The voice of reason.

I've noticed lately that my tendencies are starting to change. As an example, instead of doing things I naturally want to do, I'm starting to gravitate more to doing things I need to do. Not that I don't do what I should be doing most of the time; it's just that the things I want to do get the best of me more than they should, mostly when I'm not at work (of course). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with giving in to what you want to do; it's just making sure that the need-to's get done when they should.

We should all to give into our wants every now and then, but the need-to's have to come into play at some point. The feeling of getting a need-to off of my to-do list is now more satisfying than getting a want-to off of it. Isn't that a sign of adulthood?

I guess at 32, it's finally all making sense. Imagine that.

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I've been racking my brain trying to think of a good topic to blog about today, but nothing's coming to mind. I think the training class I was in all week took everything I had.

I did enjoy lots of sleep this weekend and I'm feeling really energized and refreshed this morning, so maybe by the end of the day my creative juices will be flowing again.

In the meantime, I'll ask this question: does anyone have any good CD's they're listening to right now? I'm always on the lookout for new (to me) music.

Yoo hoo! Over here!

Remember me? I know it's been a week since you've seen me - I've been running around like a maniac with all the errands I've had to do. I'm playing cat-sitter for someone (and getting paid for it - woo hoo!), and I'm also in a marathon session of software training at work, so it's going to be a very busy week for me. I had a little crying session yesterday (felt a little overwhelmed), but if every day goes as fast as today, it'll be Friday again in no time. I'm trying not to do too much when I get home from work so that I'm rested and refreshed for the next day. And unfortunately, exercise has taken a back seat just for this week. But I've decided that I'm going to start running at McKinley Park after work starting next week - the treadmill is too boring for me and the weather is going to start getting really nice. Why not spend that extra daylight time outside?

So if you don't hear a lot from me this week, it's because I'm so busy that I can't tell if I'm coming or going.

But my spirit is here! (Unfortunately, it can't post for me, though.)

Happy birthday, Baba!

Today is my grandfather's 81st birthday. We call him Baba all because of me. My mom's parents are Hungarian but speak mostly German at home, and the German word for grandfather is Opa. Since I was the first grandchild in the family, it was my responsibility to say "Opa". And of course, I didn't. It came out as "Baba". Here we are, 31 years later, and he's still Baba. Oh well.

So my Baba is 81 today. And when I called to wish him a happy birthday tonight, my grandmother put him on the phone and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Happy birthday, Baba!

Baba: What?

Me: Happy birthday!

Baba: What?

Me: Happy birthday!

Baba: I heard what you said.

My grandfather is such a jokester. Always has been, always will be. And I'm so glad that even at 81, he's still got some left in him.

Happy birthday to the best Baba ever!

I am not the dentists' favorite.

I went to the dentist for another cleaning today, and I swear I was just there last week (at least that's what it felt like). When she told me that my last appointment was in August, I gasped. I was flabbergasted at how fast the time had passed.

Anyway, once she starting poking around in my mouth, she found a dark spot, which was not a cavity, but something ON TOP of a cavity. If my tooth had a face, it would look like this:














I'd forgotten how unpleasant a cavity is. And she hit it twice during my appointment - once with the little air gun thing on purpose (WHY do they do that?!) and then with the cleaning solution (not on purpose). Yikes. I guess that's my punishment for not flossing as frequently as I should be...again. Although I told her the plaque that was there was sparing me the pain of the cavity, so in this case, it worked in my favor not to floss.

She didn't think it was as funny as I did.

So I'll be going back at the end of April for a filling. And in keeping with my New Year's resolutions in not making things harder on myself, I am NOT going to worry about this since I've been through this before and it's not a big deal.

At least it won't be until the needle comes. Then it will be a big deal.

Defeat of the sugar monster.

What a difference a week makes. I'm still struggling a little bit, but it's getting easier and I'm so, so thankful. And my clothes are fitting a whole lot better, which feels really awesome. I'm tempted to keep this up once Lent is over, since every time I eat sugar, I only want more.

Then I remembered that these are here again:







I love love LOVE these. I usually get a few on Easter and I cannot wait. But one or two of them won't push me back to my old habits.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

An ugly discovery.

So I made the realization today that sugar is apparently my caffeine. Take it away, and I can't function as well as normal. I've been crabby all day and a little on the hungry side, even though I ate tons of fruits and veggies. I also had a bean burrito for lunch (to get that protein in) and a Boca burger for dinner (meatless, of course), which I thought would take care of the hungry part, but sadly, it did not.

Now my challenge is to find snacks that are either high in protein or high in fiber, since my normal high fiber granola bar snack has been kicked to the curb (10 grams of sugar per serving!).

I realized this afternoon at work that I feel just like I did during my first week of Weight Watchers - constantly thinking about food and looking at the time to see if it's time to eat again. But I soon felt better when I remembered that the feeling went away after a few days and I completely adjusted. So by this time next week, I should be feeling a lot better. I've just got to get through these next few days.

Wish me luck.