What a week

This was the last week of school and it was quite a whirlwind.  On the whole it was upbeat, things went smoothly at school, the kids had fun, and the week wrapped up right on schedule with little to no headaches.  I tried to keep the learning going right up til Wednesday til we entered what a friend called "Movie Mode."  I had to laugh at that, I knew exactly what he meant, but I in no way was showing my students movies all day long.  Wednesday was "Water Wednesday" where the 3rd grade teachers had a massive water fight arranged for the 3rd graders in our grassy field.  I spent the whole morning filling water balloons and shouting at kids - "HEY! NO WETTING MRS. RUIZ!  THAT IS THE ONE RULE TODAY!"  *laughs*  They had a lot of fun and were sad they couldn't just throw water balloons at each other all day long.  Thursday was awards and their pizza party.  For awards I get all gussied up.  I have my moments where I take it up a notch for work, but my days are so busy and the wind in Fontana is so frequent... *grins*  I usually dress in what is most comfortable and won't leave me looking ragged and wind blown at the end of the day.  But on awards day I toss that mindset out and for the gold!  Still no make up tho, I have never been one for make up, but everything else looks great!  So I show up that day and I get several compliments!  The biggest one being how people can tell I have lost weight.  I loved that. 

I figure my weight loss hasn't been very apparent because I haven't bought new clothes in AGES.  Perhaps after I hit my 10% I can get a few new things.  I was just thinking my favorite stores are Torrid, J.Jill and Lucy.  I haven't gotten something from J.Jill in forever and a pair of linen pants I have from there has finally given way...I love linen...Anyway, I lost track of how many compliments I got on Thursday from students to colleagues to parents to friends, it was awesome.  So naturally that day went very smoothly as well!  Friday was "Fun Friday"  The kids got to bring their electronics and/or favorite toys from home and enjoy them with each other for one final day.  The kids clearly had a great time and that made me smile.  I was able to check out of my room that day and not have to return for our official last work day after the Memorial Day holiday, I was thrilled!

So on to weight loss!  I was finally able to enjoy another WW meeting yesterday.  I didn't blog about it because we had Xavier's final soccer game and pool party that completely absorbed the rest of my day, but the meeting was awesome and added to my pretty awesome week.

I weighed myself at home with my two scales and for the most part they seem to be right on.  For a couple days this week I saw 203 so I was excited, but come weigh in morning my scales averaged out at 204.5 again.  I was bummed I would see little or nothing at the WW scales, but I went anyway.  I have ditched WW meetings before when I figure I will weigh up, but I have come to realize that is counter productive.  So yesterday morning I get up early to make some preparations for soccer, fix a date shake...which is so TASTY!  They remind me of a Starbucks Frapaccino.  Anyway, I get to the WW meeting early, so I can claim my spot, and weigh in without waiting in a huge line and I get the leader, Cindee.  She is as perky as ever and I step on the scale.  She then says cheerfully "Oh! Yay!  You are down two!"  I look at her and ask ".2?"  She laughs and says "No!  2 pounds!"  I stare at her in disbelief a moment then smile, take my things and go sit.  I look at the card she made my weight notation on and sure enough it says 202.4.  I could not believe it.  I weighed this only once before on my 2+ year journey on Weight Watchers...January 29, 2011.  I went right back up after that, it has taken me over a year to get that close to my 10%.  It would be awesome to achieve my 10% this coming week. 2.4 in one week is possible, but will take a lot of effort.  I am off for the summer now and have some things planned to do with my son that will keep us both active, so part of me thinks it is quite possible to achieve this long time goal, I am excited!

So my plan is to keep a close eye on my eating, choose power foods whenever possible, keep blending, and keep active!  I think with all that a 2.4 loss this week is totally doable!

Summer is Near!

It is amazing how the lack of my WW meetings leaves me feeling a bit unfocused.  I was unable to attend my WW meeting this Saturday due to another soccer game.  I really do miss those meetings.  It does wonders for centering and grounding me.  That said, my unofficial weight Saturday was 204.5, which is more or less the same as the week before.  I am feeling 204 is my new plateau and I have to be careful to not let it creep up over that. I ate out a few times this week for various reasons, and my weight seems unaffected for the moment, but I will not take comfort in that.  I have to be sure to get in my exercise as I haven't this weekend.

Smoothie making has been a frustration.  Even though I follow the recipe they still come out tasting nasty.  I think my hubby discovered the right base for the fruit ones, so I am feeling better about that.  I made a kiwi-berry one tonight which was acceptable, could probably use some tweaking.  This week we figure out what the base is for a good veggie smoothie.  Our theory at the moment base on some of the recipes we have seen is apples...lots of apples.

I am coming into the last week of school which is awesome.  I am looking forward to my summer.  I usually travel to at least on teaching conference, but am opting out this summer due to expense.  I really am trying to keep my spending under control and paying for airfare to a conference out of state doesn't fit well into that plan.  I will opt for some virtual conferences, there is still much to learn that way, and from the comfort of my own home!

I also have plans for my son...it will be Summer Home School for Xavier!  Yay!  I finally feel he is at an age where I can really use my official teacher skills to help him maintain what he has learned.  Yes I know I have been his teacher his whole life, but I don't think he has been ready for prolonged periods of study until having been in school a full day.  I have cleared a space for him in the house that is his workspace.  As I often tell parents, a child needs their own space to work and study, away from distraction and well equipped with the materials they need to learn.  We had Xavier's study-things sort of jumbled at the kitchen table where we also eat.  Since I am in a decluttering sort of mood (more on that later) I hit the living room hard, had him clear out all this toys (which he has been leaving ALL OVER THE PLACE) and the dining table we never use has become his study space.  It will have his computer there as well once I get it worked on.  I have already begun working out a schedule for him in my mind:

• 7:30 am - wake up and eat
• 8:00 am - Workbook time! (1st grade review - Math & Language Arts)
• 8:30 am - Reading time
• 9:00 am - Computer time (academic sites)
• 9:30 am - PE!  To the park for soccer drills and practice with Coach Mommy!

I have joined a few MeetUp groups, one of which is for parents and kids to do fun things in our area.  They are very active and I have already signed up for some "field trips." So that on top of a major decluttering project and various other random things sprinkled here and there make for a busy summer!  I had a great class of students this year, but I am ready for a couple months to do my own thing, and give my son the full one on one Mommy-teacher time he needs.

Happy Mother's Day

Here I thought last weekend was busy!  This weekend was full of Mother's Day festivities.  I barely had enough time to roll into my WW meeting on Saturday morning to weigh in and up at 204.4 before running off to a soccer game where my son made his first goal of the season! 

Weighing up .4 was frustrating seeing as how I don't believe I was "bad" in any way this past week and I had been blending.  My hubby pointed out I do like the fruit smoothies more than the veggie ones and perhaps that was part of the problem.  So this week I intend on drinking more veggie smoothies to see what that does.  Nevertheless I failed to meet my Winning Outcome.  I am bummed by that, but I am feeling good and ready to write a new one! I am 4.4 lbs away from my 10% and that magical WW key chain.  There are 2 weigh ins left this month.  I want to make my goal by May 26th.  I won't be able to weigh in this coming Saturday due to a soccer game, but I will be able to make the meeting on the 26th.  That means I need to lose 2.2 at least for the next two weeks.  That is alot by WW standards, but I want this so bad, it HAS TO happen.  I am so close.  So my new SMART Winning Outcome is...By May 26th I will reach my 10% goal weight of 200lbs by exercising 4 days a week, incorporating more jogging into my treadmill routine, and having at least 4 veggie based smoothies a week, as well as continuing to adhere to the Simply Filling method.

This blog entry will have to be short, I am spent and need to get to bed, but I couldn't let the weekend go and fail to live up to my commitment of blogging each weekend!  I hope all the mothers that may be reading this had an excellent Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday to ME!

38 years young today!  I cannot believe my 30s will soon be behind me. Before I get all reflective on that, let's talk weight!

So this blog comes one day later than I would usually post, mainly because the day before my birthday was rather busy.  I did make my WW meeting to learn not only did I lose the .2 from last week, but an additional pound!  204 was the official weight for me and I was thrilled.  I have a routine when I go to my WW meetings.  I try to be there at least 15 minutes before it begins so that I am not missing anything when the team leader (Cindee) starts.  Cindee actually helps people weigh in before the meeting and I was fortunate to have her weigh me in and give me the good news.  She is just one of those perky, energetic types that we all need in our lives...not over the top or irritating, but just generally upbeat and always has a smile for you.  She congratulated me on my loss and pointed out that I have not had many gains as she looks over my track record.  That is just the sort of optimism I love.  I agree and point out that I tend to stall, but this is a learning process and we all learn on our own curve...I am a teacher, I should know! ;)

Anyway, I take my happy self out to the meeting where I have already claimed a spot.  I bring my breakfast (as do many...we won't eat BEFORE weigh in!), as well as a bag I use to "scrapbook" in my WW journal.  So I record my weight on my iPhone app and review my weight graph...noting that I have been at this attempt of WW a full 2 years, that I have essentially kept 15 pounds off for that time, and that only once before had I come this close to meeting my 10%.  January 29, 2011...202.4lbs...then right back up.  That won't happen this time.  I am not sure what caused that failure last year, but I want to his my goal so bad it isn't funny.  Hitting 200lbs will get me the coveted WW keyring all the big girls "ooo and ahhh" for, but getting under 200 and staying there will be a big deal to me, and that WW keyring is only the beginning.  I would love to hit my original goal of 200 by 5/11/12 as I wrote in my Winning Outcome, but a 4 lbs loss in one week is big.  The biggest loss I recall managing in recent history was 2.8lbs.  Part of me thinks with some consistent blending and exercise I could pull off the 4lb loss and I am curious to see if I really can.  I recall WW saying something about 1 to 2 lbs/week as a good and normal pace for losing weight, and I have seen that to be true for myself.  In the end I know if I don't hit my goal this coming weigh in, I will hit it the next and I am very excited about that!

I had a few interruptions during my WW meeting that threatened to take the joy out of the moment.  My 10 year old "pimped out" PT Cruiser is in the shop for some repairs.  Think what you will about PT Cruisers, but I LOVE mine and it has never let me down.  Even for the laundry list of things it needs to bring it back into top shape, that car runs for me, and always has.  Something I have not written about here before and will mention briefly now is money and debt.  No one wants to talk about those things, and neither had I.  I have a lot of debt...student loans, credit cards, mortgage, car payment.  Thankfully the PT is not the car that has any payments on it, which makes me love it even more.  That car is ALL MINE, I paid for it, from start to finish.  That fact makes me love it even more.  I have recently cut credit cards out of my life, closing my accounts and working to pay them off.  It had been a painful process at first, but I have come to really enjoy not using credit to make purchases, using my debit card instead, knowing that money was coming directly out of my account, that there was no interest being charged, no balances going up, no creditor to worry about.  So why mention all this now?  Because I am paying for my car's repairs with cash, and because my car needs so many repairs I cannot make all at once no matter how much I would love to, that I wrestle with what I can have done, what is most important, what I have the MONEY for.  These sort of calls came during my WW meeting, threatening to ruin the happy place I need every Saturday morning to prepare for the coming week. 

I missed the bulk of my WW meeting because of these calls.  I was greatly frustrated by simply not having enough money to fix my car the way it needs to be so that all its ailments were eliminated.  The simple reality of the matter came to me quite quickly...I have some money, and some of the things can be fixed...the important things.  I am grateful to have my husband to count on when it comes to the world of automotive mechanics, as he is knowledgeable in that realm.  I am grateful that the people we deal with at Goodyear/Tire Guys are genuinely good people who are doing their job, not out to make a fast one.  So between Goodyear and my husband the list was prioritized, money limitations discussed, and the car got some of the work it needs done.

As for my Saturday morning I reclaimed what I could of it to get back into my happy WW place.  The main meeting had ended by the time I returned to my seat, but a refresher was about to begin.  I stayed for that, working on my scrapbook, sipping my coffee, unable to eat my breakfast bar due to a sudden loss of appetite.  I stayed even some after the refresher as other gals had stayed to talked to Cindee.  Finally it was just Cindee and I and she asked what I figured she would..."What are you doing over here?" in her perky way.  I has happy to have the chance to tell her about my scrapbook and say the things I usually don't say during the meetings.  Her meetings are very well attended and lots of others have things to say, so I don't prolong things with my comments unless I am really motivated to.  So in this brief one on one with her I told her all of my various thoughts on WW...my scrapbook, my journey, how close I am to 10%, how long it has taken me, and why I come to her meetings over one much closer to me.  I told her how much I enjoy her meetings because of her, and her energy, and how they help me get the week started off right.  She enjoyed hearing that as I knew she would, hearing you are appreciated and that your work is meaningful does wonders for a person, and sincerely meant it and wanted her to know.

As I close my blog I realized I meant to reflect on my 38th year and the things I have learned, but I guess in a way I have.  My main lessons at the moment seem to be weight and money management, however something came to me this week...enjoy what you have, don't continue to chase the things you wish you had, but enjoy what you have as they are well earned and you love them.  More on that soon... :)