Journey

What a diffrerence a year can make.

This picture was taken at the end of June, 2011. This was just about my heaviest point. When I look at these shots, I feel gross and looks like someone has inflated me. I remember being tired ALL the time.

This shot was taken July 14, 2012.

I rarely wear dresses- I didn't like the way I looked and had just one sundress in the closet.

That dress has since been donated,and I am proud to say I have 3 dresses now in my closet that fit and are cute. Now I just have to start wearing them out in public more :)



I look and feel completley different. I have lots more energy and I feel so much better about myself.

I am starting to like shopping for clothes again and the thought of wearing Misses sizes is really exciting :)

Lets see what the next 12 months will bring!!

Does anyone have a fan???

I have been in home office for over a year now.... today was my first fire drill in the city. A field trip if you will for several hundred business folks in the city. This was the first drill I have participated in where streets are blocked off by the city's finest- its a good thing otherwise we would be playing a giant game of Frogger. Only one of the buildings had the drill today and easily we had 300-400 people+. In the other offices I worked in the firemen would occasionally come up, but we were contained to business parks- our evac areas were self contained to company property. In the city, all of our evac sites are company property, but we have some busy streets bisecting the areas.

The drill is a yearly exercise apprently, but the timing today left alot to be desired - 100 degree day with high humidity. While we were waiting for the ok to go back we heard sirens... and they pulled in the parking lot we were in. Yup, one of our own succumbed to the heat (or so we can assume). As we got the ok to head back, we saw a firetruck, ambulance and multiple security folks around someone on the ground holding a black umbrella.

As we trooped back into the building, we saw some other folks having issues with the heat and weather. Did I mention it was only about 10 am?? I can only imagine how we looked to those on Asylum today :)

It was almost pleasant out under the tree today!

time is flying

ok, so I didn't realize that it had been so long since my last post... time is flying by.

Today my niece graduated from pre school- they were in real cap and gowns, walked to pomp and circumstance and were just the cutest things ever. Hearing them shout the pledge of alleigence and America the Beautiful and getting all of the words right was funny and touching at the same time. I wish time was not always flashing by so fast.

Congratulations to my Munchkin, Auntie is very proud of you :)

Spring fun

This weekend is going to be fun :) Spring has finally completely sprung in my neck of the woods- the trees are starting to show leaves, bushes are flowering, and there are spring flowers gracing the ground.

Today plan includes dance class, a couple of errands and taking my niece mini golfing! She tried it for the first time last week in SC and really likes it. Now to decide btwn the 2 courses near the house :) Of course I have a feeling we'll be following it up w/ice cream for her- I am going to try and be good...

Tomorrow's plan is for a long drive- has been a while since I have done that. Mason NH is the destination - a cute place called Pickety Place. It is one of my mom's favorites and they serve a 5 course gourmet lunch using local products and herbs in their meals. The location is actually where Little Red Riding Hood was inspired from (I think Grandmother's House). I have to remember to charge the camera and am excited to take some back, windy roads :)

y a w n ... bink bink bink

The brain is a odd thing. Mine played a cruel and evil joke this morning when it convinced me that when I woke up that it was actually time to get up for the day.

I blearily hit the buttons on my alarm so they wouldn't go off while in the bathroom. (Now I didn't hear the beeping of the alarm, but that didn't send a flag up because I normally sleep through the first, and it wakes  me before the second one went off- obviously the numbers did not register).  I started my normal routine- its normally dark out when I get up- and didn't think anything of it. Put in my contacts, brushed my teeth, and took my shower. All the while I had a feeling of slight nausea and the overwhelming urge to go back to sleep and call out of work for the day. I made a deal with myself that if I could make it through my meeting in the morning, that I could take the afternoon off to sleep.


After towelling off and going back in my room, my now more awake brain actually registered the time on the clock.....         
                                 it was 1:20 a.m. WHAT THE HELL!!!! I only went to bed at 10:45!
I turned right around, went back to the bathroom and took out my contacts. I then put pjs back on, made sure the hair wasn't soaking wet, turned off the light and crawled back into bed. I fell back alseep right away, and woke at 5 when the friggin alarm actually went off.

Dear brain, please don't do this to me again.... kay, contrary to the belief of some, it is not funny!

oh yeah, and is it nap/bed time yet?

Nostalgia

This weekend I relived a bit of my childhood. Growing up, occasionally my mom would surprise my brother and I and say- pack a bag, we are going away tonight. We would usually go to Massachusetts or Vermont, somewhere fairly local, but it was fun all the same. Going away to spend a night in a hotel, maybe swimming, staying up late watching tv on the beds...

I loved those little trips. We did the same for my niece this weekend- we even stayed in state (she is still a bit young for a long car ride after a day at school. We went to a fun restaurant for dinner, went swimming in the pool before dinner and then again after breakfast before packing up to head out. What made it even a little more fun was that there was snow on the ground as we were splashing around.

It was a fun little trip, something I hope we do again. Everyone should have a chance for an imprompteu adventure.

Need to re-focus

I have hit a plateau with my weightloss, both in the numbers dropping and my willpower in keeping up with what I have learned.

While I was actually taking the NS classes, avoiding excess sugars was no problem for me, it could have been starting with the 3 weeks of no sugars... well, that is no longer the case. I have found myself wanting sugars more and more, and I have had to tell myself NO, You are NOT going to the Bakery for a slice of carrot cake, or a cookie. In the course of the NS classes, there was talk of an amino acid supplement L-Glutamine, which is supposed to curb sugar cravings. I think I may have to look into getting some.

This weekend we had a girls getaway with my niece and went to a hotel in state for fun. I found myself eating breakfast when I wasn't hungry and slipping into old eating patterns.

I am stronger than my cravings, I know I am, and I am going to get back on track. I have lost 55 lbs and have been around that for over a month now. I am going to rid myself of this plateau. I think I have to re-affirm to myself that I can do this, and that I love the transformation that I have seen since July of 2011. There is a fantastic wealth of knowledge in the NS online community, and I am going to take advantage of it.

Time flies

My post on random thoughts commences...

I can't believe that it is almost the end of January already. It feels like the new year has just begun. My cousin and her husband wil be moving back in 4 more months, the family can't wait until they are back north!

One of my co-workers is retiring in 2 days- she can't wait, and while I am so happy for her, I feel more pressure being piled on my shoulders as her work is distributed. I have a project at work that has blown up in size and while I know what I have to do, I don't know how to go about communicating any type of timeframe to others. I am hoping that I gain more clarity on it within a couple of days.

My fingers are also crossed for a certain phone call to come in the next few days for an important person in my life. Stressful days/nights are taking a toll.

This year I need to get out more and meet people.... I also need to get a hold on my finances in a big way. I have to learn to budget ( at least much better than I am now)

From a health standpoint, I am going to commit to continuing on my journey with my transformation with my weight loss. There are rumors at my office about an advanced class being offered for Naturally Slim, I am hoping they are correct :)

Time to start gearing up for the busy week ahead. Have fun my friends.

Still shopping.

Hi my name is Cathy and I am a procrastinator..... next weekend is Christmas and I am still not done shopping yet. Wednesday night I shopped on Amazon and got a big bunch of things (actually the items themselves are small- and some may be for me...). I still have to get some items. One is a gift card to round out a present and then I have to figure out what to get for a round robin gift.

Each year on Christmas eve we get together with my mom's side of the fam and the 16+ croud do a secret santa $20 limit and people in age from 56+ down to 16. I have no idea what to get.... will be running out of time soon I have a feeling.

Thankful

Thanksgiving is now over and done, and I was blessed to be able to have fun and spend time with almost every person in the family this year :) From a food perspective, it was interesting. I typically have 2 meals a day, with the first being at around 11:30-12:00. The feast yesterday was at 3....., so I planned ahead and had a simple egg sandwich on whole grain toast in the am. That enabled me to not snack on apps beforehand and be hampster hungry! I did have a pig in a blanket that my brother and neice made, but I was not compelled to eat and eat. I ate more than I planned, but stopped before I was stuffed.

After the feast we took a walk/hike through the woods to the nieghboring tree farm- so beautiful, and so New England - rows of different kinds of trees in various growth stages on the rolling hills and surrounded by stone walls and towering old trees. It was so beautiful and peaceful, I really wish I had brought a camera.

I ended the holiday with a trip to my aunt and uncle's to visit more famiy- and arrived just in time for the games. Got to play with the dogs as a cap to the day.

I was SO happy that the scale was the same this morning as yesterday. I had a great time and did not take too much of a side trip on this journey to getting smaller :) I am going to take it as a trial run/precursor to next month and the fun that awaits !

This year I am thankful for all of my friends and family, being employed and doing a job that challenges me, and am so thankful that I took a chance this summer on the wellness pilot program that is really changing my life and its all for the better!

An awesome journey

I decided to share my amazing weight loss success so far... as of this week I have officially lost 45 pounds! My goal right now is to lose 50 by the end of the year :)

This summer, my company offered a wellness program called Naturally Slim to a select 500 folks. We had to have blood work done before and after the 10 week class to see what success we achieved. I went in with an open mind and was ready to give it a shot. I was at my heaviest ever weight and was NOT happy. This program does not have a special diet and does not require crazy  amount of exercise. The mantra is not WHAT you eat, rather it is about WHEN and HOW you eat, and to just move- even if its just walking.  At the end of the program we lost over 4000 lbs between the 500 people in 10 weeks.

I have learned that I am not really a morning breakfast person and I don't get hungry until about 10:30-11 in the morning. I have 60+ oz of water a day, and at least 20 oz are h2orange (a blend of oj and water to keep blood sugar level), and of course coffee. I eat SLOWLY and take at least 25 minutes to eat each meal. The best part? I can eat just about anything I want. It seemed at times that I used to mainline sugar, and have realized that while it is good in small doses, it doesn't hold nearly the same appeal that it used to. The program does say to limit drinking and to try and stay away from wine- instead to have beer or a non sugary mixer with liquor.  I tend to stay away from alcohol for the most part, so that part was not really a hardship for me.  If I do drink it is one drink with a meal (to limit the sugar spike) and to make sure my meal has protein. 

I have a couple of shots to share with you, a before shot from late June 2011 and a current shot from about a month ago.

 I am ecstatic of my success and I know my gramma would be very proud of me!

35 pounds gone baby!

Apple Harvest Fest

My hometown's fall fesitval started today. For some reason a lot of people that I know that went to school or worked with in the town HAVE to go, some of my family included. Not me, I don't understand the appeal, I guess I never did. In high school the extent of the festival for me really was marching in the parade.

I wonder why I just am not into it? Maybe its my introvert nature, don't know really. Certainly the thought of deep fried fair food has no appeal, although the famous apple fritters sound good, but I know they don't taste as good as they smell. I have worked too hard with my weight loss to gain some back over a day/weekend of fried delights

Don't wanna go

I freely admit today that I don't wanna go..... back to work. I have a feeling that I am going to be blastes with work for at least the rest of the week. It has been so relaxing on vacation, even if I didn't do a lot.

I am wrapping up my last day of vacation until Thanksgiving and took mom out to lunch at Rainforest Cafe with a very small treat at Godiva. Brought some rich dark chocolate home and will be savoring it for the next week or 2 or 3.

I have been pretty quiet about it, but I started a wellness program at the end of July. As of today I have lost 26+ lbs. I am eating only when I get hungry and am eating SLOWLY. I am eating whatever I want and am doing a small amount of walking, but I do want to get more active- can only help the pounds and inches melt away! I feel great :)

The program I am doing is called Naturally Slim. The program is 10 weeks and I am in the last few weeks of the pilot program, and am VERY happy with the results. I had bloodwork done at the beginning of the program and will be doing another set of levels done to see if there is any change in cholesterol/triglicerides....

Time

My aunt mentioned a very sad milestone today. Today marks 1 year since my grampa passed away. It is very bittersweet, he stayed with us longer than we all thought- everyday was a gift.

It just so happens that I am on vacation in the same place I was last year. I remember after saying my goodbyes and having a crying jag or 2, I was a little apprehensive about going away on vacation while he was slipping away, but I knew that he would insist that I go.

I remember that I was at the outlets in Kittery when I got the sad call. I just happened to be back there 2 days ago- almost the same location where I got the call. As I sat down and remembered, it was a sad moment, but peaceful too.

On Saturday my father's church will be saying a mass for my Grampa, my uncle who passed when I was 4, and my Gramma who passed away just 3 short months past. I will be sure to bring tissues this time. A family & friends dinner is to follow.

Time marches on, but memories of loved ones will last forever.


Special hugs go out to one of my best friends who recently lost a loved one of her own. Don't forget the special memories that you have of your family member.

Drip Drip Drip

Listening to the rain dripping off of the living room windows. Today was a very good day if you are a plant or a water loving animal :) Tomorrow expected to be the same, then hopefully we'll have good weather for the week ?

Stay dry and listen to the peaceful rain pattering down outside.

Time flies

I didn't think this much time had passed since my last post.
There has been lots of emotional stress this summer- both from family and work sides. I really need to develop more of a social life and meet someone- I guess that means that I have to actually go out- not something that I always want to do.

From the work side of things, this month has been very busy so far, this past week especially. I had 4 major pieces of work to get out, and 3 of them did, the 4th will be done by EOD tomorrow. I had a meltdown of sorts on Thursday over an email that had a tactless comment on it. I actually cried when I got home. Things were better after a walk, but the hormones were whacked out this week.

On a family front, I lost a dear loved one 2 months ago. On June 18th I lost my gramma. She had been ill for a few years and had taken a downward turn a few months back, but when the call came to go to the hospital to say my goodbyes, it came as a shock.

The whole family got the chance to be with her on her last day. When I got there, she was lying in her bed with a CPAP machine trying to help her breathe easier. As the members of the family poured in, the docs came around and explained what was/was not happening. Gramma was lucid even that morning, and she was clear on what she wanted- and it was time, she was tired and wanted to go home to my grampa who passed less than a year ago. My aunt, cousin, and I were the last ones to talk to gramma, and were the last ones to see her awake. She dozed much of the day. We were told that it would be soon, but no way of knowing when. I know I didn't want to leave while she was still with us, and apparently no one else did either. We scavenged in the cafe (that didn't seem open/stocked at all) at lunch. She had the anointing of the sick twice, once from the hospital chaplain, and once from her home parish. She passed quietly and peacefully in the the afternoon. Her wake and funeral were hard for me, lots of tears, but also lots of memories and family stories were shared.

I have been given the opportunity to buy her car from the estate. I cannot be gifted the car because the estate was left to her 3 kids, and is considered an asset. A fair price has to be offered for it to be acceptable in closing out the estate. I have been told it will be under market value, I will have to talk to Dad, who is the executor of the estate to nail down a price. I know how much I am willing to pay, I hope it will be in the ballpark of the price they are offering. I have been driving the car for the last month or so and I love it- I hope everything works out. I wonder if Gramma and Grampa would be pleased that the car may stay in the family. They were sometimes hard to figure out.

That is enough for now, time to start getting ready for the week ahead.

grrrrrrrrr

I have been at my job now for 2 and a half months. I have a ton to learn- and its all learn as you go. The down side? I don't have a set 'mentor' and I am one of 6 people on my team- we are always busy right now. I feel bad when I have questions and I am pulling someone away from their work.

We had a new manager start a few weeks ago and she is still getting the lay of the land so to speek. There is a computer program that we use to track what work is assigned to us- so we can bill the right area..... I had to look over the ones assigned to me. I have 8- of which I was activley working on 3, one is upcoming, and 4 I had no knowledge of...

Bam! I felt completely blindsided. These 4 tasks were all started by a predecessor- none completed. If that wasn't bad enough, no one had thought to inform me of these unfinished projects. I now have to explain that they are new to me. One was started last Nov & never finished. I have a one on one meeting tomorrow with my boss and believe me, we will be talking about these.

I am very dissapointed about the person who let these slide or who chose not to do any thing else. Now I am going to be the responsible party. Grrrrrrrr

Thank you for listening to my rant. You may resume your day now!

My new manager started work yesterday. She seems really nice & looks a little nervous with all she has to learn. We are in the same boat, but different sections :) I can't believe that I have been here for 2 months. Time has flown by- a friend of mine is in a different area, and said with our roles we have a 1-2 year learning curve.

I sat with my mentor today (my new manager sat in too) and she complimented me on how quickly I am picking up the tasks- made me a happy girl! I was given 2 'easy' projects to do when I first came on. The hard part was done and all I had to do was work on getting the corrections and new forms introduced to the IT folks for the next phase of work- these in fact have NOT been so easy- but its a very good thing.

I do love my job and feel blessed for my opportunity.

in awe

This week I am house sitting and in charge of taking my niece to school before going to work. The munchkin slept over last night & even though she sleeps over my dad's house all the time, she pulled the I'm scared card- I let her share my bed (told her it was a one time special deal- and I wanted the excuse to cuddle!)

While she got a great night sleep, I did NOT. I went to sleep about 11pm and saw 11:25, 12:30, 2:00...... you get the idea. Alarm went off at 5:10. Hopped in the shower and got dressed before I woke her up. We were out the door about 7 am and I dropped her off a min or 2 later (school is just around the corner from my dads). Then came the fun ride into work. Did I mention that dad doesn't drink coffee, hence, no coffee maker here. I stopped at mc d's for a super fast eat & drive breakfast and a needed iced coffee.

Managed to get in the office for about 8 am and wanted a nap ALL day long.

I have to admit I never realized the crazy/chaotic schedules parents of young children have daily. I give all parents (married and single alike) a huge round of applause. I am in awe of the ease that you seem to show. Bless you all.

If you will now excuse me, I may take a nap finally.