New Blog

This blog is officially done....I started my new one.


http://newjenny32.blogspot.com/

Endings and Beginnings

Well this will be the last entry for this blog.   I am going to start a new one.   Feels cathartic to start a new blog if I'm restarting life in a sense.  

The next blog will have the same themes though so don't plan to be wowed by anything overly creative.   I'll still focus on weight loss, exercise (which should be increasing), new recipes, etc.

I'm still wrapping my head around all the changes that are happening too so I'm hoping to be more grounded the next time I blog.   It will likely start in December.

Falling Off the Wagon...a little bit

Greetings:

It's Midterm Week!   And I'm actually organized and on-top of the extra duties I need to perform for both institutions this week.   All my midterms have been turned in for ISU and I'm waiting for my DMACC students to finish their online midterm exams tomorrow.   I usually have to scramble on Thursday and/or Friday of this week.   I don't miss that!

Next week will be slightly stressful as one of my classes is providing a health fair for a local elementary.   Even though this happens every semester, it's always a struggle to organize and makes me nervous.

Weight loss was 'meh' last week as I only dropped 0.4 lbs.   I wasn't shocked though due to some food choices.    I gained this week which was further confirmation that I need to get it together and be mindful about eating choices.   I went from "eating better tastes awesome" to getting sick of my food choices and wanting more variety.   The variety usually leads to less healthy foods.   I am on a mission to buy some zucchini today or tomorrow as sauteing that for a meal is delicious. 

I finally finished the book Emma.   The end of the book was decent and slightly predictable.   It is way too long.   Jane Austin could have made her point easily with about 100 less pages in the story.   I am now working on the remaining portion of The Kite Runner.   I do want to read Gone Girl too but it was a little pricey on the Kindle.   I may just borrow that one from the library.   The movie was great.   One of the best movies I've seen in a theater in a long time.  

I finally got information about the billing for my accident in August.   I am grateful for having decent health insurance.   I need to have LaCrosse and Waukon re-submit some things so my insurance processes the services as "in-network".   I've been playing phone tag with people in the last days.    They always call when I'm teaching.    I had guessed my ambulance trip was $1000 and I was almost right on the money.  

Happy Friday!

Another Loss and a Stressful Conference

It has been another hectic and very busy week.    First things first....I lost another 2.2 lbs which was a nice realization on Wednesday.   I'm trying to keep the correct frame of mind because things are always easier in the beginning since the body loses water weight and the guidance from WW is easier to adhere to in the first weeks/months.   I am hopeful that my elevated physical activity in the past few days will contribute to another decent loss on Wednesday.  

The university hosted a conference yesterday (Friday) and today.   The annual conference rotates each year to different locations.   It was at our location back in 2009.   Different issues back then but it was a stressful time as well.   The lead person for the organization is the polar opposite of me and others in our department that tried to help organize the event.   We had a year to work on putting everything together (and using notes from 2009) and it was still somewhat of a mess.   I am further irritated because a couple of us busted our butts to be helpful and make things work as well as possible.  Others that were part of the process weren't as helpful and it almost seemed beneath them to lend a hand yesterday and today.   One faculty member barely interacted with the conference despite being at meetings for months and suggesting a lot of the crap that didn't allow it to function well.   I am grateful that ISU reimbursed me for my registration fee (professional development) because despite paying full price, I didn't get to attend one key note speaker or workshop event.  I barely got lunch yesterday.    Hopefully if it comes back to us in five or so years, I'll once again forget about my irritation.

I finished reading the Julie & Julia book this week.  Eh....it was OK.  It kept me interested and I did read the book quickly.   A comment was made in the movie about the amount of cursing in her blog.    If it was similar to the novel, I could see why Julia Child wasn't thrilled about how she wrote about the recipes and cooking process.   I don't mind swearing but I was surprised why she swore in some parts of the book.   I am still working on Emma.   It is a dull book.   It is sadly turning me off of the classics.   Come on Jane Austin...I wanted better from you!   I need to read more during daylight so I can work through some non-Kindle books too.

Another somewhat busy week ahead of me....I am helping with a pre-game meal again for the football team.   I am actually leading this meal (Sloppy Joes).   DMACC students are taking their midterm exam on Monday.   Thankfully, I don't think I have anything going on next weekend.   I think I get to stay home.    I probably just jinxed that.  

A Good Week

I had a good restart to the Weight Watchers as I dropped 3.4 lbs last week.    I still need to boost physical activity on some days.    According to my activity tracker, I am supposed to aim for at least 2 activity points a day.   (basically the extra I earn after I reach my baseline for activity each day)  

I am working extra this weekend and actually earned 9 points on Friday due to working 13 hours.   I worked 8am-6:30pm yesterday (Saturday).   I am back at DMACC today and should be working until 4:30pm.   I thought the weekend would be a drag but it's gone pretty well.   For a few years now, I've usually taught the second Friday session from 5-10pm.   Due to some very large class sizes, they are wanting a lead teacher and an assistant for some of the sessions.   I was the lead Friday night and I assisted yesterday and today.    It's neat seeing the content and style of the other instructors for this coaching authorization program.  

I'm doing well with avoiding the vending machines and being mindful about how I'm snacking.   We went out for lunch yesterday at a local deli-type restaurant.   I got a healthy sandwich (thank goodness for honey mustard) and only a cup of Wisconsin cheese soup.   It's been easier to be mindful about portions this week.  It's still challenging at night to not want to continually eat when watching TV.   Counting points has helped because I'll pick better food choices at night or use the correct portion so I'm not violating my points for the day.

The upcoming weekend may be rather busy too as a state association for PE, health, recreation, and dance is hosting their annual convention at ISU.   I'm nervous because it is no where near as organized as it needs to be.    I'm not a doctor but I am confident the president of the association has ADHD.   Meetings are a mess.   He's all over the place.   The promotion and advertising of the event has not been logical.   The convention usually has great attendance when it is at ISU but due to advertising issues and the web site not going up quickly, there is concern for attendance this time around.   Other "politics" are causing problems too but I won't get into that.   I just don't want the president to through ISU under the bus if he's not happy with how things turn out.

I found out yesterday that the location of the YMCA will be changing in Ankeny.   It is currently connected to a middle school.   They are going to move it to the DMACC campus and have it associated with our Student Services building (already has recreation areas in it).  Supposedly DMACC faculty may be able to use it for free or a reduced fee.   It will take awhile for the change though because construction hasn't even started.   I'm still puzzled as to how they'll add on to the building to build the pool and other activity spaces.   I have wanted to join the Y but the cost is more than I anticipated.   They use your income to determine your price.   Yes, I make a decent amount BUT I still have school loans and such and that quickly depletes my monthly salary.   I wasn't happy with the 24 Hour Fitness place because of the type of equipment, space, and how busy it always was.

Update done!

Restarting Weight Watchers for like the 100th Time

Greetings:

I was up early today (and yesterday) so I better use this time before church for productivity.   I think I have a plan for the pace of my blogging.   Whenever I plug-in my activity monitor to charge, I'll sit down and blog.   I'm supposed to plug it in once a week so that may help with frequency and consistency.   I keep thinking that things will slow down and I can find time to easily blog and do personal things, but nope.   By the end of this week, I'll be knee deep in grading due to some assignment due dates creeping up.

Jon and I went to Weight Watchers this week.   I am happy we did for various reasons:

• the meeting leader has changed and she's not even close to annoying as past leaders  (some are very dramatic...I'm sure people like that but ugh)
• I feel like I have a handle on the fall semester and it will be easier to be mindful about bringing lunches to work and making meals at home
• I think if I take a few weeks to get the eating in check, it will be easier to boost the physical activity.   Most days I am moving plenty due to tasks at work but I need to make that consistent throughout all seven days of the week.

My first weight-based goal will to be to drop 15 pounds.   I am hoping to do this by Halloween.   (Always fun to pick a date that's associated with candy, right?)    Fifteen pounds will bring me to a weight that I see as a significant checkpoint in the process. 

One thing that bugs me is that I wish I was a better cook.   I do struggle at some point with making food at home because I only make a few things well.   And some of those food items aren't the most healthy due to the amount of butter, gravy etc.   I'm not great at tweaking recipes.   I am hoping to stumble onto some more recipes (like usual) so I can create a variety of food options.   I think that will keep us from desiring restaurants so often.  

On a different note, I am doing well with reading for pleasure.   In the past month, I read the original story of The Wizard of Oz.   I have always wondered how the book differed from the movie.    Many of the details are different and I can see why they put certain things in the movie and left out other details.    I am currently reading Emma.   It's OK.   I may need to take a break from Jane Austen and Jane Austen-like authors for awhile after this book.  I don't know if I've read too many of the classics lately and I'm getting "blah" about them or if I've read the really good ones and I'm now into the average books.   I also purchased the Julie & Julia book on my Kindle last night.   I watched the movie (again) and decided to see what the book is all about.   So far it's a pretty good read but I learned the real Julie Powell's life went downhill after the fame of her blog, book, and movie.   I almost want to read a biography about Julia Child too.   And no, I won't be whipping up any French recipes.   

I think that qualifies as a sufficient update!  

Overdue Update

Greetings:

Never good when you check your blog and you see that you haven't written since July.   Whoops.

I'll keep the past events concise and maybe in chronological order.   

End of July:  the summer camp ends and ends on a great note.   I made a lot of notes about the program so I can change some parts of the Parent Handbook and better prepare my staff in 2015 for participant behavior issues.   The amount of issues we had related to bullying was ridiculous.   It is pathetic that in 2014, children cannot be kind to each other and have to act like little jerks.

Beginning of August:  finally, a vacation!   I was enthused to escape Central Iowa for awhile and spend time at home.    And yes for some reason I have been dying to wander the House on the Rock for years.   Not completely sure why I like that attraction so much but I do.   I am pretty sure that everyone that reads this blog is already aware that our simple canoe trip didn't end up so simple.   I am pleased that I have a mildly sore foot at this point and numbness.   It could have been a lot worse. I had thought about blogging about the event in more detail but I don't like thinking about it anymore. I tend to think about "what if" when I play through the afternoon in my head too much.   It still scares me that I could have been in bigger trouble if the water had been deeper when I tripped and got caught under the canoe.   I'm holding off on another doctor's visit because I know it just takes time for nerves to "wake up" and function correctly.   I am a little surprised that I cannot feel more of my leg at this point.  

End of August (work):  my meetings and orientation process at the beginning of the semester went well for the new graduate students.   I am pleased with our new TAs.    I teach my ISU classes on MWF and have the after school program on Tues/Thurs.   I had hoped for more prep time on Tues/Thurs but those days have been filled in with walk-in appointments, scheduled appointments, etc.  I already feel like I'm scrambling to complete tasks each day.   I am teaching the Monday night class for DMACC again as well as the online class.   I am already less than impressed with some of my DMACC students due to their communication and ability to come to class or participate in class.   Sigh...I keep reminding myself I need the money to pay off more debt.

End of August (personal):  it was nice to visit NE Iowa for Czech Days and see some family before diving into a hectic semester of work.   I had high hopes for harvesting a lot from the garden but the garden did suffer from weather earlier in the summer.   We've had a small collection of tomatoes but most are still in the garden and green.   The cucumber plants produced a little but it was nothing compared to last year.   The only veggies that are doing well are the green pepper plants.   It doesn't look like I get to use my canning system this year.   

September:  it's been fun watching Gavin play football.   His team is doing OK.  I am happy that I can view quite a few games this season.   It helps that 9th grade plays on both Thursday and Fridays, depending on the week.   In 8th grade, he only played on Thursdays and that constantly conflicted with the after school program.  

And not to sound like a broken record, a big goal is to boost my physical activity levels.   We are eating out more often again too which is a bummer.   I feel drained when I get home and making a meal is typically not appealing.  Thankfully we are entering crock pot season again so I'm hoping to use that to crank out more home-based meals.   

Here's hoping to another blog entry in September!