Much Ado About Nothng

I got out of bed yesterday morning tired and noticed the sheets were pulled away from the mattress. I guess I had a fitful night of sleeping. No matter, it was going to be a good day because I said it was going to be. No outside factors rule ... I rule. Pulling out of the driveway on the way to work I recalled that my tank was empty and I needed to stop for gas. Gas seems to be all over the board as far as prices go and I choose to stop at the station closest to the house. As I got closer to downtown I found I made the right decision. Of course, I did ... it was going to be a good day.

I got to work and discovered an email from a friend that I hadn't seen in awhile. Usually I'm the one that initiates getting together but this time she suggested it. What a nice surprise. Of course! It was going to be a good day.

The next email I read was about our Zumba class, offered at work. I wrote last week that because of low turnout, they didn't start the next session last week and there was a chance it may be eliminated. But then on Friday, I was told we did have enough participants and we'd be having a class. I was ready. I needed it. It was going to be a good day right ... maybe, but Zumba was canceled. I believe the instructor has another gig. The company is not giving up, they're looking for another Zumba leader. I thought I'll just go to the gym when I get home from work and ride the bike and walk the treadmill. Maybe I'll even get on the elliptical after reading Stephanie's post. It's going to be a good day ... right?

Moving on. Yesterday we had a health fair at work. The company paid for flu shots that were being given as part of the event. There were also vendors from different agencies. One of the stations was a Wii Fit. They were doing the basic assessment, using the balance board showing your BMI, point of center, balance and Wii Fit Age. The gal in front of me is two months older than I and was determined to be 20 years younger, so I was excited to see MY final number. I knew that I was going to show overweight, so that didn't bother me. I was really surprised that my point of center (guess it's your posture and that you don't lean one way or the other) was almost right on. I was feeling pretty good. Of course, I was, it was a good day. Then I was suppose to stand on one leg to rate my balance and I guess I stepped off and the assessment was over and my WiiFit age was 74 ... SEVENTY FOUR. My birthday is next month and I'll be 61 and I have always felt I never looked or acted my age. SEVENTY FOUR ... is it still a good day???? As I was leaving, they had a station where you could spin the wheel for a prize if you did what it landed on. My challenge was to hula hoop for 30 seconds. Of course I could do that ... I'm just a youngin'

But, I was still reeling over the WII. I need to go out and buy one of those to show it a thing or two. Instead I went out and walked on my lunch hour. I think it helped. The day started to look a little brighter. Important things hadn't changed. I had my "Smart One" for lunch and I did end up at the gym. While there I found out that there is a Zumba class Friday afternoon I can get into. All's well in my world except for some number I don't care to discuss.

Lost Souls

I had some time to kill between the end of work and my TOPS meeting. I caught up on the blogs I read and then checked into some of the blogs those people follow. Some of these blogs hadn't been updated for weeks or even months. I wondered what happened to these people. Did they just give up? Did they not find the support they needed? Did someone say something to make them fade into the sunset? Did they ever reach their goal? Have you ever befriended a blogger and continued to check on them when they didn't post to see how they were doing? I think it's all so sad but it's a personal choice. I just know how important it is for me to be doing this now, but wonder when I do reach my goal if it will be as important a tool to continue during the maintenance period.

Well that ole Joker had the tables turned on him ... kinda. I did have a loss last night. I lost 1/2#. I'm happy with it. Looking back it wasn't the normal week. No Zumba on Tuesday, a crummy attitude on Wednesday (wonder if that was because of no Zumba on Tuesday) and not enough drinking ... of water that is. One half of a pound is good. I will never again say it should have been more, why wasn't it more, I wish it was more, because it WILL be more ... it'll just have to wait until my next weigh-in. That half pound was important. It put me in the next decade of numbers. A milestone? Sure, I take it as that. I am now in the decade of the 70's. The Seventies were the decade that I started a new life with many happy and joyous events. We were married in 1970. We had a son in 1971 and a daughter in 1975. We also bought our first home in the 70's. I'm looking forward to the weight decade of the 70's to be a beginning too but I just will have to see what it'll bring.

I said it was going to be a good week and it will be.

Happy Columbus Day

Good Monday morning. I hope you've started the week off well. Did you have a good breakfast? Did you have any kind of breakfast? Mine was on the light side this morning but I did eat something. I am usually not so chipper in the morning ... yet this being a MONDAY morning but they say attitude is everything, so I'm going to try it and see how it works. The "Joker" was still bouncing around this morning but I plan to quiet him down tonight. I've already started in on my water ritual to flush out some of his tricks.

Three things that I've already worked out this morning and they are 1) I forgot my lunch but I have a can of soup and some crackers that I have in the office as a backup 2) I thought today was our health fair at work and I was all ready to get my flu shot by wearing something with short sleeves but it'll be more comfortable to walk in at lunch and 3) we are celebrating another birthday in my department. That's the third in about 10 days. I think my co-workers know by now that I'm there to celebrate with everyone but it doesn't have to be with the dessert.

So, it's weigh in tonight and I'll take what I can get and use it to propel me to better places throughout the week. More ... tomorrow.

A Good Weekend Overall

I’ve been trying to catch up on the blogs I missed when I was away from the computer but it hasn’t been easy. The short posts I can get through pretty easy but the longer ones I’m just scanning to pick up a specific mention of weight-related items or tips here and there.

Yesterday I got on the scale and didn’t see what I was hoping for. I just for ONCE wish I would get on the scale earlier in the week, go down a couple of pounds and then just stay there. I’m giving that fluctuation part of the scale the name “The Joker”.

I knew that Friday I had salad at lunch and rice at dinner and both have the tendency to make me hold water so I thought this morning’s number on the scale was more accurate and one that I hope stays there for tomorrow’s weigh-in. It’s tough weighing on Monday because of the fluid retention that may be a factor. I really have to watch it over the weekend (which could be a good thing). I would love to have a salad with dinner if we would happen to go out on Sunday night, but I know I can’t chance it.

I was surprised how warm it was yesterday when I went out for my walk. I wore warm-ups and a long sleeve shirt and I was a little sweaty when I got home after an hour, so I felt I got a good work-out. I think I’ll wait until evening tonight to walk today as we’re suppose to set another high record in the high 80’s.

We were subs at some friend’s Euchre Club last night and I was concerned about how I would handle all the food I knew would be available. No problem … no one was pushing food, it was just there in the kitchen to help yourself and I managed to just enjoy playing cards and drinking my water, even though the cards in my hand were horrible. I thought for sure I’d have the low score but hubby beat me having 6 less points. Our hostess goes all out for the Halloween season, she and her husband were married on Halloween. Here’s how she greeted us. I used my phone camera and it didn’t turn out all that well, but you can still get the idea.

Home, home on the "Range"

Every week I can’t wait until the weekend arrives because I have a lot I want to accomplish with regard to household stuff. This weekend was no different. It’s now 4:30 and the only two things that are done are laundry and my walk. I don’t know where I get sidetracked. Maybe I would do better if I managed my time with a “to do” list. A “to do” list is kind of like goal setting but I feel I make that way too complicated, so I don’t know if that would be helpful or not.

I mentioned last week about Walktober. In this program you set a goal on how many days you’re going to walk in the month. I went with the preset goal of 20 days. I have been doing pretty well. After walking in the rain last Saturday, I even thought there was no excuse not to walk EVERY day. Although I didn’t change anything on the webpage where the tracking is done, I was determined I would have 31 leaves meaning I walked every single day. Thursday when we were on our little adventure and because of the shoe debacle that goal was busted. Has that stopped me from walking … no, but it has got me thinking about goals.

Although I’m trying to steer away from the all or nothing type of thinking, if you don’t reach a goal, you don’t reach a goal. Maybe I would do better if I have a plan that has a range. A high side and a low side. Like with the walk. The low side is 20 days and the high side would be 31 (the entire month). If I reach anything in between I should feel I have succeeded. If I reach the ultimate, I can consider myself SUPERWOMAN. Same with those weight goals. A minimum and a maximum amount to lose in a certain period of time, a range of 10 - 45 days, instead of something every week, even if you weighing every week. It could even be done with a range of. 32 oz of water or 64 oz. in setting the amount of water you strive to drink in a day. What cha think? Am I overcomplicating things again? Should I just go out and "DO IT" the best I can with no goal in mind?

Which Way?

I wasn’t able to blog yesterday and now it seems like I’ve been gone for a week or more. I know the importance of keeping this current for my own motivation. It's late but just like so much else in my life has become, it's worth the effort.

I’ve been feeling a little disconnected this week. Monday was a great day with another loss on the scale and I faced the fact that losing it slow was a GOOD thing. My productivity at work or the lack of it has started to bother me. I have this need in me that it's important to go through this life feeling that I have a purpose and lately at work, I feel like I’m just going through the motions and not contributing much. The economy and my boss’ accident and his not being in the office on a full time basis is the majority of the reason. I took a look at my vacation for the year and saw that I have 18 days left to take. That’s quite a bit to take in less than three months, so I thought I should take a look at the calendar and come up with a plan and hand in a time off request for the remainder of my vacation time. I had put this request on my boss’ desk Monday, with the next personal day I was taking to be Thursday (10/7). The time off did me a world of good. It renewed my spirit. We had no sets plans and ended up on the back roads of Kentucky enjoying the fall colors.

(Kentucky's fall folage)








Gary checked and we were able to get a free hotel night at Belterra on Wednesday. When I came home from work Wednesday, I threw some things in a bag and we took off. On the drive we talked about maybe going to a state park and doing some hiking or visiting some wineries. I got up yesterday morning and found that I failed to pack my tennis shoes, and all I had were the heels that I wore to work, so I knew hiking was out of the question.




(dressed for success maybe, but the feet weren't dressed for hiking)


Our route was very impromptu just using our GPS and it added to the excitement and adventure. We went through a lot of small towns and stopped and had lunch in a small Ohio River town at a place called “Big Daddy’s BBQ”. I needed to go to the bathroom but thought I could hold it when I saw a door that said “SOWS” … I’d rather be a “BORE” … there goes me and associating putting labels on people again.

We did end up visiting a couple of wineries and stayed off the interstate to soak up the local flavor. We had dinner at the oldest tavern in Indiana built in the mid 1800’s. It was a wonderful day and put me in a better frame of mind ready to hit it hard again. I may have done some damage earlier in the week but I know at this point nothing is irrepairable.




(Elk Ridge Winery and Vineyards in Kentucky)

Dress the Part

I have worked in an office most of my adult life. I have always dressed in business attire rather than casually. We do have casual day on the first Friday of the month and I also choose wisely on that day. I learned my lesson several years back when I choose to wear a cartoon character denim shirt and I was called in to notarize documents for a closing with our executives, as well as several bankers. I felt really out of place. I believe in the slogan "Dress for Success".

More now than ever, I think I should carry that philosophy into my personal life. They say that when you look good, you feel good. You have confidence and feel positive about yourself. I think sometimes we get too comfortable in our old clothes that we wore when we started out on this journey? Maybe I need to wear something a little more fashionable rather than sloppy sweats when I go grocery shopping , to a movie or out to eat. Would I feel better and hold my head higher? I know clothes are expensive and we go through transition sizes during our journey. What can we do? Perhaps there are clothes in the closet that are too small that I need to try on. I tried a resale shop a couple of weeks ago and the prices weren't too bad. Maybe I can suggest a clothing exchange at my TOPS meeting or is that going a bit too far? I think I need to take more time looking at my options of what I do have and how to make it a little more dressy. Maybe more accessories like jewelry or scarfs that could make an outfit pop? We all should remember that we're worth the time and effort it takes to make ourselves look as good as we can during our transformation. When wearing dark colors, I think it's wise to add a splash of color close to the face. Have you heard the expression “... she has such a pretty face”. All this talk about clothes that fit and are clean and well maintained go for guys too. Yes, there’s a place for those sweats and T-Shirts. One good place is the gym, or when you're spending time at home … but I think it's important to make yourself feel good when you’re out and about and dress the part of a confident person. I know this is just my opinion. Am I in the minority thinking this way?