The Cats Are Playing Tricks!

My cats are scheming, I think.

Last night, I took a good, long, hot shower. Hubby was gone. I was singing away, eyes clothes, lathering the shampoo into my hair, and suddenly something LUNGED INTO ME. I screamed. I slipped. I did an awkward slow-motion slide/fall into the wall. Soap was in the eyes. Claws were in my flesh. My cat was frantically flying around the tub trying to find a way out around the shower curtain.

Never again will I forget to latch that bathroom door securely.

THEN, last night, I woke up and felt a lifeless body next to me. My two kitties ALWAYS sleep at my feet. And also, to set up the background story, my friend had just told me a story today about a friend of hers who lost her precious baby to SIDS. Now, I am not a mother, and to lose a child to SIDS has to be one of the most tragic things in the world; I mean no disrespect to those who have gone through that horrible situation. I am, however, just making it clear that that was already weighing heavily on my mind all day. I felt in the dark and my hands felt a lifeless little furry body, laying on it's back with it's legs limp and splayed. I rubbed her belly. I flapped her back legs around. I shook her and started squealing and yelling at her. Nothing. I was sure my lil' wildcat was gone. I flew over to the light switch, turned it on, and looked at the bed. She lazily lifted her head, looked at me, and then ran out the door. Cruel.

Anyway, my weekly update! I was wholeheartedly expecting a gain this week. I had ice cream. Yesterday, I had a huge apple dumpling. I ate fried potatoes.

The verdict? A 2.4 lb loss!! That puts me at 208.5. 4.5 more lbs, and I'll be back at my "returned from China" weight!

I should give myself credit, though. I ate Fiber One cereal everyday with fruit and almond milk. Lunches were salads or vegan brown rice/bean/cheese burritos and raw veggies. Dinners were mostly spaghetti squash, omelettes, baked chicken, lentil soup.... good stuff. I just snacked poorly.

Anywho, I have been running myself ragged all week. Finals in a couple weeks; I have tons of projects and papers to write. I'm going to NOT DO MORE TONIGHT. I'm ready to settle into a bubble bath with my laptop playing an episode of Army Wives.

One more month!

If I can just survive for one more month, the craziness of this schedule will be over; and I'll be on my way to the Caribbean!

One thing that I'd like to do once classes end is blog more. I don't have time to read all of the blogs I follow, and I have even less time to comment. It's no wonder I talk to my lonesome here all the time; I don't do my part! All relationships, including bloggie ones, go two ways. I'm excited to put some more time into things here, make new friends, learn from others, and find another source of strength.

I've changed my WW meetings to fridays during my lunch at work. Two other women in my office go, so I wanted to find some people to go through the journey with. I never updated on friday, but I'm another 2 lbs down! That's 12 lbs since I started. It's not what I'd originally hoped, but I've realized how happy I am moving at the pace I'm going. It isn't even that difficult. I weighed in at 210.8 this week. Hopefully, we'll get down another 2 lbs this week!

Food had been good. This week I switched up my breakfasts. Instead of oatmeal every day, I had Fiber One with blueberries and almond milk. It is seriously like dessert to me; I am realizing that breakfast just might be my favorite meal of the day!

I've also realized the amazingness of Costco. I loaded up this week on convenience foods to get me through the next month; laughing cow wedges, arnold's thins, organic frozen burritos (with brown rice!), hummus, lots of veggies, cereal, almond butter, yogurt.... it was amazing.

This week I ate a lot of produce. I nursed a huge pot of veggie soup all week, along with raw carrots, celery, broccoli, and green beans, baked chicken breast, burritos, cereal, pink lady apples, greek yogurt, spaghetti squash, lentils... deliciousness.

Anyway, I've gotta come up with a constitutional amendment and write 10 pages supporting it. Geesh.

It's Okay.

The verdict? Gained .2 lbs this week.

It's okay, though. I know what happened; some of which was beyond my control, some of which wasn't. For the most part, I ate very well. I ate a salad every day for either lunch or dinner.... I ate a good breakfast. Snacks were fruit or veggies. Dinners were well-rounded. BUT... I did cheat a few times, and with good reason.

Friday night, Husband and I went to Marie Catrib's, which is a vegan-friendly restaurant in Grand Rapids. We don't have many of those! I fell in love. I got a quinoa-sweet potato burger and Marie's special fried potatoes. Yes, they were as greasy and delicious as they sound. I also may not have come home with a $7 bag of homemade granola from the delicatessen.

Saturday was the annual in-law's St. Patricks Day dinner. Corned beef, cabbage, shepherds pie, irish soda bread, Guiness. I ate until I was satisfied, and I didn't overeat. But I didn't rabbit-eat, either.

Sunday was my mom's 50th. We went to dinner, where I ordered a 6 oz sizzler steak, sweet potato fries, and a salad. And a buttered roll. Then, we returned to my mom's where we had cake, ice cream, and drinks. I also did not eat a ton, but I did indulge. And that, my pretties, was one contributing factor. My weekend habits.

The other? I started my you-know-what time the day before I weighed in. I feel like I'm holding my weight in water around my middle. I may have even managed to lose this week, if not for that.

Anyhow, the week was good. I'm alright. Another week down; 5 more to go until school is OVER and the cruise is ON!!!

Spring is Coming

I can feel it! I smell it in the air. I've gone on a couple long walks this week and they were amazing.

True, this is Michigan. The "spring weather" I say I'm feeling means that it's mid 40's. But still; the snow is melting, and I can see the grass! I'm loving it.

You know what else I'm loving? This week's 4.8 lb weight loss!!! I am on cloud nine right now. I had such an easy week. I didn't feel deprived. I ate amazing food; but I made so many little tweaks that I'm not sure which ones made the difference! Here were some things I did different;

• I ate anything that wasn't finger food with chopsticks (who says you can't eat salad with 'em?). This seriously slowed my eating down. I even DIDN'T FINISH MEALS AT TIMES. That's huge for me. I always clean my plate, no matter how big it is or how full I am. This way, I realized sooner how full I was.
• I flip flopped meals several times. I had a wrap and raw veggies for breakfast, oatmeal and fruit for lunch. Sue me.
• I ate a salad almost every day.
• I ate greek yogurt as an afternoon snack every day, after never really eating yogurt daily before.
• I stopped eating after 6:30 pm, aside from my 1/2 square of chocolate I eat before bed (if I've been good!)

I could get used to this! 9.6 lbs gone since starting weight watchers... and several weeks I just didn't try at all. I think if I can keep with this, I can really get to a good place. I feel good. I have energy, my bodily functions are getting regular (I know... TMI... but it's true!), and I love the choices I'm making. I still have 6 lbs to go until I hit the weight I was at when I got home from China, and 18 lbs until I hit the low I was at IN China. It doesn't seem so impossible!!

A month and a half left of classes. I think I can; I think I can! Between working 45 hours a week, taking 4 classes, dieting, trying to fit in more exercise, and being a loving and attentive wife, I seem to be getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. I'm a drone. Here's an example of a typical week...

Monday:
5:00 am: wake up and do 30 Day Shred
5:30-6:25: shower and get ready, pack breakfast and lunch for the day, leave for work
7:00-4:00: work
4:30-7:00: weekly laundry, house cleaning, preparing meals for the week (cooking quinoa, roasting veggies, cutting raw veggies, baking chicken, etc)
7:00-9:00: online forum for class
9:00-12:00: homework

Tuesday: same up until after work....
4:45-9:50: class
10:15pm - 12:00am: arrive home, straighten up the place, do homework

Wednesday: same up until work... again...
4:30-5:10: Hubby and I are actually home at the same time. We chit chat for about half an hour
5:30-6:10: Weight Watchers meeting
6:30-8:30: online class
8:30-12:00: homework and housework

Thursday: Same as Tuesday, except class goes until 10:15 pm.

Friday: same morning and work schedule
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm: grocery shopping
6:00 -8:00pm: dinner in or out with hubby, maybe even a movie... if it fits!
8:00 - 12:00pm: homework, studying

Weekends are sporatic. I have a 5 hour class on saturday mornings... then there is meal prep, homework, homework, homework, housework, church, and perhaps even saying hello to long lost friends and family.

On top of it all, I only have 5 hours carved out of sleep at night... and hubby comes home from work at 3:00 am, so it gets cut in half. I'm a light sleeper and as soon as I hear him come in the apartment, I'm laying there until he's eaten, showered, and come to bed. Are any of you like that? Since I know that I'm going to be woken up again soon (when he climbs in bed) my mind won't let me fall asleep in the mean time.

I know what you are thinking... I need to find a way for more sleep. But there isn't any. I am not an overachiever this semester, either. The homework time I've allotted allows me just enough time to do all of my required reading and finish assignments. I don't have time for making flash cards, in depth studying, tutor labs, etc. I have a really hard course load. Cutting homework time would mean taking zeros on assignments. I COULD skip working out, but it's only an extra half an hour... and usually I need it to give me the energy to stay awake through the day. Housework time is actually "me" time, a little. I can quiet my brain and keep my hands busy. Hubby helps, but I'm anal and he can't clean to the caliber I can. It will stress me out and keep me awake at night if I know there are dirty dishes in the sink or an unswept floor. So... I just have to tough it out. Forgive me for the fact that blogging is not fit into my schedule!!!

I know my weight loss would be better if I had adequate sleep. I know I could focus more on tests if I was rested. I know that *in theory* it's okay for the house to slip a bit for a month and a half. But believe me, they just can't happen. I'm happy, I'm healthy... and I'm just plain EXHAUSTED!!!!

Slow and Steady?

Apparently, my body thinks that "slow and steady wins the race". 1.2 lbs lost this week. And I did awesome, so I'm proud of that number. I ate breakfast every single day. Oatmeal, of course; all sorts of different mixes! One day it was oats, a mashed bananer, new Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk (deeelish), and walnuts. Another day it was overnight oats; plain yogurt, oats, mashed bananer, and baking cocoa. Today it was oats, the ever-present bananer, almond butter, and blueberries. I LOOVE breakfast.

Lunches have also been spot on!! A few days this week I had wraps; hummus, bean sprouts, spinach, laughing cow cheese wedges, and julienned carrots with an apple and raw veggies on the side. A couple days were lean cuisines. Today was a spinach salad with bean sprouts, carrots, a leftover turkey burger from last night (crumbled over top) and a wee bit of pepperjack cheese.

Dinners? PHENOMENAL. Because this week is spring break. I have time to think. I have time to eat.

I have time to cooooook. Glorious.

One day it was turkey burgers and kale chips. Another, it was turkey curry with brown rice. Yet another? A stir-fry with bok choy and canadian bacon, with rice. Today was daring and delicious; spaghetti squash. I also browned some ground turkey, sauteed some onions, and added them to a jar of my newest Costco obsession; butternut squash pasta sauce. OMW (that's Word, not God. Yep, I roll like that). Fabulous. The squash was so filling that I packed up half of my bowl for lunch tomorrow.

Snacks? Carrots. Tangelos. At least two apples a day. Every afternoon at work, when I get my sweets cravings, I chop one up, toss it with cinnamon and splenda, and nuke it for a minute and a half. Heaven, I tell ya.

Yes, I'm hyped. The scale didn't reflect how hard I worked, but that's okay; because it's moving down. And I'm proud of myself. And more than that, I LOVED my eating this week. I enjoyed every morsel. I did NOT feel deprived.

As a side note, it appears that my kitty is on a new diet as well. I have two cats; a long haired angel, and a short haired demon. I was brushing Vila, the angel. I had a neat little pile of fur next to her. Mei Mei (aka Demon Kitty) ran up and swallowed the whole pile in one gulp and then walked away. We'll see how that turns out for her.

I'm still alive and kickin'!!

I'm around. I'm lurking when I have a spare moment. But mostly, I'm not around. I've been completely inundated with schoolwork. Would someone please remind me why I'm working 45 hours a week and taking 14 college credits?

Oh, yeah. it's because after 6 years of taking 1 class at a time, I'm just killing myself for a year.... and getting my associates degree in APRIL!!! Kinda sad that it's taken me 6 years to get a two year degree, but hey. It is what it is.

Anyway, I'm crazy busy. After work, class, homework, and housework, I average 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Yeah, get mad at me. But nothing is gonna change until the end of April. I'm reminded of a Bon Jovi song, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead".... but, of course, that song is about having fun instead of sleeping. Accounting is not fun.

Amidst all of this, I'm feebly trying to lose. I've lost 2.8 lbs since my last post. So I'm moving... very slowly. It is what it is.

I took a 3 week break from Jillian. And the scale stopped movin' down. Last week, I hopped back on the bandwagon, and I started losing again. I'm eating right. Yesterday?

breakfast: overnight oats (oatmeal, plain yogurt, milk, a smooshed banana, and blueberries)
lunch: wrap (tomato flatout w/red pepper hummus, laughing cow cheese, spinach, and shredded carrots), a Dannon honey greek yogurt, and baby carrots
dinner: subway!
snacks: an apple, 2 clementines, and 1/2 square of chocolate with my sleepytime tea before sleepytime.

Alright... it's 6 in the morning, and I've just finished my workout and I need to get showered and to work in half an hour. Bye, mi chicas.

Splooosh!!!

Hard day today.

A wonderful, sweet older woman that I work with was let go. She was like a grandmother. I shared an office with her, and she encouraged me every day. She kept me on track with my diet. She counseled me in love and marriage. She shared her faith and her love with me; and she was cheated. I don't want to go into details... but needless to say, I had a hard day. After they pulled her out for a meeting, and then returned with a box and boxed up her things for her, I wept a little but mostly held myself together. I soon got up and went to the bathroom to dab my eyes and put my head in my hands for a couple minutes. Once my eyes had dried and my breathing had calmed down, I stood up to exit the stall and heard a splash. My ID badge and security card had fallen in the toilet.

I instantly let out a sob and the river flowed.

Talk about bottling things up....