(Maintaining Me) RE-Creating Me

Happy Day-Before-Friday! 

Yesterday was another good day.  I actually did shut my laptop (around) 5:30 and didn’t open it again until kids were in bed, and then put in an hour of schoolwork and got to bed early.  So far my plan is working, but of course, this week is the pre-term week when we are just doing “icebreakers” so the real assignments haven’t started just yet … in two to three weeks, I should know if my new schedule is doable.

Food was good and on plan, exercise day off as DD had girlscouts.  They were working on their last Daisy petal which was EXERCISE.  They had this karate guy come up and they did some kickboxing moves, which was cute.  Then, the finale was supposed to be him chopping 3 cement blocks in half, and he couldn’t do it!  So he took one off and tried to do 2, and he couldn’t do that either!  Then  ONE, and still nothing!  NOT that it is easy, because I am sure it is not simple at all and I could *never* do that, but it was a little bizarre that he made this whole production out of it and then couldn’t do it.  The girls really didn’t care though.  If it were boys, they probably would have been disappointed, lol.

Today’s plans are work, dinner (and simultaneously help DS13 bake oatmeal cookies that he needs to make for something), clean up, exercise, time with kids, packing kids bags for the weekend, and schoolwork.  OH, and Greys tonight!  Somehow I have to fit that in.  If work is slow this afternoon and I can get some schoolwork done, that might be feasible.  Nope, just remembered I have orientation scheduled … okay, may be DVRing Greys for the weekend.

Breakfast today was egg beaters on english, coffee; lunch is LC turkey apples stuffing; dinner is 95% lean burgers and baked fries; for snacks I have an apple, banana, yogurt, granola bar … that is my stockpile at the office, NOT that I plan on eating all of them! lol

Okay, off to get my day started.  Hugs!

(Aside from my kiddos) I should come first.  So, I logged my food for the day (main stuff, will make minor adjustments, add/delete snacks, etc. as needed) and I am here saying good morning.

WI today, 2.4 lbs less than last week.  Rolling right along.

Followed the plan yesterday … treadmill for 45 minutes after dinner (which was OP), then haircuts for DD and I, back home pretty late but still managed to get most everything done.  I have some dinner dishes in the sink still … I usually never leave the kitchen with dirty dishes anywhere, but this is what I have to sacrifice on sometimes.

Today’s breakfast was oatmeal and coffee, lunch is a wrap I made with chicken breast, romaine lettuce and some canola mayo, and dinner is going to be a homemade calzone thing with lots of peppers and onions, a little hot italian sausage, part skim ricotta.  We will see how it turns out.  I have an apple, banana, and yogurt handy if/when snacks are needed.

Today’s goals are to get my old work PC cleaned off (ummm … it’s been sitting under my conference table for over a year, keeping it JUST in case!) and shipped out to IT, then regular work duties.  Dinner, dishes, lunches for tomorrow, Girl Scouts, kids to bed … then tackle school work.

I got some new dishes for my birthday from mom (which isn’t for almost another month, lol) … I have huge, heavy stoneware and I wanted a Corelle set for everyday use with the kids - light and virtually unbreakable, so I got the square Cherry Blossom pattern.  Very pretty, I am pleased.  She sent me something else to my house, a surprise … I am very rarely surprised but I have no clue what this is, hmmmmm ….

Okay, off to tackle my day.  Love to you all!

I will be 108 years old when I graduate, sigh.

I can’t believe how much work is due in the FIRST week of my two classes.  Intro to Psych and Management Principles.  Gahhh.

Well, I have figured out my personal downfall and I need to set aside a block of time daily that is for ME and FAMILY and NOT school nor work.  So, from now on, 5 pm - 8:30, I am shutting down work and school work.  Well, 5 pm is pushing it for work, but if I have to dabble in it or make phone calls while cooking, so be it.  So, here are some guidelines:

1. No work or schoolwork between 5 pm and 8:30 pm.
2. CLOSE my laptop during those hours so I am less tempted to do work (or any internet usage) during those hours.
3. Adhere to my exercise schedule of Mon-Tues-Thurs and one weekend day.  It is necessary for mental health as well as physical health.
4. Set aside 15 minutes each day for journalling and/or logging food at TDP.
5. Try not to obsess about school work!

I tend to get fixated on a project and I just cannot rest until it is done.  For example, if I am in the middle of writing a paper, I have a VERY hard time (like, impossible) in putting it aside to workout.  I will just be focused on the paper, resentful that I am exercising, and do it half assed (or, more likely, not at all).

Food yesterday was good.  Food today so far, good.  The plan is to finish up work, dinner, treadmill, haircuts, then after kids are in bed tonight, hit the books.  Breakfast was lowfat nutrigrain waffles w/ SF syrup, coffee; nectarine for snack; smart ones for lunch, banana; 100 cal fruit crisp for snack; grilled tilapia with baked oven fries and sauteed spinach for dinner.

Okay, back to work!

Two minutes to post, … busy but I promised myself I’d make time for ME.  DS got the bottom braces on today, cute!  I am excited for him.  Can’t wait to see the finished product, lol.  Due to that, my workday is shortened.

Breakfast today was the usual egg beater sandwich, coffee,; snack was nectarine; lunch was LC panini.  I am still hungry!  Dinner is going to be some chicken cheesy bisquick pie recipe I found, lowfat version.

Exercise today is another Firm DVD.

Have an awesome day ladies!

7:58 PM - Workout done!  Prepped veggies for the next two evening’s dinners.  About to do minor cleaning up before tucking kiddos in for the night then tackling more laundry.  My last evening before the new semester starts.  Will not eat anything else tonight!  Drinking water with lemon. 

I just realized why I have been having so much shoulder/neck pain the last couple months.  I always assumed it was the way I was sleeping!  I realized that my desk chair at home isn’t the most high quality, and before school I only worked at home 2 hours a day max, so that is how long I would be in the chair - no big deal.  But, when taking classes last semester I was in the chair at least 6 hours an evening and my back was killing me (and it was obviously from the chair) and working on the laptop was awkward, etc.  Anyway, I decided rather than spend more money on an expesive chair, I would get one of those lumbar supports for the chair, memory foam, something.  While on Amazon on a page looking at ergonomic workstation stuff, there was an arm support for your arm mouse to eliminate neck and shoulder strain so that your elbow can sit on this thing and you use your mouse!  It makes perfect sense, I never thought about it!  Unfortunately, I am not about to pay $160 for this gadget, lol, but now that I know what the problem is I can figure out something to fix it.  The problem is my home desk doesn’t allow me to scoot my seat all the way underneath, so I am set back a little and it is awkward to work at. 

Anyway …

I was starving last night.  Like, really hungry.  Ended up eating some cheez-its, 2 cherries, and a couple baked cheetos.  Still didn’t satisfy me, so I went up to bed.  Watched a ghost hunting show I DVRed with DS13.  Got a good night’s sleep.

Today: still have to stop at the store because I need eggs, egg beaters, bread and english muffins.  I am supposed to be driving my car all around - mechanic guy thinks that when we disconnected the battery last week to clean it, it re-boots something and now I have to drive it 80 miles to clear it, etc etc.  I hope he is right, but I am not driving around 80 miles today for the hell of it - gas is too expensive! lol, and my pacifica is not very fuel efficient.  So I have the trip odometer on and when I reach 80 during the week, I will swing by so he can retest it.  The good news is that they thing that came up as failed - Catalyst - is still under warranty.  Whew.  This is all just inconvenient.

What else … oh, did 45 minutes on the treadmill last night, some free weights, push ups, etc.  Going to do a weight DVD today. 

Other than that, laundry, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms.  I feel like I am ALWAYS saying that, but I guess that is because I am always doing that! 

Here is a tentative W/O schedule:

• Sunday - Firm DVD (bonus w/o, was supposed to be a break day)
• Monday - Firm DVD
• Tuesday - Treadmill
• Wednesday - Off, Girlscouts
• Thursday - Firm DVD
• Friday - Off, kids going to XH, Girls night out!
• Saturday - Not sure, entire day of school work, back to mechanic, so maybe yoga?

Last night I made the Chicken and Mushroom Chowder from Allrecipes and it was really yummy!  Even ALL 3 kids liked it and ALL said they wanted to have it again sometime, so you know it’s a keeper!  I am actually not sure what we are having tonight … have plenty of meals lined up for the week but those are set up for quick nights, so we shall see what today brings.

10 am on a Saturday, slowly infusing my body with caffeine to start the day.  Oatmeal eaten, laundry started, waiting for phone call from DS13 so I can go pick him up from his sleepover.  That really put a cramp in my workout - wanted to get it done first thing in the morning, but reality is I don’t have any set schedule today and can do it anytime, so I can’t use this as an excuse to throw me off track.

I do need an oil change/inspection today.  Gabby and I both need haircuts too, but I’m not sure if I am going to do that this weekend.  Maybe I can squeeze it in on a week night.  I hate getting an oil change, and especially an inspection.  I am always waiting for them to give me some terrible news that is going to cost me three thousand dollars, especially after last week’s debacle.  Sigh. 

Got into a big argument with R over renovations last night.  Everyday, it’s something.  He asks for my help and I give it again and again and again, but he is so damn indecisive it kills me.  I guess once I have a goal, I work towards it until everything is 100% completed and I don’t get side tracked, and it doesn’t drag on forever.  I am not talking about the actual work - but things like taking a month to call a painter for another estimate, or three weeks and not yet stopped at the plumbing store to get the vanity.  Grrr, frustrating.

I feel a little anxious today.  I am just going to get started.  Leaving in 20 minutes to get DS, then going straight to get car taken care of, stop at mall, maybe haircuts from there if she can squeeze us in.  Tonight will make the chicken and mushroom chowder, and will get my workout in.

Will check back in later to say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Real original title.

Today:

Work, Food Shopping, Sleepover DD’s room (I have been avoiding this for months! lol! but tonight is the night)

Tonight is exercise evening off, which is good, because I was totally sore throughout my workout last night.  I decided on a workout without any weights, so I did TurboJam Cardio Party 2.  Ate well, drank water, all in all a good day.

Tonight, I am armed with a healthy shopping list, so I am going to get food shopping out of the way.  Usually I do it on Sunday afternoons and then I am frustrated, rather be doing something else, rushing, etc.  I actually think tonight is going to be better because it will free up weekend time, plus I will have the food over the weekend to do a little prep work for the week.  I also plan on making the recipe that was sent out in the Allrecipes Daily Email - Chicken and Mushroom Chowder.  It looks yummy!! 

Breakfast today was thomas light mg english muffin with peanut butter and coffee; snacks I have are lemon parfait yogurt thingy (those new 100 calorie things, yummy!) and an orange; lunch is leftover pasta and chicken from dinner last night; and dinner - unsure.  It is just the twins and I since DS13 will be at a friends working on a project, and since we are going food shopping, dinner won’t be a big production.

Weekend - Exercise one of the days, preferrably Saturday.  Cloudy w/chance of Meatballs is playing in the $2 movie theater here (lol) so I might take the kids to see that, we have to make a trip to the mall.  Cleaning, food prep for the week, possibly haircuts.  Fun fun!

Love to you all!  Take care of yourselves, surround yourself with only those that make you happy.  I have found that too often I am dragged down (is that proper use of the word) by the same people over and over again, and I am not going to let that happen this year.  Hugs!

SBFF is down because her mom had a heart attack.  She was stable, now something just got worse.  She is coming over tonight between visiting hours, but I still may pop in at the hospital this afternoon.  I know the hospital is really particular right now on visitors (flu season), limiting it to two, so with her family there I may not get in to see her mother, but I’d like to be there to support SBFF.  Her relationship with her mother is a rocky one, she has a personality disorder which makes it very difficult, but no matter what it is her mom and this is hard on her.

Omg, employee issue … naked pictures on their pc.  Gotta love HR!!  I will try to get back to this.

Food good yesterday!

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Thanks ladies, she is doing much better.  She has stabilized and was placed on a progressive care unit.  Tomorrow is an angio and they go from there. 

Updating to add … food today, check. Water, check. Exercise, check.  It feels sooo nice to have my life back.  I WI today - I actually did gain 15 pounds over my first semester.  15 pounds in four lousy months!  Well holiday months, but still - I’ve never had that kind of weight gain since maintenance - and obviously, this is not maintenance!  Oh well - perhaps the Freshman 15 truly is not a myth and applies even to us oldies going back to school!?!?  :-D  Anyway, I need to lose 20 pounds … that would put me right in the middle of my maintenance range that I have been in since 2003.  I will get there, I know.  I am just worried sick about when school starts again, how I am going to find it - the balance.

Good night.

Boss brought in a box of Entenmann’s chocolate covered donuts - devil food chocolate inside too!  I’ve never had those ones, but from what I remember of the last time I tried regular chocolate frosted donuts, the coating was like wax.  Wasn’t even worth the calorie splurge.  Three days of me staring at them and resisting. 

Yesterday was great.  Food was great, exercise was great, got all my to-dos done. :-D  The meatloaf in the crockpot thing came out okay, but I didn’t care for how the potatoes turned out.  They were just alright.  I could have almost as easily prepared the meal the night before and just baked/roasted everything after I got home, and it would have turned out better.  Probably won’t make that again.

Breakfast today was egg beaters on my light thomas english muffin, coffee; morning snack was pear applesauce; lunch is light southwestern veggie soup; snack of an orange; dinner will be ham steaks with veggies and some random side, lol.  I was going to do a ham/scalloped potato crockpot thing tomorrow … but now I am not so sure.  If I do decide to do that, I will throw together a different meal with chicken.

Today is girl scouts, exercise day off, which is good since I am a little sore today.

I drank SO MUCH water yesterday!  More than I have in months! lol … I finally feel like I am ME again, getting back on track … problem is, in a week or two school will be starting and I will be stressed out and pressed for time again, and everything else will go to the wayside.  I need a faux-husband to help me!  Not that most of them accomplish anything around the house anyway, I guess, but at least he could be running the kids around to their activities while I get my exercise and studying in.  It is balancing all those things that are so difficult.

Decided to skip the movie theatre party for DS and go with Dino Dig.  It’s fun, but a little pricey … $22 per kid … although apparently all parties are that expensive now?  What happened to the $12 per kid days!?!?! lol!  I need to make all these arrangements now though, before school, and I can’t do homemade parties like I did last year - took weeks of planning, hours of work, plus it worked out to be much more than $22/child anyway.

Okay, back to work.  Have a great day everyone!

I got more accomplished yesterday than I had the three days preceeding.  Worked, cooked, cleaned, exercised, more cleaning, and still got to catch up on a show I DVRed.  Good day!  Food was good.  Won’t be making the orange rosemary chicken again, yuck.  Orange and rosemary just don’t mix to me.  Tonight I am trying a crockpot meatloaf recipe … basically you cut up potatoes and carrots and put them in the bottom of the crockpot, put your meatloaf on top, and cook!  Easy peezy.  I seasoned the veggies with a teeny bit of EVOO, garlic, salt and pepper, and made my meatloaf with 93% lean.  I should have enough for leftovers one night too.

Today is work, laundry, replace smoke detector backup batteries, tidy up garbage in the garage, exercise DVD or treadmill, prep for tomorrow. 

My textbooks arrived today … well, yesterday actually, but UPS left them by my garage instead of coming to the door, so I never knew they were there!  Grrrr.  $400 for books sitting in my driveway. 

Breakfast today was cocoa puffs and half a banana (lol, I know, but it is what the kids were having and I literally had 4 minutes to eat, literally) and coffee.  Had a small banana for snack, about to have a lean cuisine and orange, and then the meatloaf thing for dinner.  Exercise tonight is either another Firm or maybe Kids Tae Bo with DD and treadmill.

My boss just offered me lunch from my favoritest italian deli in the WORLD but I kindly declined.  Sigh.  Problem is we share a sandwich (they are big) and though I could make some healthy choices there, he won’t be interested in those, lol.

Okay, off to make a phone call for DS6’s movie theatre party, and then back to work.  Hugs!