03 March 2012

2.6 pounds


Woke this morning to the sound of rain. Pretty heavy rain at that. As I lay in bed I considered my options. This was Weight Watcher morning and I really wanted to go since I missed last week. The plan was to ride my bike there and back. I did not plan on the rain. I could get up and catch a ride with Hubby, but that would mean getting up much earlier then I needed to and hanging around for at least an hour. Really didn't want to do that. I could skip it completely and use the rain as an excuse. And believe it or not, I really didn't want to do that either. So I dragged my butt out of bed. Got ready and headed out. I did not get rained on there or back. It was chilly but not freezing. I wore my new rain jacket there and sweated a lot. But I was extremely glad I went. I was down 1.6 pounds :) and that leaves just 2.6 lbs and I will reach 5 lbs. Yes, it does not sound like much and it seems I've been doing this forever but I'm over the moon ecstatic about it. Let me explain.

I started this journey, again, on Octber 22, 2011. For the past couple of years I had been plagued with injuries and my weight had been steadily creeping upwards. I was tired of it and wanted to stop the upward momentum. So I returned to Weight Watchers. Since I did things went from bad to worse. The situation with the neighbors reached a critical mass and eventually blew. I was crazy, crazy stressed and did not even realize it. I would have a good week or two and think I had everything under control and then - boom - something else would happen. I also thought that because I wasn't eating as much that I should be losing weight. Stress doesn't work that way. So yeah, I was kind of screwed. When things got worked out (mostly) this week I could feel the stress leaving my body. I slept better. I ate better. I felt better. I went through a couple of days where I was just exhausted. Completely and totally wiped out. I think it was from holding all that stress for so long, when it was finally gone (mostly) my body was just incredibly tired. So I really feel like I'm back. For real this time. No false starts or giant stress bombs should get in the way. We talked out the issues and I think we are on the right track now. So, time to get back to me.

I need just 2.6 lbs to make 5 lbs lost. I will do that this week. I'm going to focus on eating right, tracking points, moving more, and by next Saturday I want to hit the 5 lb mark. I've waited long enough, I think it's time to get there.

02 March 2012

Well, that was a rough road


Hopefully it's all behind me now. It all started a few months back. Our neighbors kids moved out of the house and the owners moved in. We had had little contact with them and didn't know them very well at all. Well, things went downhill pretty quickly. The boyfriend pissed off the neighbor above who is friends with my husband. Then Charlie wouldn't stick up for the boyfriend in an argument with the neighbor above, that pissed off the boyfriend. Next thing we know he is totally freaking out over Bella and threatening to kill her and kick Charlie's ass and calling us all kinds of names and stuff. It got ugly fast. We ended up having sort of an armed truce that was not good and not getting better on it's own. We had looked into putting in some serious fencing like swimming pool fencing I went to the other neighbor and talked to them about trying to find a way to settle this thing. To make a very long story slightly shorter, we had mediation on Monday and Wednesday and it went really, really well. We worked out the problems and have at least come to a place where we can live next door to each other without feeling like we lived in an armed camp. But that's not the point of this post.

I knew I was under some stress over this whole situation but I had no idea how much. I knew my stomach was in knots a lot of the time, I could feel it. What I did not know was all the other things it was doing to me. I was tired a lot. My food intake was horrible. I didn't sleep well most of the time. Bad. For the last 2 weeks I have felt like I was coming down with something. After the last mediation on Wednesday everything started to clear up. I no longer feel like I'm getting sick. I'm sleeping really, really well. My stomach is no longer in a knot. And I feel more energetic. Wow!! What a difference. I feel like a new person.

I am firmly convinced that because of all that stress, I haven't been successful at my health changes. Now that I'm feeling so much better, I'm ready to try it again. I'm ready to really tackle and work at my weight loss. I can not tell you how much better I feel. I want to get back into working out. I'm riding my bike everyday but I need to add weights. So tonight I'm going to get a good night's sleep and tomorrow morning it's off to Weight Watchers and a new beginning. I am definitely looking forward to it.

26 February 2012

Soap


I love soap. I love using it. I love smelling it. I love looking at it. I even love making it. Really. It absolutely amazes me that you can take sodium hydroxide and fat and end up with soap. Awesome. I should say chemistry!!!! But it's a tedious process. You have to stir it almost constantly and keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn or boil over or whatever. Also, it has to reach a very specific state or consistency and if you're not good at it you won't know when you get there or you will stop too early. It's very tedious work. So what can you do? Well, if you really want homemade soap you can buy blocks of soap base pre-made. There are lots of private label soap manufacturers out there. It comes in all kinds, kinds that are very hard to make at home: hemp, castille, honey, oatmeal, olive oil, etc. You can then melt the base and add all the stuff you want - colors, smells, whatever. You can make yourself some really nice soap. This opens up a whole new world in soap making. Take the hard part out - making the base - and you can focus on the creative part. I like that idea. I've actually done it both ways and I much prefer to just melt and go. Homemade soap is so much nicer than store bought. And it's not that expensive to make. Really it's not. And if you are looking to make a little money, selling soap is a great way to do it. I know someone who makes soap once in a while and every time she does she makes extra to sell and always sells out in a weekend. People have come to love her soap. I think I may order some for over summer break. It will give me something to do.

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...