Waisting Time

Thumbs missing:  Blogger’s block.  I haven’t had much to say lately.  Well, maybe that’s not exactly right:  I think of stuff to say but then can’t think of how to say it.  But maybe this is a thumbs up because for the most part, I just haven’t felt a “need” to spend as much time in the blog world.  Okay… maybe that’s what I’ll write about!

Thumbs up:  Blog recognition.  I’m much belated in saying how tickled I was to be included in Cranky Fitness’s list of Best Weight Loss Blogs for 2012.  Super thumbs up “thank you” to those who voted for me.  I had no idea this was even going on!

Thumbs up:  Work.  Still going well.  Thumbs down that I get nervous still with the “register.”  It’s not at all intuitive IMO and we have to manually make price adjustments for our frequent promotions.  And there are so many exceptions or unusual situations to learn.  I know I’ll eventually learn it all.  Thumbs up that I am at least now ringing my own sales.  And making sales!  Thumbs down though that I still have self-doubt creep in regarding so many aspects of the job.  I need to get over that.

Thumbs down:  Work.  So… my biggest complaint about work has to do with scheduling.  Not knowing when I’ll be working, having to ask for dates off for things like my many trips lately and a variety of appointments.  Thumbs down that it has made life rather more complicated.  Thumbs down that I cancelled my blogger meet up in April:(  Thumbs up that my boss does allow us to take time when we need it.  Phew.  Otherwise this just wouldn’t work for me.  (No pun intended.)

Thumbs up:  Zucchini pizza.  LOVE!!!  Thanks to Caron for introducing me to this delectable meal.  You can find the recipe I use here; my only change is to cut it into round slices, not horizontal ones.  My mom’s been loving it too:)  I had this for lunch every single day last week.  And I don’t even like zucchini!!!!

Thumbs down:  Heartburn.  It started one afternoon and continued for several days.  Not horrible, but consistent.  Worse when actually swallowing food or liquids.  It was very reminiscent of what I experienced when I started on an aspirin regime several years ago.  So I talked to my pharmacist (who happens to also be my friend) and switched one medicine from before bed to mornings with food and, voila, no more heartburn.  Or the burps that were accompanying it.  Thumbs down that I really struggle to remember to take it in the mornings, since all my other meds are at night.

Thumbs down:  Brain fart.  I went to my twice-weekly workout with my mom and trainer an hour early.  Twice.  Now in my own defense, we workout at different times on different days.  But still.

Thumbs up:  My calf.  Maybe?  I’m being optimistic but I think it is finally noticeably improved!  I’ve stopped wearing the calf support.  When I get back from my upcoming road trip, I hope to finally gradually start back with cardio.

Thumbs up:  Being a mom.  One son is home from college, although I don’t see him much.  But I’ve gotten some fantastic hugs.  The other son graduates this coming Saturday and I know there will be all sorts of hugging going on then:)  I believe that my greatest accomplishment in life is my boys.  And being a mom.

Thumbs up:  Eating.  I’m considering myself maintaining.  Mostly easily.  Mostly.  I’ve even done well lately with eating out and special events.

Thumbs down:  Eating.  So… this past week I had my first binge in months.  I’m not sure what set me off, but I know exactly the first thing I ate that was not what I’d typically eat.  And it was followed by a slew of “off plan” food that is in the house right now, thanks to my nest no longer being empty.  Can you say “bread?!”  It was ugly.  I had a stomach ache.  It never ceases to amaze me that when I eat crap I feel like crap, physically and mentally.  Okay, confession and bingeing are both over.  Back on plan.

Thumbs pending:  Road trip.  We leave Thursday and return the following Monday or Tuesday.  So you won’t see me around much in the coming week.  I’m not the least bit worried about my eating this time, even though eating well on the road will be complicated with the addition of my boys (and their snacks and needing to stop with them for meals when otherwise I’d just pack them) in the car.  And another road trip is planned for early June when my son officially moves east.

Thumbs up:  Dr. Seuss.  Just wanted to pay brief homage (since tomorrow is his birthday) to a man who brought me many a happy moment as a child and a then again as a mom.  One of my all time favorites books, which I can almost recite from memory, is Green Eggs and Ham.  I love the analogies and wisdom hidden in Seuss’s many wonderful, crazy rhymes.

Thumbs blue:  Job news.  I didn’t get it.  I can’t tell you why because I don’t know, having only received a canned form letter via email.  I admit it – I’m bummed.  I don’t know what it was that had me so excited about this.  And, all modesty aside, I think I’d have been good at it and they’d have been glad they hired me:)  Oh well, such is life.  Someday I’ll think through all this and the emotions involved and ask what, if anything, I learned and what, if anything, I’ll do next.  Huge thumbs up to all of you for your very kind and encouraging words when I shared the story.

Two thumbs:  New words.  I had no idea that there were actual names for the great punctuation combination of a question mark and an exclamation point.  I use that often!  But, thanks to the wonders of Twitter, I now know that !? is an “interrobang” and a “gnaborretni” is the same combination turned upside down or backwards.  (As is the word itself!)  Fun!

Thumbs red:  Yoga toes 2.0.  In my last thumbs post I told you how my toes had apparently suffered from the disinfectant I was using on the gym’s yoga mats.  Now I have new toe issues.  (Yes, it really is always something!)  On both feet, the toes next to the pinky are, well, something is wrong with them.  They are sometimes sore, as if bruised, and uncomfortable in shoes and tender to touch.  But sometimes not.  They are sometimes white with lack of circulation while the other toes are nicely pink.  But sometimes not.  And lately the tips are quite red looking!  My trainer (who I shared this with since the toes were bothering me during a recent workout) thinks it’s from pressure on those particular piggies during certain poses.  I knew I didn’t like doing barefoot planks!

Thumbs up:  Technological learning.  I’m almost impressed with myself that I was able to use HTML coding to change a font size within a post on my blog!  Some of you have the option to easily change fonts from your editing toolbar but my particular blog theme, or so I assume, doesn’t let me do that.  After an internet search, I went through a few scary steps and held my breath and… voila!   Almost makes me wonder what other blog technology stuff I could figure out if I put my mind to it!  Almost.

Thumbs missed:  The blogger meeting that wasn’t.  One morning I read on a Roni’s blog that she was going to be in my town!  Just for the day.  I commented that I wish I’d known in advance because I’d liked to have met her.  She surprised me by quickly replying that she’d have some free time at the airport if I was nearby.  I wasn’t:(  It didn’t work out that day, but maybe next time.

Thumbs up:  Social eating.  If you have been reading long, you probably know that social eating is one of my dieting downfalls.  Not only the meal itself, but also that I am prone to pre-cheat.  In the past couple of weeks I have eaten out THREE times.  That’s in capital letters because it’s more than I would usually eat out in three MONTHS.  Each time I stayed on plan with my meals, ate with moderation, enjoyed myself and the food and the company, and nary a pre-cheat in sight!

Thumbs down:  Blogger captcha verification.  Darn Google and their changes!  The new word verifications are very hard for me to read and apparently I am not alone.  Thumbs up for the bloggers who have responded by taking that requirement off their blogs:)  Hint, hint.  Thumbs up that Google seems to have gotten the message and at least modified things by taking off the circle background and making things a bit easier on the eyes.

Thumbs up:  My personal photographer.  Just wanted to publicly thank my dear husband for taking photos of me to use on previous posts.  And for his patience as I over-thought the staging for each.  I’ll take credit though for today’s photos, since I was able to manage both at arm’s length by myself.

Thumbs down:  Seaweed snacks.  I read about these online and was eager to try them.  As I stood before the display in Trader Joe’s, a woman commented to me that, as a seaweed fan, she had tried them but didn’t like them.  She said they taste “fishy.”  She was right.  Thumbs up that at least they didn’t cost very much.

Thumbs down:  Pilates.  Which would usually get a thumbs up in my book.  But I tried a new (to me) class at my gym and didn’t really like it.  Something about the instructor, how she led us, what exercises she chose, etc.  And I was not very comfortable with the Saturday morning crowd.  They don’t seem nearly as friendly as the weekday exercisers.  Anyhow, I’ve taken pilates in the past from other instructors and liked it a lot, so I’ll look for another option.  Eventually.  Thumbs down that a few of the moves aggravated my calf.  I hadn’t expected that.

Thumbs new:  Speaking of my calf.  I decided to contact the manufacture of the calf sleeve I’ve been wearing daily since early December.  (Don’t worry – I take it off to wash it!)  As I expected, it was rather past its life expectancy.  So I got a new one and found it was about an inch smaller around than the old one!  Yep, as I suspected, I’d stretched the heck out of that darn thing.  Thumbs down that I still need it.  I do have a plan to really rest my calf when my strength training partner (aka Mom) leaves town in a couple of weeks.  Not even a squat!

Thumbs up:  I’m honored.  And surprised.  And blushing.  All thanks to Carla, aka Mizfit, featuring me on her blog recently.  As I said in my comment there, words fail me.  And thumbs up that it came at the end of an unusually stressful day that had me feeling rather blue.  When, out of the blue, well… there I was!  Carla’s was one of the first blogs I read and she is the epitome of a healthy living blogger.  One of the things I most love about her is that she nurtures the “little” and “new” bloggers and Tweeters and supports everyone, all with her amazing personal style and sense of humor.  And she is unapologetically herself in everything she does.  Coincidentally, she was on my mind when I was writing this post because I know she is a huge Seuss fan:)  Thanks, Carla.  Thumbs up to ya!