On Second Thought...

Thank God I have First-World problems... it could be a lot worse!

Obstacles

Grrrr.  I am annoyed.

 

I thought I'd check out the menu at Lucille's BBQ where I am meeting a girlfriend who I haven't seen in almost a year (I think) for Happy Hour tomorrow.  Ugh.  No nutritional information listed, and based on my internet digging, none of the options are going to be great.  I called the restaurant to inquire as to what the nutritional info on their BBQ Salad is, because it looks mighty delicious and doesn't come with tempting sides like the Half BBQ Chicken (which is looking like my best option so far).  The hostess offered to find out the info for me, but returned without an answer.  It seems they just don't have that information on file.  

REALLY?

How the heck am I supposed to keep making good choices when I get answers like that.  Now I'm debating if I try to be good with the BBQ Chicken Plate, test my luck with the BBQ Chicken, or get something completely boring and unoriginal like the Chicken Cesar Salad with dressing on the side (my go-to WW dinner out).  Honestly, my inclination is to suggest we meet somewhere else... but it's kind of embarassing to bring up. 

Why must losing weight be so difficult?!?

Good Decisions

This morning I was up at 4:20 for some ungodly reason.  As I was laying in bed and Sam was getting ready for work, he showed me an incredibly unflattering photo of me cuddling with Hunter the morning before.  (OMG, it was horrible!)  He told me that it was kind of sad to see me gain back so much weight when I had been doing so great last summer.  And, in that moment, I thought: 'Time to stop kidding yourself, this isn't getting out of hand; it's gotten out of hand already!'

Sam always says losing weight is about making good decisions, and when you come down to it, he's right.  I am an emotional eater- I celebrate with food and alcohol, and I drown my sorrows in them too.  I eat when I am stressed under the guise of being 'too overloaded to be bothered'.  I tell myself it's okay to have that second doughnut when they come into the office because 'I'm working really hard'.  I pass up the opportunity to go to the gym because 'I need to relax'.  I find excuses to enable myself and make bad decisions.

Today I made a couple of good decisions starting at 5:10 AM when Sam left the house:

1. I looked down at Hunter and told him it was time to get up because we were going for a walk
2. Upon heading out on the path, I decided to JOG instead of walk (kudos that I made it the whole 30 minutes without slowing down!)
3. I didn't snack while sitting at my desk
4. I tracked every. single. thing. on the weight watchers website (and stayed under my daily points)

And you know, I actually feel pretty good right now.  Like good enough that maybe I can do this again on Thursday.  And, at the risk of getting too far ahead of myself, maybe I can make it habit on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Career Milestones

This morning I submitted my first-ever press release to a wire service for mass distribution.  Wow. 

Not only did we get picked up by a few online news channels- yes, we actually did get published- my contact information was listed as the person to direct questions to.  Wow. 

I feel like a big girl with a big girl job today.  Sometimes I really amaze myself.

Also, Sam received word that he officially is licensed by the state of California to practice medicine (or at least write prescriptions) yesterday.  I am very proud of both of us today... dare I say our careers are on the right track?

Independence Day

Last night Hunter & I were home alone because it was Sam's first overnight call of his 2nd year of residency.  As much as I used to hate being home along, having Hunter to spend my evenings with made it so much less lonely... even when Sam's on vacation I notice that I'm not as anxious, I sleep much better, and overall I'm a lot happier.  Looks like Dr. Galle was on to something when he suggested we get the puppy back in January...

Since Sam was overnight in the hospital, and the weather was overcast and misty, I kicked off the 4th of July by attending a spin class at the gym- it was so nice to be back in the saddle after 2 months off focusing on school and work.  I need to keep that up to help my stress level stay down.  

After the gym, I spent some time on my homework and touched base with my teacher and my classmates to clarify some questions I'd had.  Good news: she decided to cut WAY back on our assignments and make a lot of stuff optional, and basically everything else into group work.  Our class size has diminished to 4 so we're going to work as a group on ALL of our projects and the homework questions from the reading are our only individual assignments.  Yay!  I guess it pays off to talk to the instructors after all... and in her defense, she had planned for an 11 week class that was cut down to 8.  She told us she wants us to give her feedback and make sure that it's not an overwhelming about of work.  Awesome lady!

Sam got home around 2, and we hosted a bunch of the general surgery lady residents for a BBQ from 5-9.  We had originally thought we'd do a pool party but the weather wasn't cooperating and though the sun did finally come out, we stayed in the apartment.  It was really, really fun!  We had bratwurst, 1/2 of which we BBQ'ed and 1/2 of which I cooked in beer on the stove, and we also had Adele's special Jalapeno & cheese sausage- limited time offer at Costco.  Oh-so-good!  I also made a fruit salad, caramelized onions, and cooked bell peppers to go with our dogs.  Hunter was dressed for the party, and he was a BIG hit with the ladies (as always).  He was really, really well behaved and I was very proud of all of our hard work paying off.  I got a bunch of compliments on his shirt!


At about 9 everyone started filing out- they have M&M tomorrow morning (Morbidity & Mortality) where they have to talk about the patients that had complications to learn from the mistakes and situations.  Sam and I took Hunter for a short walk, and then headed to the balcony where we watched 2 sets of fireworks before crawling onto our bed.  Sam's got In the Army playing on his laptop, Hunter is chewing his bone, and I'm obviously blogging.  


I have to say, this 4th of July I am aware of how very lucky I am.  I am so thankful for Sam & how supportive he is of me despite his own busy schedule.  I am thankful that we have our little puppy, even if he is a LOT of work.  I am thankful for our supportive family made up of Santis, Galles, Burkharts, Hunters, & Celnikers.  I am so very, very thankful that I have a job I love and coworkers I enjoy spending time with.  And I am so thankful for my amazing friends.  This life keeps getting better and better, and I am looking forward to a very bright future!

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Ohmigod.  I started seriously tackling my homework over the weekend and I think I may have bitten off a helluvalot more than I can chew.  No joke. 

I read Chapter 1 on Sunday morning, answered the 3 assigned homework questions, and promptly passed out for an hour.  I didn't make it to Chapter 2 because Sam came home from work early and wanted to watch the Euro Cup Finals, then we were cleaning up the kitchen, took Hunter to the dog park, and had Nick & Amy over for dinner.  Oops.  So much for my massively productive Sunday.

I need to get back into the swing of having homework, because this is an 11 week course that's been squeezed into 8 weeks and the reality is I am already at max capacity without this class.  I should have just taken it Pass/No Pass and tried to learn everything I could but taken something easier to finish out my certificate.  No, that wouldn't work for me, I'm too obsessive compulsive. 

The nice part is that we're going to work in pairs and that will mean that I can hopefully get some support along the way.  My partner is a single-mom living in Carmel who is taking on 4 classes this summer... who am I kidding that she'll be able to shoulder her part of the courseload?  :-)  Here's to hoping! 

Anyway, I have a chapter of reading, 7 homework questions, and 2 powerpoint lectures to get through by the end of the week so that I can tackle our Matel project that is due on July 8th.  Seriously, what have I gotten myself into?

Cool 3D Picture