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.