Road trippin'

I took a road trip up to Door County this weekend with the Green Acres girls, I call them. We're actually not girls, but it sounds cute to me. I had a wonderful time. The ride up was fun, the time there was fun, the ride down was fun. Just fun all around. I had a very nice room and a comfy bed, a good shower, great food (of which I contributed NOTHING...my planning skills for an overnight trip are sorely lacking), great conversation, lots of laughs. I'm so glad I went.

I understand my boxers were quite good while I was away. I'm thinking they did lots of this:

Hanging out on my bed is their favorite thing to do. It's irrelevant whether I'm in it or not, though I like to think they prefer it when I am there.

My friend Ursula introduced me to her neighbor's horses. That was so nice. I haven't gotten to spend time with a horse in a long time, and they were quite sweet. I love them so much. They were so big and beautiful, with their shaggy winter coats, and those great big beautiful eyes. I let one nibble on the sleeve of my jacket. He didn't damage it, but even if he did I wouldn't care because then I could tell people if they ask that a horse nibbled a hole in my coat. That would make me happy.

It was so quiet up there. I forget just how much white noise there is here. It doesn't bother me, it's just got an impact.

I believe I did as well as could be expected as far as eating goes. I indulged my sweet tooth a few times, and had a second helping of vegan lasagna, but I didn't pig out at any time, which is always my biggest problem. I feel like I had just enough.

All in all I had a great weekend.

One week

Well, yesterday was my second WW meeting, which included a weigh in. I'm down 4.8 lbs. (just .2 lbs away from getting a 5 lb award!). So...I'd say for only following the program officially since Sunday 4.8 ain't half bad.

Of course this weekend I'm driving up to Door County with some of the Green Acres girls and I sense there will be temptation afoot, so I've got a bit of planning to do. But I'm not exceptionally worried. I'm looking forward to it more than anything else.

I'm super busy today so that's all I'll post for now. Just had to report my loss! Let's hope there's more to come!

I'm It!!!!

My buddy Alabaster Mom tagged me this morning, so seeing as I'm it I'd better get down to business. Thankfully I love this kind of thing, dating all the way back to probably grade school when you'd make up those personal quizzes and pass them around to all your little friends. Here goes.

10 years ago:

As luck would have it I happen to keep all my old monthly planners so I pulled the one out for 1998 and took a look. I was a busy girl! In addition to working full time I was a part time pet sitter for a very successful business. In the month of March I was booked solid, I'd forgotten how busy that job kept me. She moved her business to Delafield so that put an end to that. I used to have lunch every day with a couple guys who worked here, we always had so much fun. They both left but I still see them regularly. I'd moved into my very first house in late '97 and I was still adjusting to that, and loving every minute of it. So I'd say 10 years ago I was a busy, happy girl. OH, I was sharing my life with my very first dog too. Her name was Cassie and she was a little Boston terrier I'd gotten from Wisconsin BT rescue. I loved her to pieces, and I still think of her frequently, and I miss her so much. I can't describe how much I loved that dog.

5 Things on my To Do List Today Were:

1. Print off directions to Urs' house
2. Print off GABR girls' cell nos
3. Email the HF Group account rep
4. Reschedule my PT appointment
5. Charge my cell phone

Things I Would Do If I Were Suddenly a Billionnaire:

Billions hey? Then I'm shooting the works.

I'd say quit my job but actually I'd probably not officially quit, they'd just never see me again. I'd buy a new bigger house with a huge fenced in yard for my dogs (no more being a landlady!!!). I'd buy a horse. I'd endow the Companion Animal Resource and Adoption Center so that they'd never have to worry about money ever again and that more strays in Milwaukee county could be saved. Ditto to Green Acres Boxer Rescue, just replace "strays in Milwaukee county" with "boxers in Wisconsin."I'd set up a fund for my little nephew's college. I'd buy the biggest, best frickin television and DVD/High Def/Blu Ray whatever system you've ever seen. And a great stereo. And I'd have someone to do the housework for me because I'm just not a good housekeeper, and it will only get worse if I actually have a bigger house. I'd like to put properties on whatever land I happen to have my big house on so that my best friends could come live near me. And I'd want to travel.

3 of My Bad Habits:

1. Listening to my music too loudly
2. Hitting the snooze button so many times that it's lost all meaning
3. Picking at the cuticles of my thumbs

Jobs I've Had:

Petsitter
Babysitter/Nanny
Telemarketer (sorry if I ever called you)
Cashier at a Godfather's Pizza restaurant
Salad runner at one of the dorms
Sales associate at Boston Store
Student assistant in the archives
Library staff person

5 Things People Don't Know About Me:

1. I was a champion speller in grade school
2. I despise Danny Kaye and therefore have never seen the movie "White Christmas"
3. I think Lawrencia Bembenek is probably innocent
4. I got to meet and spend time with one of my heroes, John Irving (author of World According to Garp and Cider House Rules; I have pics and everything)
5. I know and can sing along with every line of "Jesus Christ, Superstar."

OK, I have to tag some people...I'd say Sassy Sadie's Mom (or can she not be tagged twice, since Alabaster Mom beat me to it?), Green Bay Vegan (c'mon, you know you want to update your blog!! This is the best reason!), Amy and Darlene.

St. Anthony Comes Through (again)

I want to preface this post by telling you that I'm not particularly religious. I'm not an evangelical, I'm not born again, I would never assume I'm saved while others aren't (if there is a heaven I am sure that good people, no matter what religion, have as good a chance of getting there as anyone), I have some issues with organized religion. But I have to say that there is just something about those patron saints. :) Read on to see what I mean.

So I get home bound and determined to locate my work ID. I poke through papers and move things, open drawers, check every pocket, etc. No dice. Then I remember that I haven't looked in my car. Light is quickly fading, so I grab my flashlight, which was inexplicably behind my bookcase (I told you I put things in weird places), and head out to the garage. Before I put my key in the door I say a prayer to St. Anthony. While there's probably an official prayer, I don't know it so I usually say something like "St. Anthony, I lost (insert item here) and it's important and I'm praying to you and hope you can help me find it. Thanks."

I open my car and I have a bag for any trash that I find (and I usually find plenty). I'm starting on the passenger side because that's where I toss things upon entering (purse, backpack, water bottle, etc.). So I'm tossing things in the bag I don't need and about 30 seconds in I spot the back of my ID. It was sort of sideways shoved up against the flooring, I'm not surprised I missed it these last couple days. But today was the first day I put the call out to my friend St. Anthony.

I actually gasped. I almost couldn't believe it. He's come through for me before, but this was pretty dramatic. I mean, I'd JUST 'talked' with him.

OK, call me crazy, or choose to think it's hooey, and assume that I would have found it anyway. Maybe I would have. But the fact is I DIDN'T find it until after I asked for his help.

Kinda spooky, hey?

Losin' stuff

I can be a real walking disaster without even trying. A disaster to myself, not others. My sister calls this phenomenon 'pulling a Leslie.'

Case in point: Last week maybe Wednesday I left work and managed to leave my backpack on my desk. I just walked out the door with nothing but my keys. I realized this but knew I had my credit card in my pocket (don't ask me why...I don't know) so I was going to get my car, quick run to the store, get the dogs and run back to work to get my backpack, all the while praying I don't get pulled over because my license was, of course, in my backpack. So I get to the store and realize that my credit card is no longer in my pocket. And this wasn't one of those "Oh, I must have it somewhere else." No, this was "it was here a minute ago and now it's gone." So there I am in the Sentry parking lot with my thumb up my butt. Not literally.

So I turn around and go back to work and get my backpack which has cash and my ATM card. When I get home I call the credit card company and have them put a hold on the card, thinking maybe it fell out and into my car. Well, a couple days pass and no card. So I call and have them cancel it. What this means is that all the accounts I have set up and charged to my card (cable, cell phone, netflix, etc.) have to be changed to my new account number. But I won't know that account number until I get the replacement card.

I charge a lot on that card. It's a Midwest card and I get beaucoup miles, so any bill I could pay on it I do. But now, in the interim, I'm having to change these accounts to my damn debit card, which messes everything up because of when I'm used to paying my credit card and when I get paid. It's not been fun. I actually had to leave the check out aisle at the grocery store on sunday, run to their atm (which was thankfully only a few yards away), transfer some money from my savings and go back and try my debit card again. Not fun. Not fun at all.

It's like all these tiny explosions and my world has been thrown into chaos.

So what happens yesterday? I get an email from public safety. They found my card in the parking structure where it fell out of my pocket.

Sigh.

Story's not over folks. Somewhere in all this I've also lost/misplaced my work ID. In a normal world that's no biggie. But I work in a place with controlled access. I need my ID to get in every day. I need my ID if I want to use the bathroom. I need my ID to essentially go anywhere during the day. I use it several times a day. And my employer, bless them, does not look kindly on people who lose their IDs. The replacement fee is $15. So I'm biding my time hoping that it turns up. I haven't said my prayer to St. Anthony yet. He's the patron saint of lost items, and I call on him often, and he almost always comes through. But I don't like to bother him unless I'm sure, and right now I'm not quite sure I won't find it.

My problem is I have this very weird habit of putting things in strange places with the theory that since it's in someplace weird I can't possibly forget where it is. Like one time I threw a hostess party (Partylite I think). Someone from work couldn't attend so he gave me a check to place an order. I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle so I put it somewhere for safekeeping. So party's over, she's settling her books and all, and I can't find the damn check. No idea where it was. After about 20 minutes of looking (and me being sent into a panic) she says "There's a check on top of your fridge." Sure enough, it was the check. On top of my fridge.

I'm as baffled as you are.

So I'm thinking my work ID is probably in the oven or something. I'll let you know if it turns up.

First full day!

Well, I made it through my first official day of following the WW flex plan. I have to say, it's not too shabby. I stayed under my points for the day (even after being brutally honest about what I ate, which of course is the only way to be since I'd only be lying to myself!), which I probably shouldn't have but by the time I realized I had more points to spend I was getting ready to go to bed.

In a perfect world I'd eat breakfast at home. But seeing as I find it nearly impossible to get out of bed any time before 7 I usually end up bringing something with me. Yesterday that was a whole wheat English muffin, today it was oatmeal. I make sure to have a stock fruit on hand. I'm a big fruit person. Not too big on the veggies. I love salad, but crudites and I are not on friendly terms. I tried to do the right thing and bring baby carrots to work and force myself to eat them, knowing it's something I should do. Then I realized, by process of elimination, that the carrots were what was causing this terrible afternoon heartburn and I had to give them up. If I cooked them I may not have that reaction. But deep down I'm a lazy, lazy woman and I wanted something I could grab and go. And besides baby carrots, what other veg is there? And don't say celery. Celery is the devil. I'll eat it if it has peanut butter or cream cheese on it, and in soups, but other than that I find it completely worthless. I can't eat peppers either, since they do such a number on my tum tum. I've tried, but I end up sticking with spinach salads.

Fruit on the other hand...one of the best foods around. You don't have to cook fruit. You just bring it, and eat it. Sometimes you wash it and then eat it. And it's usually quite tasty. I like most fruits but I'm a bit picky when it comes to apples. I'm partial to Granny Smith apples and am not satisfied with most others. Granny Smiths are so consistently good, but others...I have flashbacks to being in grade school and biting into a red delicious apple that's all soft and mealy and yellow and I just want to barf. And golden delicious are just that much worse. I like Macintosh but if it's soft I'll stop after one bite. Oh, I'm not crazy about pears, frankly I'll eat them, but they're not a favorite.

My weakness, and my mother's too, is nectarines. My sister actually put a moratorium on nectarine discussions between me and my mom when she is around. Seriously, we're disturbed. But honestly, when you have a good nectarine there isn't much better. I'm not a peach fan, just nectarines. I also don't like oranges. Too much work, not enough payoff.

When I'm eating right (and I can go for long stretches of eating right) I have absolutely no trouble meeting the FDA's recommended 5 a day.

So, yeah, made it through my first full day. I did have some rough moments. Isn't that sad? One lousy day and I still found my mind wandering to foods I'd like to have but know that I shouldn't. I just waited it out and it ended up being fine, but I can tell this is going to be a lot of work.

They really do have the right idea with this points business. I'm not sure if they did some psychological research and how they came up with it, but it does give you a lot of freedom and it steers you toward making good decisions regarding food choices and proportions. They're shifting the way I look at what I'm eating. So like last night, I didn't have the greatest dinner (I made quesadillas, but ate 2 servings of them, plus I splurged again and had 2 ice cream bars over the evening) but because of how I'd eaten during the day I was covered. So it was like, hey, I can have this and still be in my points range. It's not like there's anything I CAN'T have. It's just a matter of how much.

I'm really beginning to understand how this system works.

Someone here let the cat out of the bag and now everyone knows I joined the program. I kind of wish that hadn't happened. I know they didn't mean anything by it. We are like a big family here and I know that everyone will support me. Shoot, someone even sent me a link to a blog called Hungry Girl that really looks like it might be a lot of help. I guess I just wanted to keep a lid on it for a while. I've known most of these people for 20 years (not a lot of turn around here) and they have seen me get bigger and bigger. Oh, let's see, I've put on about 150 lbs since I started here. Oh my GOD how awful is that!!!!!!! So even embarking on this journey is scary.

There's a lot of fear involved with losing weight, you know? But I'm getting way ahead of myself now.

Let's just leave it as I've embarked on day 2, and we'll see where it goes.

The journey begins

Hola Amigos,

So I attended my first Weight Watchers meeting (well, first in about 18 years) on Thursday night. I was so apprehensive and absolutely dreading it, and I almost lost my nerve. But I put a call out to some friends. My good buddy Alabaster Mom came to my rescue and reminded me that I can, indeed, do this. And my longtime pal Darwin told me how much I'd like it. Thanks too, to Sadie's mom for having faith in me. I need so much help!!!

And then there was the encouragement I got from my sister.

Me: I don't want to go to the meeting.
Her: You have to go to the meeting.
Me: Why do I have to go to the meeting?
Her: Because you HAVE to go to the meeting.

And I understood her. And I went.

So I get there a bit early, since I need to register and all. I was really apprehensive. I don't do well in situations such as this, going someplace where I don't know anyone...I really just had to force myself. So I parked my car, walked in, found the room and thankfully there was another member who walked in with me and he opened the door for me. No running away now. I registered and weighed in and started to relax. I wasn't surprised or shocked by what the scale said, since I'd been to the doctor so many times recently and I needed to know what my weight was before surgery so they could do the anesthesia correctly. So finding out what I weighed wasn't a huge deal. But all I could think of is how much damn weight I have to lose. It's a crapload amigos. We're talking in the upper 100s. So that was a bit tough to swallow.

I've been trying to get myself to remember that I need to look at the smaller picture, getting through every day, you know? Sure, there's a big goal out there and it's not like I'll ever forget that (no way I ever could). But I need to bring my focus in more specifically. I'll get lost if all I think about is the hundreds I need to lose. So they gave me a 10% goal. This I think I can handle. Hell, I could lose 10% of my weight in my sleep. Sad thing is, when you're as big as I am it's hard to tell!

Even though I started my meetings on Thursday, I didn't really officially start the plan whole heartedly until today. This is mostly because I didn't go grocery shopping. I hate grocery shopping. So I put it off until the 11th hour (or 8:00 last night). I spent $140 (that I really couldn't afford right now, but it's so important I knew I had to) in order to stock my larder appropriately. I bought spinach for salad, and cole slaw mix for a quick lunch or snack, apples, grapes, strawberries, bread, tuna (my flesh food weakness), english muffins, peanut butter, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, cheerios, eggs, soy milk, coffee, fat free chocolate pudding, applesauce, soup, tortillas...and more, of course (I couldn't pass up some of the WW ice cream bars), fat free cheese, salsa, butter spray (what a great freaking invention! no more slathering my toast with smart balance! Just a couple quick sprays and I'm all set), mushroom burgers. My cart was brimming. I had 8 bags of groceries! Of course, I won't go through all that in a week, but I needed so much because my house was virtually devoid of good food. I'm sure subsequent visits won't be quite such an undertaking.

I did already overindulge in the treat department, and had 2 fudge bars instead of one. But Sundays are usually tough for me. I'm up later than I usually am during the week and just tend to be hungrier. I do much better during the week.

This weight watchers stuff is interesting. They seem to have really gotten their act together over the years. I think they were always a cut above the rest, but they're in a different stratosphere now.

The first diet I ever joined was the now defunct "Diet Workshop." I was in college at the time and it was cheaper than weight watchers. I'll never forget that plan. I wish I still had the booklet so I could prove to you how they had you start. The first week you were literally eating 750 calories a day. It had it written right there on the plan, plain as day. I remember being able to eat fake crab legs and lettuce, and that's about it. I don't even think cottage cheese was allowed until week 3. I was hungry all the time. No, not hungry. RAVENOUS. And I remember going to parties and not drinking. Do you realize what that's like? I was never so bored in my life.

From one week to the next I lost 10 pounds. They were all flabbergasted that they were giving me the 10 lb award only 1 week into the program. Of course at the time we all thought it was the greatest thing ever. If I only knew then what I know now.

My goal was something like 130 pounds. I'm 5'5" but I'm big boned (and I'm not just saying that...how many 5'5" people do you know have had size 9 1/2 feet since they were 12?). What ended up happening was that I plateaued at 155. I was there for months. An entire summer actually. And then I just stopped going. The weight stayed off for several years which is good. If I'd only known that 155 is pretty much where I should be, maybe I would have done things differently. Sure, it's on the upper range, but I have no doubt that's what my body was telling me. If I'd only listened.

I won't say that's my goal now. No, my goal this very minute is to lose 10% of my body weight. I'm not going to tell you how much that is because I know my readers are smart enough to multiply that number by 10 and find out how much I currently weigh, and I'm not ready to make that public. But I will let you know when I get there.

I could go on and on about all of this but I won't. I just want you to know that I went and I'm making the effort to work the plan. I'm doing the Flex Points plan which is working well so far (for the whole 1/2 day I've been doing it). It's a smart plan, and being as heavy as I am they don't skimp on the points they give you.

So, I'll go to my meeting on Thursday. I'll probably go twice a week. Darwin and his sister go to a Saturday morning meeting, I went with them this past Saturday and it was very fun. Shit, I need all the help I can get.

I'll get weighed on Thursday and will report what the scale says. Could this be the time that works?