Oh, I can't keep it in! :oD

I'm down a whole pound since Friday (1/8)!!!! I can hardly weight -- er, wait -- for our Biggest Loser Challenge weigh-in Friday. Am soooooooo excited, but trying not to be too stoked in case the scale shows me something not quite as generous on Friday.

Reasons why I think I legitimately lost the pound:
- I've been doing a VERY good job of sticking to my calorie range that SparkPeople recommends
- I've been eating well - not too much fat, too much sugar/salt/etc.
- I've been exercising more
- I'm wearing heavier clothes today (khaki pants and a shirt versus a silk skirt and tee from Friday) -- okay, maybe that's not quite the legitimate one, but whatever . . . every little bit helps, right?

Now, granted, I'm barely up to running a mile (ain't runnin' no marathons yet!) but I've been working other activity in as well -- walks at lunch time, exercise videos on On-Demand and trying to do little exercises here and there.

It's very motivating to actually see a difference on the scale but the weird part is . . . I feel different. I feel lighter, if you can believe it. And gosh darnit, I hope it shows on Friday, too!

I think I'm going to wear the same thing I wore last Friday -- which could very well become my Friday attire for the next seven weeks (until the challenge is over). But if I keep up the good work, I'll be in a bikini this summer, which I can honestly say has not happened in almost four years.

:o)

On a crisp morning . . .

I'm drinking coffee sweetened with a bit of raw sugar. (I know, I know - I gave it up, right? I felt weak this morning . . .)

I have a lunchbox full of goodies -- miso soup, spinach salad, avocado, tomato, and an orange. And kombucha! Can't forget that . . .

I'm listening to Simon & Garfunkel.

I'm supposed to be working on webpages (in a minute . . .).

I am thankful. Life is sweet in this moment - even the stuff that's not so fun or sweet, I can ignore for just a second to embrace that overall, things are good. In a few short moments, I will likely be pulling my hair out or jumping the gun on something, but right now, I'm good.

Small victories

I'm about five pounds lighter than I was a couple of weeks ago. :o)

I'm celebrating, even if I still have a couple dozen pounds to lose still. Ha ha.

Heaven must be like this . . .

I'm enjoying a glass of my favorite type of wine while I'm cozy in bed (the room is cold so I can snuggle under the covers) and I'm curled up with a book.

Pure bliss. :oD

I'm currently working on "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner, which started off a little tricky, but has gotten soooooo good. I'm glad I didn't give up on this. It's easy to read in terms of language, but it is a stream of consciousness book with each chapter being narrated by someone new. It takes a while before you start to piece together how each character is connected as well as be able to make out individual voices and identities.

But oh my oh my . . . ::sigh:: I am in heaven.

Favorite things of the week

* productivity (I LOVE having stuff to do . . . I LOVE the idea that this brings job security)
* Jackie cardigans from J.Crew (perfect sleeve length, perfect weight)
* Bare Escentuals makeup (I turn into an infomercial for this stuff)
* the colors: coral, Kelly green, cobalt blue, butter yellow, navy (bright, happy colors save for navy, which is still spring-like since it's not black)
* sandal season (here come the toes!)
* spring rain (refreshing)
* crafty stuff (making those flower arrangements made me so happy)
* highlights (summery!)


I'm thinking this will have to be a weekly occurrence if for no other reason than to remind myself to smile sometimes and be grateful for the things in my life that may seem like trivial junk to some, but for whatever reason really make me delighted.

Good cheer

I'm spreading good "juju" today. Last night, I drove out to Safeway after a bible study and bought about ten bundles of daffodils (ten in each bundle), a bundle of long cattails and a box of Mason canning jars. Using ribbon, a hot glue gun and some note cards I already had, I put the flowers/cattails in the jars with water and tied a bow around the lid, which I secured with a dab of hot glue.

They came out really cute! I think in my head they looked cuter when I was trying to visualize it, but alas, sometimes it just doesn't quite work out for my finicky self.

I gave one to each of the nurse practitioners, nurse coordinators, our admin staff, our medical examiner, one for the docs, one for the team in general, and one for George, our ringleader.

In light of recent events, I found myself feeling slightly guilty for being so snide and vindictive with the way things are happening in our office. Work that is falling through the cracks and things that aren't getting done is serving as a source of derisive laughter on my part instead of a call to pick up the pace and try to keep the bases covered for the sake of the department and patients.

So, in humility, I brought daffodils. I'll edit this later with a picture, but they look really cute and everyone likes them. :o) I got a hug from Barbara, one of our NPs, as a thank you. The office just looks more cheerful, you know? And from that, I feel a little bit better and more inspired to do more.

It's amazing how doing something nice, not for thank you's but just to make others smile when things have been going so crappy lately, makes me smile also. I'm more motivated to work hard (especially given that I'm up to interview sometime soon) and it certainly brings good, springtime vibes to the office. Even one of the fellows, Brad, smiled at seeing them when I half expected a sarcastic comment or light joke.

Good tidings to Interventional Radiology! :o)

Burden lifting.

I avoid my credit card statements like the plague. As soon as I get my little envelope from Golden 1 Credit Union, I usually tear it into a thousand pieces and throw it away. Don't worry -- I don't ignore the fact that I have a credit card and for that matter, credit card debt, but I definitely feel much more at ease with the situation by checking online. Something about seeing it online instead of in black and white print makes it that much less scary . . .

Internet banking and bill paying has become such a commodity in life. Even with the busiest schedule, I always squeezed in a few minutes here and there to check statements on my credit cards and make payments from my checking account to the credit card.

Today was a big day for me: I opened my statement. In the last couple of months, I have been making substantial payments to cover the balance. An immediate and entirely too ignorant sucker to the "buy now, pay later" idea behind credit cards, I got mine after my sophomore year of college. Within a year, I had charged, charged, charged and came dangerously close to my limit (we're talking within just a mere few dollars). It's been EXTREMELY hard to get myself out from under this pile when I haven't had the opportunity to generate enough income to do it until the last few months.

As I said, I've been paying much more substantial amounts than just my minimum balance and today, I realized that as of next month, I will be out of debt.

My shoulders feel light, my heart feels less tense and my general mood lifted so much when I realized this. I don't think I ever gave enough credit to how much money issues make a difference. I haven't been living outside of my means, but now that I'm living at home and don't have to worry about PG&E bills, rent, etc., I have been able to focus on learning about frugality and money management.

Frugality has been a recent development. Growing up, our family wasn't exactly affluent. We were really poor when I was young and over the years my parents have worked their way up and have built a much more comfortable life. My parents never gave allowance when we were kids, mostly because they felt that if there was something we really needed/wanted, they could find a way to make it happen. After I started working, though, my money was my own to do whatever I wanted with it. I never learned the value of saving and spending responsibly early, so I've learned some hard lessons about finances over the years.

Needless to say, I am elated to be seeing genuine progress and improvement in my habits with money, as well as my shrinking debt. :o)

Refreshed. :o)

After days of taking it easy after a 10-mile run and a long weekend hosting my out-of-state buddy, Jonas, it was sooooooooooooo great to hit some pavement tonight and run. I worked pretty hard with my new insoles. The first time I tried to run with them, I could barely do two miles. They were stiff, awkward and slid around a bit. The girl at New Balance had told me that some people put them in over their regular insoles and others replace the originals. Without thinking, I figured that putting them over the top would have been fine. Noooooooooo. Definitely not. Ran tonight, trying it with just the new insoles . . . Holy crap what a difference. :o) I felt light, my feet felt amazing and I'm pretty sure I picked up some speed in the process.

Rock steady. :o)

This was just the kind of motivation I needed to get back on track.