Who needs sleep?

My sleep patterns have been all wacky. I am finding myself in bed between 8-10pm. Last night, I was home from work at 6:30, in bed by 8:30pm. In fact Ben texted me at 9:15pm and I barely woke up to acknowledge his text! 

In the morning, I typically have been getting up at 4:30 and then 6am. I can usually go back to bed in between, but I am usually up at 7:30 and that's it for the day. Unless I went to bed really late the night before.On days that I work, I am up at 5:40am.

This isn't normal for me, as I am used to going to bed between 10-midnight, sleeping through the night and waking up between 7-8:30am.

Is this a sign of me getting old?

So far as the weight thing goes, I am still struggling. I am eating when I am hungry, but I find at times I am craving great choices and at other times not so great choices (pizza...last night). I need to get better about maintaining a food journal so I can track my cravings and better prepare for them.

My weight right now, 329.... there I said it. With that being said, I am now heavier than my husband. That is not a great feeling for me. Ben is doing a weight loss competition and he's doing so great, I am so supportive of his efforts and I give him a lot of credit for what he's been doing.

I saw myself in a mirror while at the salon with Kristen on Friday, and I didn't like the blob that was sitting in the chair staring back at me in the reflection. I want better for my life, and my future. I know the path is long and hard and we are going to struggle. I am very lucky and fortunate to have such a great group of people both on and off line who are so supportive of my efforts!

And now that it's out there I can move on. By moving on, I mean tonight after work, I will be at the gym.

But where is the snow?

I live in New Hampshire. I expect to have 4 seasons, that is what I love about this area. I enjoy the seasons, the long, cold winter makes me appreciate the warm lovely summers. Fall is my favorite season! However, the lack of snow this winter has gotten me really depressed. I don't need blockbuster storms (a la last year) but still SOME snow would be nice. I love how it makes the landscape look.

So I was wondering, is it possible to have the opposite of SAD? Ok, yes, I understand, SAD is more about the amount of light one gets, and with it being winter, our days are still shorter, despite the fact that there is no snow. But I must say, I am quite SAD that there isn't any snow! The weather has been quite mild, evening hitting 50 degrees last week, which is unheard of in January.

Every time we do get snow, the tail end of the storm usually turns over to a mix and then rain, which washes away most of the snow that would have accumulated. With no snow pack to absorb the sun's warmth, it's going into the earth, which means that we are staying warmer, and they cycle repeats. Le sigh.I'm just saying, that I'd really like some snow.

In other news, I was able to enjoy a girls night with my friend Kristen, she's so lovely and awesome. She's getting married to my friend, Mike this summer. And she graciously asked me to be her MOH! We went up to her venue to spend the night up there. I had a discounted rate, we thought we'd spend the night and check out the accommodations. She is getting married at the Common Man Inn and Spa in Plymouth, NH. For real-ies if you are ever in New Hampshire and need a place to crash, these people are top notch. They own several restaurants/properties in the state, they support local causes & businesses. And this property in Plymouth is very New Hampshire. The decor is fantastic, gives you a warm fuzzy feeling when you walk in. The staff is so pleasant and delightful, it's really wonderful

We got to meet with Stephanie the wedding coordinator, Kristen got a lot of her questions answered, I asked a few. They really go out of their way to help the bride have the day she dreamed of! And Stephanie said, she can be the heavy... and try to keep us on track!

We had a wonderful dinner in the Foster's dining room, we opted just to sit at the bar. We chatted and just straight up had a good time. We ordered our desert to go and went up to our room. We were hoping to watch Grey's but it was a repeat! So we watched the GOP debate. We girl chatted the whole time and talked about our futures, it was such a great night.

Friday morning I got up and hit the gym. Yeah you read that right, I went to the gym, at a hotel. I amazed myself with that move! Then after some breakfast, we backed up bags and then went to the spa/salon. Kristen had her hair trial for her wedding and I opted to get a mani. Her hair is stunning, she will be turning heads on her day for sure. As my brother would say, she's "sit down pretty". I love that girl, she rocks her confidence and it shows.

I am glad that I recovered from my cold so I could enjoy my girls night with Kristen. I really think that rest and fluids really helped me recover quicker from my cold.

But can I please get some snow?

Still here and still heavy

Just checking in, I've been losing weight, but it's coming off slowly, like in tenth of a pound increments, during a time when I know that I should be loosing poundage. But a loss is a loss, and I'll take it!

I am just getting over a cold. Not nearly as bad as I've had in the past, but I don't care to repeat that scenario anytime soon! Being sick sucks! I wasn't able to get a walk in or anything for the last few days. But yesterday I was feeling better so I trucked my behind to the gym and got a solid 45 minutes in on the treadmill, did 2 miles!

I basically hadn't driven my car in 2 days, so when I went to go leave for the gym, I couldn't find my car keys! It took me a solid 5 minutes of looking to find them! Opps! But I didn't use it as an excuse to slack off, I found my keys and off I went! 

I may not be able to make it to Steve and do all the mileage but I am going to give it my best shot!

I have to be comfortable with the fact that exercise plays an important role in my life, and to never slack off on it again, I hate restarting like this because I know what my body was capable of, and trying to get back to that level seems silly, since I know I was there once. Lesson learned!

My eating habits have been very wonky over the last few days, I am trying to eat when I am hungry, not when I am "supposed" to eat, but at times, it's just a banana and then other times, it's a full on meal. Not sure if being sick has anything to do with that. But hey, I am going to eat when my body is telling me it needs something.

I have been trying to stay away from soda, I did need some ginger ale to help, but mainly I've been getting a lot of water, OJ and Crystal Light in... Everyday my pee has been clear! Which is my way of telling that I am properly hydrated!

So that's it, really. Getting a cold sucks... recovering from a cold sucks... just don't do it!

Photo Challenge

And trying to keep up with my photo challenge, here are some more photos, these are VERY out of order and I am missing some. But I plan on catching up soon!

Here's the original post about my challenge.

Day 6: Makes me Smile

I woke up that morning to find a dusting on my car! It made me smile, since we haven't had any snow this year! Little did I know we would get some a week later!

Day 8: Your Sky

You see what I mean about getting some significant snow just a short time later? It's a typical New England day.

Day 9: Daily Routine

I'm always in my car, it's really part of my routine. And always listening to my Cosmo Radio! I love that channel.

Day 10: Childhood

 This kid made me giggle, she really wanted that beer! (the cap was still securely on!)

Day 11: Where I sleep

And Ben still makes fun of me for sleeping with a stuffed animal.

Day 13: In my bag

 This is my work bag, which has everything I need for my long shifts at work. As well as a change of clothes that you can see (the jeans at least).

Day 14: Something I'm reading

I am taking a Ham radio class for work coming up in a few months, I've got to start studying!

So that's where we are at. I plan on making up the days in between that I missed!

Too busy to post?

Is it possible to be too busy to blog? But then feel like you've gotten nothing accomplished?

In an effort to give my challenge with Steve an honest try, I've been walking a lot more and logging some serious time. What I've realized, is that I've done all the "in shape" I was prior to the wedding. I get winded quite easily now even at a walk. I mean, I slogged a 5k not too long ago. I had to stop the C25K (now called E25K) program due to my knee pain/issues. But I was still walking a fairly fast/consistent pace. Those days are long gone! My pace is no where near what I was at, but that just gives me something to strive for. I know consistency is the key to me getting back into my routine. I've been walking at least 5 days out of 7 the last 2 weeks, for at least 30 minutes, usually longer.

We completed our first time home buyers seminar, our next step is to find a mortgage broker and crunch some hard numbers to see what we are eligible for and what we can afford. Ben and I have an idea of what we think we can afford, and then it's just going to be a matter of seeing what's out there on the market. In the meantime, we are trying to save our pennies to help with our down payment and all the other costs associated with buying a home.

Ben started another round of a weight loss challenge, I opted out of it since we are trying. I still am trying to lose weight, become a healthier person. I just didn't want to be in a weight loss competition and then get pregnant.

Work is going well. It's our "slow" season, I work for a resort seacoast community, so summer is our busy season. But with the snow storms we tend to get busy. Weird how much snow we DON'T have this year. Usually we have a lot by now, and we just had a storm yesterday. Out where I live, we got maybe an inch or two, which since the ground isn't frozen, will most likely melt. And at the Seacoast where I work, it was all rain yesterday.

During our "slow" season, I try to knock out some educational classes for my job. I signed up for the statewide dispatcher conference in April. This is a great networking opportunity, but also, I can learn some really incredible things. I also am signed up to take a HAM class, as in ham radio... not ham the pig meat. Part of my job is assisting in times of need to operate the town's emergency operations center. HAM radio is a backup form of communication, should our primary radios go down. You need to have your own license to talk on a HAM frequency and hopefully this class will assist me in passing the test to being a HAM.

I took about a 6 day hiatus from facebook after the New Year, my daily routine had become very engrossed with checking facebook, that I was really concerned about it. What I've realized, that I can take a step back from it, but that facebook is sometimes the only method of contact I have with a fair amount of my friends.

So that's about it! How's your winter going?

First Time Homebuyer

One of the things on my 101 things in a 1001 days is to be a homeowner, it's the direction that Ben and I want to head in. This is a perfect time in the market to consider buying.

With that being said, I don't really have the slightest clue on where to start. Investing something this big, it's scary to me! That's part of the reason why Ben and I are going to a first time home buyer's seminar next week hosted by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.

I am looking forward to the class and learning about this whole crazy process.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could just find the perfect home for us and at the perfect price? Sadly that is more than likely not to happen. Past experiences from our family and friends are teaching us to be cautious. Thankfully, our current situation is flexible. We are month to month on our lease and in a good situation with our landlord. So we have the luxury of waiting until we find something that is right for us.

I am excited about this next step! But I also know it can be extremely frustrating.

Photo a Day Challenge Day 5

So today's photo was Something you wore, and since I just adore them so much...

My nails.

I am really enjoying my Shellac experience, it's really a great new product. I love that it's your real nails and yet the manicure lasts for 2 weeks, my last one lasted almost a month!

The first four days

Here are the first four days of my photo a day challenge, I am still not sure if I want to post daily, or just lump them together every few days, like this one is... thoughts?

Day One: You

This is me, at work obviously... ah, in my work life, I only exist in navy blue. Hence the nail color, got to spice it up a bit!

Day Two: Breakfast

Yum breakfast! I have been LOVING me some english muffins and peanut butter lately, not really sure why, but it's just so delicious! And also rocking some fruit punch Crystal Light since I can't get enough of it.

Day Three: Something You Adore

I love ice cream... I adore it... if I could eat it every day I would! This is mint chocolate chip, one of my faves.

Day Four: Letterbox

Not really sure if I got this right or not, but here is my work's outgoing mailbox. We don't have a letterbox like normal people, the mailman brings our mail right to us! So this it the outgoing mailbox, for when he comes in, so that mail can go out.

So that's the first few days of this challenge. I just have to keep reminding myself to see what's next!

Photo a day challenge

I saw on twitter this morning a new challenge for January. Given that it's the second, I am a day behind! Thankfully the first day is fairly easy. Well, easy for some, I am not the type of person who likes to take photos of themselves. But I am sure I'll be able to accommodate the challenge.

Maybe this will be a way for me to ease into taking 5 pictures a day for 30 days for my 101 things in a 1001 days list.

I've received many lovely & supportive compliments on my last post. I wasn't doing it to be honest for others, but more or less be real to myself. And when I look back on my journey, I really want to be able to reflect on my ups and my downs.

Welcome 2012!

First post of 2012, and I weighed in the morning at 324. The highest I've ever been. That is not a good way to start my new year. I promise that on the first day of 2013, I won't be higher than I am right now. It ends here.

My New Year's was great. We had some friends over, we ate some Chinese food, played a board game and watched the ball drop. It was great to just be casual and a small gathering.

For December, and my challenge with Steve, I completed 28 miles. Which barely puts a dent into the 455 miles total I have to do. I really need to up my game.

I've got my work cut out for me.