Day 130

I love life. Yes, I'd prefer to be free of concern and fear, but I suppose that is what makes me appreciate the good that is around me. Today was like most other work days, in that I got up, got ready, traveled to work, did my job, traveled home and now am doing what I love, writing. I'm conditioned to do what I do everyday. There is more to my day than what I listed here, but it is sufficient to say I also did all of the necessary things one must do to be alive on planet earth.

One of the things I did today was watch the latest episode of MarieTV, which I'm going to link below, because I think it is wonderful and that all of you GREAT people out there need to know what she knows. Also, she's just cute as everything and I just love watching her. So, here you go! Watch, learn, enjoy and thank me later!

Don't you just want to stick her in your pocket? She's so cute!! She is just fabulous! I love how she teaches with humor for human beings. We are real people and I'm thankful that she's around talking about real, successful people in ways that other real people like me can understand. Be sure to subscribe to MarieTV on YouTube and sign up at her website (www.marieforleo.com) for weekly email updates. Helpful stuff! I promise!!

Okay, so meanwhile, back at the ranch (I always wanted to write that in something **smile**) I was focused on writing my comments today on my yearly evaluation. Yes, it's a bit early this year, but the company is trying to get things done more efficiently. I am okay with this and got the task done. I hope I didn't miss anything! Writing!! Yes, I was in heaven today. In fact, I get to be in heaven most days at work. I love my job and my company and I'm so thankful I get to be there and do what I do with all those great people. Wish I could tell you about the company, but they have rules about people like me to write on the web. Since I don't want to cause any trouble, I keep their name out of things. **Smile**

During this 365 day renovation of Nancy, I've been working on thinking, teeth, skin (which I think includes hair and nails, too), eating and exercising. I have some successes and I have failures. I'm doing lots of falling down, picking myself back up, dusting myself off and starting over again and mainly in the eating area. I refuse to say that I'm hopeless, but honestly...I'm like some sort of brainless idiot when it comes to food. I really think this is my 'thorn in the side' that God placed there to keep me humble and constantly looking for his help and guidance. At 54, I've come to grips with the fact that I'll never be thin. Now, I just want to be healthy and not cringe every time I look in the mirror. So, today was not a fantastic food day, however, I did stick only to the foods I brought from home and I did not venture out of the office at lunch to eat out with people. I kept busy and ate only what I had allotted to myself. The problem is, I allotted a little too much...sigh... When will I get over this? This reminds me of a line from one of my favorite movies, Moonstruck. Loretta (Cher) says, "Bad luck! That's what it is. Is that all I'm ever gonna to have? I should have taken a rock and killed myself years ago." Different context there maybe, but the sentiment is the same. Although I don't believe in luck I am just as drawn to food sometimes as she was to the 'gypsy eyes' of Ronnie! (Go watch the movie, you'll love it!) When I go to packing a lunch, sometimes there are just so many things that I think, "Oh, that will make a nice snack!" or "How about some fruit?" I won't give up, because there is a solution to my problem, I just have to find it. That's what I think about everything, "There is a better way to do everything, we just haven't found it yet!" So, I continue to be a work in progress. In 3 more days, I have to take pictures. I'm afraid...very afraid. We shall see then what the damage is. Again, pray for me...I know I'll need it.

That's if for me today. Be sure to go and learn about the 4 things really productive people do by watching the video above. Really, you will thank me later! Thanks for checking into the blog and I hope you've had a great day!! It's time for me to go and do other fun things like laundry! Aren't you sad you aren't me? Until tomorrow when I will let go with something I think you should know and that I just want to get off my chest, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 113

Home, sweet home! I made it back right on time last night (actually, about 15 minutes early, Thank You, Delta!) to the bosom of my family. Overall, the trip was great and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to meet with my new team. We are really going to be a great bunch of Grips! (Team name; we're The Grips.)

On the way home from Connecticut, I taped a short video of a bit of the drive to JFK airport in New York and a little of the conversation I had with the great shuttle driver. By the way, I've experienced lots of drivers in lots of vehicles over the years and this gentleman was the best! He had spirit, personality and was a dang good driver to boot! He made the trip great!!! Here is a little taste of the trip/conversation:

Now, it's time to get ready for the next trip. I leave for on Monday afternoon around 3pm. This next trip differs greatly from the last, as this one is leisure travel with the greatest sister on earth, Gena Ann.

So, to get ready for the next trip I needed to get some rest and I've done that today. I slept in, enjoyed replenishing the supplies for the boys at a leisurely pace and have spent the evening watching videos and painting my nails. You didn't honestly believe that I would go to Las Vegas with plain old nails, did you?? I hope not!! Parish the thought!!! Here is the design I've dubbed: "Kiss Me, I'm Hot! In Vegas" nails:

These nails were so fun to do! I used OPI Red for the background. Then using NYC Black Lace Cream, I painted a leopard print on the thumb and ring finger and kissy lips in the outer corner on the pointer, middle and pinky fingers. Lastly, I topped the nails with Northern Lights Micro-fine Holographic Glitter Top Coat, by OutTheDoor. These nails are great! The red is WAY more vibrant in real life, but the pictures are close. My only nail art tool for this design was a long, sharp, wooden cocktail toothpick. Give me some nail polish and a toothpick and I could paint the world!! On nails, anyway!! *smile*

I'm having a good time over here getting ready for the next trip. Unfortunately, I ate WAY too much today. I don't know if it's a product of being so busy or what, but I found myself just eating without thought, yet again! I really don't understand myself sometimes, but at least I caught myself doing it and brought myself under control. Now, it's just a matter of getting me back on track. Just for the record, I'm not in a hurry. I want to enjoy my time off, but I just don't want to OVER eat while away. The key will be to make sure I'm having foods I really want. That way I'll be satisfied with less of it. I hope to be so busy that I just forget that I'm hungry! Yeah, Nancy...and when exactly has that happened before???

Well, I had wanted to finish this before midnight, but I've gone past that time. That means I need to get to bed and sleep. So, until tomorrow when you'll hear all about my packing...again, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 106

We are creeping ever closer to day 121 when I will need to put on the next set of clothing in a smaller size, take photos and go out in the outfit. Will I be successful? Will I fall and skin my knees and have to get up, brush myself off and keep going?? Will the fat finally decided that this house is not comfortable enough and take up residence elsewhere??? Well, who knows but the work continues over here and I know that I'm doing okay. Even with the occasional hiccup, I'm still in a much better place physically and mentally than I was 106 days ago. Heck! I've said it before, I'm not a machine!!

I've done errand after errand today trying to get myself ready for travel on Monday. Next is laundry and I'll do it tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. That way I can easily pack tomorrow. I also need to visit the bank and get some cash. You can't take a trip without tip money in hand! So, still more to do today. I have a couple of apps that I use on my smart phones to help keep me organized. Yes, I said phones, as in more than one. I have to carry and iPhone for work and I have an LG L9 as my personal phone. As you know, I love Apple products and I do love the iPhone, but I really like the Android. On the iPhone the list app I use is Clear. That app is not made for the Android, so on that phone I use an app called Koalcat's Clear. Both are great apps for making lists of any kind. Today, they are 'to do' lists.

Although I'm looking forward to me business trip and meetings with my new team, I can't help but look forward even more to the trip with my sister, which is coming up week after next. In fact, I believe I'm on day 121 the Sunday I come back home from the Las Vegas trip. Oh, Lord! I hope I am able to keep it all together while I'm gone. I really want to be successful. The spirit is mighty, but the flesh is weak...sometimes.

I invested some time in my nails and completed my manicure. I'm calling these nails, 'Rosie The Sparkler.' Here is what they look like:

I thought I wanted high contrast black and white nails for the week, but then I thought about this pretty English Rose nail 'foil' that I had and decided on this design. I'm bad about knocking rhinestones out of nail designs, so I'm probably going to regret this design about Wednesday of next week, but you can't live life in fear, so here we go! I think the nails are pretty and will serve me well next week.

I'm currently working on my Vegas nail design. Those nails will be black, white and red with silver accents and will have some references to cards, dice, hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds. I haven't decided exactly what they will look like, but I'll share pictures when I do. The nails above were really easy to do. I want the Vegas nails to be just as easy. We'll see what I come up with!

I've had a full day and it's time to get some rest. Until tomorrow when you'll learn about another fun filled day here in Nancyland, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 91

This was a much better day for me. Yesterday was wrong, just...wrong. I felt unwell and achey and...well...just wrong. Today was a whole different story. Why? Because I got some rest. I really think that I've been cutting it too close in the area of sleep and it finally just bit me in my a**. I have a self imposed schedule and when I explained it to my sister her reaction was, "What? Why???" Although I know you're going to say the same thing, I'll explain.  I don't have a long commute to work Monday through Friday, but what there is of it can be very stressful. If you ever check out my YouTube channel, you'll find 5 videos of my commute home following 5 different paths. I made those videos because traffic makes me nuts. It seems like I'm  completely surrounded by selfish, hateful drivers who can't seem to understand that driving is not and I repeat NOT a full-contact sport!! I LOVE driving. No, I didn't say I "liked" it, I said LOVE IT and there are times when driving to work makes me want to stop driving! To avoid driving these feelings, I have to leave my home for the office by 6:30am. This is so I can be in my office by 7am and be able to leave by 4pm. The 4pm drive home is also better. Just 15 minutes later at either end will be bad. In order to leave the house by 6:30am, I need to be up getting ready by 4:30am. Yes, that's right, I need 2 hours to get ready for work. So, in order to get enough rest/sleep I need to be in bed by 8:30pm during the weekdays. So, go ahead, ask me how many times I've been to bed by 8:30pm. The answer to your question is, "None!" I'm usually in bed by 10:30pm and that 2 hours simply caught up with me yesterday. It literally made me sick. I'm kind of ashamed, but it cost me a vacation day to just get the rest I needed to feel better. Go ahead, you can say it, "Stupid girl!" Yes, I'm humbled. I talked it over with my sister and the answer is easy. I like the schedule, so I have to get to bed on time starting Sunday night!

This means that I'll be starting the writing of my blog each day now during my lunch hour at work. I usually eat lunch at my desk working, but that's time I'm giving my company that they don't really ask for. Since I like to be busy, the blog will help me accomplish that and free up evening time so I can get to bed earlier. Also, since the days are getting shorter, it should be easy for me to get to bed by 8:30 since it won't feel like it's too early. I've set an alarm on my laptop to help keep me on schedule and I know everything will be okay.

So, enough with my schedule woes! The day was great and I was able to visit my FAVORITE grocery store on earth, Central Market on North Lamar in Austin. It's about 30 minute drive from my house, so this isn't a place I shop often, but honestly it is a palace to the best foods on earth. I had a great time and really just enjoyed setting up the food for this week. They have a HUGE selection of chef prepared foods and I was able to put together 11 meals for less than $4 per meal! My husband and I had some for supper tonight and it was delicious. I also repainted my nails again. The last set lasted about like the set before them did; about 2 seconds. So here are my 'stand in' nails (which just means I'll wear them until they chip):

I've got to do something about the lighting in here! The pink on these nails is a Sinful Color called "24/7" and is the most neon pink you've ever seen, but in this light...well...you see what lighting can do for or to you! Good thing I like paining my nails. So I'll call this simple design: "Pink On The Dot!"

Today I had a normal breakfast, lunch was a Lean Cuisine and supper was the chef prepared meal from Central Market. I was hungry all day today, so I'm still not quite sure what's causing that. I just need to keep working at my problem: Portions! That's where my focus is and that's where it has to stay.

Tomorrow will be a day to sleep in for once since the groceries are all done! Then I'll probably do some other shopping that I need to get out of the way. I wish my sister Gena was here to go with me hold my hand. I'm not a very good shopper, but this has got to be done before I travel soon. I'll be fine, but if you're in Austin, Texas this weekend and you see a woman bolt from a store with that "I'm totally overwhelmed" look on her face, you may have just witnessed my escape! Yes, I've actually done that before. So, until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 89

Almost a quarter of the renovation time has passed and I'm feeling better than ever!  Today was an average day at work. I got things done and we continued with our celebration of Customer Service week. Today, we served Nachos, Popcorn and Snow Cones to all our associates and I really think everyone had a good time. We called it game day and everyone wore their favorite team jersey and there were board games all over the place for people to play during breaks and lunch. Lots of fun!! Oh, yes, I was in charge briefly for making nachos. Yes, I had 3 chips. No, I skipped the cheese sauce. **Smile**

I love Wednesdays! They are generally not a day that I do my nails, but sadly the "Twinkle-Twinkle Peri-Winkle" nails I did last weekend did not last. That's okay as it is an opportunity to support Breast Cancer Awareness month (October) by applying a nail design in honor of all those women who have fought or will fight the disease. I recreated a design from one of my favorite nail artists from YouTube, elleandish. She calls her design, "Breast Cancer Awareness Nails" and here is the video of her design:

She is clearly better than me at this, but I thought her design was so cute. Here are some snaps of my re-creation of her design on my funky nails:

The yellow lighting made the colors look orange! They are in fact, pink. All I can say is, "Thank You ellenadish (Janelle) for the great, easy to recreate design." Maybe these will last longer than 2 seconds!!

We are in the process of setting up new cell phone service and transferring our current home phone number to a cell phone. If you ever decide to do this, be aware that it is not a painless experience. It's taken more than 2 weeks to be completed. I think we're all set now, but we'll see. Wish us luck!

Food and exercise is less and less of a conscious effort. There are still cravings with food and just like a smoker would crave a cigarette. One of the things I decided to do was to find something that I could eat or drink that would satisfy my stomach when it (or is it my brain?) keeps telling me, "You're hungry!" One item I've found is buttermilk. Okay, you don't like buttermilk so this may not work for you, but I love it. Buttermilk is low in fat and tastes great! It also is very filling, the protein keeps my stomach busy and the effect on me if similar to that of warm milk...it makes me sleepy. So, when I'm home (can't easily find buttermilk just everywhere) and my stomach/brain starts that, "You're hungry!" thing, I will sometimes drink a small glass (8 oz. or less) of buttermilk and so far, it's worked at satisfying that feeling! I will be working to identify other more portable solutions, but for now we have buttermilk!! You should try it!! Think of thin yogurt. It has active cultures like yogurt and that's what it tastes like, but being that I grew up here in Texas and had farmer grandparents (my mother's family were farmers and my grandfather was a Blacksmith) I was served buttermilk regularly. I can remember being a little girl and visiting my maternal grandparents on weekends. My grandmother (Mamaw, we called her and grandfather was Papaw) would always serve a huge meal at lunch time on Sunday. That was traditional for after church. The meal always had cornbread served with it and the evening meal (supper, we called it...heck, I still call it that) on Sunday was usually cornbread and buttermilk! I watched Papaw crumble his cornbread into his buttermilk and eat it out of the tall glass with a long handled iced tea spoon. I love those memories and buttermilk! I would love to have the cornbread, but it's just a little too rich for me now. A good stand in, if I want that old-timey taste of cornbread and buttermilk, is to have corn chips with the buttermilk. I use the baked ones to control the fat. It's good!! Also, let me just say this about Texas cornbread: No, it is not supposed to have sugar in it!! Cornbread is a savory, quick bread, NOT a cake!! I'd pass you a recipe, but I'm not doing that anymore. **Sigh**

Okay, so that's my trip down memory lane. I'm sure you'll hear more and more about my family as time goes by. Hang in there! Maybe by learning more about my family I won't be so scary any more. So, until tomorrow when I will hit my 90th day of 'Renovation Project: Nancy', sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 86

Ahhh...Sunday...my favorite day and the weather is even better today than it was yesterday! Currently a sunny 76 degrees with a north wind at 14 mph and 26% humidity. You don't have to say a thing...I know you're jealous.  Are you kidding me? Of course I'm outside! I'll be folding my laundry on the deck. I've already eaten every meal out there and listened to part of an audiobook while just resting this morning!

Autumn is lovely here. While I'm writing I'm honoring autumn and listing to Les Brown and his band do a little tune called 'Tis Autumn. I love Big Band music. In fact, I love all music! I listen to a little bit of just about everything. I grew up singing and playing a variety of instruments. I learned to read music taking piano lessons (even though my mom played well, she wouldn't teach me...had lessons at school), but I wasn't interested in the piano. Next, I took Cello and guitar lessons (again, at school), but they weren't for me either. Then, I found the French Horn. That was it. I was in love. I played the horn throughout my junior high and high school years and really should have kept playing. I marched in bands, played in ensembles, orchestras, stage bands...you name it, I joined in and played. I had great directors and music leaders. Besides all that, I sang. Choir rehearsals were usually in direct conflict with various band practice sessions, but I sang in the choir in junior high and stayed with my church choir and ensembles throughout high school. You probably didn't know it, but I can still be seen at my regular engagements in the Hemati living room, the 2007 Nissan Versa driver's seat stage and any shower I happen to use! *smile* I drive everyone NUTS singing!

I've done my nails, but I think I will probably rework them later in the week. I'm calling these "Twinkle-Twinkle Peri-Winkle":

No, I'm still so disgusted by having to cut them I didn't do a manicure and so, I did not clean up the cuticles. I just painted them and it shows! Forgive, me I'm not perfect. I have a big daisy ring with a sliver band and center rhinestone that is just this color. I'll wear it tomorrow to work. We'll see how long the polish goes before it chips.

Today I was supposed to have a My Fit Foods lunch and supper, however as I was on my way to the deck with my Lemon Turkey (yummy, my favorite MFF meal) and the door I was exiting through sprung back quickly and caught my elbow and caused me to lose grip on the plate and CRASH, SMASH, TRASH! Lunch on the ground; plate (my favorite square, black stoneware plate *frown*) is smashed. I had two small frozen bean burritos and some lettuce and tomatoes, instead. It was okay...just not what I'd wanted. We'll try again tonight with a different meal. Oh, and I'll be using my plastic plate! I am a klutz and so I should know I can't be trusted with breakables outside. You may have read about me and my long history of uncoordinated feet. If not, just use the "search this blog" field and search for the word "klutz" and you'll find out!

I don't usually exercise on Sunday, but I probably will today. It's just too nice to miss the opportunity to be outside. Again, I'm not on a timeline here, except that I want to document what I'm doing and how it's going. I have ordered a new bathroom scales, which should be here next week some time. I do plan to weigh myself on day 121. That way I can get a good idea of what has been the average weight loss since day one. As you know, I don't allow the scale to define my success. I am successful, because I feel better, look better and am happy with how I'm doing. I really believe that the weight loss starts in your head first. I had to get myself to a place where my thinking was right in order to get going again. I know that I could gain it all back and this is the way my life can go, but because I've learned so much I don't see myself doing that again. You see, what I used to do that I no longer do (and this is KEY), is see a momentary slip as the end; as the reason to stop doing what's right and to just do whatever I want. Believe me, I still want and probably will always want to eat the entire contents of the kitchen. I LOVE food. I love how it tastes, smells, looks, feels. I love to cook it, handle it, store it, plan it and serve it. I love how people feel when they eat great meals that I've prepared. However, all that LOVE = a HUGE Nancy and If I kept it up, would also = a DEAD Nancy! Not in the plan!! So, now a momentary slip is just that; a slip that means I'm human and need help sometimes. Writing this blog helps me. It keeps me busy and focused on what I love even more than food, words.

Now, the laundry is calling my name and outside is singing even louder. Be safe and get some fresh air. I hope the autumn is being nice to you where you are. If not, consider a trip to Texas! There's lots to do here, weather is pretty this time of year and the Cowboys are always nice company. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 76

Good evening world! Nancy here with her daily take on life as she renovates herself. First, let me say that it really stinks when you've worked extra hard to take care of your nails and grow them long and then you break one. For me, that means they all have to go. So, here is what they have looked like up to today:

Yep, these are my own nails and as you can probably tell, the art is homemade. I am hard on nails, but I've been babying these for the past 6 weeks and I was so proud of them, until today. Actually, it all started last night. I made a stupid move and shoved my hand into the brace that I wear on my left knee when I walk on the treadmill, to remove it last night and bent my middle finger nail on my right hand, back. It seemed to have taken the hit, but I knew it was weak.  I put another layer of topcoat and hoped for the best. This morning, as I was getting out of my car at the office, I jammed that same nail into the side of my computer backpack and successfully broke the nail WAY down into the quick. I did this so well that it started bleeding like mad. Now, if you know me, you know that I have a thing...okay problem, with seeing blood. Long story short (too late, Nancy) the nails are going to have to go and the middle finger nail of my right hand will probably have to wear a bandage to protect it while the break grows out. Here is what the nail looks like at the moment:

It may be hard to see, but that crack down into the quick is the break (I cleaned up the blood for you, thank you!) oh, and the chip in the nail art on the corner was thanks to my computer bag, as well. So, the long and short of it (sorry...pun intended!) is the long nails will now become short nails. I'll do a picture of the design when I get over the trimming event. Since nail real estate is quite tiny on my nails when they are short, it is likely to be a rather plain design. Nails are one of my creative outlets. My family doesn't like them, but I do, so although I don't like disappointing people, I paint my nails. I have to.

The day was a good one for my plan. I didn't have to invoke the filtering question about eating or exercising today! I judge good vs. bad days by how many times I have to ask myself the question. The more I have to ask the worse the day is. My sister told me a story today about how she's been dealing with herself in this regard. She said that her husband had a bag of mini Butterfinger candies in the house. She was coming up on her day off and would be alone in the house with that candy while her husband was at work. So, she told him the night before, "When you leave early tomorrow morning for work, please take that bag of candy with you. If you don't, I will be at least tempted to eat every one of them!" When she woke up the next morning, there on his pillow was a single Butterfinger mini candy with a note that said, "Surely you can have one!" She took care of business that day, looked up the calorie count of the candy piece (about 35 calories) and happily turned it into 2 bites and enjoyed every bit of it! That is the way to do it!  Know yourself and find solutions to your particular problem and then enjoy life properly. She got to have her candy and still be right where she wants to be. Bravo, Sister!!

Me? Since I'm my sister's sister, I have similar problems. I tell myself I can eat food that isn't right or good for me in amounts that are outrageous. Why? I don't know, but that's my problem. But I know how to approach my problem and keep myself focused on solutions that work. If you are new to the blog try searching for 'filtering question' to learn what I do. Just keep things simple.

I'm waving good-bye to day 76 of this renovation and I'm feeling really good about the progress. I wish I were already done, but I know I'll get there and when I do, it will be a true personal accomplishment. Since I'm a dreamer, I often dream about what it will be like when I believe I've done the hard work and can say to myself, "I'm right where I want to be." The best thing will be that, from that moment on, anyone new that I meet, will never even have to know that I've been on this journey. It will be our little secret! Thanks for reading the ramblings of a frustrated writer and woman who just wants to be the best Nancy there is for the people who love her. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 74

Days go up, they go down and sometimes they just go sideways. I think we can classify today as a 'sideways' day. It was one of those days you just want to see be over so the madness stops. When I say madness, I mean MADNESS! Wow!! I love my work, the company I work for and the people I work with, but today...well...it tested us all. I look forward to tomorrow and will relish another opportunity to see it be better, but please, God, nothing like today! What a mess!! On the other hand, it was a lesson on what can happen to foul up a perfectly good business day. When I write my book someday about my life, this day may show up in the business case study section labeled, "Don't Let This Happen To You!"

So, tonight was a parent meeting for our son's school.  Don't be jealous, but since his school is virtual, so are all the meetings I have to go to.  Yep! Meeting was in my living room and I think I got more out of it because I was comfortable and could easily take notes. Very good! Right before I attended the meeting, I did my nails. A white-on-white design of a sponged pearly white back ground with impressionistic white roses painted on top with acrylic paint and then topped with a shimmery sheer white top coat. Pretty!

Photo taken with the LG Optimus L9 smart phone...not bad!

The nails look pretty in person, but the photo isn't bad either.  I'm sporting really long nails at the moment and they aren't going to hold out for long. Before you know it, I'll be back to dinky, short nails again. I love nail art, but my nail bed is so small that when my nails are short, there just isn't enough nail real estate for me to be creative. I'm limited on what I can do when the nails are short. These were fun to paint and I got them done lickety-split before my meeting! Wow, Nancy can you say, "lickety-split," three times fast, please? Wait, while I get my camera!! Now, if the nails will just hold out the rest of the week for me that would be great!

I'm doing great in the eating and exercising department. I won't get to walk today because of the meeting tonight, but I will walk at work tomorrow. I have a meeting early in the morning with one of my favorite teams, so off to bed I must go. The meeting is at 7am and I have a rule about meetings: Never be loath; never be late! So, that means I need to be in the building, at my desk and preparing for the meeting by 6am. Translated: I need to leave the house at 5:30am to meet my personal expectations. That means I need to be up and in the shower by 4am...so...GO TO BED, NANCY!!  Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!

Day 44

Today was a mad rush to make sure all preparations have been made before school starting tomorrow. I'm glad I took a few minutes to review things just to be on the safe side, because I found that several software items had not been downloaded onto the computer! YIKES!! It took awhile, but all is complete. We are ready! (I know, I keep saying that and it's true this time!) As a learning coach, I want to help him in every way possible, but I know he has to do it on his own and he will. It's going to be great!

While sitting in his new learning space working to get the computer fully ready, I found that his room gets a little warmer in the middle of the day than I realized. No worries! I'll put a small fan in there and he can control the breeze. So, I went to the garage and there was a small (9" maybe) fan! I grabbed it and noted that it was quite dusty. I didn't want to bring something in the house that would spew dust all over the place, so I took the fan outside and disassembled it so I could give it a quick cleaning. I had a little help getting the screws off that held the front cage to the fan, but after that I was on my own. I used a small, clean paintbrush to brush away all of the dust and reassembled the fan, brought it in the house and plugged it in. Now, do you think that this nice clean fan had the decency to turn on!?! If you think, "Yes!" you'd be wrong. It never dawned on me to plug the bast**** in and make sure that it worked! I squirted the bearing with WD40 and Poof! it works!! Mommy melt-down avoided!!

The rest of the day I spent doing laundry, reading, playing solitaire and just enjoying the great afternoon outside. It really was a nice day. My meals were all MFF except for breakfast and I allowed myself red wine with dinner and a treat of some chips (very small portion) with my supper. It was delicious! I ate outside and apparently my dinner was very interesting to a single bee that would not let me alone. He drove me from the table more than once and I finally had to abandon my place at the table for the safety of indoors! He (maybe a she...who knows) was a FIEND! For someone who likes to be outside, you'd think I would be more tolerant of creatures, but I don't like stinging things. Like spiders, they frighten me. Something else I typically do on Sunday is I give myself a manicure. I'm not good with toes at the moment (need more belly gone first) but nails are one of my creative outlets. I wanted to do something special to celebrate our son's new school year, so I painted up nails I'm calling, "Don't Be Late For School!" nails. Here they are:

Thumb and ring finger are black with white writing and a matte top coat, so they look like chalk on a blackboard. The pointer is dressed up like an A+ graded paper. The middle finger has the teacher's apple and the pinking is a dinky ruler! I enjoyed painting these nails no end. I probably had 30 bottles of nail polish out trying to work my best magic on these. The matte top coat was tricky since the first one I used didn't like the black or white polish and caused streaks. The nails aren't perfect, but I'm not a machine and as I've said before, I've got nothing to prove!

There were tons of things I could have done today, but I chose not to do them. I'll be off over the next two days making sure school gets off to a great start. Plus, I have the doctor on Tuesday. With my promotion to 'Once every 6 months' appointments, I'm glad to have had a long break from seeing him, but I'm always afraid of what I might hear. After all, the sole purpose for seeing me is to make sure there isn't any cancer hiding anywhere inside of me. I love my doctor. He really is great, but I'm always nervous before going in to his office. I'm sure this time will be no different. I gave it all to God a long time ago. I just have to get better at leaving it there.

Well, there isn't much else to say about the day. It was quiet, as usual. Family members play their games and so I get lonesome sometimes, but I play lots of solitaire and there is always something to do, music to listen to and songs to sing. So, until day 45, I bid you sweet dreams, Sweeties!

Day 3

Can we hear it for Day 3? Whoop, whoop!! Yep, this was a day, if ever there was one. Work was beautiful, as usual. Things are what you make of them, after all. Food wasn't bad. I'd love to say I stuck to the plan, but I dilly-dallied around this morning and had NO time to make my breakfast. So, I ate breakfast out of the Avanti Market in the break room at the office. (Cringe...) They have a product which is basically a sausage wrap that's about 450 calories. So, I had one. Extra 100 calories, but okay I wasn't hungry. Honestly, I have to stop doing that!

Lunch was what I had planned:  Bean and low-fat cheese tacos with cherry tomatoes and a piece of fruit (a peach).  I loved the lunch!  Was easy to prep, ready to pack in a jiffy and it was delicious. I added some Chalula Sauce to spice it up.

I ate my afternoon snack today and it was good, but sweet things make me want more sweets. Here's the snack that may have to be replaced in future days:

Really tasty but makes me crave more sugar. Right after eating it I found myself thinking, "You know, there is other GREAT stuff back there in the break room!" Then I had to tell myself to get a grip and stop being stupid. I opened an email and solved another problem which got me over the hump, but I don't want to have to be fighting the urge to raid the break room every day at 4pm!! We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Dinner was as I planned with an added twist of leftover mushrooms and asparagus. I microwaved the spaghetti squash and topped it with a half cup of bottled sauce, added a couple of spoonfuls of leftover sautéed mushrooms and 8 of the shrimps I made on Saturday (I froze the leftovers and popped them into the sauce).  I had a few of the asparagus leftover and added them to the bowl.  Here is what it looked like (right before I ate it up!!):

The sauce I used is a puttanesca variety with the black olives and capers...yummy!  You can see the yellow squash under the shrimp, mushrooms and sauce. It really was delicious. Leftover vegetables are always welcome on my plate. I'm trying to have as many veggies and fruits as I can.

I'm still fighting the sciatic nerve thing, but it is better. The more I move the better it is. Last night I stretched by doing a pedicure. When you are a big girl, like I currently am, it can be a challenge to do your toes! My finger and toe nails are actually kind of on the small side, so nail art is really only possible on my big toes so I painted them a neon pink by Sinful Colors called 24/7 and then painted a white daisy with a purple center on each big toe. The photograph doesn't do the pink justice:

Freshly pedicured, happy feet!

Post painting...the lighting in my bathroom made the color UGLY! Trust me, it's bright!!!

 So, that's what I've been up to on day 3. I must say that the blog is helping me keep focused and it also helped me have somewhere to go and something to do after dinner. Believe it or not, right after eating that great big bowl of squash, sauce, veggies and shrimp, what did I think..."I wonder what else is in the fridge?" I couldn't believe by stupid brain. I had to mentally say to myself, "You are NOT hungry! Go write your blog...dam-it!!" Rescued by a writing project. Only in my world! See you on day 4, Sweeties!!