Work and Working Out

This week has been super busy at work (nothing new there). I have been good though with my exercising. I went to the dog park on Sunday and walked for about an hour and then last night I did another 2 miles with the dog and then 1 without her. The secret to the weekday workouts is Jess and Scooter. They keep me motivated. Plus last night I got my one of the two new magazines I just subscribed too. There are some workouts in there that actually seem doable. I am not sure I can work out 5 days a week but there are some good tips to incorporate on the days I don't walk. I will let you know how it goes. I plan on starting them next week.

Food wise....doing ok. Nothing super duper but still diligently trying to eat better and not eat out.

Drink wise...did well until Sunday night and Monday night. I think I can stay on track for a couple more nights until Super Bowl.

Time to get back to work.

Uff!

What a weekend. Saturday the hubby and I worked like dogs trying to finish the bookshelf and room it is in. You might say "my dog is pretty lazy" but believe me, we worked like there was a bonus at the end waiting for us to retrieve it. After an exhausting day of sanding, painting, and cleaning, we called it a night around midnight. Sunday morning the hubby left for a two day adventure with the inlaws. I stayed home to clean up the rest of the house and organize the new bookshelf. I put our books on it but it is still a work in progress. The room looks good but needs the final window treatments, a few knick knacks, and a small end table. After that is complete, the room is golden.

I also planted some new hibiscus bushes out front and took the dog to the dog park. It is nice and cool out so she ran the whole time (1 hour) with her boyfriend, Scooter. We came home and quickly headed back to Scooter's for dinner, drinks, cards, and desert. It was a great time. I am typing away and she is sleeping already!

All in all a great weekend for accomplishing tasks but not much for relaxation. Hmmmm.....anyone noticing a pattern?

Thank you Joann Fabrics

This has been an interesting week. I scratched my eye and had to make a trip to the eye doctor. Found out I have a scratch and some eye allergy. I left work on time all week except last night (7:30pm was my final departure time). I walked twice during the week, 3 miles each time. And, I just went to Joann Fabrics to purchase some fabric to make window treatments in the room we are remodeling.

I just want to send a shout out to the nice people at Joann Fabrics. I was completely clueless as to what I was looking for other than a striped fabric in a particular color range. I found one I liked but the stripes were going the wrong way. I asked a sales clerk for help and she must have spent 20 minutes with me. She was extraordinarily helpful and nice. Then when I got to the counter to check out, I was waited on by another super nice girl. This is my first shopping experience in South Florida where I truly felt happy to spend my money at a store because they were so customer friendly. Thank you Joann Fabrics....now can that nice young lady come sew my material together?

Back on track

I would like to say I am back on track for the new years resolution. It might be a little premature but I have eaten well the last 3 days and not had any alcoholic beverages. I did have some soda yesterday but hey, I can't drop all the good things in life. Last night a friend came over to motivate me by walking with me. We walked for over an hour. First with our crazy mutts and then without them so I could walk faster without having to stop to sniff every blade of grass. It was nice to get outside and move. Hopefully, I will continue to keep this up. Changing a lifestyle is hard work but I think I can do it if I do it one step at a time.

How many tries...

I have literally tried 4 times today to post to my blog but that stupid thing called work keeps getting in the way. Everytime I get a sentence typed, someone walks up and then I close the window (I feel super guilty about posting on company time).

Anyhow, as I stated in my last post, my list of chores was much smaller. Believe it or not, but I got them all done except purchasing and planting plants. Which you may say...so what but for me to actually do my ironing and laundry in one day...that is a small victory in this household. Couple that with actually getting groceries and making super...my hubby doesn't know what to think.

Speaking of hubby; there was a long aim session Thursday at work with someone about poisoned food and killing people. Too long to type about but anyhow, I was suckered into making cookies. I put on my best Betty Crocker hat tonight and mixed an egg, water, and oil with a her secret recipe and made a batch of peanut butter cookies. They were supposed to be home made and in my mind, that counts. I even put the fork marks on them. Plus, if I had to mix from pure scratch, I would give someone food poisoning. It was fun for the first round but the waiting to bake a second sheet is ridiculous. I can't believe my mother and grandmother used to make dozens of dozens back in the day. What a long process.

Oh, and I left work by 5:30 tonight. I even ate my own lunch brought from home. I should top it off with a walk tonight but all this healthy wholesome goodness is getting to me. I even skipped having a drink when I got home. I must be getting sick or something.

My 3 Day Weekend

I had a list a mile long of all the chores I wanted to do over my personal 3 day weekend. Hardly any of them happened but that is ok. I was able to have lunch with friends (twice), bum around, get a free facial (facial was free but I got suckered into buying new products...I will let you know how well I like them later this week), and in general-relax! So, today is Sunday, the day of rest for many, but I will be a busy girl.

I have to get my ironing done, a couple loads of laundry, a couple plants purchased and potted outside, and help the hubby with the crown molding. I have a few other little things but I think that is the main list. Oh, and get groceries. Wish me luck since I honestly would like to just sit around and read magazines and books instead. Maybe after each chore I can take a break to read...

Need some assistance

I started the year with the best of intentions and am really upset that I haven't been able to squeeze some more exercise into my schedule. I have been holding up the eating out less and cooking more (well, the hubby is cooking more). I am far from perfect and didn't set super unrealistic goals but the last few weeks at work have killed me.

My fellow blogger, Jess, is talking about whether to keep her gym membership (she rarely goes) or cross train at our house (we have a bike she can use for spinning and weights). I hope she chooses us because then she will motivate me to get in the garage and do some physical exercise. I hate exercising alone and definitely need someone to keep me motivated. We talked about walking a couple times a week but since I can't seem to get out of work before night time falls, it hasn't happened yet. My only fear is she would be good, come exercise and be gone before I even get home!

What have any of my fellow readers done to put some exercise back into their lives?

Therapy

After a very long Sunday to Sunday schedule at work, I did a little "retail therapy" on Monday. Most people shop for themselves to feel better but I shop for the house. I purchased throw pillows and rugs. I am sure you are as thrilled as my husband was but believe me, those stupid little pillows make a world of difference for finishing off a room.

Anyhow, I am back at work and hoping that it will stay remotely calm this week. My goal is to leave before 5:30pm every day this week. If it said 5pm, I would just be disappointed because I know it won't happen. Let the world prove me long and let me leave at 4:30pm! :)

Have a great week everyone. I am destined to.

Worn Out

I am worn out and mentally exhausted. I had to go into work today to assist in testing our platform (we just did a huge data center move). It stunk mainly because it is supposed to be our 3 day holiday weekend. I worked all day today and will work part of the day tomorrow. I am crossing my fingers that everything continues to go ok and Monday I will have all to myself-no work what-so-ever.

The one thing that peeves me about all this extra work is that I have been "organizing" my team which really isn't my team-I have no control over any of them. With that said, some people were awesome and followed the instructions, kept in communication, and did what they were supposed too. Others...well...I have no idea if they actually did anything at all. That really makes me angry because I know working on the weekend sucks but come on...they weren't the only ones. Not to mention, I set some very clear expectations that were not hard to follow. Even after follow up emails and phone calls...still no response. Oh well, when their stuff doesn't work, they better not come complaining to me. It's their own fault.

Hopefully after all of this, I will have a day or two next week that is painfully slow and I can leave early. I need a little time to recuperate before our next big emergency project. And for those of you wondering what type of compensation I get...nada. I am salaried cooperate slave. At least receiving a few thank you's from people higher up kinda makes it feel like they at least noticed the pain I went through. Probably not but I keep telling myself this to make myself keep coming back to work each day.

Over 40

I put in my 40 hours plus some before noon today at work since Sunday. That can explain my lack of email and posting over the last three days. When I leave work after I am normally in bed (and I don't mean the nights I fall asleep at 8pm on the couch) that really makes me cranky. I am glad I didn't apply to teach and get a class this term. No time.

2007 Optimism and Drive...

My 2007 optimism and drive is dying rather quickly. I have been doing pretty good with the eating/bringing lunches from home and cooking dinner but the exercise thing fell through the cracks today. I worked over 11 hours today and have been gone since 7:30am. It is almost 8:30pm. I had the best intentions of biking tonight but I am exhausted. Maybe I will get up early and ride or at least tomorrow night I will for sure. No excuses. (and yes Jess, walking or doing some other activity will be fun)

I was thinking work would slowly ramp up after vacation but it started the year burning hot and spreading like wild fire. I worked most of Sunday from home and slaved away all day today. I like being busy but being this busy makes me sick to my stomach. I didn't even go the bathroom until 4pm today and I usually go several times before noon each day. This has me worried because I really wanted to apply to teach a couple classes but with work as busy as it is, the last thing I want to do is come home and teach or grade papers. I will see how the next couple weeks go and if there is no end in sight, teaching may have to wait a while.

Cursed Potatoes

Why? All I ask is Why? I made a new dish last night that had potatoes in it. For as long as I can remember, no meal with potatoes in it were ever fully ready on time. My mother couldn't cook an instant potato much less a baked one. Even the box mix au gratins were a challenge. As you can see where this is going...my dish didn't turn out either. The recipe called for quartered red potatoes (first mistake, I should cut them in eighths or sixteenths). Then it said to nuke them for 7 minutes. I did 10 since I know my luck with them. Then I was supposed to add them to a dish and bake for 50-55 minutes at 350. Well...I put them in the oven and 90+ minutes later with the heat turned up to 450 by the end, they were still rock hard! Of course it wouldn't have been so bad but I had invited friends over for dinner and I know this wasn't the first hard potato experience with them. The dish tasted good as long as you skipped the potatoes. Looking back, it said to bake it in a 13x9 greased pan but I had an air bake pan...do you think that could have made the difference? Hmmm...from now on, I will stick to only mashed potatoes that come in a package where all you do is boil water, add contents of package, and fluff.

In other news...Jess is running her marathon today. She should be crossing the finish line soon and I am anxious to hear how she did. Her blog is full of well wishes so I know with that much cheering going on, she will surprise herself with her own running success.

Two Shout Outs

Number one shout out; This is a thank you to the hubby-even though he is sick with a sinus infection, he still made dinner while I biked tonight! What a true love.

My stats were the same as the other day, so there is no need to repeat them. I figure a few more times with those stats and I will up the time and distance. My body is pathetically out of shape but if I can stick with this, I might just be able to run up the stairs at work and not pant in a few months. My goals are much smaller than Jessie's. No marathon here, just plain Jane health.

This is the second shout out; Good Luck Jess on your marathon this weekend! We are cheering you on!!!!

Upholding resolution...sorta

Well, today is only the third day of the year and the second that I actually attempted to uphold my resolution. I knew I wouldn't exercise today but I did eat lunch that I packed from home at work today. I didn't make the no drinking rule during the week (2 glasses of wine) but I did drink water today and no caffeine. All in all, a pretty successful day. Not to mention I got a haircut and for $60+ it sure felt worth it when you haven't had a cut in months (i.e. August was the last one as opposed to when I went every 4-5 weeks).

Lame post, I know but for those that have a hard time sticking to any goal, I am trying to be an inspiration. Ok, not really but I feel like if I can spout my successes, I will be more likely to avoid my failures.

Time to go read for a bit (another selfish resolution). I don't read anything earth shattering but it is better than watching tv. Good night!

1/2/07...Resolution Holding Up

I came home from work today and rode bike while the hubby cooked me a delicious supper (roasted red pepper chicken and fresh green beans). Now, I didn't ride as long as I had hoped to but it's a start. Luckily, I have a ton of Scrubs dvd's to work through and then up the anti to Grey's Anatomy. Yeah, I time my exercise by tv show episode.

Today's pathetic stats:
1 episode of Scrubs or 22 minutes
251 calories
5.5 miles
average speed was somewhere between 14 and 16 mph

Tomorrow night I am getting my haircut so no exercise unless I get a wild whim to do something later in the evening but more than likely, I will have to fit it in Thursday night before good tv starts.

New Year Resolution

I am one to never put forth a resolution because I know darn well I will never follow or achieve it. This year I am thinking about a lifestyle change-no, not that kind! For the past three years I have had a desk job and then 18 months of that was coupled with sitting at home in front of the computer doing school work. This year I plan to get back into some form of shape (round is where I am headed so a cylinder would be preferable). I am not vowing to lose 25 lbs our anything that life altering. I just need to squeeze a couple hours of exercise in during the week and quite possibly start eating a little better. I thought about giving up drinking or at least cutting back...nice for the lady who is already sipping on a glass of chardonnay. With those two changes; it will be more than enough to make me feel bad next year when I realize the resolution was too big.

I have been off to a good start though. I made a meal plan for the week and the hubby got "real" groceries. I thought about biking today but instead I took down the Christmas decorations (the ones I said I would leave up until next weekend...yeah, destressing and slowing down were not an option for a resolution). The hubby helped take down the tree today which was a minor miracle in and of itself. I usually dread doing it because it takes so long but with his help, it went fast. I hate how the house feels so empty after Christmas. Maybe that is why the gift cards burn a hole in my pocket, there is a need for more stuff to fill up the house.

Anyhow, that is all I have for 1/1/07. That is so weird to type. Have a great 2007!