Stalled

I haven't posted about my Journey to Better Health for a while.

I know you are all beside yourselves with wonder about how things are going.

They are in a word somewhat....stalled.

I seem to have hit a plateau here in the past month or so.

As it stands right now I have lost a total of 18 pounds. I have 4 more to go to hit the weight recommended by my doctor.

I think the stall started on vacation. I did not watch what I ate. I did not eat a ton, but my choices were frequently of the cheeseburger, pizza realm. (C'mon! I was in New York! How am I supposed to go there and NOT eat a slice. Or maybe two. Not at the same sitting however!)

Our hotel did not seem to have a gym, so I did not exercise as I have been. I did however do a MASSIVE amount of walking. This kept me from gaining while on the trip.

I think the problem has been that since returning I have not been quite as vigilant about the eating as have been the past few months. I have lost a little, but am nowhere near what I have been losing. I continue to exercise as I have been the entire time.(Except for this week. I had to take a few days off. I had some issues with my knee, of the limping miserably variety. Rest and Motrin seem to have done the trick. Thank goodness, I was getting worried!)

So methinks it is time to shake things up a bit. I guess I have to go back to my vigilant calorie management, and I think we need to make some changes to the ol' exercise routine. I am going to add an extra 10 minutes a day. That may not seem like much, I know. I have some DVD's that have very intense short cardio/toning workouts. It is like a 30 minute work out in 10. Did I mention that they are intense? Ohh those DVDs are from hell. I hope that this will help get things moving again.

I also have almost maybe definitely decided to go for it and get down to what I consider to be my best weight. It is not that far past what the Dr. recommended and I really like the idea of having a cushion.

Now on to some more positive things. I am soon going to have to buy some new clothes. I have a lot that is really way too big. A few things that are absolutely past wearing any longer, and more that will be that way soon. That is pretty exciting.

I am also really happy about how elevated my mood has become. This has been a pleasant and unexpected bonus. I have frequently felt very irritable, cranky, and out of sorts over the past 6 months to a year. I have had a few points in time where I began to think that it might be time to seek some uhh..professional assistance. I don't feel that way any longer. I am glad. It is no fun to feel eternally irritable. No fun atall.

It is interesting to hear people's reactions to my weight loss. It is pretty noticeable now I guess. I have had many people say that they never would have guessed that I needed to lose 20 plus pounds. Which is good I suppose. Not sure what I did to disguise it, but whatever it was worked.

So the journey continues. I hope that in another month or so I can share that goal one (Dr. recommended weight) has been met.

I think I need to reward myself with something when this is all done. I have a few ideas, but would be interested in your thoughts. How would you reward yourself for such an accomplishment?

And no.. I do not plan to take myself out to an expensive calorie-laden meal.

But maybe some ice cream.

Sometimes it is Good to Clean Out the Desk

BH and I are cleaning out, purging, shredding things, and generally organizing our office space at home.

In the process I came across a poem that BH sent me for Valentine's Day in 2005. If I recall we spent that Valentine's day and evening apart because he had rehearsal. To make up for his absence he e-mailed me the following poem. Enjoy. Those of you familiar with Napoleon Dynamite will find particular enjoyment.

A Love Poem
(in the sweet style of Kip Dynamite)

What would I do without you?
Where would I be without you?
How could I see wtihout you?

Yes, I love Heroclix,
But it would be better with you in the mix
But I still love Heroclix

What would I do without you?
I often think about you.
And never would doubt you.

Our love is bigger than a house,
And for your love I'd joust,
And then we could live in Taos.

Where would I be without you?
Among my favorite things I count you.
To read my comics I allow you.

If ever our loves should ever break,
I'll cry and hen a scene I'll make,
And this is my heart you can take.

How could I see without you?
I feel so free around you.
The birds and bees have found you.

Who knows where love comes from?
But our love will never be done,
And we will always have fun.

What would I do without you?
Where would I be without you?
How could I see without you?

What would I do without you?
Where would I be without you?
How could I see without you?

Now how can I not feel special after being the recipient of such amazing poetry?

Feel free to be jealous.

My Summer Vay-Cay Days 1-2

This year BH and I decided to go crazy and take a vacation BY OURSELVES. As in NO CHILDREN. We have not been on a vacation sans children since..weeellll....since we had children.
As I stated a few times in other recent posts, I was a little twitchy about being away from my babies for so long, but of course it all worked out fine.

I am very glad that we made our first trip to New York without the children. By the end of the first full day we really understood just how different the trip would have been had they been along. Not that it would have been an awful vacation or anything, it just would have been very different.

This post may not be very exciting for many of you. I am ok with that. Above all else this blog is my scrapbook, journal, whatever you want to call it of my life. Sometimes I gotta do some posts that are mostly for me. This one and those to follow are precisely that. However you are of course welcome to peruse my scrapbook at your leisure.

Now let's get down to business.

Day one of our vacation actually took place only an hour from home in Good ol' KC. As anyone who reads this blog or for that matter anyone who had a conversation with me over the past month or so knows that I had to take a big licensing exam this month. I decided (why I will NEVER know) to take it right before we left of vacation. So the morning of day one, was spent test taking and TEST ROCKING. Yes sirree I rocked that bad boy. So to celebrate BH and I went to see the first of TWO movies that day.

You read that right. We went to the movie theater TWICE in ONE DAY. I am lucky if I go to see a movie twice in a year these days. So let me tell you this seemed like the highest level of decadence. We first saw Away We Go. GREAT movie. Go see it. You won't be sorry. We went to the Fork and Dine theater for that one. They bring you food while you watch the movie. I so love that. The Fork and Dine theater is nice, but it ain't nothin' compared to the Cinema Suites. OOOohh how I do love the Cinema Suites. If I had my way we would see EVERY movie there. The Cinema Suites are only for adults, they have extremely comfortable leather recliners, and again they bring you food while you eat! All seats are reserved and the theater only holds about 40 people. I love love love going there. The best part is that the tickets are $20, but of that $20, $10 is a voucher for food. We saw The Proposal there. Enjoyable, but really you can probably wait for it to come out on DVD. Unless you have access to the Cinema Suites. Then go. See whatever they are playing. It won't matter if the movie is crap. LEATHER RECLINING SEATS AND FOOD PEOPLE!!! No more needs to be said.

The next day we got up at the top of the ass crack of dawn to catch our flight to NYC. We wanted to get there early. We did get in around 11:00 AM. Unfortunately for us we were the last people to be dropped off of a very full and CREEPILY quiet shuttle van. Man. No one said a word the entire trip and it was long. We were on that bad boy for about an hour and a half. I had to practically bite through my tongue not to be a complete geeky tourist. "Look! Times Square!" "Look! The Empire State Building!" "LOOK! Rockefeller Center!" All these things had to be said in my head.

By the time we got to the hotel we were more than sick of sitting and starving.

Let's get to some pictures to tell the rest of the day's story shall we?

Happy BH eating a Shack Burger. A good burger cures crankies every time!

Our first meal took place at the Shake Shack which was conveniently located a few blocks from our hotel. This is apparently a famous joint and the line was long, but apparently only by our Midwestern standards. The burgers and fries were delicious, but the shakes. My GOD the shakes. We were told that they were out of chocolate frozen custard and that nearly sent me into the vapours. However they recommended as an alternative the black and white shake. Oh dear LORD. I never thought I would utter the words, "I am so GLAD they were out of chocolate." But I did and I meant it. That black and white shake was a little cup of heaven let me tell you.

After some lunch it was time to see my good friend ALI, her delicious little boy, and always charming husband. They showed us around their hood and treated us to a delicious dinner, and some powerful Oprah style Sangria. The conversation and company were thoroughly delightful. We got to spend some time with DAN too who was fortunately able to join us. A very pleasant evening to be sure, and a great way to start our NY experience.

A rare sighting of Missy and her BH. This was in front of the Intrepid located on Hudson Bay.

I regret that I did not get a picture of the view from Ali's balcony because it is quite a sight to behold.

Ali and Dan escorted us back to the hotel and showed us how to navigate the subway. They were gracious enough to indulge our tourist moments.

Wow! Two pictures of me in one post. This is unheard of. But it is not every evening that I find myself in Times Square with such a handsome man!

Thus ended our first two days of vacation. By the time this photo was taken, I in particular was beginning to fade after two very early mornings and two very crappy nights of sleep. Our hotel bed was soooo comfy.

Coming soon....

"MY SUMMER VAY-CAY DAYS 3-4!!!!"

Don't miss it!

Back to err..uhh..somewhat regularly scheduled blog posts soon

Hey there!

Just a few quick updates.

First and foremost...I passed my LCPC exam!!! Hooray! Now I just have to send the KSBSRB another fistful of cash to get my new license. Then decide on my next move, but that is a post for another day.

I have been on vacation in New York City all week long. There is much to share, but I have walked about 3,000 miles over the past four days and I am T-I-R-E-D. I also have a plane to catch in the AM so will say night night for now.

However as a teaser I will let you in on my favorite sighting of the trip.

I believe the award must go to the man wearing nothing but a neon yellow g-string sunning himself in the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

That kind of fabulous stuff just does not happen in my part of the Midwest friends.

Mores the pity.

Bi-Polar

I believe that my response to my upcoming clinical exam is rapid cycling Bi-Polar disorder.

What seems like half a million times a day I go from thinking, "I can totally pass this exam. NOOOOooo problem." to "Oh MY GOD! I know nothing! How do I keep my job? My license! I will never pass this exam even if I studied every minute for the next six months!"

Good times. SUPER good times.

I have talked before about my uhhh..ahem...nervous tendencies.

Since I started this blog I don't recall being in any exam situations. So I am here to tell you that my level of anxiety where tests are concerned make my other "nervous tendencies" look like I am strolling happily in the park on a splendid summer's day.

It. Is. Ugly.

Generally I obsess for several days..then a day or two before the test I have a crying melt-down...then the morning of the test I am very nauseated, unable to eat, and have major stomach upset.

Not. Fun.

I do somehow manage to pull it together and take the exam. Which is good.

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to take an exam of this magnitude and importance.

Unless I decide to go back to school to become certified to be a school counselor.

That is still on the table.

Maybe this test experience will cure me of that idea.

Now I should call it a night.

Sigh.