Just chugging along. Some days are better than others.
I'll start with my carb-cycling. I hit 10 pounds of weight loss twice. Had a week with a little bounce back up. That was also a high carb week. Not much cardio in the exercise program. Too lazy. Too easy to find excuses not to go outside and walk. Don't have high hopes for a lower number at the next weigh-in on Saturday. I gave in to too many temptations yesterday. Bad bad bad. However, I have been doing my Leslie Sansone videos, just the one and two mile workouts. I met with my new doctor last week. I really like her. She thinks my target should be between 150 and 155 pounds. I was thinking closer to 140. I'll shoot for her recommendation by the end of school and see how it feels. I'm almost done with week 10. Except for the morning I was having blood work done, I haven't missed any of the 9 minute strength training sessions. Just not sure what to do with the holidays. Should I keep carb-cycling? Do I trust myself to practice portion control? Instead of low carb and high carb days, should I focus on having a protein, carb and fat at each meal like in the Game On! diet? Should I continue the 9 minute missions and Leslie videos? I have 2 Jillian Michael 30 day videos. Should I do one in Nov. and the other in Dec.? Carb-cycling will take me to Nov 10th. My parents will be here for 3 days over Thanksgiving, should I take a break those few days? I also have JM's Body Revolution. That's a 90 day program. I think I'll do that in Jan. Decisions. Decisions. I just know it's so easy for me to fall back into bad eating habits. Like yesterday!
The Mt. Vernon stuff is going a little slow. The future bathroom is finally done. I have moved towards Card's room. I did get all the stickers off the door that the previous owners' kids had put on. The only thing I haven't finished with that is the sticky stuff from the foam stickers on the back of the door. I used nail polish remover and vinegar on the regular stickers. I googled solutions. Suggestions included vegetable oil, peanut butter and Goo Gone. I guess I've been putting it off because it sounds like it's going to get messier before it gets cleaner.
Having trouble getting a routine in place. Sometimes I just don't feel like doing what I need to do. So I don't and then things pile up and then I'm overwhelmed and so nothing gets done! In a feeble effort to work on that this week, I've using my timer. 15 minutes on this, 15 minutes on that, 15 more minutes on something else. With this, I did manage to get Trixie's clothes organized again. I still haven't put any toys in her room. Somehow, her room is still a disaster. She did get some birthday presents, but I just can't figure out how her room can look like it does. However, with no toys currently in the closet, the boxes on the little shelf unit in there have become a place for t-shirts and extra hangers. Not all the boxes. Just 1 big one for shirts and a little one for hangers. The pile of her stuff I had in the hall in the basement, Doc made her move into the toy room. This was right after the neighbor gave us 2 dressers from his daughter's room. What a disaster! I think I can sort and store Trixie's stuff in the dressers, instead of her room. The problem is the overwhelming piles of stuff. With my 15 minute timer this week, I moved the dressers to the wall and I cleaned out the drawers of the dresser that we've had in the toy room for years. It did have some school stuff in there from last year. Now it has small games and puzzles. There is a science drawer for Dash. I just need to finish cleaning off the top of that dresser. Then I'll start sorting the big totes and assign categories. Then I can move on to the boxes of stuff from Trixie's room. I think there is a bunch of craft stuff in there, too. My baby chest that I've had since I was a baby held school and craft stuff in the last house. It's in the garage right now because it needs a little repair. Doc just hasn't gotten around to it yet. If I can get that in the house sooner than later, I can put that in the hall outside the toy room to hold craft items. Overwhelming......but hopefully doable.....15 minutes at a time. We got two chunks of money recently so I think Doc is going to work on the new bathroom first. I think there may be enough money to finish the toy room (walls, floor, ceiling). I need to get it organized so that project will be easier. Hopefully we can get the rest of the basement flooring in. The library will be really fun with 10 full bookcases that will have to be moved. It will probably be 11 or 12 bookcases by the time we get to that point. I have books stacked on the floor already. Just so hard to focus on one thing when so many things need attention. I'll keep the toy room close to the top of the list as Doc could at any moment just go in there and pitch everything. I do agree that some of it needs to go, but........15 minutes at a time......diligently!
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Busy Week
The kids all seem to be doing okay with adjusting to school. Cards still insists that he doesn't have any friends. He's gone to the church youth group the last two weeks so I'm hoping he's getting to know some kids. I helped in Trixie's class one morning. That will become a regular thing. In a couple weeks I'll be helping in Dash's class, too. Sometimes I'll work with students and sometimes do things to help their teachers.
Trixie and Dash's school was locked down because of a police incident in the area. The kids were safe. However, it certainly makes me wonder if not homeschooling is the right choice.
This was the slingshot week for carb-cycling. All high carb meals. Only lost .2 pounds. Certainly wish that decimal point was on the other side of the 2. Last week's weigh-in was 1.4 pounds. My grand total is now 4.8 pounds lost. Hopefully with getting back to a regular cycling week that next week's number will be better. I also missed a shredding session because I helped with picture day at school. Had to be there early. Although, that doesn't provide a sufficient excuse why I couldn't walk in the evening. I also did half a walk on Friday because I took the dog with me. He isn't good for intervals. Friday was really off waiting for the FedEx man to come with my new mattress. How easily I get derailed. Need to have a plan B in place when things don't go as planned.
For my Mt. Vernon, I started with the future bathroom. I sorted the stuff that was on the storage shelves. I picked up a couple new totes. Doc unpacked stuff and just had it on the shelves. I'm grouping stuff and putting it in labeled totes. So kitchen items will be together. I'll post little index cards on the shelves listing what is on there so when we have to retrieve something it will be easier to find. I hope. Because of my two mornings at school, I didn't get done as much as I could have. I was going to work on it today, but spent a lot of time emptying Trixie's room. Oh my goodness, she has a lot of stuff.
Failures of the week have been noted and a plan of attack for next week are in the works.
Trixie and Dash's school was locked down because of a police incident in the area. The kids were safe. However, it certainly makes me wonder if not homeschooling is the right choice.
This was the slingshot week for carb-cycling. All high carb meals. Only lost .2 pounds. Certainly wish that decimal point was on the other side of the 2. Last week's weigh-in was 1.4 pounds. My grand total is now 4.8 pounds lost. Hopefully with getting back to a regular cycling week that next week's number will be better. I also missed a shredding session because I helped with picture day at school. Had to be there early. Although, that doesn't provide a sufficient excuse why I couldn't walk in the evening. I also did half a walk on Friday because I took the dog with me. He isn't good for intervals. Friday was really off waiting for the FedEx man to come with my new mattress. How easily I get derailed. Need to have a plan B in place when things don't go as planned.
For my Mt. Vernon, I started with the future bathroom. I sorted the stuff that was on the storage shelves. I picked up a couple new totes. Doc unpacked stuff and just had it on the shelves. I'm grouping stuff and putting it in labeled totes. So kitchen items will be together. I'll post little index cards on the shelves listing what is on there so when we have to retrieve something it will be easier to find. I hope. Because of my two mornings at school, I didn't get done as much as I could have. I was going to work on it today, but spent a lot of time emptying Trixie's room. Oh my goodness, she has a lot of stuff.
Failures of the week have been noted and a plan of attack for next week are in the works.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Good Start to September
The munchkins started school yesterday. Trixie came home happy. She loves her teacher and had a great day. Dash was grumpy which isn't unusual. No friend yet. Not really liking anything. Begged to be homeschooled. Praying fervently that his attitude will change and that he comes to enjoy school. Cards had a strange day. He was all prepared to change classes. We even went to school twice last week to practice walking through his schedule. Guess they just broke them into groups and went over handbook stuff. He came home with a headache. Poor guy. He had stomach butterflies this morning at the thought of doing the schedule today. Every Wednesday is early release day so the kids will be home about 1-1/2 hours earlier. A good day to go to the library without disrupting homework and chores.
Second day home alone and I love it. Finding that I'm more productive in the morning. I get up at 5 and do my 9 minute strength training exercises. I eat breakfast and read my devotional. Pack lunches for everybody. Get the kids up, fed, dressed and out the door. I read a chapter from a book Trixie picked out while standing in the driveway waiting for the bus. Yesterday I tried to take the dog for a walk, but he isn't quite as cooperative while I'm trying to do intervals. I went without him today. I'm up to 15 minutes of cardio with 1 minute alternating low and high intensity. By this time it's only 7:30. Then I do my GMG Bible study time and map out the day. I spent time cleaning up the kitchen. Had a cup of vinegar and water in the microwave explode. So glad I wasn't standing in the kitchen at the time. Washed 2 loads of laundry. For my Mt. Vernon, yesterday I cleaned the screen door. I didn't clean the glass as that is on the kids' chore list. Today, with the help of some music, I put the entry window curtain in the dryer for a few minutes to remove the dust, washed the blinds, vacuumed the screen and washed both sides of the window. To finish the entry this week I need to clean out the closet, clean the little table with still mostly alive plants and the floor. Next week I'll make my way down the stairs and work on the future 3rd bathroom. There are storage shelves down there and a box or 2 yet to be unpacked. Trixie's room is such a disaster. She is such a pack rat. I think I will take everything out of her room, box it up and store it in that area. Every day we'll pick out 5 items, determine if they are worthy of returning to her room or if they need to move to the toy room, donated and tossed. Her room isn't for some time with Mt. Vernon, but she can't live like that. The boys are going on a camping trip next weekend so that would be a good time for us to pack up her room.
Carb-cycling is going really well. My first weigh-in I lost 1.6 pounds. I wasn't expecting anything so I was very pleased. The second weigh-in I lost another 1.6 pounds. That must be my number. At that pace it would take about 31 weeks to lose 50 pounds. That would keep within the my goal time frame. Next week on the program is the slingshot week where every day will be a high-carb day to keep my body from becoming too efficient with my calorie intake and adjusting my metabolism down. Just shaking things up a bit to keep it running high and burning fat.
Still tweaking our schedules but feeling pretty good with the little steps moving forward.
Second day home alone and I love it. Finding that I'm more productive in the morning. I get up at 5 and do my 9 minute strength training exercises. I eat breakfast and read my devotional. Pack lunches for everybody. Get the kids up, fed, dressed and out the door. I read a chapter from a book Trixie picked out while standing in the driveway waiting for the bus. Yesterday I tried to take the dog for a walk, but he isn't quite as cooperative while I'm trying to do intervals. I went without him today. I'm up to 15 minutes of cardio with 1 minute alternating low and high intensity. By this time it's only 7:30. Then I do my GMG Bible study time and map out the day. I spent time cleaning up the kitchen. Had a cup of vinegar and water in the microwave explode. So glad I wasn't standing in the kitchen at the time. Washed 2 loads of laundry. For my Mt. Vernon, yesterday I cleaned the screen door. I didn't clean the glass as that is on the kids' chore list. Today, with the help of some music, I put the entry window curtain in the dryer for a few minutes to remove the dust, washed the blinds, vacuumed the screen and washed both sides of the window. To finish the entry this week I need to clean out the closet, clean the little table with still mostly alive plants and the floor. Next week I'll make my way down the stairs and work on the future 3rd bathroom. There are storage shelves down there and a box or 2 yet to be unpacked. Trixie's room is such a disaster. She is such a pack rat. I think I will take everything out of her room, box it up and store it in that area. Every day we'll pick out 5 items, determine if they are worthy of returning to her room or if they need to move to the toy room, donated and tossed. Her room isn't for some time with Mt. Vernon, but she can't live like that. The boys are going on a camping trip next weekend so that would be a good time for us to pack up her room.
Carb-cycling is going really well. My first weigh-in I lost 1.6 pounds. I wasn't expecting anything so I was very pleased. The second weigh-in I lost another 1.6 pounds. That must be my number. At that pace it would take about 31 weeks to lose 50 pounds. That would keep within the my goal time frame. Next week on the program is the slingshot week where every day will be a high-carb day to keep my body from becoming too efficient with my calorie intake and adjusting my metabolism down. Just shaking things up a bit to keep it running high and burning fat.
Still tweaking our schedules but feeling pretty good with the little steps moving forward.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Oh My Goodness
Okay, so it's been 9 months since my last entry. A quick summary....Doc returned home in Jan. from almost 9 months in Japan. Because of some issues that came up there, he decided he's not cut out to do what he'd been doing and has wanted to do since he was 10. He feels limited by the (unethical?) actions of others. Before returning home, he made it to round 2 of interviews with a place in Dallas. The week after his return, we were both flown to Dallas for the weekend. A few weeks after that he went on an interview to another place in WI. He ended up accepting the 2nd job in March. We listed our house at the end of March, spent a crazy 10 days painting, replacing, fixing, packing our house, and then had showings and an open house. Got a depressing offer in 3 weeks. The market has definitely not recovered and we lost a lot on our house. Yuck!
I quit my job at the end of February because of the kitchen Nazi and her minion. That job was way too fun to have it ruined by people like that. However, God knows best. He knew how busy it was going to get with the house stuff and moving. He knew I would try to keep working on top of everything else. So as sad as it was, it was the best decision.
June 24th we drove away from our first home and to Wisconsin. Had our closing for our new house the next morning and unloaded the truck. So here we are in the middle of farm country. It's beautiful. Doc has made a total career change and has spent a number of weeks in training. Lots of evening and weekend studying. A few more months of training and then the hopefully promised "more family time."
We live in a nice neighborhood in a small town. The kids are all registered for school which will be starting on Sept. 3rd. Dash and Trixie went to a 3 week summer school at their school. They did a little reading and math and put together a little musical for parents. It was very cute. Cards will be in middle school. We met with the guidance counselor and toured the school. The open houses are next week so we can meet teachers and bring in supplies. Already bought supplies. Just need new tennis shoes for everybody and maybe some clothes for Cards. A little sad that I'm not homeschooling. Have lots of money tied up in curriculum. Thinking that I can still work in some of this stuff during breaks and summer.
I'm looking forward to having some time at home. As I was packing up the house I found lots of unfinished projects. So I've written down all the pieces I want to fit into my schedule. I know the bus is coming at 7:10. Not sure when the kids will get home from school. Just trying to figure out which days would be best to get what things done. I have 2 long term goals I want to focus on this year. The first is to methodically go through our house to clean and organize. I read about the Mount Vernon method in a book once and have it on my to-do list more than once but never really did it. Now I have the time and a new house that I want to go through. I've taken the first step and cleaned the front door. I haven't done the screen door yet. The entry way is the first order of business that I want to get done the first week of school. The second goal is weight loss. I'm doing a carb-cycling program with a friend. I've been on the program since Monday. My first weigh-in is tomorrow. Not expecting to see any changes this time. I read in the book that it's not uncommon for no change in weight at first if there is a re-composition of the body's fat and muscle. I'm hoping I've lost a little fat and gained a little muscle. I took measurements which I think I'll take every 4 weeks and weigh-in every Saturday. I haven't been brave enough to take before pictures yet. I've done the morning shaper exercises every day this week. Even got up early for that! Will need to get up earlier when school starts so that things run smoothly when the kids wake up. Still need to do today's cardio time. The boys have been walking with me which has been fun. I have to eat every 3 hours for 5 meals with high-carb and low-carb days alternating. Sunday will be my reward day when I can eat anything I want. I can hardly wait! I've been really good this week. I only ate 1 cookie on Tuesday that the neighbor sent over. I even waited for a high-carb day to eat it. Slow and steady with the goal of around 50 pounds by the end of the school year. I'm meeting with a new doctor in Oct. and will ask her what she thinks a good weight for me. I'm guessing it will be somewhere near the 50 pound goal.
Crazy 9 months survived. Looking forward to getting things accomplished and getting settled.
I quit my job at the end of February because of the kitchen Nazi and her minion. That job was way too fun to have it ruined by people like that. However, God knows best. He knew how busy it was going to get with the house stuff and moving. He knew I would try to keep working on top of everything else. So as sad as it was, it was the best decision.
June 24th we drove away from our first home and to Wisconsin. Had our closing for our new house the next morning and unloaded the truck. So here we are in the middle of farm country. It's beautiful. Doc has made a total career change and has spent a number of weeks in training. Lots of evening and weekend studying. A few more months of training and then the hopefully promised "more family time."
We live in a nice neighborhood in a small town. The kids are all registered for school which will be starting on Sept. 3rd. Dash and Trixie went to a 3 week summer school at their school. They did a little reading and math and put together a little musical for parents. It was very cute. Cards will be in middle school. We met with the guidance counselor and toured the school. The open houses are next week so we can meet teachers and bring in supplies. Already bought supplies. Just need new tennis shoes for everybody and maybe some clothes for Cards. A little sad that I'm not homeschooling. Have lots of money tied up in curriculum. Thinking that I can still work in some of this stuff during breaks and summer.
I'm looking forward to having some time at home. As I was packing up the house I found lots of unfinished projects. So I've written down all the pieces I want to fit into my schedule. I know the bus is coming at 7:10. Not sure when the kids will get home from school. Just trying to figure out which days would be best to get what things done. I have 2 long term goals I want to focus on this year. The first is to methodically go through our house to clean and organize. I read about the Mount Vernon method in a book once and have it on my to-do list more than once but never really did it. Now I have the time and a new house that I want to go through. I've taken the first step and cleaned the front door. I haven't done the screen door yet. The entry way is the first order of business that I want to get done the first week of school. The second goal is weight loss. I'm doing a carb-cycling program with a friend. I've been on the program since Monday. My first weigh-in is tomorrow. Not expecting to see any changes this time. I read in the book that it's not uncommon for no change in weight at first if there is a re-composition of the body's fat and muscle. I'm hoping I've lost a little fat and gained a little muscle. I took measurements which I think I'll take every 4 weeks and weigh-in every Saturday. I haven't been brave enough to take before pictures yet. I've done the morning shaper exercises every day this week. Even got up early for that! Will need to get up earlier when school starts so that things run smoothly when the kids wake up. Still need to do today's cardio time. The boys have been walking with me which has been fun. I have to eat every 3 hours for 5 meals with high-carb and low-carb days alternating. Sunday will be my reward day when I can eat anything I want. I can hardly wait! I've been really good this week. I only ate 1 cookie on Tuesday that the neighbor sent over. I even waited for a high-carb day to eat it. Slow and steady with the goal of around 50 pounds by the end of the school year. I'm meeting with a new doctor in Oct. and will ask her what she thinks a good weight for me. I'm guessing it will be somewhere near the 50 pound goal.
Crazy 9 months survived. Looking forward to getting things accomplished and getting settled.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)