Blogging that is.
Don't panic. I didn't like go all wild and work out or anything.
I haven't completely neglected my fitness quest, though. Ye ole fitday account is re-up and running. So, check one item off of the "To Procrastinate" list.
One of my excuses is that I took my kids to meet their new teachers*. I am already in love with both classroom teachers and the support staff promises to be equally amazing. B's teacher has a sign that says, "A quiet classroom is not an indication of learning." I'll buy that!
I always loved going back to school. New pencils and notebooks have always been my thing! And it was always nice to have a fresh start.
I am kinda looking at this re-focus on the MegaChallenge in the same way.
Oh--and in case you are wondering about the weight gain thang, here's the deal. And I swear on an elliptical trainer that it is the absolute truth.
My scale was off. Seriously. I was in "maintenance" so I would pop onto the scale like once a week or so. If it was under 149, I was cool. Sometime after my sweet boy moved in, the scale developed a crack--so Marchish?--and my theory is that it stopped telling me the truth.
I was traveling all over the place, working about a million hours a week (give or take), under a truckload of stress, and eating out 2 meals a day. So, I knew I was at risk for some gainage, but I didn't really have time to think about it much. After a while I broke down and bought another scale--and that is when I discovered the deception. If it had been a couple of pounds different, I would have chalked it up to calibration or something. But 10 pounds was a rude awakening. Gah!
So, my little scale-enhanced denial party is over. I am heavier than I want to be. Not a huge amount, but more than I would drop without some focused effort.
The good news is that I know I can get back on track and that I didn't let it get way out of hand.
Now, to get the shoes laced up and downstairs to the bike.
Soon.
*Can you believe that school is starting already?? Wasn't there supposed to be some correlation between back-to-school and fall? Thought so!
Friday, August 08, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
And Just Like That an Entire Year Passes...
No, I didn't fall completely off of the planet.
I took a job that involved working for an organization that required that I curtail a significant portion of my advocacy/openness/personality. I learned a whole boatload of new skills, made a couple of terrific friends, and discovered that I am much happier when I can openly share what I think and who I am.
So, to catch you up on a whole year's worth of events, we'll do the bullet list trick.
We installed a workout room in our basement--so I literally have no excuses for not working out. Well, not any that hold water.
I am also thinking that keeping track of the stuff I eat via fitday would be a good idea.
I am doing a whole lot of thinking.
Time for some doing!
I took a job that involved working for an organization that required that I curtail a significant portion of my advocacy/openness/personality. I learned a whole boatload of new skills, made a couple of terrific friends, and discovered that I am much happier when I can openly share what I think and who I am.
So, to catch you up on a whole year's worth of events, we'll do the bullet list trick.
- I nearly died on August 6, 2007. Yep, on B's 9th birthday. Bad timing. Emergency surgery on August 7, 2007 saved me. My best friend nursed me back to health for weeks. I'm all better now.
- I discovered a job opening, interviewed, and was hired between August 16 and September 17, 2007. It was exactly what I hoped for and not what I expected at all. Funny that.
- I moved everything we own a couple of hundred miles over the course of September and October 2007. (See job.) We now live on 6+ acres in a gorgeous part of the world.
- My photo was chosen for the cover of the Breaking Ground Arts issue in September 2007.
- My kids went back to public school in October 2007. (See job. See move.) I relearned all I wanted to forget about Special Education--but discovered that some districts actually want to make it work for everyone.
- I gained a "significant other" in March--or so. He was significant before. Now he lives here. I suppose that makes him super-significant, right?
- Our--his and my together--co-created artwork was exhibited for 2 months in a "solo" (except that we are 2 people) show at our city hall from April - June 2008. It was a surreal experience walking in and seeing 25 pieces of our soul lining the walls of a public building.
- I attended my 6th MegaConference in June 2008.
- My son turned 10 on August 6, 2008. Yes! A decade!
- I gained about 10ish pounds over the course of the year. Stress eating (See job. See move. See kids in school. See incredible cook aka significant other moving in.) does that to me. It's time to get that gone.
We installed a workout room in our basement--so I literally have no excuses for not working out. Well, not any that hold water.
I am also thinking that keeping track of the stuff I eat via fitday would be a good idea.
I am doing a whole lot of thinking.
Time for some doing!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Getting Older Rocks...
Remember when you were a little kid and you were so excited to get older that you corrected people who said you were five when you were really five and a half??
When did you stop counting the half years? When did it stop being cool to get older?
My son is turning 9 on Monday and is all about his new age. He likes it so much that he has been trying it out for weeks. "Yeah, I am almost 9." "When I am 9 I am going to have my own computer." "9 year olds don't have to go to bed at the same time as their sisters, right Mom?" No hanging on to the last vestiges of being 8 for him.
Yet, I have so many friends who do that 29/39/49 and holding thing that I have to wonder what it is about aging that makes us want to go into such denial that we will actually pick a year and stick with it.
I get the mortality thing--that for many getting older represents that slow march toward death. I suppose if you are paying attention to the news, the constant images of age-related disease and disability could be a little disconcerting. If you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense that you would want to convince yourself that it ain't gonna happen to you because you have no intention of moving from this spot thankyouverymuch!
Maybe it is because I love who I am at 36 and wouldn't choose to relive any of my past. Maybe it is because I hang out with people who are older than I am and they seem to be having so much fun. Maybe it is because I have been called a baby by someone at every age I have ever been* and am looking forward to the age when that stops. Maybe I am the one in denial and don't choose to see the correlation between birthdays and illness.
Regardless, I love getting older. I love adding days to my calendar and reams to my memories.
Ultimately, I think it has more to do with being okay with who I am right this moment while also looking forward to the next iteration of Gina. It is like a birthday every moment with the gift being the discovery of what growth and delight and deepening and love and joy I get to play with now.
So, here's to birthdays and half birthdays and 127/365ths birthdays. Make a wish and blow out your candles. It's your birthday and getting older rocks!
*You know how it goes: "Oh, you are (fill in age here)?? You are still a baby!!" What is it about that dismissive statement that makes me want to do violence??
When did you stop counting the half years? When did it stop being cool to get older?
My son is turning 9 on Monday and is all about his new age. He likes it so much that he has been trying it out for weeks. "Yeah, I am almost 9." "When I am 9 I am going to have my own computer." "9 year olds don't have to go to bed at the same time as their sisters, right Mom?" No hanging on to the last vestiges of being 8 for him.
Yet, I have so many friends who do that 29/39/49 and holding thing that I have to wonder what it is about aging that makes us want to go into such denial that we will actually pick a year and stick with it.
I get the mortality thing--that for many getting older represents that slow march toward death. I suppose if you are paying attention to the news, the constant images of age-related disease and disability could be a little disconcerting. If you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense that you would want to convince yourself that it ain't gonna happen to you because you have no intention of moving from this spot thankyouverymuch!
Maybe it is because I love who I am at 36 and wouldn't choose to relive any of my past. Maybe it is because I hang out with people who are older than I am and they seem to be having so much fun. Maybe it is because I have been called a baby by someone at every age I have ever been* and am looking forward to the age when that stops. Maybe I am the one in denial and don't choose to see the correlation between birthdays and illness.
Regardless, I love getting older. I love adding days to my calendar and reams to my memories.
Ultimately, I think it has more to do with being okay with who I am right this moment while also looking forward to the next iteration of Gina. It is like a birthday every moment with the gift being the discovery of what growth and delight and deepening and love and joy I get to play with now.
So, here's to birthdays and half birthdays and 127/365ths birthdays. Make a wish and blow out your candles. It's your birthday and getting older rocks!
*You know how it goes: "Oh, you are (fill in age here)?? You are still a baby!!" What is it about that dismissive statement that makes me want to do violence??
Friday, July 06, 2007
Watch this...
Twice!!
Walgreen's is doing something right!
Love it!
(And I haven't forgotten about the MegaChallenge 210... back soon with an update!)
Walgreen's is doing something right!
Love it!
(And I haven't forgotten about the MegaChallenge 210... back soon with an update!)
Sunday, June 03, 2007
The MegaChallenge 210
We just wrapped up another MegaConference--and it was fantastic! About 1000 people were there (this number--uncharacteristically for me--is accurate) learning, networking, and eating gobs of buffet-style food.
As I reconnected with the folks who inspired me to undertake the MegaChallenge a couple of years ago, it occurred to me just how far down my priority list physical fitness has fallen. Yeah, I am still below goal weight. And I even manage to take long walks and work out a couple of times a month.
But it ain't enough.
So, we have officially re-issued the MegaChallenge. Only this time the stakes are higher as is the goal. Last time we did it for the glory--and there was some of that--but we didn't actually complete the workouts. We haven't decided what carrot we are chasing, yet. That's still up for discussion. We have determined the benchmark. You ready? We will complete 210 workouts before the next MegaConference. (Of course, if you read the title, you already knew that.)
So, for all y'all who want to jump on board, here's your chance! What do you need to do? I dunno--maybe sign up in the comments? If we get significant interest (as defined by me--it is my blog, right??) I may even approach Renee over at Fatfighters about posting our progress there or some such.
Who knows? The MegaChallenge 210 may become the tipping point that turns the trend to obesity on it's cream-filled head.
A girl can dream.
As I reconnected with the folks who inspired me to undertake the MegaChallenge a couple of years ago, it occurred to me just how far down my priority list physical fitness has fallen. Yeah, I am still below goal weight. And I even manage to take long walks and work out a couple of times a month.
But it ain't enough.
So, we have officially re-issued the MegaChallenge. Only this time the stakes are higher as is the goal. Last time we did it for the glory--and there was some of that--but we didn't actually complete the workouts. We haven't decided what carrot we are chasing, yet. That's still up for discussion. We have determined the benchmark. You ready? We will complete 210 workouts before the next MegaConference. (Of course, if you read the title, you already knew that.)
So, for all y'all who want to jump on board, here's your chance! What do you need to do? I dunno--maybe sign up in the comments? If we get significant interest (as defined by me--it is my blog, right??) I may even approach Renee over at Fatfighters about posting our progress there or some such.
Who knows? The MegaChallenge 210 may become the tipping point that turns the trend to obesity on it's cream-filled head.
A girl can dream.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Stuck Under a Pile of Laundry...
Send help!
I know everyone has to deal with laundry. Well, I suppose there are folks who toss aside their just-doffed clothing with the expectation that the Laundry Fairy (be it mom, wife, butler, or actual magical nymph) will remove it, clean it, dry it, fold it, and return it to the drawer where it belongs. Ignoring those folks (two of whom live in this house) the rest of us have this issue on an on going basis.
Gina, are you seriously going to do a blog post on laundry?
Why not??
Well, you have only posted like 4 times in the past 4 months. Couldn't you update us on something a little more--well, exciting??
All right! Okay! Enough about the 8 loads (count 'em!) I did today. We'll talk about something else. I was on a roll, though. Laundry happens to be a big deal around here.
Oh! The magazine with my rant about that Combating Autism Act came out. Of course, they deleted all of my exclamation points and question marks and sighs and acks and it reads like a research paper--but it is in print. (Why do editors do that??? They get all excited about a piece and beg you to let them publish it and then strip it of everything that made it yours to begin with...) You can see it here. Scroll down to pages 12-13.
We are also on the cover--along with several pics I took during our last lobbying trip to DC. They put more of my shots inside around a piece written by another family that went on the same trip. It seems I am a photo-journalist, too! Whoda thunk?
And as long as I am "outing" myself by giving you a link to the magazine--which contains pics of me and my child along with my real name--I might as well add a picture to my profile and include a link to my other* website. Sure, some might see it as shameless self-promotion. They obviously don't know me very well.
So, there you have it. I have morphed into a laundry-doing, homeschooling, photo-journalist, author, webmistress, blogging, life coach.
Heavy on the laundry.
*Y'all have had a link to untangleautism.org on the sidebar for over a year. If you google "autism" and "iep" my little site will come up first--and I have done nothing to promote it evah... kah-cha!! Just goes to show what having a site sit there for 6 years can do. LOL
I know everyone has to deal with laundry. Well, I suppose there are folks who toss aside their just-doffed clothing with the expectation that the Laundry Fairy (be it mom, wife, butler, or actual magical nymph) will remove it, clean it, dry it, fold it, and return it to the drawer where it belongs. Ignoring those folks (two of whom live in this house) the rest of us have this issue on an on going basis.
Gina, are you seriously going to do a blog post on laundry?
Why not??
Well, you have only posted like 4 times in the past 4 months. Couldn't you update us on something a little more--well, exciting??
All right! Okay! Enough about the 8 loads (count 'em!) I did today. We'll talk about something else. I was on a roll, though. Laundry happens to be a big deal around here.
Oh! The magazine with my rant about that Combating Autism Act came out. Of course, they deleted all of my exclamation points and question marks and sighs and acks and it reads like a research paper--but it is in print. (Why do editors do that??? They get all excited about a piece and beg you to let them publish it and then strip it of everything that made it yours to begin with...) You can see it here. Scroll down to pages 12-13.
We are also on the cover--along with several pics I took during our last lobbying trip to DC. They put more of my shots inside around a piece written by another family that went on the same trip. It seems I am a photo-journalist, too! Whoda thunk?
And as long as I am "outing" myself by giving you a link to the magazine--which contains pics of me and my child along with my real name--I might as well add a picture to my profile and include a link to my other* website. Sure, some might see it as shameless self-promotion. They obviously don't know me very well.
So, there you have it. I have morphed into a laundry-doing, homeschooling, photo-journalist, author, webmistress, blogging, life coach.
Heavy on the laundry.
*Y'all have had a link to untangleautism.org on the sidebar for over a year. If you google "autism" and "iep" my little site will come up first--and I have done nothing to promote it evah... kah-cha!! Just goes to show what having a site sit there for 6 years can do. LOL
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Sorry, Ma'am, It Must Be Your Modem...
I have been online since before $Prodigy had graphics. Yeah. I was one of those nerdy girls who get all BBSed up at the turn of the 90s and shared lists of CDs with people who lived across town.
In the process of going from local BBS to $P to GNN to AOHell (who coopted my GNN account through some deal with Satan) to Mindspring to Earthlink (who did a similar thing to my Mindspring account--and I still think they should have become MindLink... I'm just sayin'!) to DSL to Cable I have dealt with a tech or two or three.
I have to say that as much as I love having lickity-split cable access to y'all, and a wireless router that allows me to talk to y'all from anywhere on my expansive property (don't get excited, you can walk it in under a minute), I am not fond of dealing with the cable company when things go wrong.
Why's that, Gina?
Because they have like 40 silos of "service" and none of them know a hootie patootie about anything else.
After the 95th price increase in a week, I called to see why I couldn't get TV and Internet for less than a decent car payment and, Lo, the clouds parted and they discovered that if I added a phone to my TV/Internet package they could bundle my services and knock $40 off of my bill. NO lie. It went from $129 to $89 a month--but only if I agreed to let them install a land line.
I haven't had a land line since before we figured out that Y2K was just a ruse to get all of the retired techies from the 60s back into the cubicles. So, although I didn't know what I would do with unlimited anytime minutes (as long as I didn't leave my expansive property--so claustrophobic, no??) I caved and let them roll a truck.
Well, a month later the phone guy shows up and does some magic and wha la the 40 year old phone lines are talking to my cable line and people can call my house and leave me voice mail and then call my cell phone and say, "I tried calling you at home and didn't get you there, so I figured I'd try you mobile." (I have a log book of calls so that I can compare time stamps and make sure that the message from Margaret is really one I should return and not three gave-up-and-reached-me-on-the-cell-phone attempts ago.)
Woot!
Only... sit down... now my TV and Internet are for shit. No kidding. I can't get On Demand. (What will I do without 24 hour access to Noggin?? No seriously!) One TV gets no signal at all. The cable boxes all say it is 12 noon. I can't send an email. I can't post on my blog. I can't surf. Forget updating my websites.
So, I have spent about 80 hours on my new land line begging my cable company to pretty please return me to my real virtual life. Only they can't. See, the phone guy evidently screwed something up when he cast the spell that made my cable talk to my household wiring. But since the phone is working fine they can't fix the other problems.
So, fine. I call the "Internet Division" and repeat my tale of woe. They tell me it is a phone problem--after all it all went wrong when he came out, right? Um, okay. But aren't you guys like related or something? Nope--different division. Sorry, let me transfer you.
So I talk to the phone people again.
And, again they mute the headset and laugh their asses off and then come back and tell me that I'll have to talk to the TV people.
And I call the TV people--who I swear are the very same people in the Internet Division, only they pretend to be completely new people--and I give them my 19 digit customer number, my 64 digit serial number from the cable box, my phone number, the ISBN off of the book I am reading, and three redemption codes from the My Coke Rewards program--just to make nice--and they say, "Hang on. I am going to transfer you to the automated agent."
And before I can say, "WTF??" I am off into some digitized version of troubleshooting hell.
Claire and I are best friends now. But it wasn't always that way. It took a while for me to get used to her saying over and over, "I'm sorry. That isn't a valid entry. Choose from the following menu," before I was able to bond with her.
She asked me about a bazillion questions including whether my TV was on channel 3 and my cable box was really powered off and my VCR was recording Dukes of Hazard reruns, and my watch was set to daylight savings time and my teeth were flossed. I only threw the phone once.
Eventually, I was able to convince Claire that I really wasn't faking my lack of a picture. So, she gave me back to the breathing TV people who said, "We can send someone out, ummmmmmm, Tuesday." At this point, a week seemed like a flash, so I jumped on it.
Then a couple of hours later, Claire's saccharin sister, Danielle called to tell me that they would actually be coming by in a few minutes and would that be okay? Um. Lemme think. Yeah?
Five hours later not one but two cable guys showed up at my door. They wandered around and scratched their heads and played with their massive walkie-talkies and pretended that they were solving the problem of cold fusion and came to the conclusion that everything* was working fine except for my modem.
Which is actually their modem that they leased to me until I threatened to sue them for charging me $6 a month for 6 years for a $30 piece of plastic. But, now, according to their records it isn't their problem.
But they would be happy to lease me a new modem.
Thanks.
So, I install a new modem. And the Internet speed test swears on its digital momma that I am blazing along but I still can't send an email or surf or upload my websites.
Oh, and the TV isn't getting a signal because--well, er--because you need a new cable line run from the garage through your neighbor's yard around the moon and back and we just can't do that because we have a subcontractor who does that and he is booked until at least Y3K. Do you want us to give you his number?
Maybe Claire will know what to do.
*According to my thesaurus, "everything" means: an amount or quantity from which nothing is left out or held back. According to the Cable Guys, "everything" means: our little meter says that you are getting a signal. Too bad, so sad if you can't actually see anything on your TV or access the Internet.
In the process of going from local BBS to $P to GNN to AOHell (who coopted my GNN account through some deal with Satan) to Mindspring to Earthlink (who did a similar thing to my Mindspring account--and I still think they should have become MindLink... I'm just sayin'!) to DSL to Cable I have dealt with a tech or two or three.
I have to say that as much as I love having lickity-split cable access to y'all, and a wireless router that allows me to talk to y'all from anywhere on my expansive property (don't get excited, you can walk it in under a minute), I am not fond of dealing with the cable company when things go wrong.
Why's that, Gina?
Because they have like 40 silos of "service" and none of them know a hootie patootie about anything else.
After the 95th price increase in a week, I called to see why I couldn't get TV and Internet for less than a decent car payment and, Lo, the clouds parted and they discovered that if I added a phone to my TV/Internet package they could bundle my services and knock $40 off of my bill. NO lie. It went from $129 to $89 a month--but only if I agreed to let them install a land line.
I haven't had a land line since before we figured out that Y2K was just a ruse to get all of the retired techies from the 60s back into the cubicles. So, although I didn't know what I would do with unlimited anytime minutes (as long as I didn't leave my expansive property--so claustrophobic, no??) I caved and let them roll a truck.
Well, a month later the phone guy shows up and does some magic and wha la the 40 year old phone lines are talking to my cable line and people can call my house and leave me voice mail and then call my cell phone and say, "I tried calling you at home and didn't get you there, so I figured I'd try you mobile." (I have a log book of calls so that I can compare time stamps and make sure that the message from Margaret is really one I should return and not three gave-up-and-reached-me-on-the-cell-phone attempts ago.)
Woot!
Only... sit down... now my TV and Internet are for shit. No kidding. I can't get On Demand. (What will I do without 24 hour access to Noggin?? No seriously!) One TV gets no signal at all. The cable boxes all say it is 12 noon. I can't send an email. I can't post on my blog. I can't surf. Forget updating my websites.
So, I have spent about 80 hours on my new land line begging my cable company to pretty please return me to my real virtual life. Only they can't. See, the phone guy evidently screwed something up when he cast the spell that made my cable talk to my household wiring. But since the phone is working fine they can't fix the other problems.
So, fine. I call the "Internet Division" and repeat my tale of woe. They tell me it is a phone problem--after all it all went wrong when he came out, right? Um, okay. But aren't you guys like related or something? Nope--different division. Sorry, let me transfer you.
So I talk to the phone people again.
And, again they mute the headset and laugh their asses off and then come back and tell me that I'll have to talk to the TV people.
And I call the TV people--who I swear are the very same people in the Internet Division, only they pretend to be completely new people--and I give them my 19 digit customer number, my 64 digit serial number from the cable box, my phone number, the ISBN off of the book I am reading, and three redemption codes from the My Coke Rewards program--just to make nice--and they say, "Hang on. I am going to transfer you to the automated agent."
And before I can say, "WTF??" I am off into some digitized version of troubleshooting hell.
Claire and I are best friends now. But it wasn't always that way. It took a while for me to get used to her saying over and over, "I'm sorry. That isn't a valid entry. Choose from the following menu," before I was able to bond with her.
She asked me about a bazillion questions including whether my TV was on channel 3 and my cable box was really powered off and my VCR was recording Dukes of Hazard reruns, and my watch was set to daylight savings time and my teeth were flossed. I only threw the phone once.
Eventually, I was able to convince Claire that I really wasn't faking my lack of a picture. So, she gave me back to the breathing TV people who said, "We can send someone out, ummmmmmm, Tuesday." At this point, a week seemed like a flash, so I jumped on it.
Then a couple of hours later, Claire's saccharin sister, Danielle called to tell me that they would actually be coming by in a few minutes and would that be okay? Um. Lemme think. Yeah?
Five hours later not one but two cable guys showed up at my door. They wandered around and scratched their heads and played with their massive walkie-talkies and pretended that they were solving the problem of cold fusion and came to the conclusion that everything* was working fine except for my modem.
Which is actually their modem that they leased to me until I threatened to sue them for charging me $6 a month for 6 years for a $30 piece of plastic. But, now, according to their records it isn't their problem.
But they would be happy to lease me a new modem.
Thanks.
So, I install a new modem. And the Internet speed test swears on its digital momma that I am blazing along but I still can't send an email or surf or upload my websites.
Oh, and the TV isn't getting a signal because--well, er--because you need a new cable line run from the garage through your neighbor's yard around the moon and back and we just can't do that because we have a subcontractor who does that and he is booked until at least Y3K. Do you want us to give you his number?
Maybe Claire will know what to do.
*According to my thesaurus, "everything" means: an amount or quantity from which nothing is left out or held back. According to the Cable Guys, "everything" means: our little meter says that you are getting a signal. Too bad, so sad if you can't actually see anything on your TV or access the Internet.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Words Never Fail Me...
My boyfriend (yes, it is official and exclusive and terrifying and very, very good) bandies about his credentials as a writer--and rightfully so--to the point where I sort of forgot that I, too, have been known to put together some sweet syllables on occasion.
I have suddenly rediscovered my penchant for prose as I have tossed off the yoke of higher education*. (Yeah, I said I put together sweet syllables on occasion. At other times, I put together clashing cliches and hide behind my anonymity.) Without volumes of Kirkpatrick to dig through (love him, but his name comes up every 3rd sentence at Joe's Pretty Good Grad School) I have time for all sorts of writing and--gasp--pleasure reading!
There are 40 books on my nightstand. These are my "get to them soon" books. My book purchasing is an illness that I will never even attempt to overcome. I see a book that looks interesting, I buy it. I read the first 75 pages and then get distracted by another pretty cover. It goes on my nightstand. Eventually I am penniless and want something to read, so I go back to one of the toss offs and re-discover why I bought it. Eventually I finish them all. (Well, except for Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which was officially thrown across the room at page 640 and left to be walked on for a week until I finally worked up the strength to pick up the 40 pound doorstop and put it on a shelf. Ms Clarke, get thee an editor!)
Anyway. The pile of books seems to grow faster than my children. Which has led me to discover one advantage to being the only adult in the house; no one else can tell you that you have too many of something! It also means that no one moves your stuff--and if they do they are smaller than you and you can bribe them with candy and stickers to get it back.
Keeping in mind those two things (the getting to keep what you want and it staying where you put it) imagine just how juicy it is to re-discover an entire collection of books that you are absolutely dying to read just sitting there beside your bed and actually having the time to read them!
Are you salivating?
Oh! The titles I am cracking (or re-cracking) this month! Everything from The Fabulous Friendship Festival to The Female Brain to The Field to Finding Your Own North Star. Wait. Those are all in the Fs. Just so no one gets the mistaken belief that my nightstand is organized alphabetically... to The Namesake to Why Moms are Weird (Hi, Pamie!!) to Sex, Time, and Power.
I have had a book-a-day habit since 2nd grade (Hi, Mrs. Williams!!) and just feel so blessed to have continued access to this alternate reality. I am working diligently to pass my addiction on to my kids. I suckered them in with picture books before they could hold their heads up. Then we moved on to reading chapter books out loud on car trips and while they played in the floor with their toys. Once I got them hooked, I taught them the code and now they are reading on their own.
If there is anything any sweeter than kissing my children good night, it is hearing my 8-year-old son say as I tuck him in with a biography(!!), "There's nothin' like a good book."
* Grad school is going on the back burner for the moment. The issues I mentioned last fall have never been resolved and have escalated and the school is in a huge upheaval that won't be settled in my lifetime and I am over beating my head against that brick wall. Perhaps another program at another school will be a better fit. Perhaps I should just get off of my ass and get a job. Hey! I might just do it!!
I have suddenly rediscovered my penchant for prose as I have tossed off the yoke of higher education*. (Yeah, I said I put together sweet syllables on occasion. At other times, I put together clashing cliches and hide behind my anonymity.) Without volumes of Kirkpatrick to dig through (love him, but his name comes up every 3rd sentence at Joe's Pretty Good Grad School) I have time for all sorts of writing and--gasp--pleasure reading!
There are 40 books on my nightstand. These are my "get to them soon" books. My book purchasing is an illness that I will never even attempt to overcome. I see a book that looks interesting, I buy it. I read the first 75 pages and then get distracted by another pretty cover. It goes on my nightstand. Eventually I am penniless and want something to read, so I go back to one of the toss offs and re-discover why I bought it. Eventually I finish them all. (Well, except for Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which was officially thrown across the room at page 640 and left to be walked on for a week until I finally worked up the strength to pick up the 40 pound doorstop and put it on a shelf. Ms Clarke, get thee an editor!)
Anyway. The pile of books seems to grow faster than my children. Which has led me to discover one advantage to being the only adult in the house; no one else can tell you that you have too many of something! It also means that no one moves your stuff--and if they do they are smaller than you and you can bribe them with candy and stickers to get it back.
Keeping in mind those two things (the getting to keep what you want and it staying where you put it) imagine just how juicy it is to re-discover an entire collection of books that you are absolutely dying to read just sitting there beside your bed and actually having the time to read them!
Are you salivating?
Oh! The titles I am cracking (or re-cracking) this month! Everything from The Fabulous Friendship Festival to The Female Brain to The Field to Finding Your Own North Star. Wait. Those are all in the Fs. Just so no one gets the mistaken belief that my nightstand is organized alphabetically... to The Namesake to Why Moms are Weird (Hi, Pamie!!) to Sex, Time, and Power.
I have had a book-a-day habit since 2nd grade (Hi, Mrs. Williams!!) and just feel so blessed to have continued access to this alternate reality. I am working diligently to pass my addiction on to my kids. I suckered them in with picture books before they could hold their heads up. Then we moved on to reading chapter books out loud on car trips and while they played in the floor with their toys. Once I got them hooked, I taught them the code and now they are reading on their own.
If there is anything any sweeter than kissing my children good night, it is hearing my 8-year-old son say as I tuck him in with a biography(!!), "There's nothin' like a good book."
* Grad school is going on the back burner for the moment. The issues I mentioned last fall have never been resolved and have escalated and the school is in a huge upheaval that won't be settled in my lifetime and I am over beating my head against that brick wall. Perhaps another program at another school will be a better fit. Perhaps I should just get off of my ass and get a job. Hey! I might just do it!!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
No seriously...
It has not been two months since my last post!
I have thought all sorts of incredibly important and insightful thoughts. Didn't I post about my 36th birthday party, complete with band and chocolate mousse? No? Well, how about the incredible St Valentine's weekend at the state park covered in snow? Not that either?? Okay, surely I told y'all all about my real, live, paying client that officially kicked off my life coaching business, right? Right???
Oh, guys, I am so sorry!
It seems the more I have to say the less able I am to drop by ye ole blog and say it.
Well, I will tell you that the blog has proven to be slightly beneficial for my writing career. (I didn't even know I had or wanted a writing career!) My rant on the language surrounding the Combating Autism Act was picked up by a magazine. It seems that at least one other person thinks it is high time we think about the language we use when discussing diagnosis and disability. I won't re-rant here. Just wanted to send out a woot! for the record.
And because this entry is officially all over the map and is begging for some sort of cohesiveness, I will end where I began:
As of right now, it has not been two months since my last post.
See y'all in June...
I have thought all sorts of incredibly important and insightful thoughts. Didn't I post about my 36th birthday party, complete with band and chocolate mousse? No? Well, how about the incredible St Valentine's weekend at the state park covered in snow? Not that either?? Okay, surely I told y'all all about my real, live, paying client that officially kicked off my life coaching business, right? Right???
Oh, guys, I am so sorry!
It seems the more I have to say the less able I am to drop by ye ole blog and say it.
Well, I will tell you that the blog has proven to be slightly beneficial for my writing career. (I didn't even know I had or wanted a writing career!) My rant on the language surrounding the Combating Autism Act was picked up by a magazine. It seems that at least one other person thinks it is high time we think about the language we use when discussing diagnosis and disability. I won't re-rant here. Just wanted to send out a woot! for the record.
And because this entry is officially all over the map and is begging for some sort of cohesiveness, I will end where I began:
As of right now, it has not been two months since my last post.
See y'all in June...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Well, if it shows up in O...
You know you've made it when you show up in O. You know, that little magazine put out by that lady who seems to have endless ability to influence the world around her?
Well, before you get all excited and send me a comment saying, "But, Gina, I didn't see you in O!!" Lemme point out that, no, I am not exactly in O. Weight loss blogging is in O. And, since I have a weight loss blog (shush, it is, too!! or was... whatever!) I am, by association in O. So there.
Anyway, now that we are all agreed that I am famous and "in" let's move on to the point. Yes, I have a point.
Reistad-Long (the author of the article in O) comes to the conclusion that blogging helps us lose weight (well, duh!) but her explanation as to why totally fit into my whole, "Dream it, Plan it, Say it, Do it" philosophy." She says, "Anyone who has achieved a significant behavior change knows that success is an ongoing process of staying aware and making the right choices."
Change is an act of intention. You want to make the change. You believe the change is possible. You tell others that you are going to make that change. And wha la! You change*! It is a deliberate act of will.
I am living proof. Go back and read my entries. I double dog dare you to. Three major life changes started here... I shaped my overweight form into my (as of this morning) 143 lb comfort zone, I eliminated my wasband from my immediate surroundings, and I discovered my "balance is everything" mantra. And you know what? When I declared that I would lose weight to the whole world and I wrote about it and kept that promise to myself--deliberately--I did it. And when I came to the conclusion that a divorce was the change I needed, same thing. And when I read myself saying, "balance" every other sentence, I recognized that it was a key to my bliss.
Recognizing, as I do, the power of declaration, I want to set other goals and share them here. I know the power of this forum.
But... you knew there was a but...
I have hesitated to transform this blog into a rest-of-my-life blog for several reasons. The main one is that I am somewhat concerned that my still-unstable wasband will find fuel for his indignation here. I don't want to hurt him. He has lots of work to do to find his balance. I tried to help him, but it was beyond my ability (and beyond my responsibility!!) I still hope he will land in his bliss (though so far he has landed just about everywhere else), but I have to make sure I don't give him the power to derail mine.
So, I am trying to figure out how to share what is going on and what I am going to work on and still feel "safe."
Okay. I have said for years that living in fear is not living. My first act of deliberate intent is to declare that my blog is a safe place. I expect the people who visit here to be supportive and caring--just as they always have been. If you are the boogey man, move along. I am sure there is a blog out there for you. This one is for folks who believe, like Richard Feynman, "The key to success is to make people dream."
Here's to living that dream!
*For those of you who are screeching, "Buuuuut Gina, it isn't that eeeeeeasy!!!" I will say again, it is a deliberate act of will. If you have mixed feelings, your results will be mixed. If you are only doing it because your mom, boyfriend, therapist, horoscope, or Oprah says you should, it ain't gonna go very well. You know this. I know this. The universe knows this. Now put down the sleeve of Oreos and get focused on what you want. (And if what you want is the sleeve of Oreos, you will pick them right back up. No judgment... I've done it, too. They are soooo good. especially with really cold milk...)
Well, before you get all excited and send me a comment saying, "But, Gina, I didn't see you in O!!" Lemme point out that, no, I am not exactly in O. Weight loss blogging is in O. And, since I have a weight loss blog (shush, it is, too!! or was... whatever!) I am, by association in O. So there.
Anyway, now that we are all agreed that I am famous and "in" let's move on to the point. Yes, I have a point.
Reistad-Long (the author of the article in O) comes to the conclusion that blogging helps us lose weight (well, duh!) but her explanation as to why totally fit into my whole, "Dream it, Plan it, Say it, Do it" philosophy." She says, "Anyone who has achieved a significant behavior change knows that success is an ongoing process of staying aware and making the right choices."
Change is an act of intention. You want to make the change. You believe the change is possible. You tell others that you are going to make that change. And wha la! You change*! It is a deliberate act of will.
I am living proof. Go back and read my entries. I double dog dare you to. Three major life changes started here... I shaped my overweight form into my (as of this morning) 143 lb comfort zone, I eliminated my wasband from my immediate surroundings, and I discovered my "balance is everything" mantra. And you know what? When I declared that I would lose weight to the whole world and I wrote about it and kept that promise to myself--deliberately--I did it. And when I came to the conclusion that a divorce was the change I needed, same thing. And when I read myself saying, "balance" every other sentence, I recognized that it was a key to my bliss.
Recognizing, as I do, the power of declaration, I want to set other goals and share them here. I know the power of this forum.
But... you knew there was a but...
I have hesitated to transform this blog into a rest-of-my-life blog for several reasons. The main one is that I am somewhat concerned that my still-unstable wasband will find fuel for his indignation here. I don't want to hurt him. He has lots of work to do to find his balance. I tried to help him, but it was beyond my ability (and beyond my responsibility!!) I still hope he will land in his bliss (though so far he has landed just about everywhere else), but I have to make sure I don't give him the power to derail mine.
So, I am trying to figure out how to share what is going on and what I am going to work on and still feel "safe."
Okay. I have said for years that living in fear is not living. My first act of deliberate intent is to declare that my blog is a safe place. I expect the people who visit here to be supportive and caring--just as they always have been. If you are the boogey man, move along. I am sure there is a blog out there for you. This one is for folks who believe, like Richard Feynman, "The key to success is to make people dream."
Here's to living that dream!
*For those of you who are screeching, "Buuuuut Gina, it isn't that eeeeeeasy!!!" I will say again, it is a deliberate act of will. If you have mixed feelings, your results will be mixed. If you are only doing it because your mom, boyfriend, therapist, horoscope, or Oprah says you should, it ain't gonna go very well. You know this. I know this. The universe knows this. Now put down the sleeve of Oreos and get focused on what you want. (And if what you want is the sleeve of Oreos, you will pick them right back up. No judgment... I've done it, too. They are soooo good. especially with really cold milk...)
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Rockin' my world 2.0...
Okay. I lied.
This is the coolest site ever.
Click on "Custom Radio" and put in your favorite artist or song and it will create a radio station just for you.
You can customize it.
You can create stations for your every mood.
You can ban crappy songs from ever playing in your kingdom.
You can plug your laptop into your surround sound system and wonder how you got so lucky as to live in this incredible time.
Life is about to change for you.
Go!!
I'll wait here. It's okay. They're playin' my song...
This is the coolest site ever.
Click on "Custom Radio" and put in your favorite artist or song and it will create a radio station just for you.
You can customize it.
You can create stations for your every mood.
You can ban crappy songs from ever playing in your kingdom.
You can plug your laptop into your surround sound system and wonder how you got so lucky as to live in this incredible time.
Life is about to change for you.
Go!!
I'll wait here. It's okay. They're playin' my song...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
My fine is $280.50...
Like TJ over at MPMB, I was a pool pee-er. How the hell do I know that about TJ? Weeeelllll...
There is this little survey floating around Blog Land. If you haven't already done it consider yourself tagged. Leave me a comment so that I can come check out your fine.
Here’s how it works: You don’t have to confess your answers, just the amount of your fine. (Not per incident!) Tally up your score and post it on your blog with the title… ”My Fine Is…”
Yeah, my total is $280.50. I've heard that isn't so high. I'd better get to work!
Smoked pot — $10
Did acid — $5
Ever had sex at church — $25
Woke up in the morning and did not know the person who was next to you — $40
Had sex with someone on MySpace — $25
Had sex for money — $100
Vandalized something — $20
Had sex on your parents’ bed — $10
Beat up someone — $20
Been jumped — $10
Crossed dressed — $10
Given money to stripper — $25
Been in love with a stripper — $20
Kissed some one who’s name you didn’t know — $0.10
Hit on some one of the same sex while at work — $15
Ever drive drunk — $20
Ever got drunk at work, or went to work while still drunk — $50
Used toys while having sex — $30
Got drunk, passed out and don’t remember the night before — $20
Went skinny dipping — $5
Had sex in a pool — $20
Kissed someone of the same sex — $10
Had sex with someone of the same sex — $20
Cheated on your significant other — $10
Masturbated — $10
Cheated on your significant other with their relative or close friend — $20
Done oral — $5
Got oral — $5
Done / got oral in a car while it was moving — $25
Stole something — $10
Had sex with someone in jail — $25
Made a nasty home video — $15
Had a threesome — $50
Had sex in the wild — $20
Been in the same room while someone was having sex — $25
Stole something worth over more than a hundred dollars — $20
Had sex with someone 10 years older — $20
Had sex with someone under 21 and you are over 27 — $25
Been in love with two people or more at the same time — $50
Said you love someone but didn’t mean it — $25
Went streaking — $5
Went streaking in broad daylight — $15
Been arrested — $5
Spent time in jail — $15
Peed in the pool — $0.50
Played spin the bottle — $5
Done something you regret — $20
Had sex with your best friend — $20
Had sex with someone you work with at work — $25
Had anal sex — $80
Lied to your mate — $5
Lied to your mate about the sex being good — $25
Did acid — $5
Ever had sex at church — $25
Woke up in the morning and did not know the person who was next to you — $40
Had sex with someone on MySpace — $25
Had sex for money — $100
Vandalized something — $20
Had sex on your parents’ bed — $10
Beat up someone — $20
Been jumped — $10
Crossed dressed — $10
Given money to stripper — $25
Been in love with a stripper — $20
Kissed some one who’s name you didn’t know — $0.10
Hit on some one of the same sex while at work — $15
Ever drive drunk — $20
Ever got drunk at work, or went to work while still drunk — $50
Used toys while having sex — $30
Got drunk, passed out and don’t remember the night before — $20
Went skinny dipping — $5
Had sex in a pool — $20
Kissed someone of the same sex — $10
Had sex with someone of the same sex — $20
Cheated on your significant other — $10
Masturbated — $10
Cheated on your significant other with their relative or close friend — $20
Done oral — $5
Got oral — $5
Done / got oral in a car while it was moving — $25
Stole something — $10
Had sex with someone in jail — $25
Made a nasty home video — $15
Had a threesome — $50
Had sex in the wild — $20
Been in the same room while someone was having sex — $25
Stole something worth over more than a hundred dollars — $20
Had sex with someone 10 years older — $20
Had sex with someone under 21 and you are over 27 — $25
Been in love with two people or more at the same time — $50
Said you love someone but didn’t mean it — $25
Went streaking — $5
Went streaking in broad daylight — $15
Been arrested — $5
Spent time in jail — $15
Peed in the pool — $0.50
Played spin the bottle — $5
Done something you regret — $20
Had sex with your best friend — $20
Had sex with someone you work with at work — $25
Had anal sex — $80
Lied to your mate — $5
Lied to your mate about the sex being good — $25
Monday, January 22, 2007
Rockin' my world...
or at least my laptop is this very, very cool interactive and free (for the lo-fi version) online streaming music player.
Go! Right now! Check it out.
Then come back and tell me how amazing it is.
You're gonna thank me.
Go! Right now! Check it out.
Then come back and tell me how amazing it is.
You're gonna thank me.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Decisions, decisions...
Yes, I am down to 142.5 pounds, but not in a good way. I have lost weight this week because I have stressed myself into a relapse and can't manage to eat anything.
I am the canary in the mine. I see the big picture. I see the problems and cracks and I am probably a little hyper-vigilant. But when I see it coming, I want to warn folks.
"Get out of the way!"
"We gotta change this!"
"This could be so much easier/sweeter/kinder/effective!"
But sometimes--most of the time--they just don't want to hear it. And I can usually let it go.
Unless it directly affects my life in some dramatic way.
Like People First Language.
Well grad school is affecting my life in a dramatic way. The issues with my team got worse--much worse--over the course of the past several weeks and I went to the administration for help. It seems that was the wrong course of action. They don't want to hear it. And I can't let it go.
Without detailing you to death, let's just say that I am seriously considering leaving the program. This sucks for about 64 reasons, not the least of which is that I want this degree, I love the coursework, and I don't know what I am going to do if I drop out.
But I can't live with this kind of stress for another year. It isn't fair to my children. It isn't healthy for me. Life is way too short to go weeks without sleep or eating because folks won't do their part.
Damn it.
I am the canary in the mine. I see the big picture. I see the problems and cracks and I am probably a little hyper-vigilant. But when I see it coming, I want to warn folks.
"Get out of the way!"
"We gotta change this!"
"This could be so much easier/sweeter/kinder/effective!"
But sometimes--most of the time--they just don't want to hear it. And I can usually let it go.
Unless it directly affects my life in some dramatic way.
Like People First Language.
Well grad school is affecting my life in a dramatic way. The issues with my team got worse--much worse--over the course of the past several weeks and I went to the administration for help. It seems that was the wrong course of action. They don't want to hear it. And I can't let it go.
Without detailing you to death, let's just say that I am seriously considering leaving the program. This sucks for about 64 reasons, not the least of which is that I want this degree, I love the coursework, and I don't know what I am going to do if I drop out.
But I can't live with this kind of stress for another year. It isn't fair to my children. It isn't healthy for me. Life is way too short to go weeks without sleep or eating because folks won't do their part.
Damn it.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
15 minutes of effort...
I am back at my seemingly perpetual task of de-cluttering my world. We are super-blessed around here with generous gift givers and the holidays left us with about thirty million new things to store. Of course, those items all came wrapped in something and were under a tall green something covered in all sorts of sparkly somethings. Now that it is officially "after the holidays" all of those somethings were making me bat wacky and had to get out of here.
But I just couldn't do it.
I am tired. Yes, I will admit it. There are days when I just don't wanna be the grown up! But no one else is volunteering, so up and at 'em!
I don't know where I originally got the idea to do 15 minutes of clutter attack. Perhaps at flylady.net (she can have credit if she likes) or in some book or out of sheer genius. Anyway, it isn't my favorite way to spend a day, but sometimes it is the only way to get moving. How does it work?
Weeeeelllllllll...
When we do it, we pick 3 tasks that seem overwhelming (today: taking down decorations, putting away new stuff, and cleaning the kitchen won) and rotate those with a fourth something that we actually enjoy (a day-long game of Monopoly* won). We set the timer for 15 minutes and jump on task one. When the timer screams, we switch to the next task for the next 15 minutes. This continues 'round and 'round until we finish. Sometimes it takes an hour, others it takes 4.
Anyway, we did manage to get all three tasks done. My daughter kicked our butts at Monopoly. (Seems at a couple of weeks shy of 6 that she relies on the strategy of "buy it all and watch them die a slow death paying me rent.") I feel much better because I don't have visions of Christmas in April dancing in my head.
*My son got the new Monopoly Here & Now game as one of his gifts. We are fairly Monopoly obsessed around here and have several versions (including electronic ones) but this one is the strangest one evah! Things we like: cool tokens (cell phone, hybrid car, airplane, etc) and properties from all over the country. Things we hate: the money and the money!! It is 10,000 times as complicated to use because the whole shebang has been inflated by--you guessed it--a factor of 10,000. Worse than that? Three denominations are some variant of yellow--including the $100,000 and $1,000,000 bills--and are very easily mixed up. We did have a very interesting lesson on place value, though. My recommendation? Stick with your classic version and order "replacement" tokens from H@sbro. (If you feel that is somehow unethical, then go buy the game and get all giddy when you discover your own tiny St@rbuck's mug token!)
But I just couldn't do it.
I am tired. Yes, I will admit it. There are days when I just don't wanna be the grown up! But no one else is volunteering, so up and at 'em!
I don't know where I originally got the idea to do 15 minutes of clutter attack. Perhaps at flylady.net (she can have credit if she likes) or in some book or out of sheer genius. Anyway, it isn't my favorite way to spend a day, but sometimes it is the only way to get moving. How does it work?
Weeeeelllllllll...
When we do it, we pick 3 tasks that seem overwhelming (today: taking down decorations, putting away new stuff, and cleaning the kitchen won) and rotate those with a fourth something that we actually enjoy (a day-long game of Monopoly* won). We set the timer for 15 minutes and jump on task one. When the timer screams, we switch to the next task for the next 15 minutes. This continues 'round and 'round until we finish. Sometimes it takes an hour, others it takes 4.
Anyway, we did manage to get all three tasks done. My daughter kicked our butts at Monopoly. (Seems at a couple of weeks shy of 6 that she relies on the strategy of "buy it all and watch them die a slow death paying me rent.") I feel much better because I don't have visions of Christmas in April dancing in my head.
*My son got the new Monopoly Here & Now game as one of his gifts. We are fairly Monopoly obsessed around here and have several versions (including electronic ones) but this one is the strangest one evah! Things we like: cool tokens (cell phone, hybrid car, airplane, etc) and properties from all over the country. Things we hate: the money and the money!! It is 10,000 times as complicated to use because the whole shebang has been inflated by--you guessed it--a factor of 10,000. Worse than that? Three denominations are some variant of yellow--including the $100,000 and $1,000,000 bills--and are very easily mixed up. We did have a very interesting lesson on place value, though. My recommendation? Stick with your classic version and order "replacement" tokens from H@sbro. (If you feel that is somehow unethical, then go buy the game and get all giddy when you discover your own tiny St@rbuck's mug token!)
Friday, December 29, 2006
Old Year's Resolution...
The new weight (143.5 lbs) is accurate! Whoo hooo!
Yeah. That would be some 5.5 pounds under goal weight (which I have officially maintained for 13 months)... but if you have read up on ye olde archives, you will find my constant ponderizing on the ultimate goal weight--and the likelihood of its being under 140.
Some of you might point out that it took me 5 months to lose 39 pounds and over a year to lose the next 5... and you would be right.
Some of you might point out that I have hardly paid attention to the whole fitness/weight thing over the course of 2006... and you would be right.
Some of you might point out that this news is hardly news since I didn't step on a scale for months and when I did some 3 pounds had magically disappeared... and you would be right.
But that would mean that there are at least 3 people reading this blog... and since there are crickets in the comments box, I gotta assume that ain't the case.
So, as I am, evidently, writing for future blog readers who will, undoubtedly, be clamoring to know just how I did this losing-of-three-pounds-without-trying magic, here goes...
I kept eating radically reasonable amounts of food and exercised when I could squeeze it in between grad school and home school and trips to see my out-of-town boy (read: a total of about 10 times in the past month).
Oh, and I didn't do the holiday eating thing. So what if there are piles of chocolate covered somethings everywhere?? I am not hungry so I am not eating it! I did have a cookie or two and an still working on a quart of egg nog*, but I honestly haven't been tempted to overeat.
Sound too good to be true? A couple of years ago, I would have been stormin' the comments with all sorts of whatevers... but it--eat less, move more--works... The catch?? You have to figure out why you are eating more and moving less before it will actually click and stick. My eating was motivated by a stress and depression. Funny, once I spent the 5 years and $15k on therapy, losing some 50 pounds was easy.
Here's to all the folks who will be starting a new diet for the new year. I am oh, so rooting for you! I remember how impossible losing the weight seemed when I got going, and how amazing it felt to get to goal...
I wish I could blog that feeling.
*Oh my! My sis is a coffee goddess, and taught me the merits of using egg nog in lieu of milk/cream. It is equally outrageous in iced coffee and hot coffee. I am so going to mourn the end of egg nog this year.
Yeah. That would be some 5.5 pounds under goal weight (which I have officially maintained for 13 months)... but if you have read up on ye olde archives, you will find my constant ponderizing on the ultimate goal weight--and the likelihood of its being under 140.
Some of you might point out that it took me 5 months to lose 39 pounds and over a year to lose the next 5... and you would be right.
Some of you might point out that I have hardly paid attention to the whole fitness/weight thing over the course of 2006... and you would be right.
Some of you might point out that this news is hardly news since I didn't step on a scale for months and when I did some 3 pounds had magically disappeared... and you would be right.
But that would mean that there are at least 3 people reading this blog... and since there are crickets in the comments box, I gotta assume that ain't the case.
So, as I am, evidently, writing for future blog readers who will, undoubtedly, be clamoring to know just how I did this losing-of-three-pounds-without-trying magic, here goes...
I kept eating radically reasonable amounts of food and exercised when I could squeeze it in between grad school and home school and trips to see my out-of-town boy (read: a total of about 10 times in the past month).
Oh, and I didn't do the holiday eating thing. So what if there are piles of chocolate covered somethings everywhere?? I am not hungry so I am not eating it! I did have a cookie or two and an still working on a quart of egg nog*, but I honestly haven't been tempted to overeat.
Sound too good to be true? A couple of years ago, I would have been stormin' the comments with all sorts of whatevers... but it--eat less, move more--works... The catch?? You have to figure out why you are eating more and moving less before it will actually click and stick. My eating was motivated by a stress and depression. Funny, once I spent the 5 years and $15k on therapy, losing some 50 pounds was easy.
Here's to all the folks who will be starting a new diet for the new year. I am oh, so rooting for you! I remember how impossible losing the weight seemed when I got going, and how amazing it felt to get to goal...
I wish I could blog that feeling.
*Oh my! My sis is a coffee goddess, and taught me the merits of using egg nog in lieu of milk/cream. It is equally outrageous in iced coffee and hot coffee. I am so going to mourn the end of egg nog this year.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Oh, son, I am so, so sorry...
From the press release announcing the passage of the “Combating Autism Act”:
“This bill is a federal declaration of war on the epidemic of autism,” said Jon Shestack, co-founder of Cure Autism Now. “It creates a congressionally mandated roadmap for a federal assault on autism, including requirements for strategic planning, budget transparency, Congressional oversight, and a substantial role for parents of children with autism in the federal decision-making process.”
“By passing this landmark single-disease legislation, the House has recognized the daily plight of the thousands of families struggling every day with autism, and has once and for all acknowledged autism as a national healthcare crisis,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal.
AAAAACKKKKKKK!!!!!
The name of the act alone sent me into a rage but this???
“war on the epidemic of autism”????
“assault on autism”????
“daily plight”????
“families struggling”????
“once and for all acknowledged autism as a national healthcare crisis”????
All of this packed into TWO sentences!!! Oh. My. GOD!!!
And this stuff was said by family members of children with autism… not professionals or lobbyists.
These people are declaring war on my son!!! And their own children… they just don’t get it, do they??
Sigh.
I just want to go on the record saying that while I am all for finding accommodations that help folks participate in the world, offering medical treatment to those who need it, finding new ways to teach folks, and the like--I am *not* cool with using the same language we apply to terrorists and drug lords for legislation regarding our children!
Since when do we wage war on children?
It is not okay to forget that my children are just that--children.
The language we use is important! How often do children with diagnoses hear that there is "something wrong with them"?? How many times can they hear that without believing it?
Unfortunately, other people believe it, too. So, for the record, there is nothing "wrong" with my children. They are not the cause of some "daily plight" in my life. We get along just fine, thankyouverymuch.
I know that there are plenty of folks ready to heap ashes on my head for thinking this way. They will point to their children and say, "Look at my child! He bangs his head! He drools! He spreads poop on the walls! He has behaviors! You just don't understand!!"
I do understand. I have seen it all. I have lived it all. And still I refuse to blame my children and lay the burden of my lack of happiness at their feet. I will not "wage war" on them. I will love them and care for them and fight for them and educate them and tell them over and over that they are awesome.
And I will declare war on anyone who suggests I do otherwise.
“This bill is a federal declaration of war on the epidemic of autism,” said Jon Shestack, co-founder of Cure Autism Now. “It creates a congressionally mandated roadmap for a federal assault on autism, including requirements for strategic planning, budget transparency, Congressional oversight, and a substantial role for parents of children with autism in the federal decision-making process.”
“By passing this landmark single-disease legislation, the House has recognized the daily plight of the thousands of families struggling every day with autism, and has once and for all acknowledged autism as a national healthcare crisis,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal.
AAAAACKKKKKKK!!!!!
The name of the act alone sent me into a rage but this???
“war on the epidemic of autism”????
“assault on autism”????
“daily plight”????
“families struggling”????
“once and for all acknowledged autism as a national healthcare crisis”????
All of this packed into TWO sentences!!! Oh. My. GOD!!!
And this stuff was said by family members of children with autism… not professionals or lobbyists.
These people are declaring war on my son!!! And their own children… they just don’t get it, do they??
Sigh.
I just want to go on the record saying that while I am all for finding accommodations that help folks participate in the world, offering medical treatment to those who need it, finding new ways to teach folks, and the like--I am *not* cool with using the same language we apply to terrorists and drug lords for legislation regarding our children!
Since when do we wage war on children?
It is not okay to forget that my children are just that--children.
The language we use is important! How often do children with diagnoses hear that there is "something wrong with them"?? How many times can they hear that without believing it?
Unfortunately, other people believe it, too. So, for the record, there is nothing "wrong" with my children. They are not the cause of some "daily plight" in my life. We get along just fine, thankyouverymuch.
I know that there are plenty of folks ready to heap ashes on my head for thinking this way. They will point to their children and say, "Look at my child! He bangs his head! He drools! He spreads poop on the walls! He has behaviors! You just don't understand!!"
I do understand. I have seen it all. I have lived it all. And still I refuse to blame my children and lay the burden of my lack of happiness at their feet. I will not "wage war" on them. I will love them and care for them and fight for them and educate them and tell them over and over that they are awesome.
And I will declare war on anyone who suggests I do otherwise.
Monday, November 06, 2006
She's So Cool...
Yeah, I know. I am mystifyingly cool.
No kidding.
I can do grad school, homeschool, raise two kids, balance a checkbook, date real men, drive a car, stay at goal weight, and elliptical train for an entire hour without passing out.
Then, I start my heady yeah-I-just-ran-to-nowhere-for-an-entire-hour-without-passing-out walk back to the locker room only to get my headphone cord tangled up with my towel and my sweatshirt and manage to bang my Zen into my nose and draw blood.
And then one of those real men has to tell me that I have blood running down my face, 'cause I am too cool to notice it all on my own.
Now, you know just how impressive I really am.
Oh, and the run-just-prior-to-my-public-humiliation is in the books (126/200) along with another one (run not humiliation) this weekend (127/200) plus an amazing, leaf-crunching (I love fall!!), 5-mile hike (128/200).
I. Am. So. Cool. Don't you wish you could be like me?
Stop laughing. It isn't funny.
Yet.
No kidding.
I can do grad school, homeschool, raise two kids, balance a checkbook, date real men, drive a car, stay at goal weight, and elliptical train for an entire hour without passing out.
Then, I start my heady yeah-I-just-ran-to-nowhere-for-an-entire-hour-without-passing-out walk back to the locker room only to get my headphone cord tangled up with my towel and my sweatshirt and manage to bang my Zen into my nose and draw blood.
And then one of those real men has to tell me that I have blood running down my face, 'cause I am too cool to notice it all on my own.
Now, you know just how impressive I really am.
Oh, and the run-just-prior-to-my-public-humiliation is in the books (126/200) along with another one (run not humiliation) this weekend (127/200) plus an amazing, leaf-crunching (I love fall!!), 5-mile hike (128/200).
I. Am. So. Cool. Don't you wish you could be like me?
Stop laughing. It isn't funny.
Yet.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Welcome Back Old Friend...
It is no secret that I haven't been the best about going to the gym since I hit goal weight/got the divorce. Frankly, I have probably worked out an average of once a month over the past year--give or take. I have stayed pretty active--who wouldn't with two kids--but there's nothing like a good hour-long run to nowhere to get the juices flowin'.
I just couldn't put my brain around taking my kids to the gym. That is, until the guy I am seeing* asked me "How are you feeling?" and I said, "Okay." and he said, "Just okay? Maybe you outta get back to the gym." Yeah--he said it just like that--out of the blue and with no warning that his question was loaded. And I thought, "Yikes! He's right. And I really can't claim any good reason for not going."
My kids were with their dad Monday night--which eliminated all excuses for not going. So, bright and early yesterday mornin' I dug out the sports bra, laced up the shoes and headed out.
I fully expected to fall on my face after about 15 minutes. A year is a long time to barely work out and expect to have any stamina. You may recall that my first workout of the MegaChallenge was a 700 stride 7 minute affair. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out an hour-long 9500 stride (that's nearly 6 miles!) run on my elliptical buddy (124/200).
Yeah!
And it felt amazingly fantastic!!!
So, having broken the mental barrier, I got up a second batch of gumption and packed the kids up for their first return trip to the gym in over 2 years. Images of screaming childcare workers chased me the entire way there, but I shook them off and kept driving.
I signed them in--fully expecting the staff to say, "Oh no! We remember your kids! They poop their pants to get out of here. We'll be calling for you in moments. Don't bother, lady!" When no one said anything, I took off for the elliptical machine telling myself, "If you can just get a sweat--it doesn't have to be a full workout--you can walk out of here happy."
Great news! I got an entire hour-long run in! 10,000 strides of sweaty bliss (125/200). I got to listen to my favorite sweat-inducing songs on the Zen I bought when I hit goal weight. Yeah, I finally got a 40 gig (I think it is gig--for all I know it is nano or terrabytes) MP3 player and have used it about a dozen times--after 2 years of only 30 songs to choose from you would think the musical options alone would have gotten me to the gym more.
My girlfriend who was MegaChallenging with me is also back on the wagon. Cool, no?? So, the MegaChallenge is back on! I know! I know! It was supposed to be 200 workouts in a year--but no one said that I couldn't take a year-long hiatus in the middle of it.
Shut up!
It is my blog and my challenge and I make the rules.
It's good to be the queen!
*Don't ask. That's all you are getting for now.
I just couldn't put my brain around taking my kids to the gym. That is, until the guy I am seeing* asked me "How are you feeling?" and I said, "Okay." and he said, "Just okay? Maybe you outta get back to the gym." Yeah--he said it just like that--out of the blue and with no warning that his question was loaded. And I thought, "Yikes! He's right. And I really can't claim any good reason for not going."
My kids were with their dad Monday night--which eliminated all excuses for not going. So, bright and early yesterday mornin' I dug out the sports bra, laced up the shoes and headed out.
I fully expected to fall on my face after about 15 minutes. A year is a long time to barely work out and expect to have any stamina. You may recall that my first workout of the MegaChallenge was a 700 stride 7 minute affair. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out an hour-long 9500 stride (that's nearly 6 miles!) run on my elliptical buddy (124/200).
Yeah!
And it felt amazingly fantastic!!!
So, having broken the mental barrier, I got up a second batch of gumption and packed the kids up for their first return trip to the gym in over 2 years. Images of screaming childcare workers chased me the entire way there, but I shook them off and kept driving.
I signed them in--fully expecting the staff to say, "Oh no! We remember your kids! They poop their pants to get out of here. We'll be calling for you in moments. Don't bother, lady!" When no one said anything, I took off for the elliptical machine telling myself, "If you can just get a sweat--it doesn't have to be a full workout--you can walk out of here happy."
Great news! I got an entire hour-long run in! 10,000 strides of sweaty bliss (125/200). I got to listen to my favorite sweat-inducing songs on the Zen I bought when I hit goal weight. Yeah, I finally got a 40 gig (I think it is gig--for all I know it is nano or terrabytes) MP3 player and have used it about a dozen times--after 2 years of only 30 songs to choose from you would think the musical options alone would have gotten me to the gym more.
My girlfriend who was MegaChallenging with me is also back on the wagon. Cool, no?? So, the MegaChallenge is back on! I know! I know! It was supposed to be 200 workouts in a year--but no one said that I couldn't take a year-long hiatus in the middle of it.
Shut up!
It is my blog and my challenge and I make the rules.
It's good to be the queen!
*Don't ask. That's all you are getting for now.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Grad School is Hard...
But not for the reasons you might think.
When you think school, what do you think about? I'd bet tuition and books are pretty high on that list.
Well, not to the folks in my "Learning Team." Oh no! Books are optional! Yeah!
I am struggling for the words to express my complete dismay at the lack of responsibility, preparation, and readiness for school exhibited by the folks I am supposed to study with for the next 18 months.
Okay, to catch you up--my grad school program has a very large team component. We are grouped with three of our classmates into a "Learning Team" for the duration of the program. The team is required to do projects and presentations every week. It is a major part of my grade and my life. It is supposed to create a support system and synergize learning.
Well, it ain't cutting it.
Of the four of us, two of them don't have books 8 weeks into school--the third got hers late. One of them is planning a wedding and travels constantly, another can't put a sentence together (subject-verb-period--how hard is it??) and doesn't know the word "volunteer", and the third can't keep a promise to save her life.
"Oh, I can do that! I'll bring that! I'll write that!"
and then nothing.
NOTHING!
And I am supposed to feel sorry for her because she meant to get to it.
I am such a bitch.
But after spending every weekend pathologically checking email for signs of her work only to be perpetually disappointed, and then spending every Monday scrambling to create whatever it is that she is responsible for, I am over it. The final straw came when she made some snide remark about my giving too much information to her for a project she has to do--and when I called her on it, she did her Famous Flip and denied saying it.
So, I had a Come to Jesus Meeting with Ms Flip. She heard me. She cried. She promised to do better. And then she decided to give me the silent treatment instead. (I told you she couldn't keep a promise!!)
Mr Skate is another frustration entirely. He has yet to step up and offer to do anything. Literally. If we have 4 segments of an assignment he will wait until everyone takes a part and then just sits there. I have said things like, "So, what are you going to be doing?" or "Which part do you intend to cover?" to give him the opportunity to jump on board. I end up having to assign stuff to him. And then comes the clincher.
He can't actually do it.
Given a bulleted summary of an article and the task of turning it into a 3-paragraph write-up, he actually randomized the points, removed all the apostrophes, misspelled "morale" as "moral" 3 times, quoted things that weren't quotes and removed quotes from items that were, added words that had no relevance to the subject, and sent it to me "finalized and ready to print." It seemed moot to point out that nothing was cited, and that APA has a manual to help with that.
The wedding-planner girl isn't so bad. As a matter of fact, she is pretty on-the-ball. She works hard to keep up her end, which I appreciate. The downside is that she is a solid B student--and I haven't made a B in 15 years. So, we have different goals. Her opening salvo was to make fun of me and to invalidate my entire life when she was assigned to introduce me to the class. Nice, huh? She is an ESTJ and I am an ENFP--which basically means we are outgoing opposites of one another. I am touchy-feely; she is all business. It can be a good thing--in a yin/yang kind of way--if we don't kill one another.
I am not responsible for these people. I shouldn't be carrying them through school. Yeah, my degree is in Human Resource Development--but I didn't bargain for having to start out implementing a major intervention. I mean, that's supposed to be the final project not the opening move!
Send chocolate.
When you think school, what do you think about? I'd bet tuition and books are pretty high on that list.
Well, not to the folks in my "Learning Team." Oh no! Books are optional! Yeah!
I am struggling for the words to express my complete dismay at the lack of responsibility, preparation, and readiness for school exhibited by the folks I am supposed to study with for the next 18 months.
Okay, to catch you up--my grad school program has a very large team component. We are grouped with three of our classmates into a "Learning Team" for the duration of the program. The team is required to do projects and presentations every week. It is a major part of my grade and my life. It is supposed to create a support system and synergize learning.
Well, it ain't cutting it.
Of the four of us, two of them don't have books 8 weeks into school--the third got hers late. One of them is planning a wedding and travels constantly, another can't put a sentence together (subject-verb-period--how hard is it??) and doesn't know the word "volunteer", and the third can't keep a promise to save her life.
"Oh, I can do that! I'll bring that! I'll write that!"
and then nothing.
NOTHING!
And I am supposed to feel sorry for her because she meant to get to it.
I am such a bitch.
But after spending every weekend pathologically checking email for signs of her work only to be perpetually disappointed, and then spending every Monday scrambling to create whatever it is that she is responsible for, I am over it. The final straw came when she made some snide remark about my giving too much information to her for a project she has to do--and when I called her on it, she did her Famous Flip and denied saying it.
So, I had a Come to Jesus Meeting with Ms Flip. She heard me. She cried. She promised to do better. And then she decided to give me the silent treatment instead. (I told you she couldn't keep a promise!!)
Mr Skate is another frustration entirely. He has yet to step up and offer to do anything. Literally. If we have 4 segments of an assignment he will wait until everyone takes a part and then just sits there. I have said things like, "So, what are you going to be doing?" or "Which part do you intend to cover?" to give him the opportunity to jump on board. I end up having to assign stuff to him. And then comes the clincher.
He can't actually do it.
Given a bulleted summary of an article and the task of turning it into a 3-paragraph write-up, he actually randomized the points, removed all the apostrophes, misspelled "morale" as "moral" 3 times, quoted things that weren't quotes and removed quotes from items that were, added words that had no relevance to the subject, and sent it to me "finalized and ready to print." It seemed moot to point out that nothing was cited, and that APA has a manual to help with that.
The wedding-planner girl isn't so bad. As a matter of fact, she is pretty on-the-ball. She works hard to keep up her end, which I appreciate. The downside is that she is a solid B student--and I haven't made a B in 15 years. So, we have different goals. Her opening salvo was to make fun of me and to invalidate my entire life when she was assigned to introduce me to the class. Nice, huh? She is an ESTJ and I am an ENFP--which basically means we are outgoing opposites of one another. I am touchy-feely; she is all business. It can be a good thing--in a yin/yang kind of way--if we don't kill one another.
I am not responsible for these people. I shouldn't be carrying them through school. Yeah, my degree is in Human Resource Development--but I didn't bargain for having to start out implementing a major intervention. I mean, that's supposed to be the final project not the opening move!
Send chocolate.
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