Weight Watchers Entry 3

The weigh in was today.  I was bummed to only be down .2.  I had expected to be down at least 1 full pound.  So back to the drawing board.  I know my weaknesses to be snacking and dinner and I tend to go over points with those.  I have been pretty good about the treadmill, stocking up on activity points, getting in on average 4 days of treadmill time.  I am working to pick WW recipes for dinner and my husband is even helping to prep and cook them.  So I am not giving up, I just need work harder.  I can do this.  I need to make better choices, keep on tracking, and step up my treadmill time.

Jury Duty

Jury Duty...Those are two words most people dread.  Honestly I never did until today.  I have been a voting member of our country since I turned 18.  I have been summoned to jury duty more times than I can recall.  I thought I had the formula pretty well worked out.  Show up, wait, get dismissed.  I have forgotten about jury duty here and there and in a panic call the court to reschedule, not wishing to be arrested or fined.  But I always show up.  Some times the wait is short, other days it can be all day, but in the end I get dismissed.  The more recent times I have actually been in the group that makes it out of the waiting area and into a courtroom to hear what the case is about, when it will be in progress and if we can be there or not.  I have never been called to the jury box for 'evaluation.'  I have been on jury duty for the past two days...all of it waiting on jury selection.  Yesterday I didn't have my act together enough to ask to be dismissed.  Maybe all the waiting around and the idle ramblings of the judge numbed me...I don't know.  But I missed my chance yesterday to come up with an effective and honest reason to be dismissed.  Honestly, i don't seek to dodge jury duty.  I recognize that it is a valuable part of our democracy.  But I also don't want to be put out over it all.  So I guess I am only willing to go so far.  I will gladly partake in the judicial process so long as it does not impact myself or my family too badly.  In this case it would have cost me some extra income from my tech coaching and after school tutoring.  it would have also affected me babysitting for my sister...something she and I worked out many many weeks ago.  So at the end of a long day yesterday, we were dismissed at 4pm and told to return at 10am.  So I had to go to work, leave more lesson plans and get my excuse straight in my head so I would be dismissed as soon as we got into the courtroom.  Well, I reported at 10am like everyone else only to be told they weren't ready for us.  We had to wait until about 11:45, were then called in and told that they had settled and we were all dismissed.  So needless to say I was relieved and glad to be dismissed, but also highly irritated by all the waiting around.  This was my very worst jury duty experience and it won't soon be forgotten.  Now I am trying to reacclimate myself to my work and the few days we have left before break and all the work I still need to do and will probably be doing over break.  I am just trying to get myself to focus on the positive...I got two days break from my classroom and I am off jury duty.

I'm tired!!

Things are going well in general.  I am feeling more inspired to get my daily treadmill in, and I've been hitting my 10,000+ steps per day.  I've also been better about not blowing my daily points allowance.  I have stayed after school consistently the last several days and have been very productive.  I recently gave a presentation at work as the tech coach on a program my principal asked me to look into and I was pleased with the results...even got some nice comments afterward.  I am already working on another presentation for next Tuesday and feeling positive about it as well.  Prepping for these tech trainings and then giving the trainings is something I enjoy.  Instructional technology really is my "thing" but I often don't have time for it as we are so bogged down with standards and test scores.  I know it doesn't have to be one or the other, but the time it takes to make sure every little thing I do in my classroom is meeting some standard or increasing test scores is quite taxing and more work on an already large workload.  So staying after school has helped some and not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is impacting me like I knew it would.  There is only so many hours in the day so something has to give.  Tonight it was my stamina.  I was utterly drained when I left work.  I had an errand to run and did it rather robotically, my mind hung up on my bed and getting there ASAP.  I made sure my hubby was cooking so I wouldn't have to worry about and thankfully he had it handled.  So as soon as I got home I hit the bed and took a lil nap before dinner was ready.  Then I got to eat and just relax, doing nothing but watching tv with hubby, and reading to my son (not while the tv was on of course) curled up on my lap.  It was just what I needed to recharge.  I am particularly hung up on my weight loss journey as I really have been doing well with it and I am only 8 lbs away from my 10% WW goal.  I feel like it has been taking me too long to get there and I want to get there NOW!  I've been good about my eating and so-so about the treadmill, so I hit it hard tonight to make up for not hitting it at all last night when I really should have.  I would really like to meet my 10% goal by the new year and I think I can if I really set my mind to it.  I WANT THIS!  TIRED OR NOT! :)

Weight Watchers Points Plus Week 2

I am up .6 lbs this week. I expected that. I weigh myself daily and had an extra two pounds on me the last few days til this morning. I have been walking consistently, but apparently not enough to shake those two pounds. I've been tracking again and have found in the first week of the Points Plus plan I blew through my weekly point bank on day two. I haven't tracked in a while so it was a real eye opener and helped to motivate me to get on the treadmill as much as possible. I am still adjusting my food choices and controlling my urges for soda, chocolate, and salty snacks. I will be a few points over tonight and each time I get my pedometer over 10,000 steps that is worth 3-4 activity points which helps counteract my daily overages and helps bolster my weekly bank of cushion points.

Overall I am pleased with the new Weight Watchers. I have enjoyed using the app, the website, and connecting with people on the WW site as well as writing this blog!

It seems that WW is working hard to make sure all understand and accept the new system. I don't see the big deal really. It isn't a huge departure from that WW was. So it's all good with me! Lets move on and lose weight!

[This blog was posted from my phone.]

A page from my WW Blog..."Stress Eating"

I had never considered myself an emotional eater, but I guess I never delved very deeply into the reasons why I eat. I figured that was easy...I am hungry, that is why I eat. Maybe I just have a bigger appetite than others...I am a bigger girl than others so makes sense right? Well I have found that I am in fact, like most women, an emotional eater. For me though the emotion behind the eating seems to be stress and/or frustration. I guess I had written off emotional eating as when one is sad, and I don't go for the ice cream when I am down. I actually don't want to eat at all when I am sad. I have found however that I seem to think that large quantities of Diet Coke help calm me when things get too stressful or frustrating...oh and chocolate of course. I really have a huge sweet tooth, but when it comes down to it loads of Diet Coke and chocolate seem to make me feel better. I know this isn't true and shouldn't be true, but it is. I need to figure out some better ways to deal with my stress than heading for the soda and chocolate. Suggestions are welcome!

Classroom Sweet Classroom

So here I am again...late at school.  I know this is common practice for many teachers around the world, but it really hasn't been for me.  I don't believe that makes me a bad teacher, I believe that if I were to give over all my time to work and not have any time for my own pursuits I would be pretty grumpy.  That aside, day 2 of staying late was just as nice as day one.  I had thought in the past of staying late at least one day a week to catch up on things and I think I may finally do that.  As far as which day I am not sure.  I had considered Wednesdays for a time and may still do that as daycare is a non issue that day.

I really do think what has helped me stay late and be productive was the changes I've made to my workspace.  With the change of computer and the ability to visit sites like my satellite radio account so I can listen to all sorts of music while I work, and finding the power cord to my lil fountain, and clearing off a table and some shelves so I can really utilize my space...all of these changes taken together have really had a positive impact on my mindset, and surprisingly so.  Yes I know this is only day 2 of staying late and I really don't want to make it a habit of staying late daily, but the notion of staying late has become more bearable.  My classroom has finally become a bit more homey feeling.  I have been teaching for 11 years, and have moved rooms a few times.  This is my first time in my current room.  The move and settling in was stressful, then add to that me not knowing where my stuff is because of the rapid move.  After a trimester of school (12 weeks) I have finally made some time to catch my breath and settle into this room a bit more.  I don't expect my principal will have me move classrooms again (I have moved rooms twice in as many years) but I can't worry about that really.  I have to make the most of my room, continue making it mine, continue making it a place that supports my teaching and planning styles.  I marvel at the feel of this room...peaceful and airy before and after school...loud and bustling during the day...I find the extremes of it impressive.  In the end it is mine ALL day and I have to make it work for me.  Some people have a little cubicle or small workspace, I have a modern classroom that seats 35 with large windows to a nicely landscaped walkway that I may do with as I please (within reason and district policies of course!).  Despite all the stresses of teaching, I am grateful to be able to do what I do.

So I leave here tonight with a few more things accomplished and several more things ahead as always, but some progress is better than none at all.

Productive Day!

I stayed late at work today.  The realization that if I gave a bit of my time here and there it might help alleviate the overwhelmed feeling I get from time to time finally sunk in.  Today was great and extremely productive.  I have a former student (now a 4th grader) who comes in daily to offer assistance.  I have not been too good about taking advantage of this sort of thing in the past, mainly because I have taught 5th grade and when my students leave my class they leave the school so I don't have any former students on campus.  Since last year was my 1st year with 3rd graders I now have 20-something former students on campus and only one that has been consistent as this one has been.  My former students used to tell me before they left my class last year that they would come help me next year...my reaction to them had been "Mhm...you all say that but we'll see.  I know how it is, you want your recess, not helping your former teacher inside, filing and grading and cleaning..."  I had a fair amount of former students come by my room at the beginning of the year, and it has finally tappered to the one.  She is fantastic.  She is extremely reliable and loves helping.  I reward her willingness to help with fruit snacks and school raffle tickets, plus any odd or end in my classroom I don't need or want anymore.  I have learned over the years students just LOVE old teacher stuff...worksheets, books, etc.  So the relationship with this former student and I has been mutually beneficial.  She usually only helps during her morning recess, and has offered to help after school.  I had never taken her up on her after school offer as I usually have a meeting or just want to go home.  But when she offered again I remembered that I was planning on staying late tonight as well as tomorrow, so I took her up on her offer.  As always she was prompt and willing to help and did help me quite a bit.  I am really enjoying this new relationship and I am already hoping she stays in the neighborhood for her 5th grade year as well, I have never had a better more reliable helper!

I have a rather large work to do list and one of the things at the top of it was redistributing my classroom computers.  Without getting into all the boring details of it, I used to have some newer machines in my room.  Due to the budget situation our school wasn't able to buy as many new computers as it needed to replace the super old ones.  So the principal began taking a close inventory of the machines on campus.  Long story short, my new machines were replaced with old ones.  I tried to make due with a relatively old laptop, but doing anything at my desk with this 5+ yr old laptop that could barely handle Windows 7 was a huge headache.  I found I was taking my computer related work home and then not really getting to it fully because of all the other things I would rather be doing at home.  I have managed to hold on to one relatively fast machine in my classroom and reclaimed it for myself, trading the slower laptop for it as to not take from the total number of student machines.  I should have totally done that sooner.  Have a faster machine at my desk to mutlitask on is wonderful.

So in the end I leared that my room still wasn't quite how I need it to be for me, so with some computer rearranging and general cleaning I was able to get it to a much better place for me.  I have a much better machine at my disposal (and I am already willing to fight for it should my principal come scouting for another machine!) and an overall more functional workspace.  I even managed to find the power cord for my little fountain...I have missed the water trickling down that little rock wall!  Listening to it now just makes me smile.  And I was finally able to log into the Weight Watchers site as well!  So things were just falling into line today and that really did a lot to lessen the tension in my life.

Weight Watchers Points Plus

I attended my weekly Weight Watchers meeting today.  With Thanksgiving and all I did very little activity this last week.  I am happy to report that I did not gain or lose.  I was able to maintain my weight from last week to this one and that was a pleasant surprise.  I had been expecting an increase, not because I overate, but because I wasn't very active.

Today was the first time I got to hear about the "NEW" Weight Watchers.  I may have been more receptive to it than others because I feel like I am at a point in my weight loss journey where I need a change.  So I listened to everything and was eager to learn the changes.  Weight Watcher Points have been the same for the past 13 years and are now reborn as Points Plus and are now calculated based on protein and carbohydrates vs calories, fat & fiber.

I was ver eager to get going on the new website as I have the version of the program that includes eTools...the website and an iPhone app.  Unfortunately the site seems to have been down all night.  I can only assume this is due to the traffic it must be getting with the new launch.  I sent an email to their customer service so we'll see what they have to say about it.

So I will have to channel my enthusiasm and read over the materials I got today as I walk the treadmill before bed.  It is relatively late, but I do better with working out late vs getting up early to work out.  I am also adding stability ball exercises to my 30 min walking routine for variety and a new challenge.  I was really feeling like I miss my 30 min treadmill walks.  I usually walk at at least 3mph and an incline of at least 2.5.  It isn't much, but it beats flat and super easy!  I even mix it up a lil an jog!  I usually read or watch s bit of TV while on the treadmill.  The time really flies and I feel great doing it.  I also really look forward to my weigh ins when I exercise...seeing a reduction in my weight is very pleasing.

In light of my lack of personal time with the demands of my job I am finding I just have to make time for this.  Outside of work, family time, computer time, and exercise time are very important to me.  I plan on working late a few nights here and there so I don't feel so overwhelmed, and I hope it helps.  It is all I can thing of to do right now.

No Personal Time

This is my 11th year teaching and I love what I do, but I have never felt more like I have less personal time than ever.  My work day is filled with teaching and little to no time to prep or grade or clean or organize.  I feel like my whole day (24/7) is expected to be consumed with teachery type thoughts...lesson plans, student engagement, intervention, enrichment, tutoring, test scores, educational technology, etc, etc, ETC!  I don't know if it is the novelty wearing off after so many years or the current state of the economy that is making me feel more tapped out and frustrated than ever.  I find myself growing resentful that my job is encroaching so much on my personal time.  Work just constantly piles up and it is a hopeless cycle.  I can understand why people get burned out and leave teaching.  I won't be leaving teaching or allowing myself to give up.  I can beat this, I know I am a good teacher, and I know I love what I do.  I find that I am waiting out this low in the cycle education often goes through, striving to remain optimistic in light of current challenges.  I may gripe, but in the end I am an optimist.  I can do this, I can wait out the tough time, it too shall pass.

Family Photo

We took our family photo today.  I had wanted to go to the mall and have it done by The Picture People, but my husband suggested we try doing it ourselves first.  I am really glad he did.  We got the photo on the second shot and took only three in total.  I found some pleasure in working out the logistics of it with him...from where we were sitting, to how the camera should be aimed and so on.  My husband and I can nit pic each other from time to time, which I know is natural for married couples.  He and I have been together for 13 years and we have been through a lot.  But the approach to taking this photo was a nice joint effort.  It was my idea as I really just wanted a family photo.  I generally avoid including him in photos because he doesn't like to be photographed.  But at times that just feels wrong to me as he should be in photographs whether he likes it or not, he is a part of our family...a BIG part of it. So in the end, the whole photo-taking experience was a success.  No frustrations or arguing, just a nice family moment captured on film...oh wait, what film?  That is so 90's of me.  It was a nice family moment, digitized for all time.

Fiona our 7 year old black lab, me, hubby, and our soon-to-be 6 yr old son.

Family Time

Today has been another nice day spent with my family. Yesterday I thought we had a nice day together navigating the rather mild Black Friday. Today we did a bit more shopping and are ending at Mimi's again because they gave us a coupon yesterday and we wanted to take advantage of it.

My husband and I are the sort that don't need to be together all the time. We pretty much always do our own thing with moments of togetherness. Then you factor in that we both work full time and my job often requires a lot of work at home as well, and in the end we don't get a whole lot of family time. Then there is our son. I am really impressed with his creativity, resourcefulness, and independence. He is an only child and that worried me for a time, but as I see him grow and interact with his environment I am very pleased. No family is perfect, nor is there any right way to have a family. I like my family, sometimes we do too much of our own thing, but we also have quality family time. I enjoy alone time and family time very much. There is a such thing as too much of one or the other for me, but for me the key is balance.

[This blog was posted from my phone.]

Black Friday

We did it. My family and I ventured into Black Friday and it wasn't bad at all. We had a fair amount of shopping to do with my son's upcoming 6th birthday, my niece's 3rd upcoming birthday, and Christmas for both of them plus my 5 yr old neice. I was really in the mood for some deals, and even though I didn't camp out or get up at the crack of dawn, there we deals to be had and I was glad.

I have to day the best deal was clothes for my son. Two stores we went to had 30% off or more til noon. Toys r Us wasn't too bad either, although it looked like a tornado hit it. We now have all the kids covered and only a few lingering things we have plenty of time to handle.

We are ending our Black Friday adventure with a nice late lunch at Mimi's. Hubby is planning on a nap, my son will be playing with his new train, and I have some dogs to wash! Tomorrow we are going to attempt taking a family photo (dog included) for our Christmas cards. I wanted to go get them done, hubby wants to try taking them on our own at first. We'll see how it goes!

[This blog was posted from my phone.]

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a relaxing day at home, playing on my computer, chatting with friends, thinking about what I might call this new blog, wondering if there was any correlation to the blog's birth and Thanksgiving. Then my family and I went to our inlaws where my mother joined us. My mother-in-law prepared a lovely turkey, my sisters-in-law had a tasty assortment of sides and everything was delicious. It was nice to see everyone and relax.

Now that we are on the car ride home, hubby and I are discussing plans for "Black Friday.". I've never really partaken in the craziness and tend to avoid crowds, but in this tight economy my desire to find a good deal is out weighing my aversion for crowds. I am not going to do anything crazy like camp out at Best Buy...waiting 19 hours for an iPhone 4 was enough retail insanity for my lifetime thank you very much! So I hope to find some deals on a variety of things tomorrow. Wish me luck!

And about there being any correlation between starting this blog and Thanksgiving... I think there may be. I am thankful for the life I have and the people in it, I am thankful to live in a country where I can express my thoughts openly, I am thankful for the ability to do so, and for a forum in which to do it.

[This blog was posted from my phone.]

Getting Started Again

Ok so here goes blogging again. I decided to try again because I am recommitting myself to my Weight Watchers meetings. There are several things in my life that need my attention, too many it seems at times. I am a teacher and it feels like I have to give more and more of my personal time over to it which I fight doing. There are family obligations also, then there is my on going struggle with weight. When I was a teen I found journaling to be a great outlet. As I came to be a working woman and have a family of my own I have found that journaling has vanished from my life. I love technology so I figure there has to be some way for me to journal again. I have wrestled a long time with the notion of blogging. My biggest issue with it being the publicness of it. While many who know me would say that I am not online shy, the idea of blogging my thoughts was a bit daunting. I think I am over it now, or enough over it to give it a shot. I guess this is my blogging experiment. I am concerned I am just going to vent or complain about things in my life, and I really hope I can blog in a well balanced way.