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JUNEAU2010's Recent Blog Entries
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Thursday, July 08, 2010
Obviously, I have been off track in small ways for a while. I don't want to exercise. I am tired beyond description. Some of that was running on adrenaline yesterday because of my party. Then I did not sleep much last night and today was the busiest day in a long time.
Yesterday morning, I learned that I will be spending 12 hours a week working with the attorney who is a bit prickly. I welcome the educational experience and, as we both agree, I need a thicker skin and she needs a softer approach. My first task for her actually started before this realignment of my duties and our discussion about that was not ideal. I have a lot to learn! But she was constructively critical, so it worked out. I emailed the results of my first REAL task for her and hope to get some feedback on it tomorrow. It involved doing some research on another state's laws and was more interesting than what I was doing.
Yesterday was my Mahalo (Thank You) Party. Because of the change in venue (from our only really big conference room to the patio), some of my decorations were not used. The table cloths were not used. All I could think of was the waste of money! Everyone brought food. I was pleasantly surprised to see some good healthy choices mixed in with the other stuff. It was all good, from what I could tell. I put food on my plate, but had only a few bites because I delivered a speech and made presentations while everyone was eating. I had not had a chance to practice the speech. It came from the heart, but it was not memorized, so I read most of it (I did not want to forget anyone!). The music, a gift from a coworker, was fabulous! I had one piece of cake and it was wonderful! Everyone kept asking me if I wanted to take it home. No, but tempting. BF is diabetic and I know he would have eaten every bit! So they put the leftovers in the coffee bar. I was able to say thank you a lot of people and to encourage and uplift my coworkers.
I've mentioned before that the company is chockful of technical experts who are the creme de la creme and get the pay to go with it. The admin staff is subtly treated as in a lower class. There have been severe layoffs over the last few years so the few of us left are doing a lot more work and people feel underappreciated. I strove to stem that thinking yesterday.
I wore the blue aloha print dress and was surprised people didn't comment. I have not worn a dress to work in at least 5 years!
I was exhausted when I got home - too exhausted to Spark. I think it was just coming off the adrenaline of getting the party set up and everything else. I did not sleep much last night. Went to bed about 9:30. Not sure when I fell asleep, but I was wide awake at 1:15 and stayed that way for a long time. As a consequence, today was a long day!
We had a special event at work today that was really exciting and that made the morning pass more quickly. Soon we will have electric vehicle charging stations. Those cars are way above my pay grade, but I would sure love to have one!
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
I walked a total of 2.8 miles today, though not all at once. Tendonitis is back...
At lunch, I had shrimp and broccoli and, spur of the moment, sprinkled in a few sunflower seeds. I am not crazy about sunflower seeds, but I bought some shelled unsalted ones that I keep at work as a go-to item. It made for an interesting contrast in taste and texture. On Tuesdays and Thursday, the onsite cafe serves 2 flavors of frozen yogurt. Today they had pineapple and French vanilla. The vanilla was nonfat and there was no indicator on the pineapple, so I got a half cup of vanilla. Back at my desk, I added a tablespoon of soy butter and stirred it in. WOW! Was that great!
Tonight was a very light and a rather late dinner. That's ok because tomorrow, at long last, is my Mahalo Party. There will be all kinds of food and not much of it healthy. And chocolate cake! This party, they think, is in my honor, but this is my turn to thank everyone. I am looking forward to surprising some of the people! I am making a speech and presentations for certain people. Having the opportunity to publicly thank people is going to be the highlight for me. And chocolate cake. There will be about 40 people there (down from the 80 I invited and the 60 who originally accepted - the move to outside probably dissuaded some...
Today was my Bestifar's birthday. Bestifar is the Norwegian word for "Grandfather". I met Bestifar 2 years before he died. Our one visit occured during spring break of my sophomore year. He came to this country in the late '20s and a degree in engineering. During WWII, he was an engineer in various shipyards. He calculated the correct circumference of smoke stacks for fuel efficiency. Not being an engineer, that's all I know! In 2012, I want to sign up with Ancestry.com and do some research about my family. I would love to find out which ships he worked on!
I have a picture of him playing his accordion. As a young man in Norway, he'd had an accident at the family saw mill and was missing part of one finger. When I visited him, we had poached eggs for breakfast with herring (I'd never had either one before). We went to the Norwegian Seamans' Church where he was greeted as if he were royalty. He had a US flag and a Norwegian flag on his dining table. (I have both on my desk) We went to an outdoor market where I heard languages and tasted food I'd never encountered before. I wanted to stay! I got to touch the Liberty Bell! I will NEVER forget how that felt!
The only bad thing, two things, about that visit was the fact that he was forgetting English and I knew no Norwegian. It was so frustrating for him! My aunt said it was not Alzheimers, that it was hardening of the arteries or something else. I am very afraid of having that happen when I reach those years. Bestifar died about a week after my graduation from college. The fact that I had that one visit is precious, but I wish I could have had more time with him! I missed out on a stronger dose of my heritage.
Someday, I hope to make it to Norway. I will take pictures, I will eat the local foods and I will revel in the history, the culture, the music and the sound of the language. Through it all, I will see glimpses of my paternal line and feel connected through the sands of time...
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Happy Fourth of July!
Today, I stepped on the scale and saw a 2 pound gain. Lack of exercise (tendonitis), guessing instead of measuring, possible time of the month - all contributions to the result. Underlying it all is a lack of passion for this journey. I know this won't last, but it has gone on longer than I thought it would.
I put myself back on stage 1 in the hopes of reigniting the Spark. There is the matter of my Mahalo Party this week and the chocolate on chocolate cake at the end of the potluck.
I do not view this 2 pound gain as a defeat. It is a setback and I am disappointed, but it does not mark the end of my journey. No towel throwing here!
Taking stock. In a few weeks, I will have been on SP 6 months. I have not lost the pounds I thought I would by now. What I have gained, however, is worth more. I have made huge strides in dealing with emotional eating. I thought that was always going to be an element in my character. It may be, but it no longer rules.
Exercise is still not a habit, but I have made progress. I walk almost every day. Strength training is a chore that I have skipped for a few weeks. I have not worked up to a respectable amount. I did, however, do some bridges yesterday with greater success than ever before!
Water is a habit and a positive choice. I have taken shortcuts with food - sometimes I measure, sometimes I guess. I chafe at the need to measure!
My clothes give more of a positive result than the scale, as does the way I generally feel (tendonitis aside). My lower back does not hurt, my hip does not wake me up at night. Sometimes I can use the stairs, but find that, if I do not I can walk more steps on a daily basis. I've misplaced my tape measure, so I can't report on that.
I really thought I would be further along in every way by now. Perhaps the fact that that is not a crushing disappointment is a measure of the lack of Spark here.
Not sure how to end this. My humanity is showing, but I am becoming independent of the tyranny of my past relationship with food and my standoffish relationship with exercise.
The right way to end this is to give thanks to those who have served, who do serve and who have sacrificed so that this country is free. I will regret for my entire life the fact that I could not serve my country in uniform. As with most families, I come from a long line of veterans, so I honor service men and women and their families.
Thank you! I do not take my freedom for granted, today or any day!
Sunday, July 04, 2010
It sounds as if it's already the Fourth of July outside, even though it's after 10 pm. I love the Fourth of July, but I have never liked noise. Besides that, those bottle rockets and whatever else are illegal. I live in a mobile home park and I know that mobile homes are very flammable. I drive BF nuts because I insist on staying home for firework nights to keep an eye on things and be a calming presence for my cats.
Today did not start well. My tendonitis shows no sign of improving. That pain and stiffness was nothing compared to the emotions of the morning. (sigh). I guess it's time to share more about my life. BF does not work and our deal is that he is suppoed to do everything around the house so that I can just focus on work. This has never been my first choice, but it is a compromise position. He sometimes will do odd jobs if he needs money, but more often, I have given it (or he has taken it). But things are really tight, so I have not been doing so. He wanted money this morning.
I have a flash temper. Most people would say I am low key and calm, but that was not always the case. And money is one of those flash points. He has not been well and he said something that hit me wrong. I blew up and kept saying "no". But, to make a long story short, I eventually agreed to a lesser amount. Things escalated from there and he got what he wanted. Usually, as soon as I blow up, I calm down as if nothing happened. I was so angry this morning, I left and was gone for several hours.
He has been sulking and sleeping all day. Months from now, he will throw something about today back in my face.
What amazed me is that it never occured to me to start stuffing my face. Normally, or I should say, pre-SparkPeople, I would have polished off a ton of unhealthy food. I also told him how this kind of thing makes me feel. He thinks we are partners, I don't any more. I feel used, taken advantage of and this does a number on my self esteem. This time, what it did not do was add to my tonnage.
I cannot afford to leave and he has nowhere to go. Under California law, as I have been told, because it has been our residence for so long, even though my name is on the lease, I cannot evict BF. I still love him, but I am scared about the finances both now and the future.
I am drained!
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(I realize that is a cupcake.. but it's close enough. :))
