Diane and I set a goal for ourselves to do a run/walk 5k training program. It calls for 3 weekly run/walks and a long walk on the weekend. And we did it! Even with the 40-50 degree temps and rain, we have exercised together three mornings this week! (This morning we had to stay in because of the rain, so we did a Leslie Sansone 2-mile walk video, which was harder than the run/walk we'd been doing)
I realize many of you do this every week. Or every day. But this is of note to me because I honestly believe that the last time I worked out three times in one week was 1997. (and part of that workout was just walking around the gym to see if there were any football players there)
I have to say this has been a real faith-builder for me. If God can get me out of bed, into the cold, dark morning at 6:30 to exercise, then I know He can do anything! If you know me, and how much I dislike mornings, and exercise, then you know that, too. :)
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Weigh-in Wednesday, 3/11
174. BUT! I am exercising! Finally! Diane and I started walking/running last Friday in the mornings. 6:30 to be exact, until the time change, so now it's 7:00 (too dark at 6:30, but 7:00 is the new 6:00, so I'm still tired)
I'm excited. Not doing so well with my weight goals, but exercise has been the missing component, I think. That and my inability to see cheese or butter w/o eating them.
I'm excited. Not doing so well with my weight goals, but exercise has been the missing component, I think. That and my inability to see cheese or butter w/o eating them.
Monday, March 9, 2009
I am still here!
It has been a while since I posted, but I'm still here. I am way off track with my goals, and haven't even weighed for a week and a half. But there's some good news! Diane and I started a run/walk program together on Friday and it was a lot of fun. Knowing she'll be up at 6:30 waiting for me really motivates me to get out of bed and go for a jog.
We also met last week to talk about goals. Here's my latest list, revised to account for my currently crazy messy home (while I'm in the middle of painting about 1/2 of the rooms):
I got up today in time to start my morning with Bible Study and prayer, then some stretching and a healthy breakfast. I felt a lot better physically and mentally and was able to have a good homeschool day, a good day with Christian and Olivia AND get a lot of laundry done! We are going for a bike ride and if I still have energy when I get back, I may work on painting some this evening.
Tomorrow is another exercise morning with Diane. Wish me luck!
We also met last week to talk about goals. Here's my latest list, revised to account for my currently crazy messy home (while I'm in the middle of painting about 1/2 of the rooms):
- Make better use of TaDa lists to keep myself organized
- Be healthy (exercise, diet and better managing FM)
- Finish current painting and decide what other rooms to paint, if any.
- Power wash patio and return washer to David and Emily
I got up today in time to start my morning with Bible Study and prayer, then some stretching and a healthy breakfast. I felt a lot better physically and mentally and was able to have a good homeschool day, a good day with Christian and Olivia AND get a lot of laundry done! We are going for a bike ride and if I still have energy when I get back, I may work on painting some this evening.
Tomorrow is another exercise morning with Diane. Wish me luck!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Yippee!
Max has a job! He has had it since Monday. He got an offer from Medical Present Value (MPV) to be a technical support engineer. He is SO excited! It is hard to find support positions (which is what he loves to do) that are senior level.
I am waiting to hear about my job offer. Michael is working on signing some more clients and, if he does, he wants to fly me to Indiana to talk. I am not expecting an answer any time soon, with the economy impacting the travel industry so negatively. Still, it's good to have the contact with him, and know that when/if he is able to hire, he's going to call.
I have been painting my kitchen/hall/bath and love the new color! Just looking at it soothes me. We are making repairs that are long-overdue. I seem to have been overdoing it, because my fibromyalgia is flaring up. I am taking a day off from painting today in hopes of recovering a little.
My weight continues to fluctuate. I am up two pounds, down two pounds, over and over. This week is up two pounds. At least I am basically holding steady. I walked with Diane yesterday for about an hour (slowly) and that felt great. The weather is amazing. This week has been 85, sunny and breezy. Perfect for walking.
I am waiting to hear about my job offer. Michael is working on signing some more clients and, if he does, he wants to fly me to Indiana to talk. I am not expecting an answer any time soon, with the economy impacting the travel industry so negatively. Still, it's good to have the contact with him, and know that when/if he is able to hire, he's going to call.
I have been painting my kitchen/hall/bath and love the new color! Just looking at it soothes me. We are making repairs that are long-overdue. I seem to have been overdoing it, because my fibromyalgia is flaring up. I am taking a day off from painting today in hopes of recovering a little.
My weight continues to fluctuate. I am up two pounds, down two pounds, over and over. This week is up two pounds. At least I am basically holding steady. I walked with Diane yesterday for about an hour (slowly) and that felt great. The weather is amazing. This week has been 85, sunny and breezy. Perfect for walking.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Weigh-in Wednesday
Down 2, to 172. I like being able to report a weight loss, even if I am still heavier than my goal weight for the week. I am starting to see definite patterns of weight fluctuation, and think that is just going to be something I have to account for.
My goal for this week is to work in some exercise. I found a great 5k training plan that starts out with running for one minute, walking for 2 minutes, then repeat 4 times. Over 12 weeks it builds to mostly running or jogging. I thought I might try that.
Anyone have any experience starting out slowly like that? I know all my friends seem to run 5k's, or mini's, or tri's, or full marathons. Did you start out slowly, or have you always been a runner?
My goal for this week is to work in some exercise. I found a great 5k training plan that starts out with running for one minute, walking for 2 minutes, then repeat 4 times. Over 12 weeks it builds to mostly running or jogging. I thought I might try that.
Anyone have any experience starting out slowly like that? I know all my friends seem to run 5k's, or mini's, or tri's, or full marathons. Did you start out slowly, or have you always been a runner?
Is anything in my life not changing right now!?
Wow, what a crazy couple of weeks. I told the girls at Bible study this morning that I am a control freak (well, they KNEW that part) and that it's so hard for me to have so many areas of my life out of control at once. Max and I are both interviewing and feel like we are very close to getting job offers.
Assuming we both get the jobs, so many things will change. I'll be working full-time again, and that sort of freaks me out. It will be work-from-home, though, and I have already talked to Michael (the owner) about kids and flexibility and he seems more than accommodating for that. I am also a little excited. The job sounds great, with a lot of challenges, and it would afford me some "necessary" travel to Bloomington where my entire family happens to be. :) I am anxious to meet Michael. He seems like a neat guy on the phone (this is the guy whose wife my sister used to work with...small world, huh?)
Max's potential job also sounds amazing. It'll be a pay cut, at least at first, but he'd be working with former co-workers and FOR my former manager at living.com. Small world, huh? (notice the theme here?) The position has great potential to really grow into a long-term career path for him, and it's getting back into some job functions that he really enjoys.
We're also planning, at some point this year, to list the house for sale. We've needed to do it for a long time, and even with the market in a slump, we both just feel like this is the time to do it. It will take a few months to get it ready, but I hope to be able to list it by summer.
Then, there's my Olivia. What will we do if I get the job? Keep homeschooling through the end of the year and just juggle? Enroll her in school even though there will only be a couple of months left? She wants to keep homeschooling, but knows that if I am working full-time, we won't have as much time for the fun things she enjoys so much (field trips, park days, etc) I still want to make those happen, but it won't be like it is now with me blissfully unemployed. (OK, it was hard to even type "blissfully unemployed" but you get what I mean) She did say, though, that she is fine with going to school, and will do whatever we have to do with whatever circumstances we have.
So, lots of changes, none of which are in my control. Lots of excitement, and new adventures, depending how you look at it. My Bible study this morning really got me thinking...we were talking about Abraham and Sarah, and how when they went to Egypt because of the famine, he had her lie and say they were brother and sister so that the men wouldn't kill him to have her (which they would have done if they knew they were married, because she was so beautiful) Sure enough, the Pharoah chose her for his harem. This was not what God had planned for them (duh) so He had to extricate them from the situation, much to Pharoah's chagrin (and disease). Later, God had promised Abraham descendents "as numerous as the stars" but Sarah wasn't conceiving, so they devised a plan for him to have children with her handmaiden, Hagar (HOH-GARR, right G?) Again, NOT what God had in mind at all. Yet, Abraham just kept blundering through life, trying to force situations without waiting for God's leading, for God's timing.
It really hit home with me, because I've been feeling a lot of stress from so many different angles. So many people to try to please, so many changes to consider, so many chances for me to goof it up by blundering ahead and trying to fix it myself, when maybe God has an entirely different plan for us. It was a good reminder for me to slow down, be patient and let God work.
We both feel like God has been very clear with us to this point. Arro (my old manager at living, and Max's potential new manager) had looked me up on facebook about a week before Max was laid off, so that opened the door for Max to interview for this job (he has wanted to work for the company since at least 2003). I just blindly sent a resume off to the only software company I could find in Bloomington, for a position that wasn't even listed, only to find out that my sister knows the owners of the company and that Michael had just said that week that he REALLY needed a QA person! It has just been unreal to me how clearly God has opened some doors and slammed others shut tight. I have applied for all sorts of other jobs, in Austin, Bloomington, Georgia, you name it...without a single response. Same for Max. Funny thing is, normally, I would be freaking out with both of us only having one real solid lead and the clock ticking on his contract, but I feel like it's all under control -- just not MY control. And that makes me feel even better.
Assuming we both get the jobs, so many things will change. I'll be working full-time again, and that sort of freaks me out. It will be work-from-home, though, and I have already talked to Michael (the owner) about kids and flexibility and he seems more than accommodating for that. I am also a little excited. The job sounds great, with a lot of challenges, and it would afford me some "necessary" travel to Bloomington where my entire family happens to be. :) I am anxious to meet Michael. He seems like a neat guy on the phone (this is the guy whose wife my sister used to work with...small world, huh?)
Max's potential job also sounds amazing. It'll be a pay cut, at least at first, but he'd be working with former co-workers and FOR my former manager at living.com. Small world, huh? (notice the theme here?) The position has great potential to really grow into a long-term career path for him, and it's getting back into some job functions that he really enjoys.
We're also planning, at some point this year, to list the house for sale. We've needed to do it for a long time, and even with the market in a slump, we both just feel like this is the time to do it. It will take a few months to get it ready, but I hope to be able to list it by summer.
Then, there's my Olivia. What will we do if I get the job? Keep homeschooling through the end of the year and just juggle? Enroll her in school even though there will only be a couple of months left? She wants to keep homeschooling, but knows that if I am working full-time, we won't have as much time for the fun things she enjoys so much (field trips, park days, etc) I still want to make those happen, but it won't be like it is now with me blissfully unemployed. (OK, it was hard to even type "blissfully unemployed" but you get what I mean) She did say, though, that she is fine with going to school, and will do whatever we have to do with whatever circumstances we have.
So, lots of changes, none of which are in my control. Lots of excitement, and new adventures, depending how you look at it. My Bible study this morning really got me thinking...we were talking about Abraham and Sarah, and how when they went to Egypt because of the famine, he had her lie and say they were brother and sister so that the men wouldn't kill him to have her (which they would have done if they knew they were married, because she was so beautiful) Sure enough, the Pharoah chose her for his harem. This was not what God had planned for them (duh) so He had to extricate them from the situation, much to Pharoah's chagrin (and disease). Later, God had promised Abraham descendents "as numerous as the stars" but Sarah wasn't conceiving, so they devised a plan for him to have children with her handmaiden, Hagar (HOH-GARR, right G?) Again, NOT what God had in mind at all. Yet, Abraham just kept blundering through life, trying to force situations without waiting for God's leading, for God's timing.
It really hit home with me, because I've been feeling a lot of stress from so many different angles. So many people to try to please, so many changes to consider, so many chances for me to goof it up by blundering ahead and trying to fix it myself, when maybe God has an entirely different plan for us. It was a good reminder for me to slow down, be patient and let God work.
We both feel like God has been very clear with us to this point. Arro (my old manager at living, and Max's potential new manager) had looked me up on facebook about a week before Max was laid off, so that opened the door for Max to interview for this job (he has wanted to work for the company since at least 2003). I just blindly sent a resume off to the only software company I could find in Bloomington, for a position that wasn't even listed, only to find out that my sister knows the owners of the company and that Michael had just said that week that he REALLY needed a QA person! It has just been unreal to me how clearly God has opened some doors and slammed others shut tight. I have applied for all sorts of other jobs, in Austin, Bloomington, Georgia, you name it...without a single response. Same for Max. Funny thing is, normally, I would be freaking out with both of us only having one real solid lead and the clock ticking on his contract, but I feel like it's all under control -- just not MY control. And that makes me feel even better.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Big fat weigh-in Thursday
174. I have no idea how that happened. How does a girl gain 5 lbs in a week w/o just going off the deep end with her eating (which I didn't) I blame it on hormones and monthly weight fluctuations. We'll see how next week goes.
On the bright side, I have a phone interview tonight and Max has one tomorrow morning! Mine is a possible work-from-home position, and his is full-time with a company he's been interested in for 5 years. So, the next 24 hours are big for Casa De La Garza! I'll let y'all know how it goes!
On the bright side, I have a phone interview tonight and Max has one tomorrow morning! Mine is a possible work-from-home position, and his is full-time with a company he's been interested in for 5 years. So, the next 24 hours are big for Casa De La Garza! I'll let y'all know how it goes!
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