Reached a milestone today....a slightly embarrassing one, but in a good way. More about that in a moment.
The big news? That I got while leaving the grocery store?....I have been offered a job! It's for a full-time French position. Surprisingly, I think this is probably the PERFECT job for me this year. I'll be teaching French 1. That's it. Not French 2, no IB or AP French, just...French 1. It's surprising to me to think this is perfect, because for a long time I was soooo convinced I really wanted only to teach upper level French. But, see, upper level French usually means you're teaching French 2, 3, 4, and maybe 5, plus AP and/or IB French.
If you're a teacher - you will understand when I say that upper level French means I could have 5, 6 or even 7 preps. If you're not a teacher, well, let me just say that each prep requires a lot of work, so the more preps you have, the more work you have. Three or four preps is kind of a lot. More than that is nearly insane.That's why it's a blessing to have only one prep. Some teachers work for years to get to the point where they only have one or two preps. And that's why teaching upper level French would be a daunting proposition, as there would be SO many preps.
So I'll be teaching French 1, on a campus with what appears to be a very supportive administration, as well as a foreign language section leader I think I will really enjoy working for. I will be assigned a mentor - probably a real mentor, someone who is actually helpful and willing to spend time with me - and I will also be collaborating with other electives teachers during our mutual conference periods. This is SO different from my previous experience!
Now, for the other news, which happened while I was still at the grocery store: my shorts almost fell off me! Right there by the cheese and sandwich meat! I could feel my shorts sliding down, then a little more down, and I had to stop to actually pull them up so they wouldn't fall all the way down. Woo-hoo!
Now, if only I could get my thighs to stop rubbing together...
Holy moley, I cannot believe this stuff works!
Dear Hubby suggested I start taking chromium picolinate to support muscle growth. I kind of remembered taking this years ago...hoping to lose weight...but back then, it didn't seem to have a serious impact on either my appetite or my waistline, so I gave it up. But today? TOTALLY killed my appetite. Wow. I mean, I was not hungry, at all. In fact, food didn't sound appetizing to me at all. Not even chocolate. (!!!!) What manner of witchcraft is this? To not even want chocolate? How is that possible?
I had a normal breakfast, but by lunchtime my appetite was pretty much zero. Since it was Father's Day today, the kids and I took my dear husband out to eat, but I only finished about half my meal. Hours later I was still not hungry. My food tracker indicates I only took in about 650 calories today, but still, no hunger pangs. Finally, about 9:00 tonight, feeling sort of weak, I did manage to swallow some dinner. Man. How bizarre is that? Normally if I'd only had 600 calories, I'd be starving by now, ready to sink my fork into the nearest flank of animal. But no. Not tonight. I'm not hungry, and food doesn't sound good to me either.
Yeah, I'm lame, I admit it. Almost embrace it, really.
I don't have an excuse. The holidays? Meh. That's no reason. Been busy with the kids underfoot? Hm. Again, no reason. Feeling sorry for myself because we are on a strict budget? Wow, that is the WORST excuse EVER. And more evidence of my intrinsic lame-ness.
So, no, I don't have an excuse for not keeping up with this blog.
How is the weight loss going, you ask?
*sigh*
I'd rather you not ask, actually. Because...it's not. Going. The weight loss.
It's not that I've given up....more like, been sidetracked? With all those non-excuses above.
That, and I need to temporarily find a different way or place to work out, which makes things a little more complicated.
Also, I may be looking for a job very soon. But I don't think that's a bad thing, necessarily; although I'd rather not have my little grandson in daycare, and I would also rather keep my 13-y-o son out of public school, still, having a job would force a little more structure onto my shapeless days, and that might be just the motivation I need to start working out again (and to stick with a diet again).
What have we been up to for the past month or so? Well, we had Christmas, of course, and we got to see family: my mom and stepdad came for a visit; another day we met my dad and stepmom for dinner; then, finally, my in-laws came for a couple days, and that was probably the best gift of all since we haven't seen them in a year! And they hadn't met our little grandson yet! We were very blessed they got to come.
My older daughter has been continuing to work at the pharmacy, which was recently bought out by a Big, Nationwide Pharmacy Chain....much to her chagrin and to the consternation of her fellow workers. Older Daughter was planning to stick around awhile with this new pharmacy but the longer she stays, the worse it gets. Some of the differences: BNPC is open on Sundays, where before they were always closed. The workers' schedules are no longer set but instead change week to week. Employees have to have their purses and pockets searched anytime they leave the store. (I guess I understand this...shrinkage is a big concern with retail...but man, that's dehumanizing!) And worst of all: Big, Nationwide Pharmacy Chain has virtually NO full-time employees. Older Daughter took off from school this semester so she could work full time (and in fact, under the old regime, she was told she would get to work full-time). But now it looks like she will have to find another job.
And I need to do some organizing. House is cluttery.
Someone send the Cleaning Fairies, please. And the Job Fairy. And the fairy that will wave her wand so my metabolism goes from "needs to work out an hour a day just to maintain a normal-ish weight" to "high metabolic rate means I can eat whatever I want and not gain an ounce."
So, here we are, Dec. 23rd - Christmas Eve, eve.
I haven't posted for a few days because a windstorm came through this past week and after that the internet wasn't working. Ultimately, it turned out something had gotten disconnected under the computer desk. Who knew? I mean, I was the one who had to go under the desk and mess with all the wires, while husband and tech support guy - both on the phone - directed what to plug in or un-plug. I just know I left everything plugged back in....but lo and behold, that night, hubby comes home and immediately locates the un-plugged wire. Internet restored! And, my family's unspoken acknowlegment of a certain person's air-headedness remains intact! Normalcy returned.
Anyway - Working out and going to the gym HAVE been happening on a regular basis, I'm pleased to report. Additionally, Bible reading has ALSO been occuring, usually in the morning, on a regular basis. Yay for both!!!
Food intake.....still needs some work. But it's coming along. My allergies kicked into high gear with the phenomenal winds (you know, the same winds that knocked out the internet?) and as a result, I've had to take a lot of Sudafed to keep the sinuses somewhat unclogged. The upside to Sudafed? Apparently, now, it kills my appetite. This has never been the case for me before. Why it does now, I couldn't say. But I'll take it. The downside to Sudafed is being awake for much more of the night than I would want. That's not the worst thing in the world, but it sure does take the wind out of my sails the next day.
So, food today:
a pear
several Cadbury cookies
minestrone soup
1 1/2 bread rolls
1/3 Canneloni
a "light" chocolate bar
quite a few chocolate-coated pretzels, vanilla-coated pretzels, and something SUPER yummy that seems to be Chex coated in sweet yumminess that my daughter said is "puppy chow" like a friend of ours at the old church used to make
No, not my best food day ever. I think I'll have a glass of wine. Or a Colorado Bulldog.
