Thoughts on Changes
Just Thinking
Plugging Along
People keep telling me everything will work out. I have to believe that because if I don't the alternative is well it is ugly.
My weigh in was pretty good. I managed to get rid of what I gained last week so I'm back at 64.2 lbs. I am getting pretty close to the target date and it is starting to make me crazy. I usually don't set dates because I'm afraid that if I miss it I will just give up. I think when Feb 14th came and went I might have done that.
This job thing is really making me crazy. I have been contacted for a clerical job with a state agency. EGAD am I desperate? I think so. I am tired of credit debt and decided that pretty much anything would pay better than unemployment.
My weigh in was pretty good. I managed to get rid of what I gained last week so I'm back at 64.2 lbs. I am getting pretty close to the target date and it is starting to make me crazy. I usually don't set dates because I'm afraid that if I miss it I will just give up. I think when Feb 14th came and went I might have done that.
This job thing is really making me crazy. I have been contacted for a clerical job with a state agency. EGAD am I desperate? I think so. I am tired of credit debt and decided that pretty much anything would pay better than unemployment.
Chainmaile Anyone?
My husband spends a lot of his time doing therapy for his hands. The best therapy is chainmaile. We don't really need everything he has been making so he decided he wanted to sell it. He listed his first item last night. I'd appreciate it if you would go have a look. Tyrail's Things.
Time to Get to Work
I just received a very encouraging comment from someone about my weight loss and it reminded me that that I had not blogged about my highly unsuccessful weigh in this week with a whopping 2.2 lb gain. That means that I had to have eaten and EXTRA 7700 calories. Believe me, even though I did not track my points very well last week, I know I didn't eat that many calories. I do know that I had Chinese food and soy sauce. Put 2 and 2 together and it equals fluid retention. Oh well, I need to rethink the eating out thing again.
I am not sure that a Monday weigh in is the best for my psyche because I can check my scale on Monday morning and see it up and then of course I weigh in at WW and I am up but by Tuesday or Wednesday morning I'm back down. The problem is that I like the Monday group so I'm going to stick with it and watch what I eat better. I weighed this morning and I'm down 4 lbs from Monday morning. Since this seems to be a trend with me, this up one week then big loss the next I'm not discouraged.
I have a goal of March 17th to reach the 75 lb mark AND have a job. Wasn't that a good segway? I'm still unemployed and recent issues with my former employer have caused a financial strain on us that will force me to go get any job that will pay more than unemployment. That rules out all the fun jobs like Starbucks or the front door lady at Walmart and will push me into an office job as long as it pays at least $12 per hour. What a pay cut. Oh well...a girl has to work.
I spent my blogging time yesterday looking at the job pages of many of the major high-tech companies here in Austin. I applied for several jobs that I am at least mostly qualified for. I'm having the education issue again. I have 99 credit hours and three AAS degrees and one certificate from our community college but that just does not compare to that BS. Sigh...I need a job that will allow me to go back to school AGAIN.
I am not sure that a Monday weigh in is the best for my psyche because I can check my scale on Monday morning and see it up and then of course I weigh in at WW and I am up but by Tuesday or Wednesday morning I'm back down. The problem is that I like the Monday group so I'm going to stick with it and watch what I eat better. I weighed this morning and I'm down 4 lbs from Monday morning. Since this seems to be a trend with me, this up one week then big loss the next I'm not discouraged.
I have a goal of March 17th to reach the 75 lb mark AND have a job. Wasn't that a good segway? I'm still unemployed and recent issues with my former employer have caused a financial strain on us that will force me to go get any job that will pay more than unemployment. That rules out all the fun jobs like Starbucks or the front door lady at Walmart and will push me into an office job as long as it pays at least $12 per hour. What a pay cut. Oh well...a girl has to work.
I spent my blogging time yesterday looking at the job pages of many of the major high-tech companies here in Austin. I applied for several jobs that I am at least mostly qualified for. I'm having the education issue again. I have 99 credit hours and three AAS degrees and one certificate from our community college but that just does not compare to that BS. Sigh...I need a job that will allow me to go back to school AGAIN.
All Time Low
I have hit an all time low and I'm very excited about it. December and January had me doubting that I was going to make it to the end of this weight loss journey because my weight loss slowed to a crawl. I really didn't want to go to Weight Watchers last night because I didn't want to face the scale. I was so afraid that there wouldn't be a loss. No loss would have been very difficult to deal with. All I wanted was to lose what I gained last week. I just went to see how much weight I've lost since the first weigh in in December on the 3rd and I've lost 11 bs. That is an average of 1 lb a week so what am I worried about? Well I had about 2 lbs I have lost three times during those 11 weeks. Well that's not too bad. I did manage to lose them and 9 lbs more. So I had a 4.4 lb loss last week and counting for the 1.4 I gained last week the total loss for my journey so far is 64.2 lbs.
I have reached an all time low, a weight I have not been at since right after my son was born. My son is 24 years old. So where do I go from here? DOWN of course. I have tossed out the doubts I had because that is just the thing that will kill my success. I can do this. The really bad thing about my eating habits is that I prefer to eat the healthy foods. Unfortunately I allow myself to fall into a funk or even worse give in to being "tired" and I don't cook.
So how have I done this you ask? Reading back in my blog might give you some ideas but I'm going to shamelessly plug Weight Watchers. I use the online food journal to keep track of points. The key to success is to know how much you are eating and how much you should eat and compare daily how much you ate with how much you should have eaten. I have no idea how many calories I eat a day but I eat less than 28 points. One of the great things about the Weight Watcher program is that you start at X points and as you lose they reduce the points, thus reducing your intake to how much you should be eating. I started at 35 points.
We should talk about exercise. I will be honest with all of you and let you know that I've lost this weight without exercising. I probably would not have had as difficult a time in December and January if I had been exercising regularly. There are more reasons that weight loss to exercise because even people near or at their "safe" weights have to exercise. So this is the week to discover exercise. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but it will be more than just walking around the apartment complex.
I have reached an all time low, a weight I have not been at since right after my son was born. My son is 24 years old. So where do I go from here? DOWN of course. I have tossed out the doubts I had because that is just the thing that will kill my success. I can do this. The really bad thing about my eating habits is that I prefer to eat the healthy foods. Unfortunately I allow myself to fall into a funk or even worse give in to being "tired" and I don't cook.
So how have I done this you ask? Reading back in my blog might give you some ideas but I'm going to shamelessly plug Weight Watchers. I use the online food journal to keep track of points. The key to success is to know how much you are eating and how much you should eat and compare daily how much you ate with how much you should have eaten. I have no idea how many calories I eat a day but I eat less than 28 points. One of the great things about the Weight Watcher program is that you start at X points and as you lose they reduce the points, thus reducing your intake to how much you should be eating. I started at 35 points.
We should talk about exercise. I will be honest with all of you and let you know that I've lost this weight without exercising. I probably would not have had as difficult a time in December and January if I had been exercising regularly. There are more reasons that weight loss to exercise because even people near or at their "safe" weights have to exercise. So this is the week to discover exercise. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but it will be more than just walking around the apartment complex.
Massage All My Cares Away
I really needed to do something nice for myself but I was reluctant to spend any money...what is a girl to do? Then I heard about a free massage. Being the skeptic I am I held off until I saw a couple of reviews and then I made the appointment. The reviews were excellent and I have to say they were right on the money. I had the most wonderful massage today. Todd Johnson is new in Austin and all he wants to do is massage. In order to build up his business he is giving away massages. Oh so you think you might want one of these wonderful free massages? If you live in the Austin area send Todd an email (mtoddjohnsonrmt@yahoo.com) and make sure you tell him Valerie sent you.
I also had a lovely visit with my friend, Ted. He and I used to work together and we just clicked. I really miss seeing him every day. Layoffs suck for more reasons that just loss of income.
My weigh in on Monday wasn't good. I managed to gain the same amount I lost the week before. Odd. I was upset for about 10 minutes and then decided I needed to do more exercise.
I also had a lovely visit with my friend, Ted. He and I used to work together and we just clicked. I really miss seeing him every day. Layoffs suck for more reasons that just loss of income.
My weigh in on Monday wasn't good. I managed to gain the same amount I lost the week before. Odd. I was upset for about 10 minutes and then decided I needed to do more exercise.
Doldrums
I seem to have fallen in a funk. I can't really figure it out. I'm feeling very confident about the job at Dell and I'm still losing weight. I lost another 1.4 lbs last week and I'm very happy about that so what gives?
I probably need to go do something, anything. I know I do not feel like writing.
I probably need to go do something, anything. I know I do not feel like writing.
The Interview
I had a great time at my interview. Sure it was tough and they asked the same question over and over and I answered it as many times as they asked with the same answer. That was pretty uncomfortable but I didn't think it would be good to just make something up. I think that was in my favor. I think it was a very good interview and I fully expect to get that call.
Valentine Crochet
With Valentines Day approaching quickly I thought I would add a link to my pattern for the two heart bookmarks I designed. I hope you enjoy them.
Interview
I have an interview on Friday. This will be another first for me. I've never really interviewed for a job unless you count a 10 minute Q&A with a burnt out fast food manager as an interview. It was definitely not like interviews are now. I'm trying very hard to keep the "monsters" at bay so I can get through this interview and get the job. I really want this job. It would be on the list of "dream jobs" for me.
So yesterday I went to WorkSource and learned how to write a resume. Based on that class, I'm extremely lucky they even bothered to consider me. I'm not sure how much I will change the resume but there is some tweaking I can do. Today I went back to WorkSource and took their interviewing class. I have a lot of work to do but I can do it.
So yesterday I went to WorkSource and learned how to write a resume. Based on that class, I'm extremely lucky they even bothered to consider me. I'm not sure how much I will change the resume but there is some tweaking I can do. Today I went back to WorkSource and took their interviewing class. I have a lot of work to do but I can do it.
Another Monday
Another weigh in but not a loss this week and not a gain either. I blame it on the cookies. Too many cookies can keep the fat on. I'll do better this week. I just need to track what I eat. Tracking isn't any fun but not losing isn't any fun either. I want to get this over with more sooner than later.
Unemployment is going pretty well for me. I just made my first claim and wasn't that fun. Right after that I checked email and found an email from Dell stating "I am very interesting in speaking with you regarding this opportunity." Well Dell is close to my apartment AND it is for a tech writer job.
So while I was busy being unemployed today I made pizza from scratch. What a luxury to be able to do anything in the kitchen that takes more than 15 minutes. It won't win any awards as it was Weight Watcher friendly but it was still pretty good. After I finished making the dough, I decided to make a pocket prayer cloth for a friend who is getting chemo in Houston. I wanted something unique so I spent a little time plotting out the graph and this is what I came up with. Soon as I figure out how to upload the pdf I'll make it available.
Unemployment is going pretty well for me. I just made my first claim and wasn't that fun. Right after that I checked email and found an email from Dell stating "I am very interesting in speaking with you regarding this opportunity." Well Dell is close to my apartment AND it is for a tech writer job.
So while I was busy being unemployed today I made pizza from scratch. What a luxury to be able to do anything in the kitchen that takes more than 15 minutes. It won't win any awards as it was Weight Watcher friendly but it was still pretty good. After I finished making the dough, I decided to make a pocket prayer cloth for a friend who is getting chemo in Houston. I wanted something unique so I spent a little time plotting out the graph and this is what I came up with. Soon as I figure out how to upload the pdf I'll make it available.
