Life of the Bored & Restless

January 27

2008-03-16T21:55:00.002-04:00

Here I am back again. More blogging about our trip. So we are going abck to the 27th of January. It is the day we actually arrived in Australia. It was a long flight, but not as bad as I was expecting. The kids really seemed to enjoy it. It was so hot when we got here. The difference in climate was very drastic. Talk about a heat wave. It took a couple of hours to get out of the airport. By the time we went through customs and waited for our bagage and then went through customs again. Or whatever it is we had to go through. It took forever. Shawn was waiting patiently for us outside the Sydney Airport. We did pretty well dealing with the jetlag. shawn kept us up and going the whole day so we would crash that night and get right into the swing of things. He took us to our home for the next month and a half and then we went to the Parklea Markets, which we love. It is an indoor flea market with everything imaginable. I can't quite remember what else we did that day. I think we went to Hungry Jack's which is Burger King back home. We were so glad to finally be here and in the warm weather. That's a summary of our arrival. I'll be back with more of the life of the bored and restless.

January 25, 2008

2008-03-13T17:41:00.002-04:00

So the day has finally arrived. It is January 25, the day we leave for Australia. The flights were uneventful. We flew from Avoca to Chicago and had a 2 hour lay over there. It was a nice little break. We got some munchies and did a little shopping. We boarded the flight to San Francisco next. That was a nice flight. The kids enjoy flying. It is a shock. Acacia said we would never be able to get her on a plane. She loves to fly now. We had a 9 hour lay over in San Francisco. It was rainy and horrible outside. We took a shuttle to a hotel near the airport, ordered room service, took a nap, freshened up, and headed back to the airport for our flight to Australia. It took forever to board. We didn't have seats together, so the kids and I were on edge about that. They were nervous about a flight that long and not sitting together. I was able to check-in and have them put our seats together. I had to ask a gentleman to switch seats with me, but he was great about it and kindly obliged. The kids slept most of the time. I didn't. I was so swollen and puffy by the time we got there I thought I was going to explode. One of the flight attendants urged me to drink some water. I couldn't figure out why. I got up to go to the bathroom and realized that my face was quite swollen. He must have noticed the change, because he urged me to take the water so I then took it. I was very dehydrated and he told me as much. I know this seems all boring and not worth blogging about, but I might not be able to remember the details later on. We finally arrived in Sydney on the 27th of January. we lost an entire day. Sydney is 16 hours ahead of Pennsylvania time. So that was pretty much the flight. I know there are many other details that I could bore you with, but for now I really must go. I will be back soon with many more non-essential details of our trip to Australia.

Blogging About Trip

2008-03-13T17:38:00.002-04:00

So I have decided to blog about our journey's overseas. It might get boring, but I guess it is a good way to remember everything that we have seen and done. I am going to start at the beginning and work my way forward until now. We will see if my memory is up to the task. I am kind of excited. Thanks goes to Colin for making such a simple suggestion.

Blogging

2008-03-13T15:27:00.002-04:00

So a friend recommended that I blog about all the things we have done the past two months. My family has been in Australia. I didn't really think about it until now. I guess it is a good idea. So I have this plan, we are moving out of our apartment today and we are moving to a cabin at a caravan park and then next week we go for holiday up to Brisbane. We are in Sydney at the moment. When I get settled in this weekend, I am going to go back through my calendar and blog about all our trips we have gone on since we have been here. I am hoping that I can recall everything that we have gone to do. I think that if the kids help me, we will be able to get some good summaries of it all.

Another Day

2007-08-19T23:47:00.000-04:00

Man, I haven't blogged in forever. I am bored so I figured this was something to keep my mind off of it. Shawn has left Ohio, which is our new temporary residence, for Canada. He is currently in Quebec. I have to pack up here and head back to PA, then head on up to Canada. Too much going on right now. I have found my new favorite thing, it is massage. I visited a spa this week and what a dream. Awesome. I recommend it to everyone. I am going back this week. I have to do something to keep from going insane. Nothing too much else is going on. Just stranded here for the time being. I hope life is moving along smoothly for everyone else.

Diet

2006-12-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

So I think I am going to try the diet again. I haven't been on it for months. Shawn is trying to watch his diet for health reasons, I think I could get into it again if a put forth a little effort. I mainly want to keep eating the way I am , because I have been eating pretty well. I have been good about junk food, I have been eating healthier. I just need to get on track with my pilates again and I know I will see results. So here it goes, I am hoping to feel up to working out in the morning.

Week Fifteen

2006-09-12T13:51:00.000-04:00

Another week!!! I have not weighed in for the past few weeks. I have lost another 2 inches. I am happy with the results. I have been having so many cravings lately. I know I am really missing home. I am hoping that when I get back I will feel more like myself and get back in the diet swing. I am just trying to finish things up around here, do any other things here that we planned on doing, around packing up our stuff. I have a busy week once I get back home. I am hoping it will keep me away from the fridge. The assembly is the weekend following when I get home. I am sure I will have a lot to do around the house, so I need to keep a positive outlook. I will acheive my goals, I have gotten into much better shape that I was in. That is a big PLUS!!!!!

Week Thirteen

2006-08-31T08:43:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!!!! It has been a while since I have posted anything. I was getting discouraged about weighing in. I wasn't seeing the results on the scale that I would like to see. I knew I was doing OK because my clothes were definitely fitting differently. So I was like...WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? So I have decided to take a new approach. I had gone home to get my mom for a few weeks, and I grabbed my weight journal and my tape measure. I have since then been measuring myself instead of getting on the scale. At this point I am ready to throw the scale out the window.

I think the thing is that I do not have a big weight loss goal. It was a simple 10 pounds, well ten pounds is hard when that is all you have to lose. I lost 5 pound or so, maybe around 7, and then leveled out. I was working out and dieting, but to no avail. I got discouraged. I have since then traded in the scale for a tape measure, invested in 4 new work out videos and have been working my but off, literally. My total loss in inches has been 15 and 1/4 inches. I am so happy about that.

I hope everyone else is doing great and has found a method that works best for them.

Week 10

2006-08-14T17:46:00.001-04:00

I forgot to post last week. I am staying the same. I have decided to now weigh in anymore. I am going to try to just measure every 2 weeks to a month. I have lost a total of 10 inches all over. I might weigh in monthly, but I am not sure about weekly. It just has been too much of a disappointment not seeing the results I would like. I am happy with my size, I just want to get into better shape. I am making that my main focus right now. So I will see how it goes for now. I need a new form of motivation. I am really sticking to a diet plan, and I have been upset that I am not seeing better results. I refuse to starve myself, so if I am going to continue to stay this weight, I am just going to focus on the loss of inches.

Week 10

2006-08-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

No Self Control

2006-08-07T00:38:00.000-04:00

I am doing bad in the eating area. I have been having trouble not giving into temptation. I have to get back on track. We go to dinner a few times a week and I find myself really overeating. I have to get into the habit of not eating everything. I did good on Saturday, but then we went to a race and I had a funnel cake, then we went to another race on Sunday and I ate some junk and then came back to the apartment and ate some more junk. BACK ON TRACK THIS WEEK! I have to practice self-control. I am determined to lose at least 5 more pounds. I ordered a few more workout videos and I want to get to the fitness center at least 3 times a week. I checked out a pilates studio here, but I didn't like the setup. I might look into another one. We will see what happens. I hope everyone else is doing well and is on track. I have seen and read about some great results, way to go everyone.

Week Nine

2006-08-02T11:26:00.000-04:00

I know I missed a week along the way but I am still on track. I have not given up the fight. I am disappointed to say that I have gained a pound. I don't know what the problem is. I am working out and really eating healthy. Who knows. I am not giving up. I have roped Shawn into being my guide. I am writing down everything I eat each day, he is keeping track for me too. I look at my list and he has written down things I might have forgotten. He is not pressuring me to eat foods that I know I should not be eating. That has been a big help. He is a big factor in my weight gain. So I am determined to stick with the diet until I reach my goal and then stick with it on a maintenance basis. I hope everyone else is having an easier time of it.

Week 7 Weigh-In

2006-07-18T14:57:00.000-04:00

So I was happy to weigh in at 134. I weighed myself Sunday and that is what I was. I am going by that because I forgot to bring my scale when I came out to Indianapolis. I will have to pick one up when I go out. I just hope it weighs myself close to the way the other one does. Scales seem to be different.

So I am at my new temporary home. I will be posting results from here for the next couple of months. The fitness center was a awesome as I hoped for. I spent about 20 minutes on two different exercise bikes. I have to work up to an hour or so. I am not used to it, so it will take me a little while. I am determined to lose weight while I am here. I hope to be closer to 130 in the next 2 weeks. We will see what happens.

Week Six Weigh-In

2006-07-13T11:16:00.000-04:00

So I am 135 pounds this week. That is the same as last week. I can see a difference in the way my clothes fit. I am happy about it.

I definitely feel better. I am eating much healthier than I used to. I am going to be moving out of town for a month or two and the place we will be staying at has a free personal trainer. I am definitely going to take that offer up. The gym there is awesome. I am going to try to go every day and work out. I am hoping that by the time I come home in September I will have reached my goal weight. I am hoping to be down to 125 by then. If not, I at least hope to be in much better shape.

I hope that everyone is still hanging in there. It is tough to do when you don't see a loss in the numbers. That is when I get discouraged, I am staying pretty strong because of the health issue. I feel GREAT!!! I haven't felt this good in a long time.

Weigh-In Week Five

2006-07-05T20:50:00.000-04:00

So I am late to post for this week. I weighed in yesterday, but at a bad time of day. When I weighed in this morning I was 135. That is one pound down from last week.

I am setting a goal of trying to reach 130 by the end of the month. I will see how it turns out. I have to really get on track with my exercising. Tomorrow starts a new day. I gave in to temptation today, but not by much, so I am hoping it isn't a big mistake on my part. I have noticed that since I have changed my diet and cut out the junk food, that when I indulge in them I feel really rotten. I think my body has changed and the junk literally makes me sick. So now I have to get to the point that I will not eat it because I don't want to feel yucky. We will see if it works. I hope so!!!

I hope that everyone is having success. It is hard, but in the long run I think we will all reach our goals.

Motivation

2006-06-28T19:52:00.000-04:00

So I am more motivated than ever.

I cleaned out my basement and the kids and I found all of my old photo albums. OK, so some of the clothes were a bit on the embarassing side. Acacia got a really good laugh, but I was really thin.

I found my baby book for when I had Acacia. I recorded my doctor's visit. I was reading it and I wrote that the doctor had thought I was gaining too much weight. I looked at the weight, and it was 118 pounds. UGH! What I wouldn't give to be back to that, and the doctor thought I was gaining too much, imagine what I was before I was pregnant. I was 100 pounds! I know I will never be that again, but I am more motivated than ever to reach my goal and get in shape.

2006-06-28T15:45:00.000-04:00

So I know I shouldn't have, but I got on the scale today just to see what I was, and I was so thrilled to see that I weighed in at 135. I am at that point where it will start to get really hard. I hope to keep it up! I hope to have even more of a loss by next week.

Weigh In Week 4

2006-06-27T13:52:00.000-04:00

So I was happy with the results this week. I was hoping for more of a loss, but I am glad I am back down to what I was two weeks ago.
Week 0: 140
Week 1: 138
Week 2: 136
Week 3: 140
Week 4: 136
I am really pysched to get down under 135. I hope I can do it. That is when it gets tough for me. It used to be so easy for me, but since I am now over 30 I can not lose weight like I used to. But I am trudging along and I hope to have success. I hope everyone else does too.

Cheating

2006-06-25T22:39:00.000-04:00

I cheated today. It did not start off that way. I have been doing really good. I ate some watermelon for breakfast and lunch and I also had a salad. For dinner I had chicken marsala and egg noodles. I had only a small serving. I had an frozen yogurt cone as an afternoon snack. It was very small. It was probably only 200 calories. Now tonight was when I gave into temptation. I had to have some snacks. I know I ate more than I should have, but I haven't cheated in a while, so I needed it. I am hoping it is out of my system for another week. I have to get back on track with my working out. I need some encouragement. I will just have to get motivated again. I didn't feel good this week so I got off track. I start a new week, I want to start it with a new attitude. So here I go. Everybody wish me well. :)

Some Handy Hints

2006-06-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

Ok Here are some things I read that might benefit all of us:

1. We all have time to zip up our abs, what you do is suck your stomach in for five seconds, like you are zipping up a pair of jeans. Each time you do it is equal to one sit up. You can do it at anytime, why not use time driving or sitting at you desk doing it. Cool idea! If you squeeze your rear end you will get the same results as a squat.

2. PACE! Get up and walk. While you are talking on the phone, PACE! Pacing for 20 minutes is equivalent to walking a mile. Use the time you are just sitting around to PACE! Every mile you walk you burn 100 calories.

3. Laugh! Laughing tightens your abs. It also gets your endorphins going and that filters out the anxieties that weigh you down. In turn you then get rid of the pounds that weigh you down.

I hope these are some helpful hints. I am going to try them. I am soon going to add recipes for you all to try. They will be good for us, so I am going to try them first to make sure they are actually edible. I made a key lime chiffon pie tonight that has to set over night, but it looks delicious and it is only 130 calories a slice. Great for us all! I will let you know how the taste test goes as soon as I try it.

Weigh-In Day

2006-06-20T17:53:00.000-04:00

Ok Here they are
Week One: 140
Week two: 138
Week Three: 136
Week Four: 140
So I am back to where I started from, but as I mentioned on flickr, I think I am bloated! I am going to weigh in again on a different day and see. I hope it is a loss or at least the same as I was last week. We will see, otherwise I feel like calling it quits. I know that is just disappointment talking, so I need encouragement from the peanut gallery. :) Everyone else keep up the good work.

Weigh-In Tomorrow

2006-06-19T20:59:00.000-04:00

I have no idea how I will do tomorrow for weigh-in. I have not been working out like I should be. I have to get back on track. I haven't been eating too much. What I have been eating isn't the best stuff, candy has been on the menu everyday. Shawn was home and he knows my weaknesses. I haven't been buying those types of things. Shawn, on the other hand, has been buying those things. UGH!!!! Well, he left for Indy today, so I should be back on track this week. I must be firm!!! I can't always give in to temptation. I also cleared out a bunch of clothes from my closet to give away. It is a real wakeup call when you try to fit into clothes you were in two summers before and there is no way they will fit! That STINKS!!!

Weigh In Week Two

2006-06-13T09:55:00.000-04:00

I weighed in last week at 138 from 140. Today I weighed in at 136, so I have lost 4 pounds overall and 2 pounds since last week. It is not an impressive loss, but it is a loss, so I am happy about that. I hope everyone else is reporting good results as well.

New Day

2006-06-12T23:18:00.000-04:00

So today was just a really horrible day. I had an extremely bad night last night. It is all on a personal level. As far as the diet is concerned, I did a really awesome job with my eating today. I didn't workout. I didn't have the will power to force myself to go that far. I have to start dealing with my problems in a way that doesn't make me want to eat everything in front of me, or anything I can find in the fridge. I stopped myself from eating by sleeping the majority of the day. That is not a good thing. Depression causes both of these reactions. I have to try to cope better with the problems that arise in life and in marriage. Life really stinks sometimes. The weekend was awesome, as far as just feeling good, the diet was a bust. Now today was the total opposite. I need an outlet for all these feelings. I am trying to use this as that outlet. I am not totally crazy yet. I am trying to work on that. Sometimes I feel like I am going insane and eating is one of my favorite outlets for that. I have to replace it with something else. Something that is better for me. Does anyone have any worthwhile suggestions? I need to get out of this habit of comfort eating. Those of you who know what I am talking about will understand. It is a lot harder that it looks.

Bad Weekend

2006-06-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

I am really dreading weigh in this week. I totally indulged this weekend. I was away from home and eating healthy is hard for me when I am away for just a couple of days. You are in a hotel and there isn't access to anything that allows you to make something healthy. I know that is just an excuse. I could have made the effort. It was a tiring weekend and foods that were quick and easy were best. They included lots of junk food. So I am afraid to face the scale. I have to get back on track tomorrow. Back to working out. I am looking forward to that. I enjoy it once I get in the habit of doing it. I hoped everyone else faired better than I did. I look forward to seeing the results, just not mine.

Weigh In

2006-06-06T23:01:00.000-04:00

So today I did pretty good. This is going on day three that I have gotten up and left the bedroom. That is a big challenge for me. See, what most of you don't understand is that the main reason for why I eat is from depression. It is hard to understand. Those of you that don't suffer from depression might find it difficult to grasp. That is OK.
The reason it is hard for me to diet is because I eat for comfort, now I don't have that. Those of you that know me personally, know that I also shop for comfort. That is not the wisest thing to do. I have had all my resources pulled from me, so shopping is out of the question. Now I have cut out the eating. So I felt kind of stuck, with no source of comfort.
So I am turning to the outdoors. It is working out so far. I enjoy it. I am also working out. That is really lifting my spirits. Exercise produces a feeling of well-being. Also, I was reading that eating food that isn't good for you, or junk food can cause depression. I am hoping that changing my eating habits will also lift some of the depression. I was able to do two workout videos today. It felt great just to get moving. I am trying to stay real positive about the whole diet issue. I think it will help me in so many ways. I want to thank everyone that is supporting it, I needed this right now.

Weigh In Day

2006-06-06T11:56:00.000-04:00

I don't want to do it. I just refuse. Ok. I will. I weighed in at 140 last week. I was hoping to show a difference of five pounds, and not in a gain. I weighed in at 138 this morning. It was not what I was hoping for, but at least it is not a gain. So WOOOHOOO!!! I lost two pounds. I have 13 more to go. My target is 125. We will see if I can get there. I am doubtful. I hope everyone else is having much success.

The Diet

2006-06-05T16:55:00.000-04:00

So I am using this as a place to put all my thoughts down. I am not happy about being on a diet. I must say that I feel better though. I needed that. I need to try to get healthier. I actually cooked last night for the first time in I don't know how long. It felt good to do that. I usually just eat junk. I don't find a lot of pleasure in cooking. I am going to try new things and maybe I will enjoy it more. I know it will really help if I eat better. I have been moving more. I am totally honest when I say that some days go by and I have no desire to get out of bed, and so I don't. The activity alone, has made me feel so much better. So I am really getting all pumped up to stick to this and try to shed a few unwanted pounds. The support of all the people involved is really cool. It works so much better when you have a support system. So that is how things are going so far.

FOOD

2006-04-02T19:42:00.000-04:00

So here I am again. I am completely exhausted! I have eaten so much junk from the party. I took home all the leftovers. UGH!!! Like I need that! I mean I certainly didn't mind taking the cake and cookies! I should be so much bigger than I am! Acacia's friend was over and she was selling candy bars for school, do you want to know how many I bought? Take a wild guess. It was 22 candy bars. Is that sick or what? I know I am sick. I have an addiction. I mean not really, but chocolate is one of my all time favorite foods. Yum!!

Today

2006-04-02T19:28:00.000-04:00

So I decided to check out this site and see if I am computer literate enough to figure it out. I never thought that much about this kind of thing, but in my boring life I need something to do. I do the same things day in and day out. I think I need to change things up a bit. Any suggestions?