Sometimes Plateaus Are Bumpy, Too

So the weight loss is slowing now. I've been stuck at 215 for a while. Plateau, it is then.

I'm mostly okay with it, though. I mean, I'm not stopping, but I'm not depressed over it.

Other things have been rough.

A couple weeks ago I was in San Antonio for my first museum conference. I'd been to 4 education conferences ranging from about 50 participants to 1,000. This was a bit on the smaller side with (I think) a couple hundred, but there were still a lot of people, I think. We saw many of the best museums in San Antonio, including the Witte, the McNay, the Alamo, and others.

It was our last night, the evening event at the Witte, when the roughness hit. Earlier that day, my mom told me that my aunt had had a stroke while at work. At that time, she was stable and awake. Then in the midst of enjoying the varied exhibits at the Witte, I discovered a missed call from my mom. My aunt was no longer quite stable and no longer awake. That was Thursday night. But Saturday night, she was gone.

I wasn't particularly close to this aunt, but I worried over my grandma. This was her second child to pass in less than two years. I felt it was very unfair to her. And my aunt was a couple months younger than my mom. That's a scary thought, too.

I was told not to come home by both my grandma and my dad. Part of me was relieved to not have the 14 hour drive each way, but the other part of me wonders how I will get closure. (I wasn't able to go home when my uncle died either.)

So that was rough. And I don't really know how to talk about it. I cried with my friends who were there at the museum with me. I cried while talking with Chris within minutes of talking to my mom. Then I was done. I haven't cried over it since. And I've only told one other person that it even happened. It's weird that Facebook explodes with prayer requests constantly, yet I have not said a word about it. I don't know how. Not really. Even a simple, "Pray for my family, my aunt passed away," seemed inadequate and desperate. So I didn't say anything.

Now, I am. And I suppose it's okay now that it's been a while.

It feels almost like it did when my childhood best friend what hit by that train a few years ago and died within days afterwards. The event is so removed from me geographically, and on some level emotionally, that I'm not quite sure how, or even if I need to, grieve.

I didn't mean to spend all that time on the one family sadness here. I was meaning to do more of a quick list, but that didn't happen.

But now it's time for a fresh cup of coffee so I can do all those little projects while Chris does his homework. Lots of books for my classes, things to do for the wedding, and a bit of reading and planning for my thesis.

I will be productive. I will be productive. I will be productive.

And maybe this plateau will decide to give way up or down.

Continuing Journey

Almost 2 months ago I was instructed to lose at least 10% of my body weight. That day I started Weight Watchers.

Now I am almost 20 lbs lighter! Still have a few more to reach the 10% goal, but my goal is to be under 200 by my wedding day (3 months minus 1 day!) I have about 16 more lbs to reach that goal. I also want my collar bones to make an appearance again (my favorite part of wearing prom dresses in high school), and they are surfacing a little!

February 7, 2012

March 24, 2012

If you look closely, you can see a bit of shadow from my collar bone!

When I started this, my collar bones were smoothly hidden under fat.

I've noticed an increase in energy (not quite a lot, but still noticeable), better sleep without sleep aids (which I'd taken for over 5 years), and less of a craving for icky foods. In fact, I care much more to know what is in the foods I eat, so I've been making more from scratch.

My tops are fitting a bit better, and my pants are too big! It's still frustrating right now that I don't seem to have actually dropped a pant size, but the pants I have stretch out in an hour of wearing them and are too big to sit where they're supposed to sit!

Chris says he can tell I'm losing weight, and the scale backs that up with numbers, so I'll keep at it. Even after the wedding, I plan to keep with the WW lifestyle until I reach a much healthier weight (like 150 lbs). That means I could lose about 80 lbs before I feel like I can back off a little (just not back off enough to put the weight back on).

I know I won't be able to be "skinny" because of my hereditary big bones, but I can certainly be more healthy in my size and weight.

And I'm on my way there!

Cooking Adventures and RSVPs

Spring Break was a week ago... This past week went by 10x faster than break did. That's great! I mean, we drove all over the place (Waco to OKC to KC to Decatur to KC to Bolivar to Waco) and saw LOTS of people for Jess's wedding and our wedding shower and other celebrations. We found a lovely spice shop at the City Market, went to a couple museums, and I had my first REAL KC bbq!

Chris and I having BBQ at Jack Stack Barbecue

WWI Memorial and Museum

Now we're back, I have a crock pot, mixing bowls, can opener, and a toaster! (Many other things, but we haven't unpacked everything yet. Some will wait for our new place in 2 months.)

So what have I been doing this week? Practicing with my new cooking gadgets! First I made bbq chicken in the crock pot (the sauce was delicious), then chicken parmesan in the crock pot, now I'm making a big batch of chicken noodle soup to portion out and freeze. For tonight I made homemade salsa to add to our tacos. Might be a bit spicy, but we'll manage.

Homemade Salsa

(a little too much for my food processor, but it's okay!)

Chicken Noodle Soup

So busy! (On top of class and work and wedding stuff.)

Speaking of wedding stuff, we've been getting lots of RSVPs! It's good to know who to expect to be there. We've been getting 2 to 4 cards per day nearly every day since we got back from break. (We had 23 cards in my mailbox when we got back. I felt a little bad for the mail carrier who had to stuff magazines and cards in the box for a week!)

RSVP cards!

Side note: I may have just rubbed a bit of pepper juice into my eye. Not sure, but it hurts! And, yes, I've washed my hands several times since handling the jalepeno.

Presentation, Please? Then Packing.

This semester has been full of presentations, it seems. I don't mind all that much. Although I am starting to have interesting fun with PowerPoint in order to keep myself and my classmates entertained. I just finished making one for online exhibits that I will do tomorrow. Lots of flying pictures. :)

So I've had 4 full weeks now on WW, and I'm down about 15 pounds! It's starting (I think) to become more noticeable. I might have to get my wedding dress fitted again (what a horrible thing... not!). It's worth a little extra expense, I know.

Also a week from today will be my maid of honor's first full day of being my matron of honor! She's getting married this Saturday, and I can't wait to see her get hitched! She'll be crazy beautiful, I know, as she always is.

Last night Chris and I finished addressing, sealing, and stamping our wedding invitations. It's such a relief! Now for all those other projects that need done....

And spring break is coming up starting this weekend. Traveling to Missouri for Jess's wedding, then over to Illinois for our wedding shower with my side. It'll be a long, but valuable week away from classes and with family and friends. Just need to pack before Thursday.

That's all for now, I suppose.

Peace.

Reality, a New Stage, and a New Start... For Realz

I'm still waiting for the silver ink to dry on the program covers I made for the wedding. They've been drying since last night, and I'm trying to fi
gure out if it's really wet or the silver stuff just smudges anyway. The sample I did a few weeks ago doesn't smudge anymore. Hm.

Today has been a long day. I'm actually about to get ready for bed, I'm so tired. I took my nightly meds half an hour ago. At 8:00. I'm opting to go into work early tomorrow so I can go to bed now.

I had a doctor appointment this morning. I got there 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment and didn't even have time to finish the top of the form before the nurse called me back to start getting vitals. (By the way, I was very sad to see my weight. It's gone up about 50 lbs in the last 3 years.)

So, as a result of some somewhat minor health issues, I have been instructed to lose weight. What does this mean? Weight Watchers! Good news is that I have a smartphone, otherwise I don't think I'd last long. I can track my eating on the go! Plus I found out that even my favorite fruits cost me no points, so as long as I keep within the suggested daily servings, they can really supplement my meals so I'm not as hungry while I get used to smaller portions of less fatty foods.

The crazy thing is that I feel today has been a real turning point in my perspective on this stage of my life. I'm really working on my weight issues, I've got wedding things surrounding me, and I know a healthier me is getting ready to emerge.

So, here I am.

Day 1 - Feb 7, 2012

233 lbs

Size 18

Scents of Food in Every Room but the Kitchen

Today I tried a number of different things.

I covered my face in honey, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Okay results. Not sure if that concoction is worth trying again for me.

I covered my hair in olive oil for nourishment on my sad split ends. It's weird smelling like pasta! It feels soft, but we'll see when it dries. I may need to do better at heating it up while it's on my head if I do it again.

I then had an oatmeal bath. Firstly, the oatmeal was not chopped up finely enough. I used my new food processor I got for Christmas, but it makes such a squeally sound that I didn't have it on long enough to really chop it up enough, just in case my neighbors could hear it through the wall at 11pm. I think it did make my skin a bit softer, but after about 10 minutes, the oatmeal had settled too much on the bottom of the tub. It felt weird bathing in breakfast. Will try again when I can chop the oatmeal better.

Tomorrow when I get a few groceries, I'm going to get a handful of other ingredients for natural hair and skin products. Herbs, cider vinegar, aloe, and a lemon. I found instructions for a lemon-based hair spray! Just the fruit boiled in water and strained!

Cataloging a Crazy Library

LibraryThing.com is crazy fun.

Especially for a book-lover, like myself and my fiance'. We cataloged over 1,000 books between the two of us. In my defense, 2/3 of them are his. And he has a bunch of theology-related books from classes and special interests. (And a bunch of Star Wars novels. What a nerd.)

The best part of doing this is for insurance purposes. If we lost those books, we'd be out of at least $10,000 of property, not to mention notes in margins, underlined quotes, and memories of turning pages. At least we'd have proof of owning the books.

Go check it out. We paid for the lifetime membership, but you can do 200 books for free.

www.librarything.com

Go. Now.