot I really like being.  I must stay focused.

I looked back at my weight graph and seeing the large spike in September 2020 is a good reminder that I need to be mindful of how much I “let loose” during the summer months so this year I can be ahead of the game instead of trying to lose weight again.  The revolving door of gains/losses gets exhausting.

We are still working on building our habit this month as our weekly WW Technique.

I have been working on ramping up my activity this month and thinking of ways to get creative with activity and push myself a little in the process.

National Telecommunicators Week 2021

 

Happy National

Public Safety

Telecommunicators 

Week

It is that time of the year when we come together to celebrate our Telecommunicator Professionals who work so hard each day to serve the public and make sure emergency services personnel make it home each night to their families. 

It can be a stressful job and a very rewarding job.  For one week every April we get to let loose and have a little fun during a week that is just for us.  This year we are having an extra fun celebration with Spirit Week. 

Sunday was the kick-off day with Super Hero Day.

 

Monday was crazy sock day/clash day.

 

We had so much fun!  A BBQ is planned both Tuesday and Friday and we are doing a group bowling event on Thursday.  Friday we are showing our support for our dispatch/thin gold line plus wearing our comfy slippers.  We will end the week on Saturday with our Favorite Sports Team.

If you have a loved one in your life that dispatches for police, fire, or emergency services, tell them Thank You and give them a hug.

Be Proud Of Your NSVs And Celebrate Those Successes

On Friday when we were out to dinner, The Hubs noticed there was motion at our front door camera.  After reviewing the video, he said it looked like a pizza delivery.  We didn’t give it a second though until we arrived home several hours later.  As we drove past the house, Kenyon noticed there was something on our door step. I got a little bit excited it might be pizza although it would be cold.  I figured it was a Door Dash mix up, which has happened before.

Much to my surprise, it was Crumbl Cookies.  Our mortgage team sent us the cookies as a thank you for refinancing the house.  I opened the box, took a look at them, and gave it a nice long smell.  Ahhhh…sugar!  I have been so committed to my WW program this week making everything fit and I only had 10 weekly points left.  I wasn’t sure if we should have any cookies but it sounded so good.

Kenyon was the first to decline.  He has been working hard at his low carb program and didn’t want to ruin all his hard work.  I thought about putting them in the freezer and then decided I would give them to Phoenix so her kids could enjoy them.  I wanted the cookies to still taste fresh so Kenyon suggested we wrap them in plastic wrap.  This also helped to keep us out of them!

 

I do love Crumbl Cookies but they are really sweet.  Plus, it was several hours later from sitting on our front step that they were not warm.  They might have been harder to resist if they were fresh from the oven.  I was really happy with my Non-Scale Victory (NSV) for many reasons:

·       The cookies are just really too sweet.

·       I have been a tracking fool this week making mindful decision and staying true to my WW program.

·       I had a 12-point Old Fashioned earlier in the evening when we met up with my cousin and her husband.

·       Kenyon has been working so hard on his weight loss goals that I wanted to be just as supportive to him as he has been to me.

I woke up the next day feeling empowered by my decision to say no to the sweet treat and to pay it forward by passing it along to a friend.  It is okay to say no every once and a while.  When you do, don’t forget to pat yourself on the back.

Weekly WI: MIA But Still Stepped On The Scale

Good Morning.  Happy Friday to all of you and Happy Friday to me!  I spent the last three days in a work training which took up all my time and most of my energy.  It was a well organized training with very heavy content about developing a Child Abduction Recovery Team.  You can’t talk about CART without hearing a lot of heart wrenching stories about missing children.  It is lessons learned from those cases that allow agencies to work even harder to find missing children.

Since the training was 8am-5pm, it was a week of eating lunches out.  I wasn’t sure what the food plan would be each day and had food at work just incase we didn’t have enough time to make a food run.  Tuesday we went to Dickey’s BBQ, Wednesday we went to Hugo’s Deli, and Thursday we went to Ed’s 50’s Cafe.  I was a tracking fool this week making sure I held myself accountable and tried to make the best decisions possible.  It is a busy week with a lot of extra food and drink in the mix.

Although I could not attend my virtual or in-person WW workshops this week, I got on the scale at home.  I was pleasantly surprised to see I lost 1.6 pounds of my vacation gain.  When I peeked at the scale on Monday, I was up 0.2 pounds so this was a very pleasant surprise indeed!

I am very proud of who I have worked my program this week.  I had beer last night to celebrate Pints Up Idaho as part of Craft Beer Month.  We also ate dinner at Edge Brewery Company, which just happened to have $3 pint night.  

This was my first day of not earning a blue dot.  I am not sure if I will be able to get a blue dot today either.  I am meeting my cousin and her husband so our husbands can meet at one of our whiskey bars in town.  I have pre-tracked an old fashioned for 12 points.  I will have my usual 2 point breakfast and I have a burrito bowl all ready to go for a late lunch/early dinner for 1 point.  I think we are going to either Red Robin or Cracker Barrel for dinner tonight since Kenyon has a promo on his credit card for some cash back.  This allows me to do some extra pre-planning.  If I don’t get a blue dot, that is okay.  I have 18 weeklies left since I’ve already tracked the bulk of my day…a delicious whiskey cocktail!

I have plans to meet up with a soon-to-be cousin-in-law and walk around a local farmer’s market that is opening up for the season on Saturday.  We talked about maybe a brunch visit as well.  Sunday I will be meeting with my girlfriend group for a socially distant outdoor visit.  I have not seen them since October so it will be wonderful.  I will meet my prior WW leader Donna for a walk in the park later today.

It turned out to be a very busy week.  I am back to work Saturday through Monday.  Sunday starts National Telecommunications Week.  It is always tough being a responsible adult after having so much fun.

Habits - Building Them And Breaking Them

Good Afternoon.

My days are all out of whack this week due to days off shifts for an upcoming virtual training.  With the type of luck I seem have, I am also having to do some creative scheduling and I think it is causing me a little bit of anxiety.  I have to miss both my WW Virtual Workshop and my in-person Studio limited attendance Workshop.  The beautiful thing about WW is there is a meeting right at your fingertips anytime of the day.  I started by looking at my local workshop options and found one of my favorite back-up WW Coaches was leading a virtual workshop at noon.  I am so glad I went because it was the boot I needed for my week.

This week the WW Technique is about habits.

My WW Coach Heidi shared two books she has really enjoyed reading about habits.  I looked up The Power of Habit on Amazon and watched the author’s video.  It sounds like a really great way to dive deeper behind the science of why we do what we do and how our habits develop.

We have talked many times in my WW workshops about the “habit loop.”  A cue set off a behavior, we give into that behavior, we gain a rewards, and the loop re-sets itself for next time.  When we follow this same loop over and over again, a habit develops.  It can be a healthy habit that is good for us or an unhealthy habit that contributes to us not reaching our goals.

WW suggests the first step is to monitor that behavior.

Then select one of the two choices.

I’ll need to do more reflection on this topic.  I shared in the break out session the habit I have developed that I want to never lose is moving more.  After all the movement on vacation and the fact that moving doesn’t have come as a second thought, I love that I have developed such a healthy habit and I continue to work on each day.

Coach Heidi left us with a great quote:

“Change might not be fast and isn’t easy.  But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”

                   - Charles Duhigg

April Activity Watch Challenge

It’s a new month which means new Apple Watch Activity Goals.  I am craving more variety and hoping to get out more on my bike with the weather getting warmer.  I just need the wind to die down a little first.  My April goal will work out beautifully with variety.  I have to close my Exercise ring 18 times this month.

Since I typically get some activity through my daily movement that counts towards my exercise goal, I usually strive for a 30 minute workout when I do exercise.  This will be an easy goal to finish and I am looking forward to it.

 

With nothing on the agenda for April, it will be nice to settle back into my WW routine and continue to work on getting closer to my new goal weight of 190 pounds.  I get really excited to think about what it will feel like to finally reach this accomplishment.  I am looking forward to warmer weather and will be meeting up with friends I have not seen all winter due to COVID.  We are planning a socially distant outdoor meet-up in April.

 

I’ve been battling some very unusual neck/shoulder pain.  I am hoping it is just a pinched nerve and I didn’t hurt myself.  It was so weird, on Sunday, I was stretching after my workout and my neck popped.  It felt really weird and I swear I heard a grinding type noise.  I was a bit freaked out but felt no pain.  Suddenly on Wednesday evening, this pain settled in that made sleeping last night difficult.  I have been alternating ice/heat and taking Advil and I think it is getting better.  I took yesterday off of any exercise to rest and get better.  I still had a few calories to burn before midnight so I got onto the treadmill at work for an easy walk.  I hope this won’t aggravate my neck injury and it continues to heal so I don’t have to seek out any medical attention.  I don’t need any setbacks!

 

Welcome April.  It is nice to see you.