Fan Girl Wannabe

I haven't had the emotional energy to post much lately, mainly because most of what I've been thinking about posting has been a long string of whining.  Or whinging, if you're on the other side of the ocean.




No, it will take too long.  Let me sum up:  I think I need to get laid.  Preferably in a tropical paradise.
At least tonight they'll be giving us the 2007 Dream Home in CO ::g::  Well, if they know what's good for them, they'll be awarding it to us.

It's been awhile since I've posted about this topic. I'm holding fairly steady at 10 lbs down from the starting point. Happy about that because a big chunk of my former clothes have been returned to my wardrobe, including 3 of my all-time-favorite bras.  Also, I've packed away several pairs of pants that DH informed me make my butt look big :)  OTOH, I worry that I'll stall out here, because I already spent a couple of years at this particular weight, and my body is probably saying, "oh yeah, we know how to do this" so I'm thinking it will take drastic measures to move any lower. ::sigh::

Drastic measures = regular exercise. Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy walking and doing other physical things, like yoga. The problem is, I'm terrible at keeping at a higher level of activity all by myself. I need a buddy to kick me in the pants and get me moving on those days I'd rather sit. Also, this time of year is just harder to deal with. I don't like working out in the cold, I'm not really attracted to cold-weather sports. Ice skating can be fun, but it's not something I'd do regularly. Skiing and boarding are out - I'm too much of a klutz.

And finally, there's the time factor. Eight hours of work a day, at least another hour commuting, another half hour minimum collecting the girl from practice, 1.5 hours min. in the kitchen getting dinner ready, more time cleaning up if the kids aren't around or have serious homework. Cleaning the house, ooh - here's a good one - I take about an hour in the morning to shower and wake up and eat before leaving.  Eight hours of sleep, or I'm useless. Laundry. I used to always do it all on the weekend. For the past couple of months I've been trying to do a load a day. I usually start it up in the morning. If I think of it, I get it out in the evening, but usually, I just leave it till the next morning. There's constantly one load in the washer, one in the dryer, and one needing to be put away, and I never really know where any particular item is. When I did it all on the weekend, at least I knew that on Monday, everything was clean and available. A fresh slate.  But I digress.  A couple of hours just vegging out in the evening - reading, corresponding, getting a stargate or CSI fix, and pretending that equals quality time with DH.  I actually try to do my personal phone calling in the car, even though I hate to talk while driving.  But while I'm waiting for the girl, I can chat with someone.  All of this means I've got very little time left for exercise, and it seems so insurmountable, that mostly I just accept that it is, and don't think about it. 

Occasionally, I'll even get up half an hour earlier than anyone else, but I usually spend that time on-line or working.  I used to use that time for yoga, but it's hard in the winter when it's dark outside to want to exert myself.  Come summer, yoga will be a much more regular event.  Half an hour earlier in the morning means half an hour earlier to bed too.  I can't just give up half an hour of sleep on a regular basis.  I bet you're wondering when I even have sex.  LOL, I just realized, I can't even remember how long that's been.  I remember doing it, just not when.

Well, this took an unexpected turn.  I just wanted to say "go me" on the weight loss front and it turned into a whiny dissertation on how busy I am.  Like I'm any busier than anyone else.  At least I don't have both my kids needing to be ferried to multiple events every week.  And I'm not always the one doing the cooking, and we all know that I actually enjoy doing it.  DH has been folding those clean clothes lately.  The kids are doing a much better job in the kitchen on their clean-up nights.  All in all, I just need to get better at multi-tasking or trade out some of my activities.  But exercise is always always always going to be a low priority unless it involves being out doors with a bunch of friends.

Yay! Had to weigh one last time this year and Whew! I'm actually 1 lb below pregnancy weight!! First mini-goal accomplished. On to getting into the blue sequins - 3-6 more lbs should do it. Maybe by the time I achieve it, I will have figured out how to post pics, LOL.

Goals for 2006 include painting the entry hall, paying off debts incurred in 2005 because of unemployment and rebuilding the car engine, finding decent health insurance for the fam, visiting my sister in NV, and getting our retirement funds organized ito one coherent plan. Can anyone recommend a good financial advisor?

I hope everyone is safe, happy and healthy tonight and throughout 2006.

Earlier today, I was tempted to write this:

"Hangover. That is all."

Last night I learned that if you don't stay in training for heavy duty partying, you can't party like you normally would. These past couple months of cutting my alcohol intake by at least half seem to have left me a bit of a lightweight. Because before the diet? Those 2 tequilas and 1 beer with dinner, then the 2 beers, 2 pints water, 2 vodkas and the last tequila shooter (over the course of ~6 hours) would have left me quite tipsy and playful, and hungry for hash browns in the morning. Instead, after getting home, I spent half the night praying to various catch basins, tearfully apologizing for ruining the fun by being sick, and forgetting several quite interesting verbal forays, one of which apparently started with "I am a slut and I want you to...." you get the picture. I don't even remember much of my Bday spanking!

I finally recovered around 5 and put on clothes and finally took the fam to the mall for our annual xmas trek. We actually avoided most of the traffic by going at that time, and while the mall was still full of shoppers, in most of the stores we had minimal waits to check out.

Also, if I keep off the weight I lost last night till Monday, I will have lost 10 lbs!! Yay me! And Mavis is pleased for me, but also weirded out, because I will be only 5 lbs heavier than her. But she is all muscle because she's 15 and works out almost every day, so even if we weigh the same, I won't be able to wear any of her clothes! But I will be wearing the blue sequins. So there.

Rupert has decided to go to school each friday dressed in a different musical genre. The first friday he had Mavis help him put together and "emo" look. Yesterday was the second foray. He went to school dressed in blue jeans, chuck taylors, a lavender dress shirt with a black silk tie (it wasn't actually skinny enough, but it was all he had), black eyeliner and his hair gelled into a mohawk. It was totally "Sex Pistols" early punk. Next week I believe "acid rock" is on the schedule. After he left, it occured to me that we'll be going through an all new round of girls calling the house to speak to the boy. He had just gotten them to quit, LOL. When he got home, I asked how his outfit went over. He turned pink and said, "I think I was pretty sexy. I had two people ask to lick my head." After I stopped choking, I warned him to be ready for the phone calls.

Well, I feel like I've been writing meeting reports continuously this week, so even though in my head I've got at least 3 LJ entries written, I'm not gonna write them tonite.  In summary:

No weight change. It's December, and even though I should be glad the number isn't going up, I'm bummed it isn't going down.

Subaruby!! Brought the new baby home on Wed, and have to get the borrowed transportation back to cfxjosh  and leathermines. Thanks you guys! You rock! We are once again a 2-car family, with a '01 Subaru Legacy as the newest member of the family. Say sayonara to the year of the car.

The Gay and Lesbian Business Alliance has named 'My Caterer' their official caterer! Tuesday was a big success and moreso because of the skills and talents of cfxjosh and leathermines. See above. How cool is it that a professional cake decorator decided to stay till the mini creme puffs were served, and then pronounced them delightfully light and airy?! There were actual groans of appreciation as barley52 carried them to their pedastal. It's been such a long week that I fear my spelling sucks....

There's been some amazing writing and reccing on my flist this week, and I've tried to keep up, but I've had limited time.

Got my first 2 weeks of pay from the new job too. Bank account is very happy.

Installed shelves and a bulletin board, a cordless phone and a shiny new laptop in my job trailer. Too bad said laptop came with nothing but Lotus Notes installed. Took all week to straighten it out, and am still missing Project. But, things are definitely coming into focus on the job.

Tonight, I recycled the leftover scallop ceviche as scallops in cream. Heavy cream in a light roux flavored with tarragon. Drain the scallops, add to the cream, heat through and serve over angel hair. The tanginess of the lime in the scallops played nicely against the richness of the cream. Had a glass of german riesling on the side. Served myself seconds, then couldn't even take a bite. There's one dish waiting in the fridge for DH. It was all his fault to begin with ::g::

So that's the week in review.

Not going to do the ticker today. I'm at 140 again, which is cool, considering how much I ate and drank this week, but it's not the kind of progress I can brag about. Hopefully the new job is going to rev up my activity level enough to combat losing the daily walks. Oh, who am I kidding, haven't walked regularly in 2 weeks anyway, and with winter arriving, wasn't likely to get back on *that* horse. But, increased activity is increased activity. Every little bit helps.

I am going to have to figure out how I'm going to handle lunches. The trailer has nothing in the way of appliances, and there is a Culver's just 2 blocks away. Not a good omen. Carrying in lunch in the dead of winter is a bit of a challenge, since I'm such a soup fiend in cold weather. And I'll have to carry in my 2 qts of water each day. I can't get away with little or no food during the day - my blood sugar will not allow it, so I'm going to have to get creative.

A little backslide this week. I guess it could have been worse with 3 nights out in a row last weekend and yesterday's constant urge to graze.

I've walked Cosmo 6/7 days and we're doing 1.5 miles in 25 min or less, so that's good. There's still 6 beers in the fridge from the last grocery trip, and when we went for groceries again today we decided not to buy any new alcohol. So that's pretty huge for us. Hopefully the lack of alcohol will start adding up, and my little snail will crawl a little further toward it's goal.

I've been trying to do something physical at least every other day. This currently translates to "walk the dog." We get in 1.5 to 2.5 miles each time out. I've managed 5 times this week, which is better than expected.
I imagine that when the weather gets yucky, I might be motivated to go back to yoga regularly. I love yoga, but I haven't been in the right frame of mind for it. I like it early in the morning, while the house is quiet. But to get that, I have to be doing it at 5 am or 530 at the latest. I'm not so crazy about this time slot. Yes, yes, I could do it after everyone leaves the house, but then it wouldn't be early and meditative. It would seem more like exercise than balance-seeking. Does this seem dumb? It seems dumb to me, but I can't seem to break the mindset.
I also fantasize that I'll be motivated to walk/run the stairs in the house a few times a week. This is plausible because we have 3 sets of stairs in the house, so it would be a decent circuit, if somewhat boring.
As for calorie control, I've come to the conclusion that the only place I can really ditch calories is in the alcohol department. I'm really quite the lush. I like a beer in the afternoon. Or at least while I'm cooking dinner. Unless I'm cooking with wine, which means I'll want a glass of that. If I'm making something that's going to be accompanied by vodka, I want wine while I'm cooking that too. If I have a martini with dinner, I'm going to want at least one more after dinner. If there's a liqueur in the house, I'll want it for dessert. I don't usually eat dessert, but I can almost always be convinced (like it takes any effort) to have a nightcap/dessert drink. After two martinis, I tend to lose judgement about how many more I should have. So really, one drink per day should be my limit. And if I manage to do that think of how many calories I won't be consuming! Because really, if I drink something besides alcohol, its water. Maybe herbal tea. I might have some juice on Sunday morning, or a glass of silk or milk instead of a snack, but that's pretty much it. No sodas, no coffee. Oh. Eggnog in the winter, but that usually replaces a snack or dessert or alcoholic drink. Sheesh, I forgot eggnog season was upon us. When we go out to eat, we 99.9% of the time go where there is a good bar of some kind. No Perkins for us, LOL.
Most of our friends know we eat pretty healthy stuff. I don't snack much, we don't keep a lot of traditional snack food in the house. Tortilla chips, cause we're all addicted to salsa. Popcorn. Some crackers. We all eat way too much cheese, but we also eat more veggies than most people, and lots of fruit. Whole grains, not a lot of meat, and we try to go with fresh and home-made as much as possible. We don't do a lot of cream sauces, but we're hitting the season for scalloped potatoes & pork chops. That dish is a serious downfall. We're pretty low fat all the time except for cheese and winter dishes that require milk and cheese. So it's the alcohol I have to cut back on. Oy.
I have successfully navigated the first Epic "hurdle." This is the first time they've asked me for more info. It's actually less info than was on the on-line application, but it's a hard-copy form I have to fill out and send in. Maybe they want to analyze my handwriting? Maybe they want to see how quickly I'll respond to the request? Who knows. I think it will be interesting to speak to them about the job even if I don't end up with it.
I'm trying to get the MAPC website posted for review, but I am too much of a dummie I guess. I'm positive that it's something relatively minor, and all it would take is someone who has published a web before to come over and point and say, "hey, you do it this way, ya big dummie." Any takers? Come on... you know you want to abuse me. ::bwg::
Mavis announced yesterday that she passed her test to get her temporary driver's license. EEEEK!
Rupert is 13 on Friday (11/4) and his big brother is 30 the same day. More EEeek!

You actually get to pick your tracker and your slider, and I like flowers so...

The bee is kinda fat, but there were butterflies too. I'm going to try to be more serious about weight control from here on out. I've really been a slacker for over 2 yrs, as is evidenced by the upward trend. I'm tired of my clothes not fitting, and not getting to wear my absolutely fabulous blue sequined cocktail dress. It's the single most expensive item of clothing I've ever owned, and it was totally worth every penny. So I will be wearing it again. Someday. It makes me feel like I'm Kathleen Turner, and that's never a bad thing - right? :)