vacation - day 1

today was actually really productive for being a day off and barely leaving the house. tim and i are almost caught up with dexter, i went grocery shopping, i read half of exodus, and i made chicken and noodles (accidentally - it was originally supposed to be chicken noodle soup). all in all a pretty good day.

and i have this stuck in my head: wear sunscreen

you would think...

...that focusing on work, working out, and sleep would be good for me. instead i've somehow worked myself into exhaustion and gotten myself some sort of stomach bug. i guess the four hours a night working on cutting out letters and coloring has gotten to me. also probably something in the Egyptian water. either way, the combination knocked me out today. i was hoping to make it to the weekend (which is only Friday for me this week, work on Saturday, but then a week off) but spending so much time awake last night left me exhausted when it came time for my alarm to go off. at least i followed proper procedure and totally checked in with my supervisor and everything. now i just actually have to go find a doctor here so that i don't lose a day of pay.

other than that, everything at work is going well - i've made adorable construction paper trains and cars and roads and put up displays all around my room. there's really not much more i can do except lesson plans (which we are covering together tomorrow) and wait for my class list so i can write the kids' names on all of their books (which i lugged up to my room yesterday - 30 sets of 14 books) and the welcome board and the cubbies and the back of their chairs. that class list is kind of important.... but we don't get it today so i still feel like i'm in a good position even with a day out.

i guess i just need to focus more on what my body needs, stop eating crappy egyptian pizza every day and drink more water. i can't even imagine what life will be like with the students!

189...wah wah

Guess who ate a dozen mini cupcakes today?
Honestly, I am in a really stressful time in my life (a short time...about 10 days) but I am not too upset for falling off the wagon. I would much rather be shovelling food in my mouth to handle stress than yell at my kids.
Here's to making it to September 1st and getting back to 183 asap!

Home...for the next 10 days:(

We had a faubulous trip to Maui and I will report more later. I just wanted to check in a jot down my eating habits for the week. Ugh, I just let go. I was mostly vegan...I have a bit of cheese and eggs one morning. But the snacking was out of control. It wasn't even yummy treats, I was just eating...because it was there and that is what I do with that particular group (my husband, mom and dad). So frusrtating. I'm going to pop on the scale in the morning and see how she looks:) I was 185 the day I left and had been 183.5 earlier in the week.
Looking forward to a good weekend and getting back into a routine and learning how to stay on track with the move and living with Eric again.
I can do it!
165, 165, 165!

It's the little things

since Big Sister has been posting so many times I decided it's my turn now, but lo and behold when I signed into the site I couldn't figure out to add a new post because all of the links are in Arabic! gah! it didn't take me too long to figure out how to do this, but I hope that it won't be an issue each time I want to update.

I'm back in Cairo now and it's time to start living my 'real life'

the next few weeks will be busy and exciting, I just started orientation for my teaching job and I'm hoping I can settle into a good routine WHICH WILL INCLUDE UPDATING THIS AND MY OTHER BLOG

the goals include :

-learning to budget (and getting a paycheck)
-writing my thesis (probably going to start really working on it after a few weeks of teaching)
-updating the blogs (I'm two for two today, hope I'm not going to wear myself out at the start)
-working out (Tim and I already did a Sweatin' to the Oldies and he said he would be willing to do it three times a week!)
-getting enough sleep (jetlag is KILLER)

so in the spirit of that last goal, it's off to bed!

In it!

Ok, I am literally in a personal hell right now. Eric has been gone for 12 days, kids have not napped, house looks like a tornado, I have to pack for Hawaii and Eric just missed his flight. I have not handled it well. As in, I have yelled "Get the F outside!" to my children and have been spooning peanut butter and chocolate chips into my mouth for the last 30 minutes. This is a high stress time and a missed flight just pushed me over the edge.
I wish I was stronger. I wish I had another outlet besides taking out all of my frustrations on my children. I wish I did not procrastinate and had finished packing Wednesday night like I had planned.
I am trying to step back (and blog) and get some perspective. I just texted Eric that we are lucky there was a later flight, it is payday, he missed the flight because he was getting us our new house (yay!), we are headed to Maui tomorrow, and we have 3 amazing children and a fabulous marriage. Thinking about all of these big things that are wonderful help...and I am putting my expectations on hold and spending the next 2 hours with my kids (and my computer:).
#1 goal for the week...no more F-bombs with the kids. Pathetic, I know. But that is where I am this week:(

Need some motivation...

So...my biggest eating trigger has reared it's ugly head. Avoidance! I have so much to do, I would rather avoid it all and go eat. to do tomorrow...
-keep 3 kids alive and happy
-clean house
-do laundry
-fold laundry
-pack for 4 for Maui
-get nails done
-drop off kid stuff at consignment store
-pay IRS bill
-blog for SFMDF

You can do it! No snacking! Stay away from carbs and chocolate and peanut butter...all triggers!

Shutterfly rules!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Oatmeal, chocolate and peanut butter...oh my!

Seriously those three ingredients can derail even my most throrough dieting plan! I made homemade vegan oatmeal bars for breakfast. And boy were they fabulous! But I already found myself swiping a bite there, eating the kids' leftovers before I put their plate in the sink, reaching for just a pinch out of the pan when I walked by. Ick! I have been doing so good with no snacking, but the temptation of easy to grab baked items is too strong for me. I popped the pan in the fridge and am looking forward to a yummy veg filled lunch!

Hawaii in T-3 days...come on 183!

186

Whoo freakin whoo!

I am down to 186! I lost 10.5 pounds in July. It just shows me that when I put my mind to it, I can do it. Which is annoying when I am 'not doing it'. But fabulous when I am:)

The cyclical things in life are so easy once they get going...and at the same time so easy to fall off the wagon too. I am in an interesting spot right now, crazy busy, husband out of state, kids are sleeping weird, trying to wrap up my/our life in Washington. It is a lot. With that said, I am really loving it. I think I am doing a lot of things and I am doing a lot of things well:)

Wish me luck on my camping trip. Oh, ya. Didn't I tell you...I am taking my 3 kids camping by myself. 14 of my nearest and dearest will be with me, along with their six 3 year olds and 4 newborn infants. Should be an interesting weekend!

Goal is to weigh 183 Monday morning:) No snacking!

Friends

Just thinking about how important friends are in our lives. I have the awesome opportunity to really support a friend of mine who has shown me such grace, maturity and wisdom beyond her years for the last 14 years. I am honored to have her lean on me at this time.

Thinking about the relationships that build our life makes me look at the physical/egotistical reasons for weight loss as so superficial. Then I think of the life style and underlying factors that go with living a healthy/balanced life and I believe that keeping weight, eating choices and fitness are very important and managing my weight and exercise schedule makes me a better person and in turn a better friend.

Today we played with children, laughed, worked out and had a wonderful chat over a healthy sushi dinner. A truly great day! Now if only I was asleep at midnight and not blogging...