Snow bound

Ok, so it's been more then a week since we've had "normal" weather. We had 9" of snow yesterday before it started snowing, and we're supposed to get another 4-5" today (its' been snowing off and on all morning so far. I'm starting to feel a little trapped, but at the same time I kind of don't want it to clear up till Friday so that Christmas really feels more cozy. I have a friend that was supposed to get a flight out from the airport today, but I don't know if she even made it there let alone had the flight. Most flights have been cancelled because of not enough de-icer. I'm hoping that if she doesn't make it out that we can pick her up on Thurs. for Christmas at least (she lives 3 blocks from here). It's her first Christmas alone since her husband died in June. However, I think we'll be boring and she'd enjoy seeing her friend she was going to visit more.

So far we've had power and been doing ok. I have work to do this week, and John's home on vacation anyway. We spent yesterday at the neighbor's for quite a while which helped break up my beginning stir-craziness. :)

Twisted Sister

So yesterday I found out that I am certifiably the "twisted sister." I went to the orthopedic place to find out about my scoliosis. They took a whole torso x-ray this time. Apparently my spine looks a little like a snake (twists to the left, then the right, then the left) so that my curves balance each other out. Since my head is squarely above my hips (good to know) and apparently scoliosis doesn't usually progress in adults I don't have to return unless I start having problems.
So at least that is one thing I can cross off my list.

Lack of sleep -:> coughing

just a little reminder that I'm still alive, and I've finally succumbed to the first chest cold of the year. I figure it's inevitable with young children, but it still sucks. I'm not helping by staying up late and getting up almost early (aka early enough to get us out the door and to school on time, but not early enough to get much else accomplished).

The worst part is there isn't much that can be done. I'm not really coughing much, but there's that tightness in the chest and the nasty taste that comes up when you do cough.

Finally, there's the semi-friendly but mostly complaining reminder that some of my co-workers (mostly my dept mgr) who would really rather I be at home and not coughing anywhere in his vicinity. Like I wouldn't rather be home in bed! But by the time I've dropped off the kids and figured how to pick them all up again and factored in the dogs and whether or not M will be at home, I'm really better of staying at work and drinking enough tea that I'm constantly running down the hall to the bathroom.

Winning while Loosing

Hey, I won $185 for coming in second in the contest! The winner won the pot that all the entrants contributed too, and the owner matched the pot, so that amount was split 2/3, 1/3 between the next two winners.

Woo Hoo!

I'm a big loser, but not the biggest

The manager at the gym told me Wednesday that I wasn't going to win the contest. She was very apologetic - I lost by 1/2 a percentage point. See, since everyone is starting out at different weights, they do it by who looses the highest percentage overall - weight, measurements, body fat. So I think this other woman lost more body fat or measurements, even though I lost more actual weight.

I'm not upset, and I'm not upset that the manager kept saying she thought I would win. It certainly kept me motivated the last week! And it turns out I was in my PMS week, which wreaks havoc with my appetite and willpower, not to mention I probably retain water then. So if the weigh-in had fallen at a different time of month, I might have won... but who knows?

Regardless, I lost 22 lbs for the contest and 31.5 overall. Pretty damn good if I say so myself! And while I'm certainly being a little more relaxed this week, I haven't gone hog-wild (even yesterday!) so I'm hoping to continue this downward trend. And I certainly don't want to gain any back!

So, all positive with only the slightest amount of disappointment. It would have been nice to offset some of the yarn I've been buying!

Happy Holidays

I think I can officially say Happy Holidays to everyone now, no matter what you practice. I hope everyone had a good Turkey day and felt good about what they ate. We had the neighbors over for Turkey and a potluck style meal. Had a good time and taught them a new card game (hand and foot). We had a nice walk both today and yesterday, but got rained on last night. Not too bad overall though.
It's interesting, I've never figured out why men have an easier time walking (at least my husband does) then I do. This doesn't matter whether I'm pregnant or not, it's been bothering me for years. I walk 6 days a week with the dog in the morning, and the last year and a half or so we've added in walking in the evening every night. John only joins me on Sat. when we do a longer walk of 4 miles, and in the evenings. Evening walks are slower and more stops because we're with a group. So, supposedly I should be more in shape then he is right? But I always have trouble keeping up when we walk together. When he takes vacation time and walks everyday with me, his feet hurt and previously his back has bothered him, but he can still out pace me without getting winded. What's up with that? Just seems weird to me, and sometimes rather annoying.

Counting Down

The weigh-in for the Biggest Looser contest at the gym is on Monday. I've decided that I'm going to stop dieting at that point, although I hope to be able to incorporate the new eating habits. Basically, keep eating right (mostly) but not be quite so disciplined about it. And then, after Christmas, I'll probably do another round of 6 weeks or so.

I'm just having a hard time following the plan at this point. I'm doing ok (not great, but ok) with snacks and portion sizes, but a little tired of the plan - even with 6 weeks of menus, it's feeling repetitive. It's time for a break.

It has been fun buying some new clothes. I can almost shop in the Misses department now (pretty much a size 18 now), but I would like to get down to a 16 and have more choices! I actually bought a new coat at Costco - an XL, which was not an option before. Now, granted, there was only one style where the XL actually FIT, but still!

So Monday I'll get weighed and measured, and then they'll probably post the contest results on either Friday or the following Monday. I hope. I'm kind of excited!