Just a quick update...

I'm working on a dishcloth for my nephews. I'm only working on my 2nd knit project and I am still really slow at it. LOL Hopefully I will have it done by next weekend. It looks like a knit project, though, which is a good start!

I haven't been walking at all this week, which is upsetting. I woke up sick on Monday, and slept in way late Tuesday. Well, I took a nap Tuesday that was longer than I planned on. Wednesday my alarm didn't go off and today, well, today I accidentally upset a dear friend and was hoping to clear it up. I haven't heard from her in a few hours, however. *sigh*

I am applying again for full-time medical transcription work and/or general transcription contracts. Hopefully I do better on the tests this time around! It would be nice to get even a little more than what I am making now. Very hard to get motivated for peanuts. Even salted-in-the-shell peanuts!! LOL

So I'm working, sleeping and eating. And knitting on occasion. Hmmm....not a good recipe for weight loss, but I am not gaining either. I'll take what I can get.

This weekend I will be printing flyers to hand/mail out, and some supportive pictures to hang in my room to remind me of heart health and the Heart Walk in August. I need to get on this fundraising thing. If you want, please check out my page at here:

Heather's Heart Walk Page

~~Heather

Brrr....again!!

I am pretty sure that could have been taken outside my house....it was THAT cold. Again. Just when my poor hands were recovering, they are splitting again.



It's mostly my right hand, and what is sad is that I can be doing nothing with my hands, look down, and it's bleeding. I could literally soak my hands in lotion all day and it does no good. I don't even go outside and my hands still do this. Ah well. It's a pain, but I suppose it could be worse.

I've been kind of lax in the exercise department. So this upcoming week will see me taking more of a charge in this. At the very least I will be doing the boot camp videos daily. My goal is to do a 2-mile WATP dvd each morning. That's 5 days of 30 minutes each day. My other goal is to log log log what I eat. Tomorrow I will be making a heart collage to hang in a few prominent places in my room. Like the first place I look when the alarm goes off. Over the mirror on my dresser. On the wall above where my personal media player sits when I'm working out in there. Just to remind me. :-)

I was so happy to get that contract for the grass-roots advocacy company. Then, on Day 3 on the phone, my voice quit working. I think my mind has finally rebelled. I could pick up the phone and talk to friends. I could pick up the phone to schedule eye exams. I could not pick up the phone to make cold calls to talk to people about this project. So that's it. I was done.

I am transcribing voicemails, which is actually quite fun. I am still doing medical transcription, but am having concerns about getting paid by that company. So I will also be looking for a new contract, one that is full-time and pays a decent wage. (I'm essentially working for free anyway, at their rates.) And I am now a ChaCha Generalist. What that means is when someone sends a text or voice question to ChaCha, I am one of the people who finds the answer and sends it back to their phone. Not a lot of money coming in, but better than NO money coming in!! And the best part? No talking to people on the phone.

I've still got 101 projects going on. Welll....that might be a slight exaggeration. :-) I started a pair of knifty knitter slouchy legwarmers. My jeans are a smidgen short and so when I sit down they creep up my legs. Pretty soon, my ankles and lower legs are freezing in the office, even with the space heater running. So these will help with that a lot. I have 3 b-day gifts "on hook." Two of which will officially be late on the 3rd. I don't think they'll get to Norway on time!! (Sorry!!) Then I have my cabled wrap and a sweater, plus yarn for another sweater for me. Oops...and another one! The one sweater on hook is one I've had "in progress" for a few years, but just never seem to get back to. One of the ones that are waiting to be started is simply called "crimson pullover" and is to wear on National Wear Red Day. Of course, I won't be able to wear it until next year, since I bought the yarn on the 6th, I believe? The other yarn is a boucle for the Floral Fantasy Pullover from Lion Brand. That sweater is not one you wear alone! lol But it is very pretty. The yarn I selected is a variegated brown/black mix that I can wear with a lot of tops. So I should be busy, to say the least!! I also want to knit a washcloth for my nephews before I head to the Hills, but I'm not sure I will get it started, let alone done. :-( We'll see.

My son has started to work out! I'm so proud of him. He is doing the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga dvd 3 times a week. Not to lose weight, but to build muscle. He's doing far better than I could!! That workout is HARD. I bought another WATP dvd set, with the walk belt, making a deal with him that his off days from the yoga he needs to do at least a 1-mile walk. He was fine, until he watched this video! LOL I'll start him off easy with the easy 1-mile walk.

Well, if I want those slouchy legwarmers to get done, I better get on it!!

~~Heather

It's Official! Sioux Falls Heart Walk here I come!

I cannot believe I'm a team leader...I'm so not a leader! lol BUT to see my page, please go to:

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/siouxfallssd/heatherstoops (blogger isn't letting me link, sorry!)

To see the Sparkin' South Dakota team page, please go to

http://tinyurl.com/sparkin

I'll be walking in memory of my mother, of course. If you're in the area the day of the walk, look for a group of people in I (heart) Sparkpeople t-shirts...that's us!!

~~Heather

Sioux Falls Heart Walk

Heart Health.....I'm just going to put my SparkPeople signature here:

From www.GoRedForWomen.com: Cardiovascular disease is public enemy No. 1, claiming the lives of more women than the next five causes of death combined — almost twice as many as all forms of cancer. ... Educate yourself and your loved ones about heart disease and stroke. Then do something about it.

I have decided this year to take part in the Sioux Falls Heart Walk in August, along with friends from SparkPeople. As most of you know, my mother passed away from a heart attack in 2006 with no signs or symptoms that we were aware of. Now, of course, I am more aware of them and I think it's very very important to get the word out. The symptoms in women are different than in men. Please visit www.GoRedForWomen.com and educate yourself. I will always wonder what could have been, as she actually had her heart attack a week before she passed away. If I can prevent that in one family, I will be happy. If I can help prevent that in more, I will be thrilled.

The Sioux Falls Heart Walk is a fundraising event. I've never been good at that, but I'm going to break out of my shell a bit for this important cause.

(And yes, she was also a breast cancer survivor, just as importantly. Next year I am hoping to participate in the 3-Day Walk in the Twin Cities!!)

~~Heather

It's Biggest Loser Night!!!

Yup...it's that time of week again! I admit, I am hooked on this show. I do agree it is reasonably unrealistic. "Normal" people do not have 8 hours a day to work out. But I do like that they teach people how to eat and how to prepare foods and how to, in general, take care of themselves first. Of course, I also cry at each episode, but don't tell!! LOL

Some day I would love to meet Bob & Jillian. Some day.

One contestant in particular kind of caught my ears. He had been one to go home until his partner hopefully brings him back in 30 days. Sione is his name, and his cousin is Filipe. They are Tongan? warriors? I hope I'm getting that right! When asked how he pulled off near-Ranch weight loss at home, he replied "I was watching TV for 3 hours a night." Pretty simple, eh?

One thing I was glad to see was that Mikey was able to show how eating right for your current weight makes a difference. He'd been losing what is considered "minimal" amounts on the Ranch. Bob sat him down and said, "Look. You NEED to eat. You need to EAT. YOU NEED TO EAT." Not exactly, but close. And it's true. Your body needs fuel, and if it doesn't get enough then it will hang on to every bit it possibly can.

Lessons learned. Hopefully retained this time. LOL

I am very happy to announce that I got my contract!! I will be working for a grass-roots advocacy company raising awareness of issues and contacting elected officials on their behalf. It will be part phone calls and part letter-writing. I train for my project on the 18th and am really looking forward to it. This is part- to full-time work, and I will fill in my MT work around it as well as my voicemail transcription. What is really nice is that the pay is better than what I was making outside the home!! It is contract work, so I need to learn to budget for taxes..gleeps!! Math and budgeting has never been my forte. LOL

Let's see...crochet projects. I am working on gifts right now, so I can't divulge too much. One project I was having problems finding what I wanted for a pattern and so I am creating my own! Kind of adapting a few patterns into one. I have yarn for 2 sweaters picked out for me, but they will, of course, be put aside while I work on gifts.

I am considering making some beaded items to sell on Etsy, which is an online craft store, basically. You know, because I don't have enough to do in my time!! LOL We'll see. I don't really want to overwhelm myself, but I want to do things I enjoy. Time will tell.

Goals: Water. Must drink my water. Must drink my water. Must must must. Exercise. Move it to lose it. Move it to lose it. I love that song. hehe

~~Heather

Desires...

So, I'm looking at that picture and thinking, "Gosh, what a difference." Well, that picture doesn't really show it. But I was looking at pictures after having lost 50 pounds and I really looked good. Even though that is only about 1/3 of what I need to lose, I still really looked good. So, what happened?

Loss of focus.
Inherent laziness in the kitchen.
Loss of time.

I really do think that those 3 things are intertwined. They happened at the same time, essentially. I bought a house that the bank said I could afford. I didn't listen to my own gut feeling, I let my desire to own a home overcome my knowledge of what I was able to afford. Then, my job cut back their hours. So I picked up 2 more to help out. Oh, yes, and started a medical transcription training program. Now, I do enjoy cooking to an extent. I just hate to clean up afterwards! LOL And, working 3 jobs really sapped my time. I was also a single parent trying to keep that on track as well.

So what is my excuse now? My husband cooks. Granted, not the healthiest of food all the time, but he would if I asked him to. My son is on dish duty. I am working part-time. I am done with my medical transcription course. I know how to put a menu together. I know that I need to "move it to lose it" as sang on my favorite album (Skinny Songs).

I need to regain my focus. In doing so, I can get my work done sooner in the day allowing time to do the fun things. I get up at 530 AM, for the love of Pete. My son is off to the bus at 630. I can go straight to the treadmill or, more recently, WATP dvds, plus a SparkPeople bootcamp workout. Then I can work for a bit, eat a healthy lunch, and work a bit more. Weekends or day off I can put together a menu. It's not that difficult.

Of course, as I am typing this, on my laptop which is on my lap...my Fuzzy-kitty is sprawled across my stomach covering both arms. If I think about moving, I get a dirty look! LOL Makes it really easy to not move.....

But not moving is not in my best interests. Eating healthy IS. And I look at what is available for food purchasing. There is Wal-Mart. In my opinion, their produce could use a little help. We have Coborns which is good, but expensive. And Fair City Foods.

But none of them really have as much of a selection as I would prefer. For example, I love to make smoothies with frozen mango. I cannot find it here. I guess, really, I'm just dissatisfied and wondering if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence....100 miles away. I would like to see what the Hy-Vee stores have to offer. So perhaps one day I will drive up there and see. What I like is their website. They have their weekly flier online along with a menu based around their specials! I don't see Wal-Mart doing that. 30 meals for $3 each...wow. Budget-friendly meals, too.

Maybe I'm spoiled...but to me that is exactly what I need. One place to go for everything nutrition. And not be distracted by clothes, sporting equipment, etc. etc.

But this week...my goal is to regain my focus. If anyone knows where it went, would you mind sending it back this way?? LOL

~~Heather

A Worldle...hehe

What a day...

The day started off well. I got up, got the kid on the school bus. Did my 1-mile Express Walk Away the Pounds plus an 8-minute Boot Camp upper body workout. What a great way to feel confident during the interview!! If I keep this image out of my mind....



Granted, it was in my room...but still. I think I will ban my kitty from being in my room when I am exercising!! AND on a hardwood floor, my shoes sound cloppy!!

But I love the way I feel when I am done working out. I feel confident and on top of the world. And, I forgot to mention this on an earlier post: when I exercise daily, my right ankle doesn't give me grief. Yay!

The interview went well. I should know sometime later this week or early next week. And, just like my previous employer, they seem like really, really nice people. So I can hope.

In the interim, I am trying to get back on track with my MT work. I was doing well this afternoon, until my son called. At 3:20. Asking if he could stay after school to work on schoolwork and one of his classmates would drive him home. (According to my spouse who took the call, anyway.) At 4, I see the bus go by. Go by. At 4:15 I see the 2nd bus for this route go by. At 445, I see an SUV pull into my driveway and drop my son off. He claims to have missed the bus when calling us. However, for the past 11 years he's been in school (back to kindergarten):
1. You will never be able to stay after school on the same day. I need 24-hours notice to make arrangements to avoid numerous trips to town.
2. You have not been allowed (since starting high school) to ever ride with a classmate. EVER.
3. NEVER risk missing the bus. See #1.

So he's in trouble. Again. As usual.

Biggest Loser tonight...JOELLE....so dense. Some people just never learn. I feel so bad for Carla, but wow does she look wonderful!!! Actually, so did Joelle. So some good came of it, I suppose.

Tomorrow spousal unit goes to work (he had Mon-Tues off this week). Having him around the house wreaks havoc with my schedule. To give him credit, he did some of the dishes. Um...this afternoon, after I went and hid in the office to work. And not all of them, as promised. Ah well. Life goes on.

Positives for the day:
I did my workout!!
I felt good about my interview!
I started a crochet project for my sister in law that I can't talk more about for fear of ruining the surprise!
And I am pumped and ready to work out tomorrow!!

~~Heather

Frustrating Day

No no no...that's not right....



THAT'S more like it!!

It started off as a good day. I didn't exercise but I at least managed to stay awake. I went to bed at 1030 last night, but didn't get to sleep until after midnight. Tomorrow I will get up, have my yogurt, and when my son gets on the bus, back to the bedroom to work out.

I was fairly lazy this morning, chatting with friends online...hehehe. At 1, after lunch, I went into my home office to prepare paperwork for a contract, then do some MT work. First, though, I needed to install my all-in-one printer on the desktop so I could scan the papers and email them rather than sending them via fax. At 330...yes, 330...I finally got it installed and the forms printed. THEN I couldn't get it to scan! I finally got that done and the papers emailed at around 5.

On to the MT. I log in, download a file. Sweet! It's an actual transcription file, which pays twice as much as an editing file (editing a file typed by voice recognition). Then the program tells me I'm using hardware that is installed outside of my range? What?! I can hear sound...but it won't play the file. By this time I am furious. I log out (which means I lose that file, it gets passed on to another MT) and restart the computer. And it works fine. So I did 2 files, and by now it is 6pm. Time for local news.

And there sits my spousal unit. He'd been playing on his laptop all. day. long. He had mentioned that he would work on the pantry today. (His mother, God bless her! sent home 5 boxes of groceries!!) It was a pit...too many plastic containers, none put away properly...slowcookers poised to fall...oy. So at 615 I asked if he had plans for supper (because normal people at at 5 or at 6...right?). No response. None. Not even a glance. So when the news is done I made broccoli & cheese rice a roni and when it's done add some canned chicken (which I really like). As it is in the final simmering, I start on the pantry closet. And I am *not* quiet about it. He walks in and asks, "Whatcha cookin' honey?" in this simpery-sweet voice. I didn't bother to answer. Mature, I know, but dang it...

My son and I cleaned up the living room. My son brought EVERYTHING downstairs from his room and we sorted through it...which took ALL WEEKEND. I've done 4 loads of dishes since Saturday. I vacuum. I sweep. I cleaned the superworms' critter-keeper. I look for a job. I try to do more MT work to get more experience. I do all the laundry (although my son is doing that now as he owes me a lot of money). Heaven forbid I get help from my spouse without getting torqued off first.

Well...not that it can be seen...there was about a 45-minute gap in there. I spoke to my brother about my computer and figured out my best option. I had been operating under the assumption that I had a gig of RAM on that poor thing. This is a 2003 Dell. It's been doing the job wonderfully for me. It has a 2.5ghz processor, 80 gig hdd (which is not even 1/2 full) so I could not understand why it was bogging down all the time. Turns out...I have only 256 mg of RAM!!! And my programs require 512 or more!! Poor thing. Soo...in a month or so I will buy some RAM and install it. That will solve that problem. Yippee!!

Tomorrow I have an interview at Wells Fargo, plus I need to drop off an application at Lewis Drug (pharmacy tech/cashier). Then home again to work. Spouse has indicated he will finish the dishes tomorrow morning and help me with the pantry tomorrow afternoon. We will see....

~~Heather

Realizations

I found this picture under the google search "realization." I've had some "realizations" lately that I really want to reinforce in myself. The picture is probably irrelevant, but I like it!

1. I've been sleeping longer lately without feeling rested. I've also been having troubles falling asleep again.
2. I've gained back 3 pounds.
3. I'm more easily irritated again.
4. I'm feeling overwhelmed again.
5. The couch has become infinitely appealing again.

In January, after 3 days of daily exercise (the SparkPeople boot camp and either treadmill or Walk Away The Pounds dvds) I was having no problems falling asleep. I woke up feeling rested. After 2 weeks, I had lost 5 pounds. I was more patient and tolerant. I felt like I could do whatever I set my mind to. And I hated sitting on the couch except to crochet.

At the end of 2 weeks, I hit a funk. I don't remember what it was that set it off. Well, I might. See, I was looking forward to a 4-day weekend over Martin Luther King Day, because it was a floating holiday and then Tuesday was my day off. What they didn't bother to tell us was that we had to have the day off pre-approved. I was not the only one who was unaware of this. In fact, at the beginning of January, I had discussed working that day and using the floating holiday for that Saturday so I could go to Sioux Falls for Christmas with the in-laws. (That request was denied as there were no vacation spots available.) I then assumed I did not work on Martin Luther King Day. Silly, I know.

So I got a call that day asking what happened, and somewhat being "taken to task" for not showing up. I was upset and frustrated and let it get to me. The conversation was a bit confusing, but it got straightened out. But I was still offended. And I ended up quitting my job. The thing is, I didn't need to, except that I was burning out big time. But I had no savings to fall back on and bills coming up. And they were so nice about it all. That was the main problem with quitting. I was burning out on the job, but I LOVED my coworkers and the company was great.

So, as I search for another job and try to get this MT thing to come through and do other little odd jobs here and there...I've given in to a depressive funk. And last night, as I was trying to fall asleep...it hit me. I FEEL BETTER when I am exercising daily. I sleep better. I feel rested after sleeping. I fall asleep faster. I feel like I can do anything. I am more tolerant about things in the house. (Namely, people and actions/non-actions.) I also make healthier choices. I drink less soda and more water.

What does this mean? When they say "exercise is good for you" they really mean it! And so I need to get back on track with exercising every morning. I do have the mental issue of not being able to do so in front of my husband. Long story, boring story, so we'll just leave it at that. It's just a mental thing with me. But I do have a bedroom large enough to do these workouts in. So today, after my son is done with his room, I will go work on that one. I will use my laptop as a DVD player and I will be good to go. Boot Camp videos and WATP videos. And push myself. None of this lax stuff that does not cause sweating. I will sweat. I will push myself.

I will dress to work every day. No more sitting in my jammies until 10am or so. Of course, doing the exercise 1st thing and then showering will help with that. I will log my foods daily and ensure I am getting enough nutrients and water. I will resume taking a daily multivitamin. I will log in to my MT accounts and work what is available. While I am waiting for reports to come in, I will do voicemail transcripts as they come in. As I am waiting on those, I will review my coursework and prepare to take more pre-employment tests.

But I will also still leave time to crochet or read or whatever. I have so many crochet projects lined up it's unreal. I will leave downtime. And if it means going to the guest room to get away from the drama in the household, so be it.

If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! Time for mama to do things that make her happy and healthy!!

~~Heather

I Will Try Again Tomorrow

How fitting. I weighed myself this morning and am back up 3.6 pounds. *sigh* All day I've been beating myself up over it. See, I know what happened. After a little over 2 weeks, I stopped my morning exercise routine. I got into a mildly depressed state and that was it. No exercise. No logging food. No more water. No more healthy eating.

I realize now (again!) I simply must stick with a program of some sort. Nutrisystem is out since I quit my job. Well, it was never really "in" to begin with, but the ease of that program really appeals to me. I think that something like Once-a-Month cooking will be good as long as I have time to do it. And therein lies part of the problem. I like to cook, but I like to have time for it. I don't like to be rushed when I get home from work, ya know? Spending my weekend cooking is not appealing, either. I like grab and go, quick and easy. And I hate cleaning the kitchen!! I am actually perfectly fine with Slim-Fast bars for lunch daily...the monotony does not get to me for some reason. And my oatmeal with chocolate chips & a bit of sugar and ground flaxseed is also good. So it's really a matter of figuring out fruits and veggies in addition to those, as well as proteins. I just need to spend time one day and do up a menu.

AND I have to get to working out. I loved doing the WATP videos. I even bought a 3 & 4 mile walk so I could get the stretch for the 1 & 2 mile express walks. lol So no excuses there. None. At all. And the boot camp? The challenge may have only been for January, but I will pick it back up again. I enjoyed the exercises, which is unusual for me! haha

Well, time has gotten away from me....I will pick this up tomorrow after a dentist appointment, job service stop and some MT work....

~~Heather

Brrrrrr

I am so glad that, in theory, it is going to start warming up! Who would have thought that ZERO would feel good?? Thankfully it's going to warm up tomorrow so I can drive again. Apparently I have some moisture in my brakelines and it froze...locking the brakes so the back tires don't move. Not good!!

Our house is heated by baseboards on the first floor only. The upstairs is only heated by what rises. (Very efficient...not!) The thermostat is set at 68 and it is at 58 right now. Brrrrr. I must be going into "hibernation mode" as all I want to do is sleep. I ruined my streak by not exercising yesterday, not even for 10 minutes. No excuse, other than being too cold. Of course, exercise would have warmed me up, go figure.

I lost 0.8 pounds and 2" overall (had 2 measurements go up). I won't complain. Especially after watching "The Biggest Loser" and realizing that it is apparently (and unfortunately) a common occurrence. I feel better, I can see a difference, and that is what I will go with to keep me motivated this week.

Today's ToDo list consists of the office and my room. My husband and I sleep in separate rooms and mine is rather cluttered. My husband and son were nice enough last weekend to bring my dressers downstairs for me, so now I need to get stuff organized and put away. And move the little freezer to the laundry room. Then I will attack my office. Seriously declutter that place. I have 2 boxes which have things in them I haven't looked at in a year. I am thinking I am NOT needing that stuff and so OUT it will go. I don't know how much I will get done in my office, but I plan to get a good dent in it.

I finished my first knitting project this week! It's a cute little purse, will probably be used to hold a paperback book. Now I'm working on a scarf for my sister in law. A hooded scarf, actually. It will be knit (unless I keep making mistakes in which case it will be crocheted! lol) with a crocheted edging.

And so, in jeans, turtleneck, tshirt, and even gloves on! I am off to work on my room. My hope is to clean it up enough I can do my workouts in there instead of the living room. Wish me luck! lol

~~Heather

I am fed up with this stuff!!

Yes...they are so prettiful...but NOT when they are blowing around and I can't see where I am going!! lol So I left work today at 330 and I will make that up Saturday and take advantage of the liberal leave that was granted yesterday to take it off unpaid. Then I only need to make up 5 hours Saturday.

My cube-mate is in the process of having her baby...her water broke this morning, yay!! We started training together Sept. 2 and really clicked. I missed having her next to me today but I am so happy for her!!

I got a nice new floor mat that I tested tonight and it is really comfy on the carpet. Which is good, since tomorrow's challenge is a 15-minute ab workout!! Yikes!! I am going to give it my "abs"olute best shot! (Sorry...I didn't catch it until after I typed it, and that pun was just begging to be left...so there it is! lol) I gave up on that portable pilates studio for now. I am sure later on I will find another one (NOT from Danskin!!) that I will like and the DVD will work. It did come with a poster with diagrams, but I need to see how it is used in action. In time.

I was in my calorie range with 53 calories to spare...yikes!! I had NO IDEA my beloved Burger King cookies were 330 CALORIES!!! Time to find a much better alternative. They are yummy, but so not work almost the equivalent of a meals' worth of calories!! For lunch I had a Whopper Jr (I asked for no mayo, but they gave it to me anyway and I didn't realize it until I was at work since I was in the drive-thru), a side salad, the cookies, and diet coke. Not bad, and it will be better!!

So, since I have one heck of an ab workout tomorrow, I better get some sleep tonight!!

~~Heather

Streaks!!

I just love that sun streak...but I am also loving my streaks. Nine days in a row of drinking 8 glasses of water....9 days in a row of posting on the message boards...and 9 days in a row of at least 10 minutes of exercise!!

The New You Boot Camp Challenge has been kicking my backside!! And my frontside...and my arms....and my legs....LOL I can't fully do everything, but I come fairly close. (OK...that whole kickboxing thing? I'm marching in place for a lot of it! LOL) And tomorrow's challenge...a 15-minute ab workout? YIKES. I'm watching it now, so I have an idea how rough it will be!

I have done 30 minutes of structured aerobic exercise or 60 minutes of unstructured aerobic exercise for the past 9 days. Saturday and Sunday were the unstructured days with grocery shopping on Saturday (broke up across 3 stores) and serious housecleaning Sunday. I am proud of myself in that I did the WATP Express 2-mile walk twice in that time frame. I don't have a stretchy band, but that's okay. It might be a bit more than I can handle right now. One thing I have noticed, both with the 2-mile walk and the 1-mile walk, my left hip is sore. Not painful, just sore. I don't know why, but I will keep an eye on it as time goes by.

Yesterday's weather was a BEAR!! I stayed home from work, I will make up the time on Saturday. I still get a 3-day weekend, since next Monday is a floating holiday and Tuesday is my regular scheduled day off. I was a bit upset that the school didn't close until 1pm. By that time, I had sent my husband in to pick up my son, I did not want him coming home on the bus!! I really should not have even let him go to school. I did take advantage of it and start my first knitting project!! And then I got a very nice surprise when the mail arrived...a package from my best friend in Norway!! She made me a beautiful wool hat and an adorable felt angel, plus 2 books. How fun!!! I can't wait to wear the hat today!!

I did have one disappointment this week. I bought a "portable pilates studio" which is a bar and video. But the DVD didn't work. So I exchanged it. The SECOND dvd didn't work!! So I will exchange it for a better floor mat. My plan this next weekend is to tidy up my room so I can work out in there. I will need a really thick floor mat for on the hardwood floor!! Even on the carpet, a thicker mat will be nice.

So into town early I will go today...which means careful lunch planning. I need to pack a salad as today's Bonus Challenge is to add a salad to one of my meals. Well...as luck would have it, I now won't be having soup & salad at home as planned. So I will add a salad to my dinner (which I eat at work) instead.

I hope everyone has a great day!!

~~Heather

SparkPeople Boot Camp!!

Wowsers...Day 3 of the Boot Camp at SparkPeople...and I am feeling it!! Of course...it didn't help that I did 8 minutes of squats and lunges, working the thighs and glutes....and then proceeded to the recumbent bike for part of my cardio...using those same wore out muscles!! I did the last 2/3 of my cardio in 2 sessions on the treadmill, for a total of 30 minutes. 10 minute sessions are definitely easier to do. Had someone told me 10 years ago that I could work out in short bursts like that, I would have done it! But at that time, all you ever heard was that you had to workout 30-60 minutes 3-5 days a week. Yeesh. I know some people are able to do that, but at that time I sure wasn't one of them!! All excuses, I realize now.

I watched "The Biggest Loser" premiere tonight...and how dramatic and almost traumatic!! One of the contestants, I think he was 63, passed out and was taken to the ER!! But he came back with a 25-pound weight loss!! That right there just proves - ANYONE can do this!!! They weren't the biggest losers, but wow, what a close week. So now I've got the DVR set to record that since I am only off every other Tuesday. I'll watch it Wednesday morning, or on the weekend.

I went upstairs to the bedroom I used to share with my husband (we now sleep in separate rooms) to see if my handweights were in there. Oh gosh...the smell is awful. I cannot believe I could ignore it before. I know he washes the sheets once a week, since I usually pull them out of the dryer. So it's not that.

Ah well. I can live with separate rooms for awhile. I have a workbook to finish to add a course to my credit reports, it shows that I am learning/have learned to manage my money and it will look better on my report. That is Sunday's plan. It shouldn't take me but a day or 2 to read the book and do the worksheets. Then I can mail that off. I also need to write my bankruptcy attorney and see if he can explain to me why my student loans were not discharged under my Chapter 13. A friend was doing research and she thinks they should have been. That would be a huge relief, since they are pushing $360 a month. That is very hard on the pocketbook, to say the least!!

Well, it is almost time to go to bed. Thank you for listening to my rambling...

~~Heather

New Year's Goals

I haven't done any New Year's Resolutions in years. And I am not starting this year. I am setting goals.

Goal 1 is drinking more water.

Goal 2 is exercising daily.

Goal 3 is logging what I eat daily. That is the hardest, because I don't really want to own up to it.

I have other things mentally that I want to work on, but those are 3 I can track fairly easily. The rest will come in time.

Today was a mostly successful day. We took all the Christmas stuff down, and I got most of the living room vacuumed. At that point I was a little upset as both rolls of duct tape had disappeared. Again. And no one seems to know where they are. Again. It really gets old, but for now it is something to contend with. I am, at this point, unable to apply for a mortgage until next January. That is because I have a foreclosure on my record from 2006 and the new regulations have a 4-year waiting period. However, it is interesting that an SDHA mortgage for first-time homebuyes only requires 3 years from the last time you owned a home. So I imagine I will be checking into that later this year. I also need to open a local account and that may mean paying off some of "his" bills. However, I need to clear up my credit and since some of this things occurred on joint accounts, they will need to be taken care of.

So I have health goals, emotional goals and financial goals. Not bad.

~~Heather

What do I title this? LOL

Today really flew by. My son and I went to town for lunch (I had a chicken flatbread sandwich at Subway...it was really good!) and then meandered around Wal-Mart. I kept it under $100 today. I bought 3 plastic totes: 1 for the van to keep things in like oil, antifreeze, a winter emergency kit, etc. and 2 for clothes that I will fit into. They are currently in cardboard boxes and I just don't care for that much. Something about mice and bugs.

I found that water drop picture today and thought it was a good way to make sure I drink my water - it's got to be good for my heart, right? I got my results back for the heart screening I did and all were good except my calcium. I had a score of 1 (out of 1,000) which is high for my age group. I will mention that to my doctor, but I already know all the things I need to do: lower my cholesterol, lose weight, drink less diet soda, drink more water. Uff da. The last 2 will be the hardest to wrap my head around, I think.

I created a little (by little, I mean little!) calendar/planner page on which I can track what I ate for the day, and my exercises for the day. My best friend (who lives in Norway) gave me a small dayplanner that is the perfect size for my purse. But it isn't very easy to find refills here, and certainly not what I was looking for. I had seen a quick article about a planner at daytimer.com/nutrition and I loved it. BUT it was $49.99 + $8.95 shipping!!!! So I am making my own using index cards and then my son and I will punch 6 holes in each one...yeesh. That will be easier to keep at my desk and help me be more accountable as far as what I am eating and doing each day.

Today's exercise consisted of shopping and cleaning house. I only did a little housecleaning, about 20 minutes, but I broke a sweat so it counts!

Tomorrow's goal is 30 minutes on the treadmill or doing a WATP video, and 15 minutes of strength training. That gives me 5 points to log at work, whereas today I think I will only get 2. Still, not a bad start! Better than a ZERO!

I weighed myself this morning and I am pretty much right back where I started. Ugh. But everyone has to start somewhere. My sister-in-law sent pictures from Christmas and I was just appalled at how I looked. No time like the present to prepare for the future!!

On that note, it's about time to get to printing and and transferring file from this computer to the external hard drive. Hard to believe that I have only 25% capacity left on this thing. Must be all those pictures!!

~~Heather