Just a quick post this week – I am so flippin’ tired I want to crawl back in bed.  Just home from Jenny and no loss this week.  Honestly I’m not surprised – I did have FOUR Mike’s Pink Lemonade this week … and some of John’s pizza … and Ben & Jerry’s.  I was a bad bad naughty weight loss girl.  So I’m doing an extremely excited happy dance for no gain this week!  Woo hoo!  Go me!  Yay for Ben & Jerry’s and no gain!!

Now no more bad evil foods!

I think though – that Diet Coke should be allowed.  I stopped in the drive-thru at .. well we won’t say where. .. and picked up a gianormous Diet Coke so that I’d stay awake during my 10 minute drive home.  And I swear it is the BEST Diet Coke I’ve ever had.  It’s the drink of the God’s … it has to be.  In fact I believe I should have kissed the guy who handed to to me .. it is that perfect.  You don’t often find a perfectly calibrated Diet Coke – not since I stopped working at .. well my first job right out of high school.

I’ve made no progress towards getting the house ready to sell this week – because I have been plain old lazy.  Wait … no that is not 100% accurate.  I did have a debate with some online “friends” about from which locale to purchase cardboard boxes – then found them online for $2 per box and FREE shipping.  And they arrived OVERNIGHT!  If they’re any good I’ll post a link to the website next blog post.  AND I made a heartbreaking decision to purchase a crate for Winston to be confined in on those days John and I are both working.  Of course I also had to get an orthopedic dog bed for him to use in the crate, and then puppy training pads because he has been needing to go out more often now that he’s a member of the Doggie Elder’s society.  Here’s a photo of his new palace:

As you can see – it’s expandable so he has room to escape the cat if she so happens to decide to jump in.   Room for his bed, a bowl for water, AND the best part – a plastic tray so if there are any little accidents – it won’t be on my tile floor or carpet!

Three days off this week – and a few later shifts – and I should be able to get the house squared away so I can bring in my Realtor {Hi Levi!}. He’ll tell me what else I should fix – not that there’s much – and we’ll get the house listed. The boss lady told me a guest came in to the shop on Saturday who had sold her house IN TWO DAYS of listing. That thought is why I have purchased boxes and will start packing now. I don’t think it will happen – but how cool would it be to be in a new small cute house with a white railed front porch before Halloweenie?

Final note of missed fun opportunities – i came very close to breaking out of my hermit shell and joining a Fantasy Football League.  It would have been fun to participate with this group of men as they are all pretty hilarious.  BUT I realized I didn’t know enough about football to join in.  I didn’t want to drag the league down  – it wouldn’t be fair.  I did pout most of last night though when I couldn’t participate in chat with them during their draft.  But whatever.  I’ve got to find real life friends to hang out with … so .. any men one in the Orlando area that just want to hang out and teach me more about football?    Anyone?    No? …. I didn’t think so.

Time to prepare for my management meeting – then I become a cleaning fool.  At least … that’s the plan for today.  Ta-ta for now!

YES!  Success at weigh-in this week.  After last week’s surprise gain {I was on vacation people – give me a break!} – I have now dropped down to the weight I was at after vacation.  That’s a 2.4 pound drop in one week – I’m so friggin’ excited I can’t begin to tell you.   The problem is – I have all this extra Jenny Craig food this week.  But I know I ate … so what DID I end up eating?  And if I ate bad food why did I end up with such a big loss?

Goal this week – print out Jenny menu and make sure I’m crossing things off as I eat them.  This way I’ll know FOR SURE what I’m not squeezing in to my day.  It’s difficult to eat while at work – many days we’re on 2 person coverage and there’s just no time for me to sneak in to the back for a 15 minute break.   I’m not so sure working at Lane Bryant is good for my overall health.  BUT I think the activity from being on my feet 8 hours a day does contribute a small way to my weight loss.  At least I’m not sitting on my arse all day in front of the computer.

This week I’ll be starting to prepare this house to list for sale.  I’m sort of excited about it .. and have accepted the fact I’ll have to part ways with some of my Antiques and bigger furniture.  I know my parents think I should stick to buying a smaller house.  But honest to gosh I do NOT want to deal with the upkeep on the yard of a house.  Especially when it appears my current lawn service has abandoned me {I need to call them tomorrow to see WTF is there problem}.  I do think a small Townhouse/Condo is the better option for me – even if it means I’ll need to walk the dog 4-6 times a day instead of letting him run around the back yard.  {That would actually be beneficial to me!}   I have to plan for living off the income I currently make at Lane Bryant – because my savings are quickly running out AND I’ll lose John’s child support payments when he’s out of college.  

This week my goal is to pack up the three guest bedrooms and their bathrooms and linen closet – which means obtaining boxes of some sort. I also need to get ALL laundry completed and maintain the current cleanliness level of the house.  Weight loss wise I hope to drop another 2 pounds – which means being diligent about sticking to my menu and eating on time per plan.  I’ll need to decide which furniture to sell, find an antique broker who will come out and make an offer on the bar and some smaller pieces, and then figure out what I’ll donate.  I see a Garage  Sale happening for me in October/November time frame I think.

Still awaiting Prince Charming to walk into the store and sweep me off my feet.  I have a funny feeling I’ll be waiting awhile longer.  Worst part about being a widow = life gets lonely some times.

Well .. back on track with Jenny Craig means getting back on track with the blog as well. So here I am with a quick update on life and all the challenges it throws at me.

#1 – no loss this week. No big surprise there considering I wasn’t eating my Jenny food. Also, the swelling from flying and the pizza I ate yesterday probably added some water weight as well. So .. yeah. I’ve got my work cut out for me this week to push the scale in a downward motion!

#2 – my last day of vacation today. Which really means a day of laundry, cleaning and errands. I’ll probably spend more time online than I should – I’ve got TV shows to catch up on as well. I know , right. Such a high priority. hee hee hee ….

#3 – the whole house situation. I know I will NOT be moving to Seattle – an idea I had been kicking around to help out my parents. They’re both doing as well as can be expected from chemo. They are very independent and active – just a little slower the week they have their chemo treatments. The more treatments they have – the less energy they have. But right now they don’t need me to drop my life and move in. SOoooooo … that means now I just need to decide when to put this house up for sale and find a smaller house that’s easier to care for.

#4 – work. Things going on at the store are out of my control – so why stress? I can’t really elaborate on my thoughts regarding everything. Just know that I know what I’m doing in this regard and I’m OK with things the way they are for now.

And that’s it. You’re all caught up for the week. Now I’ve got to get the son up out of bed so we can go rescue the pets from the kennel.

I’ve never been so excited to see that little tiny number before.  I thought for sure this week I’d see a gain, and I’ve been avoiding the scale all together.  I’ve been STARVING all week.  Sneaking little peanut butter sandwiches into the day.  But I still lost 2.8 pounds this week!  WOooooo  Hooooooo!!!!  Makes me down 6.6 pounds in the past 3 weeks – which is a perfect rate of loss for me to reach my goal.

It seems my metabolism is finally kicking in – which is why I’ve been hungry all week and why I managed to lose 2.8 pounds.  I’m thinking the additional activity on Thursday cleaning the house top to bottom may have helped burn additional calories as well.   It feels as though I’m still trying to recover from that bout of nesting – and I am most certainly looking forward to having the next couple of days off work.  I just need to get through work today … just a measly 7 hour shift.  I can do it!  I can’t imagine what my hunger level will be like when I start to add in exercise – but I’m curious to see if it makes a significant difference in pounds lost weekly.  How about a little experiment this week.  I’ll ride my exercise bike for a total of 3 -5 hours this week – and see what happens.

I think some of the stress has lifted off my shoulders this week as well.  I’m starting to contemplate some different scenarios for life … and I’m leaning towards one direction.  The more I lean that way …. the more  … I dunno … “Light” I feel.   I’ve been looking at some smaller houses online … less expensive than this one .. and was very excited about a foreclosure I found last night.  It’s screaming “BUY ME” – has all the upgraded amenities the Princess in me demands.  And get this … it even has BRONZE FIXTURES.   The one thing I dislike most in this house is all the stainless steel and chrome in the kitchen and bathrooms – even the door handles and hinges are chrome.  It’s driving me crazy and I’ve been lusting after Bronze fixtures and hardware for the past two years.  It’s almost like this foreclosure house is calling to me.

I’ve an email in to the listing agent to find out the extent on the damage – as the house is being offered “As Is”.    But if the repairs are all just cosmetic it’s possible that I’ll be putting my house on the market when I return from Seattle and putting an offer down on this foreclosure.   Once I see how my parents are doing – I’ll be able to finalize these life decisions and come to peace with them.  It all centers around their health – AND – my finding a way to survive in this economy.  Why is it LOVE and MONEY continue to be the root of all my stress?  Bohemian hermits are supposed to NOT care about either!  But we have to be happy with life regardless of how it affects others – and we have to be able to live with our decisions.  Sometimes you have to let the birdie leave the nest in order to watch them fly!

It’s been a rough week for me mentally – and I was pretty disappointed at my weigh in at Jenny Craig.  Just 1.6 pounds gone this week for a total of 3.8.  Very frustrating to see it come off so slowly – my plan was to be down 15 pounds before I fly out to Seattle.  So that means getting off my arse and actually doing the exercise I committed to doing.  Do you think I can do it?  Lose another 11.2 pounds in .. what … 3 weeks?   Would help if someone wanted to try and lose along with me  .. {hint hint …  Jennifer .. cough cough}

I have people close to me battling cancer right now.  It has been draining me emotionally and my mind has been wandering … daydreaming … I’ve not been able to focus on anything at all.  It’s a weird sort of feeling to not be able to control your own thoughts!   To snap out of a daze and realize .. whoa .. what was I doing?  So this week my mental goal is to get my head OUT OF THE CLOUDS and start focusing on REAL LIFE.  I’m not going to let this disease beat my family.  They’ve all taught me what it really means to be brave, to stay strong, and to LOVE love love with an open heart every second of every day.

My Jenny counselor is off on vacation this week – so I had a sub.  Boy oh boy … speaking about drifty … her mind was so totally NOT in the game today.   I think she may have been overwhelmed trying to cover everyone this morning.  I got the bare minimum consultation today .. what food do you want .. what were your challenges this week .. and your strengths .. OK that’s it buh bye.  I was like …. don’t you want to know why I binge ate those cheesecakes the other day?  Aren’t you supposed to slap my hand just a little for doing that ?  Or coach me through to another coping mechanism next time I want to binge?  Good news is the Center Director from my old Jenny office moved to this location – and we’re good buddies after my New Year – New You experience.  {If you don’t know what I’m talking about … ask in the comments and I’ll explain}

My son is battling my decision to sell our house and move in to something smaller – to the point he offered to do the dishes in the kitchen one night this week.  It was a very sweet offer, but I do think the best thing for us is to move into a Townhouse or Condo – where the outdoor maintenance is taken care of for me.  All I have to worry about is keeping the indoors spic and span.  I’m headed over to a little Townhouse/Condo neighborhood today to see what the area is like.  I’ll have to get over the fact it’s going to be SMALL.  Then when I get back from Seattle I’ll talk with my Realtor about listing the house for sale.  {Anyone interested in a nice Vacation home close to all the theme parks and attractions?  Just a small investment of $500,000 … pennies really when you think of all the family fun you’ll enjoy through the years …}

My affirmation for this week is just GOOD JOB for staying on track with Jenny and staying within the confines of the program.  Continue on this path to a healthy me – and PAIN FREE KNEE.    And remember ..  if you’re not going to leave room in your life for love .. make it a TRUE priority .. then what’s the point?