Weight Loss

One of the few things that is really going well for me and is not a stresser right now is my weight loss plan. Weight Watchers actually works! I was a huge skeptic but it's working, without going to the gym. I am ecstatic. Some people have trouble staying on the plan but it hasn't been too bad for me. I'm fairly anal and my life revolves around metrics, so tracking the food I eat each day is pretty easy for me. Despite my need for weight loss, I'm pretty good about eating healthy foods in general. I just have a sweet tooth. I notice I now make trade-offs in what I eat and plan my meals more systematically, instead of just eating. I'm learning that some things are far worse for me than I thought and other things that I've been avoiding are not so bad. Since the plan allows you to eat anything, as long as you don't go over a certain number of points, I can still have a weekly cookie binge. So my world remains a happy place. Oh, and I eat breakfast every morning now like a real grownup person. I used to eat a granola bar on my way to work but found out that I can have eggs and toast every morning for the same amount of WW points and I'm far more satisfied.

I'm also the Lean Cuisine queen now. Never thought I'd say that. I spent a summer working for Nestle as an intern at their Stouffers plant in Springville, Utah. They make Lean Cuisine. No outside food is allowed in the plant so they provide food for lunch. Guess what they provide? Yeah, Stouffers. Besides eating it, I left work every day smelling like lasagna. I actually had to throw away my clothes that I wore to the plant that summer. After that, I never thought I'd eat Stouffers again.

So far, I'm down about 5 or 6 pounds in less than 3 weeks. Not bad huh? I can't really tell much of a difference yet. Maybe a little, but not much. But I'm getting there.

It's OK to get a "B"

Sorry for the lapse in writing. To say things are busy would be a huge understatement. To say I am stressed would be an even bigger understatement. I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best in everything I do. I think that's ok to a point and then it becomes unrealistic. I think I've taken on too much right now to be the best at everything. Between work, school, trying to be a "mom", and some other unnecessary stressers I'll refrain from discussing here, I've taken on too much. I think the stress is adding to my migraine problem and the migraine problem, in turn, adds to my stress because I lose days at a time to being in bed to avoid the pain. Something has to give.

I want to allow myself to be ok with getting a "B" in my hard class this semester. I think it would allow me to work a little less on it. We had a take home midterm that I probably spent about 40+ hours on and I still think I'll probably get a "B" on it. That makes me crazy. I need to let it go but it's so hard for me. This whole "being an A player" has been so engrained in me that it's nearly impossible for me to knowingly let myself perform less than my best. But my priorities have changed. For so many years, school was my priority. It's hard to let go of that. But work is my priority now and I need to adjust. Of course, letting go of getting an "A" is also stressful so I'm pretty sure I'm just going to be stressed regardless. I'm counting down the weeks til the end of the semester when I can have my life back again. 7 weeks......

Losing Weight

As I said a few posts ago, it's time to do something about my weight. Or at least try something new. I actually eat fairly healthy food, but my exercise routine has gone down the tubes with being so busy. And I have to say that when I get on the scale and my weight is the same or worse, it definitely leads to the occasional binge in the cookie dough. I got on the scale last week and saw a weight that basically made me gasp. It's only 2 pounds more than usual, but it's 2 pounds over my, "I will absolutely never pass this weight" mark. It hit me pretty hard and I was really irritable and kinda depressed for a few days. I feel stuck- there's simply no time for a regular gym routine. So it's time to try something new.

I'm usually a pretty private person, so this is sharing a lot for me. So no funny comments, k? I signed up for weight watchers today. If you know me well, then you know I'm reaching for options with this. I've always been one to just go to the gym and take care of the weight. But since that's not an option, weight watchers it is. I have 3 or 4 friends that are finding success on it so I figure it's worth a try. Frankly, if 3 or 4 people told me standing on my head was helping, I'd do that too at this point. I've thought about joining for awhile but I think I didn't want to admit that I need to officially "diet".

So far it's been going well (I just joined Wednesday night). I lost a couple pounds the first 2 days, which must be water weight or something. Oh, and I've been starving. I am really hoping this works. I just want to get through the next 9 weeks until school is over and I can fit in a regular workout again.

"Spring Break"

This week is spring break for school. Both of my professors wished us all a great week off and everyone in both of my classes kind of looked around, like "are they talking to us?" since all of us work. Ironically, both of my professors are taking vacations. When did the role reversal occur so that now I need to wish my professors a fun spring break??? I did take a little time to recuperate from my crazy schedule but I also have a take home midterm to work on, so there's never really a full break from school.

Midterms

Tonight was the midterm for my class on judgment and decision analysis. It was all essay questions. It has been a LONG time since I have taken a final in this format. With engineering classes, midterms are typically math related problems so it's a lot of work but not a lot of writing. Studying was also different. Studying material like this is sort of an exercise in memorization; it's very different from engineering courses which is more of understanding the "how" of a problem so that you can adapt it to whatever appears on the test. So in many ways, I found studying a lot easier but it was an adjustment.

The midterm went well, despite the fact that I can no longer feel one of my fingers and my hand is cramping. I wrote between 10 and 12 pages during the exam, and I have relatively small writing. I think I did well though and am glad it's over. Guess I can wipe that short term memory clean now. Just kidding- it is actually really interesting stuff which made it easier to remember. My other class is having a take-home midterm. Good thing because this class is hard enough without trying to retain it all in memory.

Migraines Update

I finally made it to the doctor, after changing my appointment 3 or 4 times because my schedule keeps changing so much. He did some quick tests and decided I am getting migraines. I will go in for some other tests just to make sure everything else is ok, but it's most likely migraines. I told him how much I'd prefer to avoid drugs if possible, and he told me about a vitamin that studies have found to help with migraines. So I'm taking lots of B-2 (about 4 times the daily recommended amount) and I also have migraine meds now, for when I feel the migraine starting.

I went to fill my prescription and found that my insurance only covers 9 pills per month, despite the fact that the prescription from my doctor calls for more. So I guess we no longer need doctors; we can just let the insurance companies decide what's in our best interest. This obviously has nothing to do with health reasons and everything to do with cost. So I pay to have health insurance that leaves me in pain and won't allow me to get medication without paying for it myself. It's the same way with the chiropractor: the insurance only covers a certain number of visits per year (a small number), so I have to pay out of pocket for all of the other visits. Seriously, if my insurance isn't going to cover the things I need to stay healthy, what am I paying for???

Weekly Update

So this might be all you get for awhile. I don't have much to report from my week, or much time to report it.

Work: I'm helping out on one of our projects a couple days a week which has hindered my ability to make progress on my projects for the quality program. I have no complaints about helping on the project, I even kind of like it; I just don't have enough time to get everything done. I have enough to do for at least 2 full time people so I feel like sometimes I just run around trying to maintain the status quo, as opposed to really making progress. Oh, if only there could be 30 hours in a day. Or I could have a clone..........

School: One of my classes has an intense amount of work and I find myself spending much of my free time on it. I spent at least a couple of hours on this one class every day last week, and more this weekend. I will be really, really happy when this semester is over.

Fun Stuff: I did manage to watch the Democratic debate from this week, which was interesting, although less so now that I've already voted.

I also forced myself to go to the gym both days this weekend. I've gained some weight over the last couple of years and it's time to start shedding it. Maybe I should stop eating cookie dough too.......... no, that's just crazy.

Migraines

I've had a headache for 2 days now and it's become completely debilitating. I went to the chiropractor and he's fairly certain I'm having a migraine. So it looks like I need to go see my regular doctor and figure out what to do about this. I finally gave in to taking something for the headache. I tend to stay away from prescription drugs unless I feel that I really need them. I think doctors tend to overprescribe and I tend to over-react to some things, so I try to avoid them in general. Anyway, I finally gave in to the pain and took something. It's helped but my head still hurts a lot. This is not good, especially since I've been getting these headaches a lot lately.

Virginia Primary

Today was the Virginia primary. I couldn't remember what party I had registered with in Virginia, and with good reason. Virginia is a no registration state, so you just show up and tell them whether you want to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary. I debated on which primary to vote in as well as what candidate to vote for all the way up to the polling station. I debated on voting for Paul out of principle on the Republican side but decided that was silly, since I would prefer Obama or Clinton to Paul anyway and the Republican nomination is pretty much wrapped up. I ended up voting for Obama.

After the fact, I learned about a website (on a friend's blog) that shows which candidate you are most in agreement with based on the major issues. Check it out: Electoral Compass. I'm even happier with my vote after visiting the site. I'm the closest in views with Edwards, but since he's out of the race, I'm next closest to Obama. Yay me, for knowing myself. The only Republican that falls into my circle is Ron Paul (only about 1/4 in my circle, but still). No surprise there. I wish people would stop saying that McCain is really a Democrat. He may be closer to the middle and not an extremist like some others, but he's not a Democrat. So it looks like I fall right around the middle in terms of the economy, but am more socially progressive (or as I would call it, more tolerant of others and their choices). I'm the pencil on the graph.

Now for the stats: Virginia is typically a Republican state, although the race seems to get tighter at each election. When you look at the number of voters though, about a million people voted in the Democratic primary but only about 450,ooo voted in the Republican primary. So that means one of two things: either the Republicans aren't showing up, or they're voting in the Democratic primary. I have at least one hard-core Republican friend that voted for Obama today. This election is going to be so interesting.

It's a good thing I voted early because the weather got pretty crummy here. The roads were covered in black ice by early afternoon (and therefore there was crazy traffic) but I figured since I had school, I'd just keep working and not worry about it. Bad idea. I left work around 5:15 and got home around 8:30. I did stop for a bit to try and wait it out, but realized the traffic kept getting worse instead of better. I completely missed school due to the traffic. Most of the major roads and freeways were closed. Yes, closed. So everything was just stopped. A lot of people didn't get to vote because of it. I'm so glad I voted in the morning.

It Seriously Never Ends

The heat died in the house this weekend. The furnace is REALLY old and in order to re-light the pilot, you have to actually unscrew various panels to get to the pilot. Of course this would happen on the coldest days of the year. It was about 57 degrees in the house today. Thankfully, being on the 3rd floor means I get the neighbors heat from below. I decided to call someone to fix that at the same time as installing the outlet for the washing machine (which I've been meaning to do since I got the washer/dryer). This way I wouldn't have to feel so silly about calling someone to re-light the pilot.

I found someone to come out but when they got here, they decided they didn't want to mess with the furnace. So basically I left work early to get an outlet installed- kinda irritating. I ended up figuring out how to light the pilot though, so thankfully I didn't have to suffer the freezing weather for too much longer.

The electrician then informed me that due to the location of the washer/dryer and the circuit box, he would need to cut holes in the walls and ceiling to run the lines. Fantastic. So I now have an outlet and four holes. For the low, low price of $260 you too can have holes in your house. So basically I traded one problem (extension cord running across the floor) for another (lotsa holes). I wasn't kidding about this washer/dryer fiasco never ending. What's next?

Here are the holes in the ceiling and wall in my hallway and then the other hole in the ceiling of the hall bathroom. :( I really just wish I could have a break for one week. It seems there is some outrageous cost or issue to deal with every time I relax for even a second.

Busy, Busy

Since the kitty wasn't scheduled for surgery, I ended up playing all day. Toby and I met up for lunch and then saw the movie 27 Dresses. It has Izzie from Grey's Anatomy in it. I've liked her ever since the days of My Father, the Hero. If you haven't seen it, rent it- it's really bad but it will make you laugh, at least in making fun of it. I still have it in VHS, even though I have no VCR hooked up. I just can't part with it. :) Anyway, I thought 27 Dresses was really well done. My mom was also in town this weekend and we were able to meet up in the evening for dinner and to hang out for awhile.

Kitty Specialist

I was up early this morning (early for me on a Saturday anyway) to take the kitty to a specialist about her leg/limp. I've been nervous all week about the appointment because they said if she needed surgery, they would do it the same day. Well, no surgery. But I'm still nervous for my kitty. The specialist was great with her and I really liked her. If only we could find a regular vet that was this good. She tried to mess with Maumau's leg at different places (shoulder, elbow, paw) to see where she was hurting but the cat didn't want to be touched anywhere. She had the same reaction with her other leg, so the doctor couldn't tell where she was feeling pain, if anywhere. She did yet another set of x-rays (this is round 3), only to confirm that she can't see anything. She thinks the kitty may have some arthritis but it doesn't look too bad. However, it could be enough to cause occasional limps that last for longer than expected. So we're on another round of meds and orders to keep her from jumping up and down on things (haha- how do you keep a cat from jumping?).

While I'm thrilled that she didn't need surgery, I'm sad that they can't see anything to fix the limp. It is actually possible that my kitty is just going to have a limp, which I guess is ok as long as she isn't in pain. It's just very strange. After all of this, we've paid around $550 for a bunch of professionals to tell us that the cat has a limp. Gee, thanks.

The Vet is Afraid of my Dogs

Anyone else use Petsmart's vet services through Banfield? You pay about $20 a month per animal and all visits and shots are paid for. I put Georgie and Izzie on it but I think I'm going to cancel it. I'm disappointed every time I go to the vet. I've heard that other people love it, so maybe it's just the Petsmart that's near us. Since there isn't another Petsmart nearby though, the one near us might as well be the only one in existence.

Every time I take one of the dogs to the vet, there's a wait. I took both pups this morning for a quick appointment where they were supposed to get some shots. We didn't see the vet for almost an hour and a half. And that's with an appointment. It's like this every time we go. And god forbid we need to see the vet on short notice because they are booked for weeks in advance and if we go to one of the walk-in appointments, we end up waiting about 2-3 hours. I can't deal with it anymore.

To top things off, the vet services aren't very good. Usually, it feels like we're being processed, instead of getting quality care. There was a new vet there today who (I swear) was afraid of my little 35 pound dogs. If you know my dogs, you are likely laughing now. I told her that Georgie was liable to snip at her when she tried to give him a shot and so it would be best to muzzle him, just in case. She made me put the muzzle on him and stayed about 3 feet away at all times. What the hell is she doing being a vet???

So all in all, I haven't been impressed. I had found a great vet when I lived out in Leesburg but that's a little far. So now we're looking for a vet. I'm willing to pay a little extra to not wait for hours and maybe even get a vet that isn't scared of my super-friendly pups.

Metrics Review

Over the summer, I spent a substantial amount of time developing a measurement program for my company. It involved the development of metrics for Human Resources, Quality, Finance, Business Development, and our projects. We implemented the metrics on all of the corporate areas in 2007; we are implementing the project metrics in 2008. So I've been collecting metric data for 2007 and today I gave a presentation to senior management on those metrics.

If I were to call myself an expert in something, it would definitely be metrics and measurement programs. I was initially thrown in to this area at Accenture and have continued to work with metrics ever since. A good measurement program can make a huge difference for any company, if implemented correctly. In my presentation, I focused on evaluating the metrics we implemented, our performance against the metrics, and how we can make improvements in the company to operate more efficiently. I think that everyone was able to see the benefit that these metrics provide and we were able to make some changes to improve the business in 2008.

I am thrilled to be at a company that recognizes the use of metrics and is open to new ideas and interested in improving its processes. I would call today a success for both the company and for me. It was a personal accomplishment to not only implement the program but to know that senior management is behind me in this effort and realizes the importance of it.

Mvelopes

My friend Toby came across this really interesting system for budgeting called Mvelopes. It's based on the idea of budgeting by using cash and splitting that cash across many envelopes, each titled things like Food, Mortgage/Rent, Utilities, Gas, etc. By budgeting in this way, it's easier to see when the money is running out and you have to figure out which envelope you might be able to pull money from to compensate for another envelope that is out of money. It's a method to keep people from getting into debt by using credit cards, etc. Mvelopes takes this idea one step further by putting everything in an online account that "talks" to your bank account(s), credit card account(s), etc so everything is linked and you can easily see where your money is going without dealing in cash and physical envelopes.

We started using the system recently and so far, love it. It forces us to make decisions about our activities and we can now save more money every month. The money seemed to just "disappear" before but now we're forcing ourselves to pay very close attention to every dollar that goes in or out of our accounts and envelopes. We've also budgeted for a lot of the things that usually catch us by surprise, like vehicle maintenance and home repairs, so hopefully this will help with what seems to be a never-ending flood of surprise expenses. Mvelopes also takes the guilt out of spending for me. I'm unfortunately one of those people that always feels guilty when I go shopping because I feel like money is tight and I shouldn't be shopping for anything that I don't really need (even if there is disposable income available). But now I have a budget for clothes and another envelope for my miscellaneous spending so I don't have to feel bad about using that money to play.

I highly recommend it for anyone, and especially those of you that are living month to month and trying to figure out where all the money is going. It's also great for a numbers geek like me because I can see exactly how much we're spending in various areas of our lives.

Media Control

This is the first election season where I've followed candidates for President this early in the season, first time I've watched the debates, etc. And I have been shocked by the media control over the election. On the Democratic side, Edwards never had a chance; the media largely ignored him since he wasn't a minority. The media decided early on that it would be a battle between Clinton and Obama and therefore, only covered those candidates.

The same has happened on the Republican side. They tried to exclude Paul from the debates but couldn't because he was consistently doing as well or better than Giuliani, who the media wanted to cover. I love that Paul is still in this race, despite what the media has tried to do. As of last week, Huckabee wasn't considered worthy of debate either. All of the questions at the debate were directed to McCain and Romney.

The moderators of the debates are unfair in their coverage of the candidates, rarely letting the underdogs have more than 10 seconds every 10 questions or so. The candidates jump on the band wagon and sneer at the underdogs when they are given the opportunity to speak, as if they don't deserve to share the same stage.

Voters on either side of the political spectrum should be appalled. Appalled that you have far less choice in the presidential candidates than you think. If you only hear from certain candidates while others are not allowed air time, you are more likely to vote for those candidates, especially when the media tries to make the underdogs look crazy. The media focuses on finding a story, and they don't seem to care about whether their stories are true or complete. I believe the majority of the media has lost its way and no longer serves its function in society. I again urge everyone to do some research this election season and try to understand what the candidates truly stand for and what they are likely to do for this country. You can no longer rely on the media for straight-forward, honest covereage.

Long Week

It's been a long week and a half since I got sick. I slept through the weekend and then got an awful cough that kept me up for 2 nights in a row. I finally started really feeling better on Thursday, although my voice is still scratchy even now. With feeling kinda crummy, I don't have much to report. I worked, went to school, and that's about it. This weekend we spent a lot of time at home. I finally felt like I had a weekend. I had to work on school stuff, but also found some time to read, hang out, oh- and do my taxes. Woohoo. February 2nd - my taxes are done. Go me.

Huckabee's Statistics

Huckabee gave another statistic at the Republican debate this week; he was appalled that the average American spends 38 hours a year in traffic! Wow, how appalling- that's almost 9 minutes every single day! 4.5 minutes per trip to or from work! No wonder he is appalled- how awful. We better spend a lot of time debating this, it's obviously a very important issue. (Yes, sarcasm). That man should stop using statistics.

Sick

This is getting ridiculous. I woke up Thursday morning with a sore throat and by mid-afternoon felt terrible. I have been between the bed and couch now for 3 1/2 days. No kidding. I have done NOTHING. I was in and out of sleep for most of Thursday night and Friday. Then on Saturday I managed to stare at the tv but that was the extent of my activity. Today I tried to do some reading for school but didn't get very far. So yeah, 3 1/2 days of my life just disappeared and I don't know where they went. My body is now sore from being inactive for so long and I'm still not entirely better. I, of course, managed to pass it on to Michael who is now fighting his battle with with the sick bugs.

A lot of people seem to be getting these extended sicknesses this year. I have to wonder if this is related to the changes in our environment and the increased pollutants in the air. I can't recall the last time (if ever) I've been sick for this long. A few years ago I would have been more concerned about being sick this long but now it's just the "norm"- a lot of people I know have caught something similar this year. Scary to think what the future may hold.

Maumau Update

We went back to the vet today for more xrays. They still can't see anything broken but there does seem to be some inflammation or fluid around her "elbow". So she's going to be on steroids and an antibiotic for the next 5 days or so. If that doesn't work, we have to take her to a specialist and consider surgery. My poor kitty.

I came home tonight to her sprawled on the living room chair, white fluff everywhere. Isn't she cute?