Zen Habits

Our local business chamber had its annual awards dinner last night. My company was a finalist in two categories, and I was invited to attend. Of course that meant shopping to find an outfit, cuz it was a formal affair with all the guys in a tux. It was fun dressing up and took my mind off work for a while.

It's been full on and I'm finding less time for myself again. I'm tired of the cycle, really, so I think it was the right time for me to stumble upon Zen Habits while visiting my friend Carla's blog. The headline, "How to Focus on What Truly Matters," sure caught my eye. I'll share a few here.

Step 1 was: What does my life look like ten years from now? where you project yourself 10 years into the future and visualize where you want to be. Knowing what you want from life 10 years into the future will help you focus on what you need to do now in order to get there. That sounds like a good idea, I'll have to give that some deep thought.

Step 2 was: What is my purpose? and help was offered on finding out what that is in another post called The Key to Dying Happy. This article asks you to consider how you'd want to be remembered after you're gone. What do you want people to say about the kind of person you were? Things like, 'he was a great dad' or whatever. Focus on being whatever that is.

Step 4 was: What can I let slide? -- there's never enough time to do all the things you want to do, but there is enough time to do the things that mater most to you. Do them first, then use the rest of the day for what's left.

And to make time for the things that matter most? The top suggestion caught my eye: Do it First.

I did better when I was getting up early in the morning and getting my work out in before anything else. Once winter came I shifted that, but it's quite nice out in the mornings now. I just haven't made myself get up earlier, telling myself I'd walk after work. But I end up working late, or some crisis comes up or it rains, or whatever -- I don't always get it in. I will set the alarm an hour earlier Monday and get that out of the way first thing.

Hubby and I have just come back from lunch and now we're enjoying a lovely Saturday afternoon of doing laundry, playing pinball and playing with the dogs. I love Saturday. Carla, if you can find Dharma in the Dishes, maybe for me it's Dharma in the Laundry. I love my Saturday laundry ritual. The dogs follow me outside with each load and run around chasing lizards while I take my time carefully hanging the wash and enjoying the sunshine. Then they grab a toy and run and play with me for a bit before trotting happily back inside with me to see what hubby is up to. It's just us and our dogs hanging out -- no other obligations, just whatever we feel like doing. So Saturday is my favorite day of the week, and laundry time the best part of the day. I guess that qualifies as 'me time' -- now I just need to find a bit more of that.

Oh, and an addendum to my last post about being good at Ms. Pac Man - I was right. He took no time in mastering the game and I'm back to only beating him in one video game - Bomb Jack. Ah well.

OMG! I'm good at Ms Pac-Man! Who knew?

We had our annual Halloween Party last night, and people enjoyed playing the pinball games and video games. I've never been a huge Pac-Man fan, but lately hubby got me to play Ms Pac-Man with him. The joystick is on the left in his machine, with fire buttons off to the right, which you don't need in this game. So you're meant to use your left hand to steer the thing around while you eat those dots and avoid the monsters. But my shoulder injury prevents me from using the left arm, so I have to play as Player 2 as that joystick is easier to reach with my right hand.

Anyway -- hubby's usually a better player than me at practically any game -- especially the ones he tends to play, like this one. Well soon he's commenting at every maneuver, 'good dodge!' or whatever and I can't believe it -- I'm doing well! I'm beating him! It turns out I'm good at this game! Oh, my arm gets sore I'm jerking it up, down or sideways so fast to avoid those monsters and get to the next energizer pill -- but I'm actually liking this feeling of being good at this game! It won't last -- he'll probably take it as a personal challenge and work that much harder until he's winning again, but for now, I'll enjoy my victory.

I'd also be better than him at Centipede if it had a track ball here, which it doesn't. Anyone who's into Centipede knows you need that smooth gliding ability to dart in and out of tight spaces -- the control that only a trackball gives you. It's just not the same with a joystick, even if it's set for 8-way. I used to be really good at this game, but I just can't shine at Centipede without a track ball! Hubby says they never had one here, he always remembers using a joystick. WTF!? That's just wrong! LOL

Green baby Jack-o-Lanterns!?

A couple of years back I carved my Halloween pumpkin from a large, bluish-gray Kent pumpkin as Orange pumpkins are hard to come by in Australia -- at least, they were then. But last year they did have some in the shops at Halloween time -- imported, of course, so they wanted $15 apiece for them -- a far cry from the $3 I remember spending back home.

This year, orange pumpkins are back -- only they want $24 for one! FOR ONE! One pumpkin that will be carved and set out on the porch, then thrown away. I couldn't do it. So I thought I'd just get another Kent pumpkin -- only this year those are all shaped big around but squashed flat, so not tall enough to get a decent face carved in it.

I finally gave up -- and I bought two Jap pumpkins instead. I'd promised our nephew he could come help me carve pumpkins and bake the bloody finger cookies, so I had to have some pumpkins ready to go. We'll just have to scale down the design he'd chosen for the face -- somehow we'll make it fit. Or we could just do simple faces like the one on the picture here. Jap pumpkins cost $1 each. I just couldn't see shelling out $24 for an orange one. Then again -- maybe I should, just once -- and save the seeds to plant next year. If they're going to keep raising the prices, I could sell my own for $5 each! I can't believe they'll sell any at $24 each -- they'll sit on the shelves and rot. What a waste.

Another drop -- my aching shoulder -- and Halloween!

Not as big as last week, but then I didn't expect it to be. I lost close to 6 pounds last week -- can't expect to do that every week. And my TOM is due any minute now, so I generally gain. I expected to gain, actually -- so imagine my surprise when I saw 100.6 kilos (221.79 pounds) this morning, which is a loss of 1.2 kilos (2.65 pounds) this week. It's nice to have that holiday weight back off -- and I'm determined to keep it moving in the right direction.

I don't sit and count calories, per se -- I do use FitDay to give me a general idea if I'm within my goal range, but I've been trying to incorporate more veggies in my day -- so for the last two weeks, lunch has been a large salad and large bowl of veggie soup, (home made or fresh minestrone that I get in a bag from the store's deli). Without even trying, my daily calories have averaged 1450 this week. Breakfast is always a cup of oatmeal or muesli (with raisins, dates and almond flakes) soaked in soy milk. Dinners have come from the McDougal cookbook, or the Fat Free Vegan Blog, or whatever else I've felt inspired to make, and then a glass of chocolate soy milk (sometimes blended with a mashed banana in the milkshake maker) for dessert.

It's a bit harder as I live with an Omnivore -- he'll eat a lot of the vegan meals I make, but there are just a few things I make that he's not crazy about -- so I don't make them as often as I'd like. Mexican lasagna is one of those, and I made it this week. It makes 6 servings, and I can usually get him to eat it once (topped with cheese and sour cream of course) but he's not a fan of refried beans. That means I have to have it for 4-5 nights. I ended up freezing some to save for the end of the week and it actually kept very well that way -- so if I make it again I'll plan on freezing half of it for the next week.

I've walked nearly every day for about 50-60 minutes (missed one day when it rained) and that seems to be doing the trick. But I cannot wait to get my shoulder surgery over with. I'd really like to start doing some of my workout tapes again, but I would have to modify them so much to spare my shoulder that I'm scared to try. Even the most simple moves - trying to get in and out of my bra for one - cause a sudden and severe pain in the left shoulder that shoots several inches down the arm as well. I'm so tired of babying that shoulder -- of course it's the left one and I sleep on my left side, so I have also been trying hard NOT to, but it's such a habit. I've been on the waiting list for a while -- should finally get in for my surgery in December or January, I hope. National health care can be a great thing, but the wait times are killer. I've had this injured shoulder for a YEAR now! The longer you wait to fix it, the worse the problem can be and the harder to heal. Unfortunately, it has to wait because it's not a 'life threatening' condition. I was tempted to pay for it myself but it would cost over $6,000 to get it done. So we wait for Mediare (Aussie national health care program) instead.

I'm planning my annual Halloween Party for next Friday night (hubby has a gig on Saturday) and as usual I try to make some yummy American treats for everyone. They aren't all vegan, which is actually a good thing because then I won't eat them myself. LOL The most popular thing is my mom's Peanut Butter 'Bikkies' as they call them here -- simplest thing in the world, just spread some peanut butter between 2 Ritz crackers and dunk the whole thing in melted chocolate. Let it sit a few minutes to set. Everyone loves those. And I ordered some butterscotch chips and Karo syrup from the USA Foods store at an unbelievable price so I could make chocolate peanut butter Krispy treats -- those are the most popular peanut butter treat I make -- my Aussie friends just LOVE them.

I hope to also make some Bloody Finger Cookies because -- when else can you make something like this aside from Halloween? Though these ARE vegan so I'll have to be very careful I don't sample too many. LOL I've bought a black wig and a nasty pair of teeth to accompany my witches hat this year -- we'll be carving our pumpkin this week, and I've got assorted things to decorate with. I even greet people with spooky Halloween tunes playing as they come up the walk. I'm doing my bit to make Halloween popular in Australia! :)

Post holiday, I'm moving in the right direction again!!

OK so in my last post I faced the dreaded butt-shot from the holiday photos. My holiday ended last weekend and I was horrified to find 104.4 kilos (230.16 lbs) on the scale. It was only the end of August when I'd gotten back under 100 kilos again, so this was depressing, as it was a 4.4 kilo (10.14 pound) gain since end of August. But when I started back to work last week, I renewed my efforts, counted calories, chose very healthy options and got out there walking every day for about an hour (rain or shine) and I'm very pleased to report today that in just one week I've got 2.6 kilos (5.73 pounds) gone again! It's a great start and I'm determined to keep it moving downward.

Last night we had a party to go to where they always order pizza for everyone, so I planned ahead. Usually I just get them to order me a vegetarian pizza with no cheese, but I had such a good week that I had no intention of ingesting anything unhealthy. So I brought a salad of mixed, chunky vegetables with fat free salad dressing, and for dessert a peach and some blueberries. I must say, the pizza did look good -- but I was quite satisfied with my dinner, all those fresh veggies and fruits were bursting with flavor.

So that's my report -- now I gotta go walk the dogs before it rains!

The dreaded butt-shot!

We got home on Friday after a 4-day stay at a romantic hideaway in Nelson Bay, and that same night a very sore throat indicated that by the next day I would be suffering a full-blown sinus infection. I used to get them frequently when I was a smoker, so I knew the signs immediately. Since I quit smoking I tend to have them only once every couple of years, and then only when allergy season gets really bad. So for the past couple of days I've been taking my antibiotics and getting lots of fluids and rest as ordered. I did get up today and take a half hour walk with hubby and the dogs just to get moving a bit.

Of course hubby took photos of our vacation, as he always does. He always manages to get photos of me from behind, and I hate them. And yet nothing motivates me, renews my determination or gives me that much-needed 'kick in the backside' so much as seeing my own backside. So if I'm going to blog about my weight loss I may as well keep it real and stay accountable to myself by facing the dreaded butt-shot. So let's get that out of the way right away. And I did manage to drag myself to the scale Saturday morning only to find 102.6k greeting me there. That's 226.19 pounds.

The 4 days were lovely, it's a nice area. Since we're not much for boating, surfing, skiing, etc., that left walking the trails, shopping and eating out -- but mostly we relaxed in our room.

We did take a ferry ride over to Tea Garden, which was nice. On the way over (1 hour each way) there were only a couple of kids, so it was mostly older people and couples such as ourselves. But on the way back we picked up a group of kids on some sort of field trip, so there was much noise and running about on the return trip. Ah well ...

It was a lovely place we stayed at -- a house that had been remodeled into 3 separate retreats, and ours was the lower level, and the largest of the three. It had a lovely fireplace which we did use in the evenings as there was still a bit of a chill. It also had a spa that got much use. What I loved most about it were the little nooks coming off some of the rooms -- for instance, there was a lovely outdoor nook off the bathroom, so there were big windows next to the spa but the only thing in sight was the lovely plants and the sunshine streaming in -- no one could see us in there.

Shown here is the nook accessed from the bedroom, which while it was outside, was secluded and private. I had a cup of tea and sat there reading my book in the hours before my hubby awoke, and I loved it. Our new home simply must have a little nook like that! :)

Lastly, we did walk the trails -- one day we got in nearly 2 hours walk and boy were my feet feeling it. So the last photos below were taken on the walking trails.































Sadly, since returning with a sinus infection and since mother nature has brought us nothing but rain since we returned home, I didn't get in any more walks until this morning. We had just enough break in the rain to get in a quick 40 minutes with the dogs.

Throat is still quite sore, so I'll be going back to lay down for a bit -- but I hope it's better soon and that the rain lets up so I can get in some good walks the rest of the week.

Can you put yourself first and still meet other obligations?

I just replied to one of my friend Carla's posts, and I thought -- you know these are things I should be addressing in my own blog -- so here goes.

Work has been crazy busy since the promotion -- the boss is giving me more and more responsibility, and it often means working extended hours and attending business functions after hours. Or traveling to Melbourne or (more frequently) Sydney when there's an expo or presentation I need to attend. And I want to prove myself as not only worthy of this promotion but able to take on even more (it's time to renegotiate my wage, so I want him to see me as valuable ).

But in the process of promoting my career, I've put others (or other things) before ME in my list of what's important, what deserves my time. So I don't find as much time to walk and my weight loss suffers for that. Or more accurately, I suffer for that, because that's ME time I've giving up. I need to keep ME high on the priority list and unfortunately I've let that slip. The busier I got and the more work absorbed all my time I felt proud in my accomplishments at work, but ashamed of my lack of progress (and eventual regress) with my health. Plus when the stress got too much and I didn't have time to walk, I would reach for something I shouldn't be eating to help relieve that stress. Enough!!

I have to find a balance -- I want to be successful at work and moving up the ladder has meant I have more work obligations now -- but I have to find a way to balance those and still find ME time. It'll be easier now that we're heading into nicer weather.

Right now I've just started 2 weeks holiday (vacation, for my American friends), so right now there is NO pressure from work -- no excuse not to get back in gear. Except that I'm on holiday and usually that means going out to eat and sitting around relaxing in the spa. I need to find a way to relax and release some stress but still get back to my healthy routine. Part of me feels that if I spend the next 2 weeks eating right and working out, that's not much of a vacation. But another part of me recognizes that if I don't do it now while the pressure from work is off -- when will I?

So I have challenged Carla to join me in putting ourselves back in first place on the priority list -- it's not selfish, I can be a much better wife and a much better employee if I've taken care of myself FIRST. Anyone else care to join us?