Well, I’m pretty proud of myself today. I had a lovely morning shopping, as usual, and walking around lots in a couple of malls. Then hubby and I went into the city and started off with a walk along the river. We then stopped in at the new Borders store, as we have done for the past few weekends, as it is now my absolute FAVOURITE store in the whole city! Anyway… while we were there I saw that they have one of the employees reading books to kids. I LOVE reading to kids, so I spoke to the person who did the reading (who also happens to be a teacher, but couldn’t get a job because she has come from New Zealand and doesn’t have her permanency here) and I offered to volunteer to read to the kids on the weekends. They do readings at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays, which is perfect for me as we are often in the city then anyway. She took my name and number and said she’d pass it on to her boss. I am really proud of myself for doing this because I would never have volunteered to read to a group of strangers when I was bigger. I was wondering whether my confidence would necessarily increase as my girth decreased, and it certainly has! I REALLY hope that the boss gets back to me, because I have some books in mind already and can’t wait to get started.
Other than that, nothing really interesting has been happening here lately. On Friday I went to some professional development about helping children with Literacy problems, which was interesting. I came away with some good ideas for some of my little ones who are struggling. Now I just have to find the time to put the ideas into practice. I would love another pair of hands in my room full time to do all of the extra stuff I know needs to be done. I have the student teacher in there at the moment, but I am supposed to be standing back and leaving her to it, so I can’t really step in and work with the struggling kids when she is working on her own program. Still, I will find a way once she has finished.
Tomorrow I am hoping to get another walk with hubby in. The weather is supposed to stay fine, but still cold. I don’t think the rain is due until Monday.
I was a little disappointed that I needed a nap on Thursday afternoon, because I was worried that the needles may not have been working as well as I’d hoped, but I didn’t need one yesterday, and Friday is usually my WORST afternoon for feeling tired. And I haven’t had a nap today, so things are looking up again. Perhaps Thursday was just a little ‘catch-up’ nap, as I don’t get a full 8 hours’ sleep a night, and I am definitely an eight hour a night person.
My weight is a little up, and I’m hoping to see TOM soon, to explain for that. My weight has been a little up anyway, and hubby said that maybe I will have a ‘summer’ and a ‘winter’ weight, as I tend to eat a little more in winter. My dietitian friend said that this was because our bodies have to burn more to keep warm. Anyway… this wouldn’t normally be a problem, but I don’t want my weight to go up TOO much, because I have sent in my weight for that “Slimmer of the Year” competition and I don’t want it to be higher than I said, if I can help it. I know that they will have to cater for a little fluctuation, but I would prefer if it wasn’t too much, especially seeing as I always weigh myself in the morning, naked, before I eat and after going to the bathroom. I’m not sure if the competition people will want to weigh me or not (assuming I even get INTO the competition) but it won’t be before I have eaten and it DEFINITELY won’t be naked! So it is going to be higher than I said anyway. I told them 161lbs and at the moment I am sitting around 163lbs I think. Oh well, I will just see how I go after this week.
Patti – Did the workmen end up coming? It must be a pain to have to change your routine, then find that it wasn’t for any good reason. I find that I like to stick to a workout routine as much as possible, because then it is easier to just DO IT. If it is part of your everyday life, then it can’t be missed. A bit like having a shower or brushing your teeth. Just something that has to be done each day.
I am like you, and am MUCH better in the mornings. I am certainly a ‘morning person’. I was forcing myself to do a workout in the afternoon and I was SO relieved when the doctor said I didn’t need to be doing two sessions a day. I have upped my morning session from 25 mins to 40 mins on most days, which is almost covering both sessions anyway. I just try to get up a little earlier to make up for that. It is worth it to not have to work out later in the day, after a day at work, when I just want to sit and vegetate.
Crock – It is great that you are taking a healthy alternative to share with people at the cook out. I’m sure that many people there will appreciate it. I know that when I take something healthy for a school morning tea, there are many people who say that it is refreshing to not have only sweet, fatty foods to choose from.
Annie – I understand totally what you mean about regrets. I truly do mean to catch up with my parents soon. I can take them in small doses, I just don’t go out of my way to talk to them as much as I know I should. It is more my dad who I don’t like being around for too long. He is too negative and talks down to my mum all the time. I’m not sure how she puts up with it.
Well done on being down another 3lbs!!!! It will be wonderful for you to soon be down to what you reached last year. It will all be downhill for you from then on… in a good way that is.
Elaine – That weight just seems to be dropping off you!!! Well done! Whatever you are doing, just stick with it, ‘cos it is working REALLY well.
Nancy – I really like “24”. I haven’t been able to see all of the episodes that were shown on TV here, because they were on late at night and we missed recording some. I’m not even sure how many series we have had on. I only know of two, so it is great to hear that there are more. I may look at getting the sets on DVD, just so I can start from the beginning and not miss any. I didn’t watch the first series when it came out, but caught it on a repeat, AFTER the second one. It was an interesting way to catch them, but it kinda worked.
I do believe that your weight gain must be due to holding water. With the lowering of your body fat, you must just be holding liquid. I am a little frustrated with my body fat percentage, because I am at a fairly ‘normal’ weight, but my body fat is still around 30%. My dietitian friend says that this can be perfectly normal and she had a patient who weighed less than I do and had a body fat of around 35% (I think, maybe even higher). I’m wondering whether I still have a higher body fat because of the extra skin I have. I know that it should just be mostly skin, but isn’t there a layer of fat beneath the skin? I’m not really sure how that works.
I’m glad that things may be sorted out with the insurance company. It must have been quite a shock to receive that bill, but hopefully you won’t hear any more about it. I hate it when unforeseen money problems occur. I get quite stressed out about money issues.
Ammi – I am SO sorry about your migraine. I truly hope that things are back to normal now. I look forward to hearing about your trip to Mumbles when it finally happens. It looks like a beautiful place to spend the day… well, even a FEW days. The shops sound wonderful and I am sure I would be able to find a few things to buy. Have I mentioned that I LOVE shopping?
You are right about our winters usually being quite mild. It is colder here than Queensland of course, but we still don’t see winter temps like many of your guys get over there. I know that my main problem is that I have lost my insulation, so I am feeling it a lot more than normal. The mornings are the worst, but the afternoons have actually been quite pleasant.
Most of the sports days that our school runs are more for fun than competition. We do end up picking kids to go into competitions with other schools, but most of the kids just join in to have a good time. I am actually really pleased that our school now does this for sports days, because all of the children join in, rather than just the ‘elite’. I remember the sports days that we used to have when I was a student, and I can’t remember being in many events. As a ‘larger’ child I wasn’t exactly an elite sportsman, so I just used to spend those days watching other kids and getting sunburnt. Not a great deal of fun.
Shel – I am SO glad to have a proper name to call you. I actually like Sassy Chick, but Shel is definitely better. I know how hard it can be to ‘admit’ to your weight and talk openly about things to do with your weight, but you have come to a place where NOBODY is going to think badly of you because of your size, because we have all been there, or are still there, and we certainly know what comes with being obese. I have to admit that I found it a LOT easier to tell people my starting weight once I had actually lost some weight. It didn’t seem as bad by that time because at least I could say that I was doing something about it.
Julee – Congratulations on losing .6! With your hectic lifestyle, you must still be making some good choices. I am sorry that things haven’t changed with the roommate. It must be SO frustrating for you both to want to live together, but not be able to because she is not doing the right thing. Is she just being awkward, or can she REALLY not find somewhere else to live? When does her contract run out? I can’t remember if you mentioned a date.
Have you heard anything about that bridesmaid yet? I am assuming that if you haven’t heard anything yet then you have struck her off the list. Do you have anyone in mind as her replacement? I’m sure I could make it over there for a dress fitting… I may have to flap my wings and fly myself over there (airfares are a little steep at the moment), but I could certainly try. What size dress did you say you have spare? Not that I would have ANY idea what size I was in the US sizing anyway, but it was worth a try huh?
Sorry to hear that things aren’t great at work. You have SO much on your plate, that I am sure people understand that you can only keep your cool for so long, before you have a mini explosion now and then.
Sue Marie – It sounds as though you made a very positive impact on those kids’ lives. Good for you! I think it is wonderful that they want to keep in touch with you. I have heard of teachers giving out their email addresses before, so I sure it isn’t a problem to exchange addresses.
It is funny how we change our minds about the grade we want to teach once we work with a different age group. I am still not REALLY keen on working with younger kids, but I have had a wonderful year so far. I would be interested in looping with this group of kids up to grade 3 next year. I think that would be a great way to start a new year. Everyone would know the routines and you wouldn’t waste any time settling in. I still prefer older kids, but this age isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’ve just had to get my act together and find things to teach them that would be motivating for ALL concerned, the teacher included.
It is interesting that you say you only take over the whole running of the class for the last week of your practice. My student teacher has been taking almost every lesson for a week or two now and will take the whole running of the class over for the next two weeks as well. I have really only been doing bits and pieces for the last couple of weeks because I had to finish off some of my program. She also has another practicum for 8 weeks at the end of the year and I would imagine that at least half of this will be where she is running the classroom. I think this is wonderful as it gives her more confidence when she actually has her own class and room to organize. I think a lot of the timing of things here depends on the competence and confidence of the student teacher. Vikki (my student teacher) is just SO good that I didn’t mind letting her take over earlier. I know that we have other student teachers who are doing the same thing. We have a VERY good group of student teachers in the school at the moment. We only had one out of the seven who wasn’t doing an amazing job, and she pulled out last week as she just didn’t have what it takes. It is sad that it took her that long to find out though. She really shouldn’t have made it through to her 4th year, because she was lacking in SO many areas, and she just wasn’t willing to listen to advice from the classroom teacher. She just kept making excuses, but not changing anything. Sad.
It would be wonderful if you could stay at your current school. I’m really hoping that Vikki can stay at our school for her final practicum. That way there is a good chance that we may be able to find her a position for next year. I managed to get my student teacher from the end of last year applying for jobs at our school and she was successful, so now I want to help EVERYONE. I may do myself out of a job at this rate.
WELL DONE on losing more weight!!! I would have done exactly what you did, and not eaten before my weigh in. Good move I think.
Hpnotq – I wouldn’t worry too much about the cravings. Hopefully they will pass pretty soon. I have had moments where I was SURE that TOM must have been due, because I could have eaten the leg off a horse! TOM never showed his face, but I had lots of the other symptoms as well. My gynecologist thinks I could be perimenopausal, and we will do some blood tests to check that soon. I can’t remember what age you are, but I do know that my weight used to mess my hormones around as well. So, even though you may not be expecting TOM, you could still be having symptoms due to a hormone imbalance. I try to make sure that I only have healthy food in the house, so I can only snack on healthy stuff. I usually crave bread, or peanut butter, neither of which is bad as long as I control it.
Mel – Your work hours sound horrendous! I’m not sure how you are coping at all. How do you find any time to just wind down and forget about everything for a while? I would be a wreck with those hours. I hope things settle down soon. It is lucky that you love your job, or you could end up telling them where they can PUT their job. Well done on passing up most of those treats, and only having a limited amount of pizza. That must have taken a LOT of willpower, with things being as stressful as they are.
Congratulations on the loss!!!!! You must be feeling wonderful!
Sharon – I am SO sorry to hear that you caught the bug that your boys had. I certainly hope you found a way to convince Steve that you weren’t faking it… one way or another. Maybe cleaning up after you would have helped to convince him. 9lbs is a LOT of weight to lose when you are sick. I hope you are staying well hydrated, although I know it can be hard to drink when you know you will have trouble keeping it down.
Oh… I just saw your last post, where you said you’d officially lost 7lbs! Well done! It is OK that you are still a little over your ticker. You have had a LOT on your plate recently and it is wonderful that you can even CONSIDER having a healthy life, let alone actually doing something about it.
I hope the new pill sorts out your hormones. I hate the ‘emotional’ side of hormone changes. Poor hubby! He is getting smart and just keeping quiet when I am in one of THOSE moods. He has learnt that it is just safer to not say anything at all, rather than trying to console me in any way. Smart man.
Tammy – Welcome!!! It is great to see you here. I hope you find this place as wonderful as I do. I caught the travel bug after we went to the US for a holiday for three weeks last year. I just can’t wait to go again, but sadly we have to pay off THAT trip before we can plan another one.
Kayley – How wonderful to have two VERY positive job prospects going at once. I hope that the decision about which one to choose isn’t too difficult. Will the Whirlpool one be able to fit into your school timetable as well? You didn’t mention how far each one was. You don’t want to end up spending most of your paycheck on gas. Are you offered any other type of ‘incentive’ from either place? That would help you to make a decision I would imagine. Do you have to work weekends with either position? I know you enjoy your time with Andrew, and I’m not sure whether weekends are the best time for you two to see each other. There is SO much to consider, but I could be getting ahead of myself. You have to wait to see if both are offered first, before you get to concerned about which one to choose huh?
You are just racing along with your workouts!!! You certainly don’t need B12 shots! You have enough energy for BOTH of us!
Sorry to hear about the car. It would be wonderful if it was just something cheap, but that isn’t usually the way with cars. At least you know that you should have an income again soon, which could allow you to get another car.
Well, that is all from me… I heard those sighs of relief!
Sorry about the novel, but I seem to have a lot to catch up on again. I thought I was doing pretty well during the week, but I fell behind again somewhere along the line.
I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.
Take care,
Zelma
300+ and Ready to Try Again #928
Hi all,
Glad you decided to come out of the lurking shadows. LOL. Looking forward to getting to know you better.
on that loss, girl!!!!
Hope things calm down for you soon. 
You've lost nearly 100 pounds! That's amazing! I look forward to seeing you around more! 
Hi Ladies!~
So NOT fun at all! All I can say is keep trying. I know its a pain the the rear, but keep fighting! 
Phew what a releif! I saw your update!
Have to let us know what Dr. Phil said to the guy!
Tammy!
