I slept until 8:30 this morning! Sitting here drinking my coffee and my back is killing me. I was thinking about exercise yesterday evening and how ironic it all is. In order to feel better, relieve the aches and pains, and have more energy, I’ve got to get back into exercising. On the other hand, I don’t feel like exercising because of all the aches and pains and lack of energy. Still, I’m making a committment to myself and the rest of you BUTTS to dust off the treadmill this morning. No excuses, it’s going to happen.
Yesterday was a killer. I don’t think I sat down for more than five minutes all day. More than 50 teachers attended the training yesterday. Coming down to the library on their planning periods, dishing up nachos and getting some iced tea, and settling down to explore and learn about a lot of really great on-line sites for education. It went really well but the one time that I found myself free for a few minutes, I was refreshing all the food. Throwing Velvetta, diced onions, pimento, spinach and diced tomatoes into the crock pot mix and mashing up avocados to make more guacamole. After school, I found myself staring at the crock pot from Hell, paper plates, abandoned drinks, the projector, speakers, and laptops, bowls of salsa, beans, chips, etc. I’m sure you get the picture. I ran soapy water into the crock pot and left it sitting on the counter. I think I’d rather throw it out than try to scrub it down. Hopefully, it’ll be an easy clean up on Monday. I didn’t get home until almost five and collapsed on the couch in front of the TV. Got up long enough to put on my bathing suit and take a beer out to the spa. Thank God we’re off today.
DS called a few minutes ago. He’s excited, panicked, jubilant, scared, and a host of other emotions. A woman he knows, head of the Louisville Restaurant Association, called yesterday afternoon to tell him of a job opportunity with the public school system. The position is for the JCPS catering supervisor. It’s absolutely the best thing that could happen to him. He’s worked like a dog in the food industry for 22 years. Working his way up from being a line-cook to executive chef. The man works like a machine in hot kitchens, six days a week, to make a living. He became the executive chef for a very well known Louisville restaurant for eight years, won several awards, and was doing great until six years ago. The owner of the restaurant retired and sold it to a pair of total idiots who ran it into the ground and went bankrupt within three years. A Louisville landmark and institution for forty years and they destroyed it in a heartbeat. In the last six years, DS has gone through a bitter custody battle and a half dozen jobs with restaurants who want him to give 110% while paying him next to nothing. They always tell him how great he is and keep promising the moon but never deliver. In this economy, retaurants are closing their doors at an alarming rate and DS has been barely hanging on. He has full custody of both his kids but still hangs on to his significant other even though she has frequent meltdowns as a result of being bi-polar. I’ve seen his self-esteem plummet and it breaks my heart. He looked up the job on the JCPS Employment page and was really excited. Starting pay is $42,000 and it comes with full benefits. He’s never had any benefits other than a two week vacation some years. He came over yesterday evening to get me to help him update his resume.
This morning, before he’s even had a chance to apply for the job or send in a resume, he got a personal call from the woman who heads the school system food services. She’s the one who hires for the position. She said the woman who heads the Louisville Restaurant Association gave him a strong recommendation and she’s very anxious to meet with him. She wanted to meet him today but he made an excuse about the kids being off and not having a babysitter. The truth is that he was just overwhelmed and couldn’t process it. He told me he doesn’t know what to wear and wants to get a haircut and finish polishing his resume. She wants him to meet with the hiring committee on Monday. Although she’s the one who hires for the position, he would have to get the recommendation from the committee as well. He so deserves this. He’s 37 years old and has absolutely no job security, retirement, insurance, or benefits. He works at the whims and moods of a total jerk who owns the restaurant where he’s currently working and treats him like dirt. I want this for him so bad. I’m praying he’ll get this opportunity for a well-paying job with full benefits and the security that comes with having a contract and union for support. All prayers are appreciated, chickies! Please..please…please…
2:00 - Okay, that’s it…DS came over with the grandkiddies and it’s kept things going a little bit crazy. I still don’t have the house finished and I have lots to do. Still, I made a committment to myself and I AM heading upstairs.
2:45 - This is not going well. I got dressed, filled my water bottle and headed upstairs. Found that my treadmill is piled up with boxes and suitcases. Put all the suitcases and boxes in the attic and discovered that my fan is gone. Went searching for the fan and found it in DH’s workroom. Carried it back upstairs and discovered that the earphones are missing on my MP3. Found a set of earphones, turned on my MP3, stepped on the treadmill, and the MP3 went dead. Came downstairs and got another battery but it won’t even start. I just put both batteries in the 15 minute recharger. I’m determined to do this. That means I have another fifteen minutes to clean while I wait for the batteries to recharge. I AM going to do this.
3:45 - I DID it! 33 minutes of treadmill at 3.0mph, interspersed with low impact aerobics and step aerobics. Something I would have considered a big time cop out 6 months ago but a mark of achievement today. I meant to do 30 minutes but that would have had me stopping in the middle of Rob Thomas and Santana doing Smooth and there just isn’t any way that can happen. That’s one tune that I just gotta move to! I didn’t get to that wonderful feeling of empowerment that happens after a totally intense 60 or 90 minute workout but I did get pretty heated up. My legs felt like lead but I kept moving. I’m pleased with myself.
I haven’t eaten anything today but a 6″ Subway Club but I’m fixing beef barley soup for dinner. If I can control the food this evening, I’ll consider this a perfect day.
5:15 - I wish DS would get back. He went over to do some yardwork for MIL. He was going to take the kids but I told him he could leave them here. It’s throwing me off track. They brought cookies, koolaid, and popcorn and it’s making me hungry. I was okay with the cookies, not in the mood, and I don’t like koolaid but the popcorn is driving me crazy. I can’t read a book or watch TV because they’re too demanding for me to tune them out and I don’t want to anyway but it’s throwing kinks into my game plan for today. I played a game of Wii tennis with them (I actually won!) and ate a handful of popcorn. I’ve gotta get dinner moving before I starve to death.
8:30 - Still hanging in there. I fixed some fabulous beef barley soup (recipe in My Favorite Recipes category). If nothing else, I can fix a mean pot of soup. Now I’m facing the danger zone. Those hours when I can relax, watch some TV and have free time. I’m ready. My belly is full of soup and I have some “Fit and Healthy” frozen yogurt bars. I’m going to fix a BIG glass of iced tea (which will probably have me running to the bathroom on a regular basis till dawn) and, in an hour or so, I’m going for that frozen yogurt as a reward for a perfect day!
