Long Day at the Hospital

I had such a long day today. I woke up at 4:30 am this morning so my sister and my mom could be at the hospital at 6:00 am to wish my father good luck on his double bypass. Then for the next nine hours we sat in a couple different waiting rooms waiting for the surgery to be done and then waiting until we could go see him once he was back in his room. The surgery went well, and when we were finally able to see him he was still asleep. He wasn't expected to wake up until 11:00 or midnight tonight.

While in the waiting room I picked up a copy of Shape magazine. I don't know why I don't subscribe to that magazine, it had a lot of good information and exercises that I want to try. With my dad having double bypass surgery he really is supposed to watch his diet from now on. I'm sure this is going to be hard for my mom, since she's the one who does all the cooking. No more fried foods, pies, cookies, etc. This is also a good thing for me since I still want to lose the twenty pounds I've gained over the past three years. I really need to exercise more and start keeping a food diary. I think the diary might be key, because I really don't think I have any idea how many calories I actually take in. I think I'd be a little surprised. I'm almost scared to do it.

One thing that I need to research is an mp3 player. When I do go on the treadmill I have to bring my radio into the room and blast the radio so I can hear the music. With an mp3 player I could download motivating songs and use earphones so only I hear the music. I don't know why I don't have an mp3 yet. I am so far behind in the technology department.

I need to get some sleep. Goodnight!

I Need a Foot Massage!!

My feet are sooo sore. I definately am not used to standing on my feet for eight hours at a time. Work went pretty good. I went to bed pretty early last night, so I wasn't too tired this morning. Once again I woke up about twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I might apply for a seasonal specialist position that's available. It's full time and more money, so I suppose I'd be stupid not to try for it. One thing I'm getting very frustrated with is not knowing if the story carries something, or if we do, where it's located. I hate having to ask other employees where something is. I can't wait for the time when I know exactly where things are and I can go directly there. I suppose that'll take some time.

I saw my ex-boyfriend's brother's girlfriend this morning at work. I didn't say anything to her. In fact I walked right by her and never made eye contact. I don't know if she noticed me or not. I have nothing against her, she's always been nice to me, but I just don't want the ex to show up where I'm working. We were together for so long that I just need some space. I need to get things figured out. And most importantly I need to move on. I can't do that if I keep him in my life. At least right now. Maybe down the road we can be friends, but right now it's just too soon.

Right now I'm enjoying a relaxing evening at home. Currently watching "Independence Day." Had a glass of Cabernet earlier and it's made me a little sleepy. I think it'll be another early night, with an extra hour of sleep added in thanks to daylight savings.

Happy Halloween!

I must have been more nervous about my new job than I thought I was. I hardly got any sleep last night. I tossed and turned trying to get to sleep and then woke up way before my alarm was set to go off. I hate when that happens.

The first half of my day was spent learning how to cashier. After cashiering most of my adult life, I was ready for something different. I couldn't wait for the first half of my day to be over so I could get on the salesfloor. And that's where I spent the second half of my day. Even though it's Halloween I was putting up Christmas items. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. This year just flew by. Anyways, I think I'll like my job. The people were all super nice, including the managers, which is hard to find. I don't think this is something I want to do for the rest of my life, considering I have a college degree, but considering the local economy, I'm happy to have a job.

When I got home I got to see my little niece dressed as a cop. So cute!! And now I'm watching one of my fave shows-Ghost Hunters. I was going to go to my friend Nelly's, but after not getting much sleep, being on my feet all day, and scheduled for another long day tomorrow, I'm all set to relax the rest of the night curled up in a blanket on the couch.

Happy Halloween!!!

October 30, 2008

I've been seeing a chiropractor for some major back pain that I've had, and it's a slow process. When I first started going to Dr. Kate, I had trouble standing up straight, so she has definately helped. It's just frustrating because I still can't bend at the waist to pick something up, instead I have to bend my knees and practically sit down to grab something that's close to the ground. I can't wait for the day when I can sneeze and not double over in pain. Anyways, props to Dr. Kate for doing her best to get my back straightened out.

I had an experience today that has made me think about how I react to situations and people. Seven years ago an ex-boyfriend and I broke up. We had been together for three and half years and his friends had become my friends. A group of us used to have poker nights and drink Long Island Iced Teas and watch taped episodes of South Park. When we broke up I stopped talking to "his friends" because it was just too weird for me. Today, when I was grocery shopping I ran into one of "his friends." Actually he saw me grocery shopping and came up to me. We talked about where we were in life and another guy that was part of the poker group. It was nice, and surprising. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss these two guys that I once considered friends. Maybe when people break up, their mutual friends don't need to take sides. Or maybe time changed everything, after all it's been seven years. Even the ex-boyfriend and I have kept in touch the past couple years. Or maybe it was all me. After all, I'm the one avoided "his friends" in the first place. I couldn't deal with my insecurities at that time. Oh well, who knows. Break-ups are icky and I know I'm not the same person I was seven years ago.

Tomorrow is my first day at my new job! I hope everything goes great!

What Is Brandy Doing In My Energy Bar?

Alright, so I didn't go for a walk tonight. I'm not even going to give any excuses, I'm already disappointed with myself. I was planning for a walk and even had one of the Clif Energy Bars about an hour before I left work.

Which leads me to a completely different subject. I opened up my Carrot Cake Clif Energy Bar and smelled it before I took a bite and thought "Is there brandy in here!!??" Of course there wasn't, but I have to say-it smelled and tasted a lot like the Tom and Jerry drinks that my family always has around Christmas and New Year's. Eating that energy bar brought back a lot of memories of my family sitting around the kitchen or living room and enjoying a warm and tasty drink. I'm probably the only person that would think that a carrot cake energy bar tasted like an alcoholic drink, but that's me! No, I'm not an alcoholic (I hardly ever drink anymore), I'm just a little different.

On to my day-

Weight-144 lbs Calories-1490 Fat-40.14

I did pretty good today. I still need to work in exercise...

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

So I've decided to start keeping a food diary and use this blog as a weight loss tool. I've gained about 20 lbs in the past year and a half, and I am NOT happy with my body. According to the American Heart Association website a person with my lifestyle (sedentary) needs to take in 2010 calories and between 56-78 grams of fat to maintain their weight. If I aim to lose 1 lb a week I need to eat 1500 calories and 42-59 grams of fat a day. I can do that.

Today I had 1557 calories and 55.1 grams of fat. I don't feel deprived at all. One thing I need to work on is cutting butter and oil out of my food. Tonight I added a tbsp of Earth Balance butter to my mashed potato. It was good, but I could have used half that amount and still been happy. I feel ok with the amount of calories I took in, but I definately need to lower the fat amount.

I haven't weighed myself for about five days, but I weighed in at 144lbs the last time. I will try to weigh myself every morning to keep myself motivated.

One thing I know I need to work on is exercise. I work in an office, so I don't get any exercise during the day. When I get home in the evening I'm usually starving, so instead of going for a walk I usually make dinner. I need to start bringing a healthy snack that I can eat before I head home so I'm not starving, and am able to go for a walk without passing out. Oh, I know.. I bought a few Cliff Energy bars to try because they've gotten rave reviews from a few Vegan posters. I need to remember to bring one to work tomorrow. I WILL go for a walk tomorrow.

My goal weight-120 lbs.

Poody Cats

I want to introduce a couple furry members of my family.

Ziggy is the tuxedo colored cat and Rusty is the tabby. We've had Ziggy for a little over a year, and we got Rusty (or Russ) about 3 months ago. I have a feeling they'll be showing up in my blog a lot!

Saving money on everything I can is , naturally, part of my plan to get out of debt. I recently brought Rusty to the SPCA of Dallas to get fixed and get a couple shots and it was a great deal! They had a promotion going on that took $20.00 off the price of neutering your pet. I paid $54.00 for neutering and two shots. Can't beat that!

Hello

This is my first blog, and I'm so excited about it! I've been reading blogs for a couple years now, and just recently decided to go ahead and take the plunge. There is a lot of change happening in my life right now, and since journaling helped me sort through stuff when I was younger, I decided to start a blog.

I'm originally from MN, but have lived in TX for about a year now. Even though I've really enjoyed being a Texan, I miss my friends and family dearly and will be moving back to MN at the end of May. I've started the job search, and my BF, who moved back about a month ago, found a cute little rental house for us.

There are a couple things I want this blog to be about. The first thing is my move towards becoming a vegan. I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years, and have slowly starting cutting out dairy. I love cheese, so this has been very hard! Amazingly enough, in the week and a half since I haven't really had any dairy I've lost 3 pounds! I've gained a little weight in the past year and a half, and I really want to get back to my original weight.

The second thing is my struggle to get out of debt. I may eventually start a second blog because the two subjects are completely different, but since I'm new to this blogging thing, I figured one blog is enough for now.

Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy!