Weekend Wrap Up

I can't believe it's the end of the weekend already! But is it? Turns out school is out tomorrow. Hurricane Sandy is making her debut here in New England sometime tomorrow. The state has called off all schools tomorrow. Fun times.

I've prepared the house for a power outage. We have a small generator that will run the fridge, heat and one small electronic item (laptop). The DS's, iPad, and iPhone are all charging, the car is gassed up (incase we need to hunker down in the car to watch DVD's), all other electronics and flashlights have fresh batteries. Bring it on Sandy!  We are ready!

That's all I have for now. My mind is racing with all the things I would like to get done before any power outage. If you're in the north east, stay safe.

It's beating time

Good morning!

Gotta love Friday's. HA!  I'm gearing up for my beating with Rudy today. I am so tired this morning too. Should be interesting! I'll let you know how it goes later on in the post.

Last night we went to a Halloween party that my husband's company puts on for their families. It's always a good time. The kids get to trick-or-treat at the different activities they have set up, they serve a little dinner and have some sort of a show. This year's show was a "Mad Scientist". I felt rather bad for the guy because the audience thinned out rather quickly. I think it was a little too much for the smaller kids (which represents a large portion of the kids there).

Anyway, the party was a good time. My little guy loved wearing his newly-finished Jake costume.

As far as the food goes, I did splurge and had a piece of pizza (so not worth it) and had a rice krispies treat. I also "stole" 2 pieces of little chocolates from the kid's bags. (Shhhh....don't tell 'em!)

BUT, I did come home to hop on the treadmill. I was exhausted and bloated but I did it anyway.  I just turned on the tube and kept myself at a nice slow pace so I wouldn't cramp (I fought cramps the whole time). Walking at 2.0, incline of 2 for 50 minutes felt pretty darn good. It certainly would have been a faster workout if I had walked at my typical 3 for 30 but that's OK. I did what I could do and was happy that I got something done. Small victories people, small victories. 

Today is weigh in day. How did I do?  Well, I was 5 pounds down. I was excited but thought about how it was highly unlikely I could be *that* much down so I hopped on again just to be sure. Yes, now I'm just about the same. What? I try again after pulling the battery out...now I'm up 4 pounds. Guess I'm stopping for a new battery on my way to the gym. 

And speaking of the gym, I best get going. Hold me. I'm so flipping tired!  This is going to be rough. I won't post until I get back though. Will be interesting to see what tune I'm singing when it's all over. Wish me luck. 

-------

OMG!  It's a miracle I'm still alive. Seriously. I think Rudy was trying to kill me today. I arrived to the gym a little early so I fit in 14 minutes on the arc trainer, then had a beating. The first exercise was and easy one, but it was all downhill from there!  The second exercise he had me on the balance ball. Well, my hands were on the ball, the ball was against the wall, and the rest of me was in a pushup position on the ball. I had to walk my feet out (left to right and right to left) while staying in the pushup position. So, when Rudy showed me what I was supposed to do I burst out laughing and said "Gee! Nothing like throwing me to the wolves this morning" He siad "well, if I let you warm up first, our time would be over". I suppose he had a point. 

One of Rudy's favorite sayings is "hate me now, love me later". If that ain't the truth!  I am always like Gumby and half the time I'm fighting my inner "you can't do this" voice...but when I'm done, I feel like I can take on the world; after a nap, of course!  HA! 

I finished up my workout with 14 minutes on the bike. I'm a hot mess. 

What are you going to do for yourself today? 

It may hurt like hell while you're doing it, but I assure you you'll be proud of yourself when you're done! 

Hanging on

So that darn wagon keeps hitting these bumps that pushes me ever so slightly to the edge and I have to hold on for dear life to not fall all the way off. That's how I've been feeling these last 10-14 days.

Yesterday was the first day in that time frame that I told my inner voice to shut up and let me do the walking. I hopped on the treadmill for a thirty minute walk last night. That's the first time I've done that in nearly three weeks!  Yikes!  I kick it in the gym and should be doing cardio on my "off days" but I just haven't had the vigor to do it. Well, I do now or at least I'm going to "fake it til I make it".

Yup. I had a long talk with myself yesterday about how 15 pounds or so isn't acceptable. Sure, it's a good amount of weight, but I should be near 25 at this point. I've been lax with my nutrition and clearly have been lax with the exercise. No more. I can't be putting this huge amount of money into personal training to just sit around and do nothing on the down days.

Nutrition has got to be tightened up too. Yesterday I logged everything. Haven't been doing that as much as I should have as of late. Yesterday's calories were just fine but the nutrition as a whole needs to be cleaned up. And I'm working on that. Honest to goodness, I am.

Some cool news though...I am seeing my bicep!  Really, I am! I can hardly believe there is actually a muscle forming under all that fat and jiggle. Sorry, but it's true. I'm not sugar coating it and I'm not trying to be down on myself, it's just the way that it is; I have "bye-bye" arms. Not for long though. The muscle is forming right before my eyes and it is so cool to see and realize how strong I really am!

I see a number of changes in my upper body.  My shirts are fitting loose, my core is getting strong and before I know it, I'll have some nice girl guns. I wish my lower body would follow suit but I'm sure it'll catch up soon....I hope.

So, it's not all bad. There is a lot to be proud of. There is a lot to celebrate. But, there is a lot to improve upon as well. It's time to focus and stay strong.

Monday, Monday

Had a great time at the game yesterday! I forgot how much I enjoy being at the game when your team is doing well or when the game is close as it was last night. Not sure if you watched the Pats vs. Jets game or even if you like football, but it was a CRAZY game!  And being there was even more crazy.  We were sitting at about the 10 yard line, 14 rows up. From the moment we sat down I knew it was going to be a wild ride. The people behind us were completely drunk and were obnoxious through the National Anthem - which totally ticked me off! And I couldn't believe that the stadium had birthday messages up on the jumbotron while the National Anthem was being performed. Bad for business, if you ask me. Anyway, the game gets going and the people behind us get their mouths going with the F-bombs left and right. Then they were saying "Yeah!  No kids around we can say F all we want!" that sort of thing.  Four of us from our row turned around and said "Yeah there is!" and we all pointed at the two boys sitting right in front of us.  They settled down after that. Thank goodness.

Anyway, the game was crazy fun and I'm so happy I was able to go. I also have to give a huge thank you to my brother!  The poor guy had to deal with my little one who apparently had stomach issues. My brother did a great job handling it and I am so thankful!

Alright, time to play along with Kenlie and FMM: Winning the Lottery

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Winning the Lottery

What’s the first thing you would do for yourself if you won 100 million dollars?  Note: this question is specifically for you…what would you do for fun after the family and the bills and the obvious stuff was taken care of?

Isn't this something we all dream about. I swear every time I buy I lotto ticket, I have the money spent before I even have the ticket in my hand. A girl can dream! 

I would buy a 1969 cherry red Ford Mustang convertible. It's my absolute dream car!  Been wanting one (and the General Lee) since I was a kid.

I would also put an addition on the house. The bedrooms in the house are too small. They get messy fast because there is no place to put anything. 

I would also go on a trip. I'm also thinking Atlantis because my girlfriend just came back from there with her family and the pictures are amazing!  I'd love to be able to take the kids!  

Now it's your turn, what would you do with a lotto win?

Anniversary Weekend

Sending a shout out to Hubs this weekend...HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!  We've been married for 11 years as of yesterday. It's amazing how fast the time has gone by...I still remember our wedding like it was yesterday.

Eating this weekend has been just OK. Friday I probably could have done better at dinner and yesterday I should have had more protein in the morning because by mid afternoon I was ravenous. We ended up eating out which is never good for the wallet or the waistline. I opted for the terrible choices because I was so hungry.  I hate it when I don't plan ahead.

Today could go either way.  We're headed to Gillette Stadium for the Pats game. I haven't been to a game since the playoffs from the first time we went to the superbowl with the Giants. Needless to say I am pretty excited! The food choices there aren't the best...clearly. It's a football stadium for goodness sakes. It's full of nachos and beer!  Good thing I hate beer.

I am super excited to have a day off. No kids. I LOVE my kids more than anything in the world! I hug them and squeeze them a million times a day. I tell them a billion times a day how much I love them. But I need a break. I'm really looking forward to some much needed adult only time. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the state of my house when we return tonight. My brother is "watching" the kids. Actually, my brother will be watching the football games with his friend while my niece and two boys run amok through the house. It's all good though. I get to go out. Sans kids.

Friday beating

I'm starting to love my Friday beatings. 

I swear the trainers are worse on Friday's than any other day during the week!  

Today I got to work out with Rudy. When I walked in and was all settled, he came over to get started. I looked at him and said "oh, are you ready for me?" He nodded. I then said "Well, I'm not so sure I'm ready for you!"  We both giggled and got on with it. 

Today was another "first" for me. Rudy thought it would be a good idea to try something similar to this: 

It wasn't as pretty as that though. I guarantee it. I hate getting into the plank position to begin with. I'm always afraid I'm going to collapse (never have, so I should get over it already). I didn't tap my shoulder though. I was supposed to tap my hands but I didn't really have the strength to get "that far" so Rudy held his hand right next to mine so I just had to hold my body up on one arm long enough to tap his hand. I (just barely) was able to complete 10 reps on each side. Oye!  That was rough, but I did it!

The scale was stable this week. No loss. No gain. I'd like to lose 5 pounds by November 1st. If I get back to walking on the treadmill on my "off" days and eating better, I think I can do it! Here goes nothing. 

Feel the burn

I hate it when my sleep is interrupted, especially when it's because my chest is on fire with heartburn. Oh, I've been suffering with some major heartburn the last few days. I've even put myself back on some Prilosec. Ugh. I hate taking medications!  It's all my own fault though. All week I've been eating more processed foods than I have in a while. It's really starting to get to me. I was so uncomfortable last night that I hardly ate today out of fear of pain.

Better Day

Today was remarkably better than the last few days.

My spirits were lifted a bit after completing yet another awesome workout with Damon!
I was especially excited because I was able to do one of these:

The first time I tried one of those (day one of working with Damon), I went into complete panic mode. I ended up having to raise one leg at a time while the other stayed on the floor.  Today was another story. I'm sure it didn't look pretty, but I was able to complete the exercise as it was meant to be!  Go me! 

It's moments like that that make me realize how strong I am becoming and how far I've come. The scale may be moving at a snail's pace (this week is 150% my fault) but in the end the workouts are working. 

I also dug deep and decided that I can't be all down in the dumps like this for a week at a time on a monthly basis. I need to buck up and do what I can to snap out of it. And that is exactly what I did. I started by getting the chores done: they certainly aren't going to get done by themselves. Then I went on and organized a little section of my kitchen counter that was starting to look like a massive mountain of paperwork and junk. I still have some other organizing project to get done, but for the most part things are in order and I can stop stressing out about the small stuff. 

The small stuff. That's what seems to bother me the most during my PMS/PMDD days. It is so frustrating to feel this way. Imagine being totally stressed out because you have to sweep the floor (I know, the horror!). But that's exactly what life is like for me during these times; the smallest of tasks can feel like having to climb the highest of mountains. On days like today when I can tell that voice to shush, I feel so much better. It's days like today that I need to bear in mind when I'm having such a horrible day where even getting out of bed in the morning is too much.  Depressing? Yes. But it's the truth...once I'm back to day one of my cycle, I am back to being me.  I CAN'T wait for day one! 

Where's that wagon gone now?

Ugh!  I need to get back on that lousy wagon! I'm really seeing a pattern here; I do well for 3 weeks out of the month and then really lose it (and my mind) for one. That is certainly me this week. I'm in the blah zone today.  My eldest was home sick from school both yesterday and today. Yesterday, I was motivated to at least get some housework done along with some organizing in my craft room. Today was a completely different story. I was mopey, hung around on the intertubes for most of the morning and snuck in a nap this afternoon.  My house is a disaster and I have nothing left in me to take care of it. I wish there was an anti-depressant that I could take during the week prior to TOM. I guess there is...exercise.

Oh, did I mention I haven't done any of that either!  Oh my! My last workout was on Friday. I didn't get to the gym yesterday because my son had a fever and a sore throat so we were at the DR's office. No Strep (yea!  We get to hold on to the "never had that in our house" medal). I was planning on getting up this morning to walk on the treadmill and then I was going to do the same tonight. Nope. I did nothing. I really should have stuffed my bad voice down into the depths of you-know-where and hopped on the treadmill, but I didn't. Frustrated with myself for that decision!

Tomorrow is Wednesday, gym day!  Can't wait!  The big kid's fever broke late this morning, so he'll be cleared for school tomorrow. My little man was hitting 99.8 this afternoon, but no fever as of bedtime, so God-willing, I'll be at the gym in the morning!  And I need it!

And the tone here isn't like the whiney crap of yester-month. It's more of an annoyance with myself for letting my mood dictate what I'm going to do. Tomorrow will be a new day and I will get on that wagon...

....I just hope the wagon didn't roll away with the Earthquake we had tonight. WHAT?  Earthquake!?  Surely not here in New England!  Yup, was a 4.6 in Maine and felt down through Connecticut. My kids were freaked out, but everyone is OK. It was something new for us in these parts. Nothing like a  little jolt to make you feel alive.

Just have it already

I've been craving an ice cream sundae. I've dodged the craving but have been eating everything else instead. I'm soon to see TOM (sorry for the TMI, but it's all part of the journey) and this is how I get. I learned once that I should just go ahead and have whatever-it-is that I'm longing for so I don't go looking for replacements.  That's ultimately what I've been doing the last 3 days and I know I'm going to pay for it. So, tonight I am having an ice cream sundae so I can get on with it.

Weekend Update

I have a love/hate relationship with busy days. I love when time just moves right along and yet I hate it when I'm so busy that I get consumed by outside things and plans don't fall into place like they are supposed to. This was me Friday.

I was up early (for me). Out the door by 7:30 to get to an appointment at the hospital in Boston for 10.  The trip in to the city took "only" 90 minutes, (with no traffic it takes me about 30 or a bit less depending on where in the city I'm headed). Anyway, I had an appointment to see the rheumatologist about the psoriasis and possibly having psoriatic arthritis. I love this doctor that I see. He is very thorough and listens to what you have to say. He never makes me feel like I'm crazy or just imagining the things I feel.

He's not all that sure what is going on with me. He said it's quite possible I have psoriatic arthritis and at this point, it would be very mild. He took X-rays of my hands to see what's going on there. He's also running the Lupus test again. Do you know how many times I've been tested for Lupus? More than I can count!  There was this one time where the one test came back positive, but it's been negative ever since. I go back in 8 weeks to follow up with how I'm feeling.

After my appointment, I headed off to the gym. I was exhausted when I walked in and exhilarated by the time I walked out. Bob (trainer for the day) noticed how tired I was but was relieved to see how quickly I woke up. He gave me one heck of a workout!

My one regret is that I didn't let the workout carry me through the weekend. I have to admit to not eating so great this weekend. Yesterday wasn't too bad but today was just awful!  I am in no way beating myself up about it because that isn't going to be productive. I'm going to admit to my 3 pieces of pizza (very abnormal for me) and then had Mexican for dinner (I overate for sure!). Like I said though, I am owning it and am moving on.

The plan for the week is to have my 3 training sessions (30 mins. each) and then I will do 8 minutes on the arc trainer (been working my way up to 10) along with 15 on the bike (again, working my way up). I will also commit to walking on the treadmill on both Tuesday and Thursday (off from the gym  those 2 days). All of that with some water and juicing.

Oh yea, juicing. I'll talk about that this week...should be a fun journey.

Sleep would be good here

I am tired. So very, very tired. After the cars were broken into last week, I found myself waking up a lot in the middle of the night. There was even a night where I woke up and stayed up for a few hours (wouldn't it have been nice if those hours were productive). Not only have I been waking up but so have the kids. A few nights ago, both of them climbed into bed with us (that is a rarity so when it happens, I let them stay). And last night, rather this morning, my little guy came in to get Daddy up at 5:30. He was up. He wanted Daddy up to play with him. We tried explaining to him that it was still dark out but he could go read in his room if he wanted. And so began the yelling (on his part).

My little guy isn't feeling too well. He hasn't been 100% since we both came down with that cold last month...so what 6 weeks? Anyway, this is how life is with him. His ears and face fill up with so much fluid that he can't sleep and he can hardly function. He's "fine" for the first hours of the day but is quick to become Mr. Cranky Pants. The doctors tell us he'll out grow it, but they don't have to live it every day. He's a happy-go-lucky kind of kid. He'll make you laugh like you wouldn't believe. Just not when he's sick. And when he is sick, he's up and down for weeks (clearly, we are on week 6 or 7).

So that's my stressor right now. Trying to figure out how to make him comfortable so he (and the rest of us) can sleep and not be so cranky. I am thankful that it's "just sinus/ear" stuff with him. There are so many other kids and families out there who have really sick children, and to them I offer up my prayers. Even with that thought though, I still get frustrated that he has to be so miserable.

Being so tired doesn't bode well for getting exercise in. I did do a kick-ass workout yesterday though. I was so surprised when Damon had me try something a bit different and I was able to do it. He's had me do planks before. They aren't too bad, I just take a moment to figure out how I'm going to get up into position. Once I'm there, I'm good-to-go. My planks aren't on the floor though. Sure, my feet are on the floor but my elbows are up on a bench. Yesterday, he had me get up into plank position then I had to lift myself up like I was going to do a pushup. When he first showed me what he wanted me to do, I thought "I don't know if I can do that". I know I'm getting stronger but I honestly didn't think my arms could handle being up on them. I was wrong. I couldn't believe I did it and how "easy" it was!  It's those small victories that make this all worth it.

Today I won't really have much of a workout. I can't get to my treadmill with all the crap from the possible yard sale on Saturday. My plan for today is to focus on drinking water (I'm not good at that when it's not a gym day) and to stay within calories.

Keeping it together

Today is going to be a rough one.

Poor planning on my part. No one to blame but me. Going to make the best of it though.

I was exhausted yesterday. Hubs stayed home so we could do family stuff (kids were out of school with Columbus Day). I decided I would have liked to use half of yesterday as a break. Goodness knows I need one. Sad thing though was that I was too tired to do the thing I've been looking forward to - scrapbooking. I went into my room and tried to start a project. My eyes just wouldn't let me. So I just gathered some stuff to add to our yard sale pile and called it a day.

All wasn't completly lost though. Hubs and the kids went out for ice cream with my parents. Ice Cream is rough for me, it was amazing that I only had a taste when we went to Ben & Jerry's over the weekend!  I stayed home and caught up on Grey's and Private Practice (MAN! I love those shows!). That was the extent of my down time. I was happy to have some but would have loved to be able to craft.

The one thing we should have done yesterday was food shop. We are out of just about everything. Seriously. I had no oatmeal, yogurt or cereal left for breakfast this morning. I'm not sure what I have in there for lunch - possibly a piece of lettuce and some ham. My point though is that the cupboards are bare and I have no car today. I thought about that fact too late last night to really do anything about it. Should have gone food shopping this weekend while hubs was home. It's going to make eating right very difficult but I promise to do my best!

My plan for today is to go through the cupboards to figure out what I can make for the rest of the day. I also plan on being a little under my calories as I can't get on the treadmill this week: it's blocked with piles of yardsale/Craigslist stuff.

Once the kitchen stuff is straightened out, I need to get started on my son's Halloween Costume. He wants to be Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. The costume is sold out everywhere and the few times I have found it, it's been too small for him! He's been so upset so I told him I would make him one. I found a good tutorial here.  I'm not going to make the T-shirt though. Thought I would just buy a cheap-o white shirt and alter it. I'll post pics once it's done.

I'd also like to get to making the homemade dish detergent that I mentioned yesterday. If I get to that, I will post the recipe I used as well as the one for the laundry detergent. They are both super easy and the best part is that they are non-toxic!

Weekend Wrap up and FMM

The weather was so unstable this weekend. I wish (for once) the weather guys would get it right!  We ended up going leaf peeping on Saturday because the weather reports had Saturday being the better day of the weekend. It was cloudy and rained in Vermont. The leaf peeping was still beautiful. 

We ended up stopping at Ben & Jerry's Factory. That was fun, but crazy busy!  We didn't do the tour because the wait was just too long for our little men (and for us). The kids and hubs had some ice cream (I had a bite, yes, JUST a bite!). We were able to wander around the property some as the rain ended up stopping just in time for us to be outside. 

Yesterday we spent the day cleaning out our basement. Too many toys and other junk all over the place. I started placing some of our stuff up on Craigslist and will be having a yard sale on Saturday. My living room looks like a disaster area with all the crap (I mean nice stuff) we need to unload. The funny part of the cleaning yesterday was that hubs commented to me how sore he was last night (Sure, he did lift big furniture); I wasn't sore at all. Must be the gym paying off a bit. 

And now for some fun with FMM:

Inside Your Home

1. Do you live in an apartment/condo, townhouse or house?  House

2. What is your home’s coolest feature? It's the house I grew up in. I love our yard! 

3.  Do you enjoy DIY projects?  If so, what are you working on now?  I loathe DIY projects. I'm a perfectionist so I see all the imperfections. Wish we could pay people to do all our projects. 

4. When using the dishwasher do you use powder detergent or liquid?  I've been using the packets. I'd like to give homemade detergent a try...I already make my own laundry detergent. 

5. Do you have a TV in your bedroom?  No way. It's bad enough we have the iphones and ipad. 

6.  Is your range gas or electric?  Gas. 

7.  How often do you sweep/mop/vacuum?  As needed.

8.  What is your favorite place to shop for home furniture and accents? First would be Target. Also have to give some love to IKEA. 

9.  Do you decorate for holidays?  Yes!!! I love holidays! 

10.  If you could have HGTV come in and redo one room in your home which room would you choose?  That's easy - the KITCHEN!  OMG!  Our kitchen is in near dire (and I only say "near" because I have (sadly) seen worse) need for a remodel! 

Now it's your turn! 

Big loss and lots of little stuff

Down 6 pounds this week for a grand total of 15.3 pounds lost in nearly 7 weeks.

I'm happy to finally be headed in the right direction! That gain a few weeks ago too a week to put on and two weeks to take off. Ugh. I hate my body sometimes, but like I've been saying, no giving up!

I shared earlier in the week that I'm starting to feel the changes. Only to the upper body though. My pants are still fitting exactly the same. I can't wait for things to start loosening up. Must be getting close to that happening.

I did a lot of baking yesterday. My girlfriend had some fresh veggies from her parent's garden that she (unfortunately) wasn't going to be able to use so she offered them to me. I was going to make some healthy stuff out of them but then felt bad that she wasn't going to use the veggies so I thought I would bake with them.  I made a zucchini bread, zucchini and carrot bread and a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (OMG! So good). I did remarkably well with keeping the tastes to a minimum. I love to bake (HATE to cook though), but I don't bake often because I will eat it all. I did good yesterday though.  My only regret is not taking pictures of the veggies and the baked goods before sending them off.

This weekend is looking rather bleak weather wise. We probably won't get any hiking or much other outside activities in. I guess it's not the end of the world, there are tons of projects that need doing around the house (see that honey, we have stuff to do ;-)). My thoughts are to get a few things done around here and then get some crafty time in.

What are your weekend plans?
I must now go get a beating at the gym. Seriously, I'm working with Rudy today. He beats the crap out of me. I'm almost afraid.

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

I went clothes shopping for myself last night. 

Not because my clothes are getting so big they are falling off. 

Not because I enjoy shopping for clothes. 

Not because I wanted something new. 

I had to. I needed an interview outfit. I tossed the nice clothes I had last summer when everything got to be 2 (or more) sizes to big for me. Big mistake. I should have held on to everything until I got a lot more weight off. Live and learn. 

I hate clothes shopping. When Fashion Bug by me (and now all of them) closed, I became even more discouraged about the thought of clothes shopping. Fashion Bug had fairly reasonable prices (although I noticed the prices were increasing to almost ridiculousness) and for the most part I could find things in my size. 

Lane Bryant is out of the question for me because they only sell up to a 28. I'm almost there, but not quite (but hang on to that thought) so the only other retailer around me that I can shop at is The Avenue.  The Avenue is supposed to carry up to size 32. According to their advertising anyway. I would beg to differ. Anytime I go there, I end up leaving in total and complete frustration and swear I will never be back. Why is that?  For starters the store is over stocked. There are too many racks and too much stuff on the racks. When my son was little, I couldn't even shop in there with an umbrella stroller because we'd get stuck between the racks. I feel bad for anyone who has to shop from a wheelchair!  On top of that, they keep the tags tucked into all the clothing, making it very difficult to find the size you are looking for. I always end up having to go through every single item only to find that      A. the item doesn't come in my size or        B. They are out of stock in my size. 

Last night I headed up to The Avenue in the hopes of finding a pair of dress pants. I walk into the store and a sales person is quick to greet me. I decided to just ask for help because I do, quite often, leave there angry. I explained to the girl that the store frustrates me because I can't find the sizing so would she please help me find something in a size 28/30. "I'm sorry ma'am, we have nothing in that size in pants"  WHAT?!?!  Nothing? Nada? Ziltch?  I fought the tears. She continued to say that they have been after the district manager to get more of "that" size in because it's always understocked. Crap. What am I to do now? I had an interview the next day and now I'm screwed. I walked out biting my lip with tears in my eyes. 

Here's where the self-loathing and the pity party started. I walked back to my car and cried; I mean really cried. For a minute. I gave myself the "you did this to yourself" kind of talk. Then I shook it off. That kind of feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to solve my problem. I had 2 choices; I could go try Lane Bryant in the mall which was in the next plaza OR drive (after calling first) over an hour to the next Avenue if they had anything in stock. I opted for option number one. I tried on two pairs of pants at Lane Bryant and they FIT!  I couldn't believe it.  Sure, it was a little tight, but I could make it work. I was beside myself! 

My hard work is starting to pay off. I'm going to keep on keeping on and hopefully in the not-so-distant future I won't hate clothes shopping so much. Until then, I will stick to shopping online. 

 

Finally!

I'm feeling it! Finally! Yesterday I put on a top that usually just fits. It's not so uncomfortable that I only focus on how the shirt makes me feel. You know what I mean right? When you have a shirt (or pants) that you're itching to get out of because the arms aren't quite right, or it sticks to you in all the wrong places, or rides up to show off your belly or butt...well, I put that shirt on yesterday and the arms weren't so bad and it felt a little loose in the midsection.  The waist was still the same but I was pleasantly surprised with how well it was fitting. But then I thought it was just in my head. I'm happy to report it wasn't!  I have on another top today that is loose!!!  It's a top that I've never been uncomfortable in but can see and feel how loose it is in the middle. YEAH!!!! A Non-scale victory for me.

Another finally to report: I have skin issues...not to bore you with all the details and to make a long story short, I was told it looks like psoriasis by one doctor, then another said "no, more like eczema  then I saw another doctor who said it was probably psoriasis but she wanted to look at it again in the fall (that was in the spring). Anyway, I saw her yesterday and she confirmed that I most certainly have psoriasis. Yeah me!  She also told me to go back to the rheumetologist because I have (some) joint pain that was unexplained before and now we're thinking maybe psoriatic arthritis. I'm happy that I finally have a definitive answer as to what's going on, I just hate that there is little I can do about it other than steroid creams. It could be worse.

My thought of the day is: persistance pays off. I didn't give up with the gym when the scale went in the wrong direction...I'm seeing the payoff. And I didn't give up with the doctors. I had to go through a number of them before finding out what's what, but I finally got an answer. Sounds familiar with my MGUS stories.

Never give up!

ETA:  I have a job interview tomorrow!  It's for a "little" part time job. Two days a week. Will be enough (maybe) to cover Hub's gas to get him to work for the week.

Robbed and FMM

It's Monday!  As if you needed reminding. Monday's are always busy around here (I'm sure they are for you too).  Today is no different but had a little added spice to make it that much "better".
I received a phone call at 8 this morning from my father. (Odd that he'd be calling...my parents live here too, we have an in-law apartment on our house). Anyway, he asked me if Hub's car started. I said I didn't know, he was out there at that moment moving the car seat back into my van. Dad went on to say that Hub's car lights were on when he went out to work this morning (somewhere around 4AM). He then asked me if his cell phone was on his counter. I checked, it wasn't. He said, "well, call your mother and tell her to cancel the phone. It was stolen. What some idiot wants with my pink (yes, I said pink) cell phone is beyond me!"   He went on to tell me that his dash compartment was taken apart...stuff all over his seat.

Hubs checked his car out. Nothing stolen, although the "idiots" left a flashlight and tried unscrewing his REMOVABLE (as in pick it up off the cradle) XM radio. Nothing in my car was touched...we think my father may have scared them off because Hub's car door was open and they clearly forgot something (flashlight). When I called the police they said "Oh, there's an officer down on XX Street for the same thing"  Great.

It seems to me it's some stupid kids out for a gag. A friend of mine who's husband is a town police officer said that there have been a lot of car break ins in this neighborhood. Great. My family has lived here for 30+ years. We've never had the house or our cars broken into. The worst that has ever happened was someone stole my brother's bike (he left it in the front yard) when we were kids and at Halloween our pumpkins would be smashed (everyone's were). Side note about the pumpkins: When I was a kid, my grandmother (who lived in the in-law apartment) had had it with the hooligans who were smashing pumpkins so she thought she's "fix their wagon" - her words - and covered all the pumpkins and gourds with cod liver oil.  She always had a trick up her sleeve.

The other thing that happened when I was a kid was there was a group of "lunch bandits" going around in the summertime. Yup, they were a group of teenagers who would go into people's houses, make themselves some lunch and watch the tube. Nothing was ever taken (other than some grub). Again, silly kid stuff.

Alrighty, enough of that. Onto FMM: 

 Uniquely You

1) Do you prefer to talk or text? Neither, I'm an email kind of girl. Although, I would prefer (most of the time) face-to-face interaction. 

2) How often do you make your bed?  if it gets made once a week, I'm happy. I hate making the bed! 

3) What sounds do you hear right now? The ringing in my ears. My fingers tapping on the keyboard and my little guy singing "twinkle twinkle little star" and every made up variation he can think of.

4) List three things that you always carry with you.  Phone (hubs would beg to differ but now that I have an iphone, it's with me more than it's not), my charming personality - ha!, and my purse. 

5) What are your favorite TV shows?   Grey's, Private Practice  Mike & Molly, CSI, Criminal Minds - we are also getting into Revolution and Go On

6) Is there a hobby that you’d like to devote more time to? If so, what is it? Scrapbooking

7) What is your favorite drink? Diet coke and iced coffee

8) Share a couple of cool facts about your family. Not sure about this one. I feel like we are so boring.  My late grandfather was a WWII hero during D-Day.  I've written about him before here. 

9) List one thing that you will do for yourself today. I am about to head out to the gym for my beating. Can't wait as I am feeling better. (physically anyway). 

10) Share something that you’re thankful for today. My family.