Getting Healthy

 

~Sisterly Love~

2/24/12

The above is a picture of my daughters. They were waiting to be picked up and escorted to the annual father/daughter dance at their elementary school. They looked lovely, didn't they? By all accounts, they had a great time!

Today is day 4 of my attempt to reset my metabolism and get this extra weight off once and for all. I am a lifetime member of that system where you count the points but have found that I no longer have the sticktoitiveness to count said points. I find that I manipulate the points and they are constantly on my mind. Also, the idea that I can eat whatever I want so long as I stay within my points no longer works for me, as I have a very sweet tooth and could easily eat nothing but chocolate for days. Nope, I needed a different way to look at food.

I have also found that I can not live on shakes and meal bars alone. Anything that restricts what I can eat to just a few options is something that I will not do well with. I love my protein shakes and snack bars but I need actual food as well.

Enter the Food Lover's Fat Loss System.

I am so pleased with this program so far that I can barely contain myself! Shipped to my door was a package containing everything that I need to be successful on this program. The most pleasant surprise was that I had virtually everything that I needed to be successful, in terms of food and drink, right in my kitchen. I have learned more about food and the proper way to eat it in four days than i could have imagined possible. I am not hungry. I eat every 2-3 hours. I have a ton of energy. Most importantly, I do not have to eat any pre-packaged, over-processed, super-expensive, tasteless food!

The program comes with these audio CDs that explain what it is you should be doing every day of the initial 21 day program. It is like having a personal coach sitting right beside you, helping you along. There is also a workout DVD with four different workouts to choose from. So far, I have been doing the 12 minute Fat Burner. It has been awhile since I did any exercising aside from walking so i am easing into it so as not to injure myself. With my restrictions due to an injury, I have to be very careful about how I exercise.

I am fighting the overwhelming urge to hop onto the scale. It really is killing me because I am used to stepping onto that blasted thing every morning. I am committed to not weighing myself until day 21. Instead, I will note any changes in how my clothes fit and how I am feeling overall.

The only thing that I have to stay away from in these first 21 days is my beloved chocolate. But, that's ok. There are plenty of things I can have to sate my sweet tooth in the mean time. I have also had to tweak my creamer because sugar, 12 types, is a no-no. Instead of drinking my flavored creamer, I am opting for flavored coffee with Splenda and light creamer. It is yummy, so I am happy.

If anyone is interested in this program and have questions about it, there is a Facebook page you can look at.

Just a Little Update

Full Moon

February 2012

This is the first day I have felt decent in about a week. I hate the winter months. For me, they are full of sinus infections and such and it becomes miserable. This will be a small update.

Hubz' last day driving a truck was yesterday (Friday). He could not be more thrilled to leave that part of his life behind. I remember the day that he came home and told me that he wanted to go back to school. We had just had our son and after watching some of the old guys mill about the terminal, he made the decision that he did not want to 'die with a steering wheel in his hand'. He looked into going back to school and hasn't looked back.

Monday will be his first day at his new job at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. He is very excited to be given this opportunity and I am sure that he is going to do very well. Hospitals like to hire from withing so once he has his R.N. he is hoping that he will be able to slide right into a nursing position. What makes him even happier is that this particular hospital has a nurse anesthetist program which is ultimately where he wants to be. Once he is hired as an R.N. (no matter where that may be) he will pursue his Bachelor's degree online through the college he attends now. He will need that before he can go on to the advanced program. He has big plans and I know he will be able to do anything that he sets his mind to.

My niece and her beautiful daughter are in town and I am hoping to get together with them tomorrow or Monday. I am very excited to see them as they do not come up very often. She is expecting her second child so that is exciting as well. I am hoping that my granddaughter will get to meet her cousin. My great-niece is a little bit older but I think the two of them playing together would be adorable. At the very least, I would get some great pics!

Speaking of my granddaughter, it is her mommy's birthday tomorrow so I just want to say happy birthday to MiMi. I love you from the bottom of my heart and I hope that you have a wonderful day!

A New Career

Moon behind winter branches

2/09/12

Back on June 30, 2009, my life was changed dramatically. I was caught in the middle of one student trying to attack another and as a result wound up with a herniated disc in my neck. That disc ultimately ruptured and I required surgery.

My surgery was done in January of 2010 and, although it did alleviate much of my neck pain, I was left with permanent nerve damage affecting my left arm and hand. I was on Lyrica for a good while and it seemed to help with the nerve pain. Eventually, I went off of it because the side-effects were not worth it and only became worse every time my body adapted to the dosage and had to be increased.

As a result of my injury I am left with permanent restrictions which make it impossible for me to perform the full scope of my job duties whether in the field or teaching. Because of this, I was approved by worker's comp for rehabilitative retraining. What that means is that I have been approved to go to school in the field of my choice and it is paid for in it's entirety by worker's comp.

I signed the paperwork with my comp worker yesterday and now it is official. I start school in March. The program of study I have chosen is Paralegal. Way back when, it was a toss up between going medical or legal and I chose medical. Pretty cool that I can go back and study something that I have always taken an interest in. I will be going to school in the evenings and now that Hubz will have new work hours, it looks like we won't need any outside care for lil'man at all.

Every once in awhile we may need sitter coverage and for that we have Boy-20 and Girl-15. When Girl-15 does it, credit will go in her Africa ledger as money earned toward her mission trip next year. (a subject for another post) If Boy-20 does it, it will be chalked up to the 'you are lucky we are not kicking you out and still feeding you' fund. Muhuwahaha!

So, there it is. I start a new chapter in March. I am excited!

The Tide is Turning

Harvey's Beach

Old Saybrooke, CT

As I was contemplating how I was going to begin this blog, we got some great news! The position that Hubz applied for was officially offered to him this afternoon! This is fantastic news and we are taking it as a sign that the tide is, indeed, turning.

It has been a particularly difficult year. Between him working full-time and going to school full-time and me being out of work, it has been stressful and tight to say the least. That did not keep us from being optimistic when this opening at a local hospital came about. I just knew that once Hubz got a face-to-face interview they would just love him! That is just what happened. Whatever he lacks in experience, he more than makes up for in personality, professionalism, and the ability to make those around him comfortable. 

In other news, I just received confirmation that I will be starting school in early March. The Paralegal program I will be in will be paid for by worker's comp as part of my settlement resulting from being injured on the job. I would have much rather been able to stay in my current field but my permanent restrictions have made it so I can not perform all of the job requirements. I am excited to begin this new chapter and the timing is excellent.

Hubz and I will be discussing it further but, as it looks now, his hours will be such that I can go to school during the day instead of at night as we originally planned. The upside to this is that he will get to spend more time with lil'man and I will finish my program in half the time. It will be so good for lil'man. There are quite a few hours between when his daddy walks out the door and walks back in.  This change will be great for both of them!

I like that I was able to open this blog with a positive post. This is my first blog that will be about our life together. I usually write stories, poetry, and such so this is a different experience for me. I think a lot of the things that kept me from doing this sort of project over the last three years have resolved themselves enough to where this will feel 'right'.

So, if you are here reading...welcome!