2010 off to a Rocky Start, but Getting Better

Well, it's been a rough go with collectors everytime I turn around. We're keeping our heads above water for now, but fortunately things are starting to look up. Hubby's EI claim was shut down as his last employer did not submit an ROE - we thought they would have since the pay was via ADP. Anyway, we have to go into town tomorrow and ensure it gets opened back up - grrr.

I start back to work in 2 weeks. I'm a little nervous about the timing of my cheques and ensuring all the bills are paid - thankfully, we have family that can help out with a loan while we catch up.

Right now, my daughter is working on a big project for school, so I'll be helping her with that. I mainly do the typing for her and make suggestions on how to organize her work. I think, as a young person, if she can get a handle on organizing her thoughts and material before trying to complete the finished project she'll be laughing when the really hard stuff gets here. I was telling her about the 30-40 page case studies that I did at university - shocking as she's still struggling with a 3-4 page write-up.

The rest of today, Sunday, will be spent going for a walk with the family. Baked beans and hot dogs for supper - not the healthiest supper, but I've been craving it for weeks and so put some beans on to soak last night. Also, must prepare flip charts and read up on meeting information for WW meetings this week.

Dinners for the week:

Sunday: baked beans and hot dogs

Monday: slow cooker beef chili (from WW Now & Later cookbook)

Tuesday: Roast chicken with carrots, potatoes, squash and cranberry sauce

Wednesday: Tex Mex taco salad (using left over chili)

Thursday: salmon, rice and green veggies

Friday: lamb chops, potatoes, parsnips and carrots

Saturday: chicken, roasted potatoes and turnip

Lunches - left-overs, tuna sandwiches, or stir-frys using veggies, left-over meat and/or vermicilli.

Breakfasts - mainly oatmeal with berries and milk. Other options are smoothies, eggs with veggies and cheese, or whole grain cereal with milk, depending on the mood.

2009 in review

2009 was a year fraught with a lot of changes. Changes aren't always bad, though. I have been home since March and cannot figure out how SAHMs manage to do everything. I mean, when I was working I just used that as my excuse - now I have none.

We enjoyed my brother living here for almost 3 months. Some people complained that it rained almost every day; however, they have selective memories. It was also sunny and beautiful on most days. And if there was a cool breeze on the back deck we just moved to the front deck.

I did some sanding, painting and a lot of trips to the pool. We didn't get away this year as my husband lost his job mid-summer; although he began another one a couple of weeks later, it was a wrench in the finances. The second, seasonal, position ended mid-November, but he began another job after a couple of weeks which, unfortunately turned into part-time after 2 weeks. They laid him off due to shortage of work last week. Arghhh!

Anyway, I am still leading and recepting Weight Watcher meetings and enjoying that. I suffer periodically from insomnia - I believe both that and the lichen planus that persists in my mouth are stress-related. I've thought that going back to work would be a good distraction from the issues of dirty dishes and disastrous rooms. It's amazing how quickly they can make a clean, tidy room look like I haven't touched it in weeks.

Christmas was very nice. Very nice indeed. We celebrated at home - no dragging gifts around the province or fogetting their favourite toy. My mother-in-law was up for 2 nights and my brother came up for Christmas and again for New Years. My oldest brother was at his in-laws, up from Houston, and came for a visit on New Years Eve with his wife. I haven't seen them in over 4 years since my grandmother's funeral.

We're just taking the tree down today now that the kids are back in school. Unfortunately I think my husband snuck away for a nap. Gotta go. Lots to do and so little time to do it.

Cheers, Candace

Just checking in. Life is still unpredictable. The steroid treatment is offering relief on the skin, but as I scaled back on the dosage my mouth also began to get worse. It's not really painful yet, but I think the doctor is going to have to keep me on a larger dosage for a while.

The painting looks fabulous. The living room, computer room and kids rooms are all done. I'm in the middle of removing wallpaper from my bedroom as we'll be doing that one after the halls and kitchen. It's nice this week and my brother figures it's a good time to get at the front deck, so the inside will wait.

Meanwhile, I am maintaining. Using the quick-track method with the clicker for the most part.

Cheers, Candace

Oh My - News and summer

Dear, I have totally disassociated myself with the internet I think. The stupid thing kept crashing all spring - we suspect there is a bad wire on the line somewhere, but once the technician showed up it's been working since. My brother has been here and we've been busy...sort of. There has been painting, sanding and staining of items as well as a clean-up that seems to not last long enough anywhere. But you don't want to hear about all of that.

I will start by saying that is has been a stressful spring. After my layoff I suffered from mild insomnia. When my severance ran out my employer submitted and inaccurate Record of Employment and my claim was threatened rejection for benefits. Over a 6-week period I had to keep contacting them and they submitted 2 more inaccurate Records; however, the last one only had a pay-out ommission, so I just reported it and requested they contact the employer with any further questions. My claim is still being reviewed, but the are at least making payments based on the information submitted.

Anyway, during all of this I broke out in...lets call them hives for now. Well, I had just read an article on bed bugs, so I freaked out and actually pulled my back during the ensuing 'investigation'. I finally got into see my doctor and he (erroneously) diagnosed me with scabbies. Ironically, I was the only one showing signs in my family and was totally confused by this diagnosis, but began treatment. After several weekly treatments that did seem to offer temporary relief I requested to be referred to a dermatologist who now has be on steroids for Lichen Planus. This may put a glich into my getting back on track.

Ummm, yeah...during all of this craziness and poisoning myself with nasty creams I did slip up. Come on...this is in my scalp, mouth, back, arms, lower legs and feet - very generalized but a classic case according to the dermatologist. In case anyone is interested it is extremely itchy on the skin and painful in the mouth. Anyway, one evening I was even 5 lbs over my goal weight. I began drinking my water immediately and was much more diligent about writing before biting. On Saturday I officially weighed and was 2 lbs under goal. I suspect I will really need to rely on tracking and planning to get through this - steroids and weight-loss don't often mix. It sounds too like the steroid treatment is 'phase 1' and that this disorder is not easily cured. I am being optimistic though - I can at least hug and kiss my family again.

Hope your spring was better. Take care, Candace

Organization

Does anyone else have trouble with this. Scheduling and clutter in various areas of your lives. Well, since I'm home for a bit, my overall goals have changed. I was going to show a couple of the girls at work how to do vendor reconciliations since the AP clerk doesn't know how to do them. Training others had to do with freeing up my time from bookkeeping tasks so I could focus more on the stuff that management needed. Well, since none of that is any longer my problem I can reassess my goals and action plans and evaluate their importance in my life.

One of the biggest areas of impact in my life is - Decluttering!!! I am discovering that the little pocket book I bought for organizing events in my personal life is now insufficient. I have a template for tasks and stuff and will likely create a diary in a 3-ring binder. This will include a large lay-out page for each day (rather than a small lay-out page for each week).

I need to do several things, but first and foremost is to make sure I don't miss any WW meetings that I had committed to. Also, I need to plan for babysitters well in advance since so very few kids babysit these days and the times I need people really are helter-skelter now. Hopefully few and far between as well.

Next, I have to train hubby that his shoes belong in the kitchen closet, not the front hallway. Honestly, I picked up 3 pairs EACH of his and the 10 year-olds footwear yesterday lying in the hall and kitchen floors.

So, yesterday I went through the living and dining rooms and found a pile of books that need to be returned to the library. I also have a bag set to go to donations and a box of 'stuff' I'm not sure what to do with yet. I'm trying to take down winter decorations and replace with spring stuff and am, so far, pleased with the results. I now have some piles of stuff on my kitchen table that need allocating to various areas of the house. I think I will do the 'catch-all' room next. In there I keep the kids coats and outer gear with a shelf for things such as buckets of hats, mits or flip flops, depending on the season, the computer and my exercise equipment. Not sure what the matress, bed, molding, old armchair and various other stuff is doing in here though.

The Walk

So, I'm signing the 10 year old and myself up for a 5K on June 6th. We could do this any old time just by heading out the door, but an organized race sounds like fun for a change. I took the dog out for a 5K walk this morning. She didn't do too bad considering the amount of candy she's stolen from the kids in the past week and a half. It was cold out this morning and we just walked - almost 6400 steps according to my pedometer. It took almost an hour.

Update on past posts. Hubby is still at work. He got moved down to another plant. March Break has left me exhausted - anyone else? We spent time at the Wildlife Park doing crafts and seeing the animals - even went on a nature hike. Also got to the pool and some time in the school gym. We took in "Hotel for Dogs" and that's about it. I only did 3 WW meetings this week, which was good considering that the kids were home and my sitter has strep throat.

I guess today is officially Spring. The table is set with a dollar store table cloth and fake yellow flowers. Corny, but fun. There's frost here, but we're going to celebrate anyway. Take care.

And More Curves - Not so good today

Today is another busy day. Got the kids off to school, returned a library book and paid my membership at the gym for a month. The gym I joined last year has a small 1-time joiners fee, but 1-time means 1-time, so I didn't need to pay for it today. I just brought in my card and paid my membership for the next month. I didn't stay for a workout, but will probably go this evening.

Next I did some banking and bought a couple of things at the grocery before coming home. While in the grocery store I made a to-do list for today and am surprised how much is on it. I am covering a WW meeting in the city today and have a few errands along the way.

After posting yesterday a few things happened that really threw my mood. I had heard that a man was hit by a train close to home on the radio yesterday morning and found out that it had been a friend. He had a son the same age as my oldest daughter and was heavily involved in the community recreational scene. It just hurts my heart that he is gone. This was one of two train accidents in Nova Scotia this weekend. Bruce Preeper will be missed and I send out warm blessings to his family.

My husband discovered that his friend had passed away shortly before being told that he would likely be laid off this Friday. We've never both been out of work at the same time before. Such drama has the makings of a sitcom. He came home in such a state I wondered about leaving him alone with the kids last night. I did and headed off to the city for my WW meeting.

It went well. Everyone just loves talking about exercise. On the way home a dear ran out in front of me. I slowed down and watched it hop off onto the other side of the road, worrying about whether the on-coming traffic could see it. That's when it's partner ran in front of my car, stopped and came head to head with my grill. I let out a yell as it flew to the ground and ran back the way it had come. I hadn't been going too fast, so it may be OK, but discovered later there is a crack in the front of the car. Normally I wouldn't be too concered, but this is a 2009 - my first ever new vehicle.

Sorry to be a downer. I'm going to get ready and head into the city now. After I get home I'm taking the kids for a walk - I think we all need some fresh air. And I will definately hit the gym tonight. Getting back into a routine will do me some good. Food for today...I had oatmeal, blueberries and soy drink, plus a couple of coffees. I picked up a spinach salad on 50% off at the grocery (along with 50% off lf brownies and 50% off bananas) so the salad will likely be my lunch and a banana for snack. I'm taking some fish out of the freezer for supper, too. I think rice, fish and some stir-fry veggies sounds good.

SO - How was your Monday?

And Then Life throws you a Curve

Hey, so life is actually looking up this week. I have a short post then it's off to the races - or at least the shower. You know they say the only day that is important is today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow will never come. So, on Tuesday (vs. tomorrow) I am going to re-join the gym. Fact is, I'm far too busy today. It's already 10:30 and I've had a busy morning. Got the kids off to school and set up the dishwasher and threw a load of laundry on. Then I got on the 'ole internet to apply for a job I've been eyeing for a couple of days now. I played with my resume and shot that puppy into virtual, give me a call sometime land. Then I chatted with the boss-lady at Weight Watchers about picking up some daytime meetings over the next little while. Turns out, lots of the ladies (and gentlemen) are taking vacay over the next few weeks, so subbing for them will keep me busy.

So you're asking 'what are you talking about? donchu work full time?'. Well, I've alluded to career changes in the past and it looks like it's happening. I took a semi-generous severence package - look, I'm in no way complaining since some people just get shown the door, but others are more generous - and am taking some time to pull things together.

The rest of today involves a shower, walking the dog, getting supper together and prepping for tonights WW meeting. If time allows I'll be doing the grocery list - if not I'll do it first thing tomorrow.

What else is cool about this? Next week is March Break and, since hubby is evenings, I can still do some daytime WW meetings, but also plan some great quality March Break time with the kids - something I've only been able to do one day in the previous 5 years. How awesome is that? I'll have to research where the 'free' times are - you know, like $2 movie day and free admission skating and free admission swimming and such. Oh, and the Wildlife park craft mornings with admission to the park - craft, a walk and wildlife sounds fun to me.

Tomorrow morning...I mean Tuesday morning...I will join the gym. Cranky, I better do something. My pants are getting snug and I r.e.f.u.s.e to buy a larger size.

IS IT MARCH ALREADY!!!

Hello all!

It IS March already. Man - I'm not showing the virtual world any love lately.

WELL...OK, I'll fess up. Between mid-January weigh-in and the last week in February weigh-in I am (gulp) up 5.2 lbs. There you have it. I've been totally OUT of it. I'm not making any promises and what I'll do - because I obviously have no accountability to myself here. Still 0.6lbs under goal though.

SO - I'm going to Phat Camp with Phit-n-phat in June. Gotta start prepping for that. I also found my sign-in card for the gym, so when I'm ready to re-join I won't need to buy another one. Hubby is still on permanent evenings - so that still sucks.

What HAVE I done? Well, I realized my 'environment' was going to pot. Well, dirty pots, spilled molasses, frozen cake in front of the frozen veggies, pie on the counter, candy at eye level in the pantry instead of up high. You get the picture right? So, I resolved to fix it. I cleaned the pantry and am trying to take back ownership for the groceries that come into the house again.

I've also re-established my weekly meetings with my friend and unofficial life-coach. We're working our way through some 30 year-old Anthony Robbins tapes. Continuous improvement is important. I mean change is inevitable - we're not going to be in this same place next year anymore than we were here last year. Changing in a positive direction though is entirely under your control.

Next on my list is moving my computer into the dining room space and cleaning up my gym space. Right now the computer and related clutter as well as winter gear have taken over my gym space.

The Holiday Weekend

Yes, I forgot to say Happy Columbus Day to my American counterparts. Well, it's been an interesting Thanksgiving. And boy, am I glad to be a Weight Watcher today!

Last year I thought I was prepared for Thanksgiving only to record a stellar gain that week. It took me a few weeks to get back on track. It was frustrating and I felt out of control.

This year, I planned. This year I did some things differently.

We still went to the in-laws and no, I wasn't able to get at the vegetables before cheese, butter and milk were added. Oh well, you can't win them all. I also indulged in desert food - but don't worry, it was Pumpkin Angel Food Cake. I also left some behind for others. I bought a box of biscotti's. These babies are sinfully awesome - and check out that NI.

Walking - my 10 year old and I went for a few walks this weekend, plus one before dinner and one after.

Veggie tray - They were on sale on Sunday, so I bought a small veggie tray for supper that night, a large fruit tray for breakfast in the morning and a large veggie tray to take to sil's. I ate some veggie's before dinner was served and felt quite full after only 1 plate.

Drinks - no wine this year. I had to work the next day anyway, so I brought some Live Active Crystal Lite and sipped on that while others were having beer and white wine.

Desert - My niece turned 19, so we didn't serve traditional Thanksgiving desert. Instead they brought out a DQ Ice Cream cake. I did have a small piece. After all, I'd already had a fair bit of yummy pumpkin angel food cake.

Other exciting weekend stuff. I'm still plugging away on decluttering my home. All 4 of us participated in a 27 fling boogie. The 5 yo was having some issues, but did part with a few toys and some clothes. We ended up with a full bag for donation, a full bag for the garbage and a partly filled recycle bag for paper. We're doing it again this weekend.

Oh, and results. I did weigh-in last week and this week and stayed the same. Exactly. The. Same.

Less Housework

Anna liked the idea of the simple mirror. Wish I could take credit. Oh, I'm so excited about this new book I bought. "Make Your House Do the Housework." When we decided on our bathroom it was really strictly "What look do I like?" What I've come to discover are a few things.

- Pedastal sinks take away much-needed storage space.
- White moulding shows the dirt far more than grain wood.
- White tub/toilet/sink needs cleaning far more often than darker colours (grey or light brown would have been ideal).

In other areas of my house:

- The pretty victorian style couch, loveseat and chair I bought this winter collects lint and dog hair in the buttons.
- The solid dusty rose colour shows all the dog hair and other mishaps that come with family 'life' (at least ours).
- The legs and open space below the couch allow dirt, toys, shoes, books, dust balls, etc to collect under said couch and does nothing to hide it from visitors eyes. My last couch still collected, but the skirt hid it all until I could get under there.

I did buy furry black throws to camouflage, but it mostly just makes me miss the fact that it's the dog curled up there (i.e. camouflages Baloo instead of her fur - ugh).

So this book has a lot of ideas. At the end of the day, hubby and I decided to plug away at project that NEED to be done and we are planning to sell in 4 years. Ideally I would like to build and incorporate more of the ideas in this book into our plans.

You can catch more flies with Sugar

Well, I am wanting to report on my positivity goal today. I am SOOOO excited that we finally got up the casing on the bathroom door. Hubby has vowed never to do another 45% angle, but I do like them so much more than the blocks. Next step - frame in the bathtub. There's a warp in the wall that is giving him some problems, so he's been dealing with it by not dealing with it. Long weekend coming up - we'll see.

Left to do in the bathroom:

- Frame in tub
- Decide on cabinets and mirror above sink
- Hang said cabinet and/or mirror
- touch-up paint
I am actually thinking something like this for functionality. Easy to clean, cabinet is recessed, and no handles. I also have a wooden mirror that won't fit there. We were thinking about putting it above the toilet, but I may just leave it in storage until another day.

Getting this far is no small feat. It was labour day 2006 that I took the kids out of town for the weekend so hubby could tear out our old bathroom. We feared major mold issues, but it turned out to be surface, mostly. He put in a new 3-piece tub, new toilet and new pedastal sink. Word to anyone considering pedastal sinks - save it for the half-bath. You lose your counter, under-counter storage. I now have toys, magazines, bottles, etc everywhere else but in the drawers and cupboards that they used to be stored. He doesn't seem to mind that it has taken almost 2 years to get to this point - and in fact it may very well take the rest of the summer to motivate him to finish this. He's definately not a full force ahead until complete kind of guy. The plumbing is done and the floor is laid - I think he would have quit there.

Speaking of positivity, the girls both complimented on Sunday night supper so much so that hubby decided to try for a similar effect last night. Sunday we went to mil's and I made pork loin, boiled potatoes, boiled carrots and spinach. Last night he was motivated to try to please them in similar fashion with some chicken breasts. They liked it, but I have a feeling Sunday may have had more to do with the fact that we were at Nanny's. Anyway, a compliment goes a long way, and that's important stuff.

Anyway, I am so excited and really want to buy a new, vinyl bathroom door as well, but I'll wait until the other stuff is done first.