We WISH You A Disney Happy Holidays – December Challenge

I am struggling at the moment again - I am just so exhausted, I don't understand why and that is driving me crazy and a little anxious. The Vitamin B12 shot doesn't seem to have done anything. So I will go back to the dr in the next couple of weeks and see if I need to start back on iron as well. My tiredness will not improve over the next couple of days as DS17s birthday present was for us all go to the midnight premiere of Star Wars tomorrow night :crazy: The other part is that after thinking I was making progress last month I think the drs scales were incorrect - when I got to the dietician her scale said I had gained overall - it was so disheartening - and today I feel bloated around the belly and really honestly just FEEL completely overweight :sad:. I have not given up though and will be shopping tomorrow for some good food as it will be the first day of my break :-)

I am really sorry you are feeling down. Would you get a home scale and monitor your weight to get more accurate picture? Sometimes you drink pint of water and that makes you weight kg more.
 
I am struggling at the moment again - I am just so exhausted, I don't understand why and that is driving me crazy and a little anxious. The Vitamin B12 shot doesn't seem to have done anything. So I will go back to the dr in the next couple of weeks and see if I need to start back on iron as well. My tiredness will not improve over the next couple of days as DS17s birthday present was for us all go to the midnight premiere of Star Wars tomorrow night :crazy: The other part is that after thinking I was making progress last month I think the drs scales were incorrect - when I got to the dietician her scale said I had gained overall - it was so disheartening - and today I feel bloated around the belly and really honestly just FEEL completely overweight :sad:. I have not given up though and will be shopping tomorrow for some good food as it will be the first day of my break :-)

Having struggled with being exhausted for most of the past year, I can feel your frustration. For me it was a gradual unraveling of multiple things - thyroid, adrenals and allergies. Hopefully you'll find the answer soon.
 
Good news for today -- I am down .4 pounds from earlier this week and the kids get a snow day. Not sure why as the roads were fine on my side of town. We have 3 cities that make up our school district so I am guessing one of the others where bad. The bad news for the day -- I took the rapid in again today and they are horrible at plowing and shoveling/salting the sidewalks. I slipped and feel in the snow. I felt fine at first but my shoulder is really starting to hurt. I am going to take advil soon. Also my hip is hurting a little bit now. So we will see what I get done this afternoon. I would like to get to the rec and as long as my hip is doing good i will go.
 


Daily accountability:

Lose 5 pounds... down another pound on the scale this morning, so that makes -7 altogether. Thankfully the cleanse is over, I don't think I could do juice for another day. This morning I had oatmeal for breakfast, the best oatmeal ever. I'm craving protein more than sugar, so that's a very good thing. I was stressing a little last night about eating again and still losing weight and had to remind myself that not eating isn't even an option, its all about the right choices.
Walk out doors... not last night, and now we're going back into a rainy period any future outdoors time is going to be wet.
Daily gratitude... the cleanse and just getting thru it kind of overtook my resting thoughts the past few days, so I really need to refocus on this.
Spread peace... can't say that I did anything specific here either, so need to step it up.

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Well after taking some advil I am still in some pain. I am pretty sure I fell on my hip more towards my back. it is now very sore to touch and I am getting really stiff. I think when I get home I will just put some heat on my back/hip and rest. Ugh!!!! I had plans and this is messing with my plans. I will still watch what I eat though and stay on track that way.
 
Good news for today -- I am down .4 pounds from earlier this week and the kids get a snow day. Not sure why as the roads were fine on my side of town. We have 3 cities that make up our school district so I am guessing one of the others where bad. The bad news for the day -- I took the rapid in again today and they are horrible at plowing and shoveling/salting the sidewalks. I slipped and feel in the snow. I felt fine at first but my shoulder is really starting to hurt. I am going to take advil soon. Also my hip is hurting a little bit now. So we will see what I get done this afternoon. I would like to get to the rec and as long as my hip is doing good i will go.

Well after taking some advil I am still in some pain. I am pretty sure I fell on my hip more towards my back. it is now very sore to touch and I am getting really stiff. I think when I get home I will just put some heat on my back/hip and rest. Ugh!!!! I had plans and this is messing with my plans. I will still watch what I eat though and stay on track that way.

Great new about the weight loss - not so good about your fall - take care of yourself hope it gets better soon and isn't something more serious.

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Sorry there wasn't a QOTD this morning - my tiredness after seeing Star Wars so early really caught up with me by late afternoon/last night!
 


Well after taking some advil I am still in some pain. I am pretty sure I fell on my hip more towards my back. it is now very sore to touch and I am getting really stiff. I think when I get home I will just put some heat on my back/hip and rest. Ugh!!!! I had plans and this is messing with my plans. I will still watch what I eat though and stay on track that way.

A fall is tough on your body, even if there isn't an obvious injury... take care of yourself!
 
What I have learned is I need to move. The more steps I take the better I do. Also i am not young anymore and I can't eat everything that I want when I want it. On the mental side I am learning patience. I always had a lot growing up and with other peoples kids but my DD I seem to have none. It has been a process but we are getting there. My husband and I both have learned that if we yell at her it just makes everything worse. if you talk to her calmly she doesn't fly off and we can talk and do punishments (if needed) better this way. it is hard and we are not always perfect with it but it is a work in process.

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I my back/hip is doing better today. I little sore and stiff when I first got up my Advil has taken that away. I also think laying on the couch last night with a heating pad on it helped. However my shoulder is much worse. It felt fine as the day went on and I didn't even notice anything wrong with it last night. Well this morning is a different story. It even hurts to turn my blinker on in the car. I am still going to take it easy and do my best not to move or use it much for the next several days. I have to get the rest of my Christmas shopping done. It is even bothering me to type but I have to get through today. After today I am on vacation until the 3rd. This day better move fast and not drag on.

With my shoulder hurting I did not want to bring my backpack to work. This is how I carry my lunch to work. So today i will buy something here. I have already been not eating good. I had 2 doughnuts for breakfast. Lunch I will do better and eat at the soup place. Much healthier choices.

To night I am not sure what will be for dinner but we will be watching at least Force Awakens maybe one other. Tomorrow we will be seeing the Last Jedi. I can't wait. And though my DD will never say it she can't wait either. She has this thing that she can't let anyone know that she likes Star Wars. I am not sure why. I also have an eye dr appointment int he morning so hopefully I can talk them into not dilating my eyes.
 
QOTD:

This year I've made some pretty subtle but significant changes in the way I live, but hadn't been able to articulate the shift until I read a Blog earlier this week that spoke to the difference between "self improvement" and "self cultivation". The author's point of view was that "self improvement" is based on fixing something that is wrong with you and that the best you can do attaining your self improvement goals is to get to where you "should" have been all along. Whereas "self cultivation" isn't about trying to become more acceptable, its about doing and being in ways that bring you personal growth, and about becoming someone with depth and experience, someone with interesting stories to tell about themselves and their life... if you will, someone you'd enjoy talking to at a party. For me this insight has brought order and meaning to the seemingly random things I've done this year which were all exploration of things that interested me, with no perceivable end goal. So that's my big learning for the year... cultivation over improvement.

According to the author the key to self cultivation is desire, and she recommends that you ask yourself questions like "what do I desire, what am I drawn to, what do I want to learn and how do I want to be"... and be prepared for some strange answers to pop up, but know that those answers come from deep within you, so pay attention. When I asked myself these questions in relation to how I want 2018 to pan out, the answer that came to me was "I want to see beautiful things", things that are so amazing they send shivers down my spine and bring tears to my eyes. So this shows me how to plan out my year, and in particular my vacation and travel time - I really want to do a big hiking/knitting trip in Scotland, Iceland or Norway, so slowly moving thru beautiful amazing places, which in turn tells me I need to be fit and healthy to get the full experience.

As it turns out the author of the blog post is a life coach who specializes in healthful eating, so I've signed to get her emails and after I've heard more I may chose to work with her one-on-one. Her name is Max Daniels and she has a web site under her name and .com, if anyone else is interested... the post about self cultivation is on the Mason Dixon Knitting website, which interestingly enough I follow because I met one of the MDK founders at the natural dyeing class that I went to in Nashville.

Daily accountability:

Lose 5 pounds... was up a pound on the scale this morning, which wasn't a surprise since yesterday was the first day back to actual food. Over the weekend I will seek out a totally amazing hamburger and get some of the sweet and spicy glazed bacon that I've been craving and then I will sit down and plan out my healthful eating plan for next week.
Walk outdoors... will be happening tomorrow.
Daily gratitude... my juice-induced funky mood lifted last night and I found myself being happy for no particular reason, so the dam has cleared for getting back to daily gratitude for all the things.
Spread peace... I'm not so sure about spreading peace, but today I am successfully spreading joy. We have an office Elf on the Shelf, and there are four of us "managing" him: today was one of my days and this morning I, um, no he, gift wrapped the beverage vending machine, which has people very excited.

 
I've learned what healthy eating habits look like for me. Part of my problem is that after graduating from college two years ago, I still had the student mindset of 'never refuse free food.' So in the work place, where lunches are catered often or there are lots of opportunities to go out to eat (not to mention what I eat like on work trips), I had that same mentality and that's what made me overweight.

So this year I had to shift and realize that just because food is there (and free) doesn't mean I should eat it. I took a good hard look at acceptable portion sizes and learned to pay better attention to the types and amounts of food I am eating.

I've also learned to forgive myself when it comes to having a 'bad' meal, but not to let that forgiveness be an excuse to continue with bad choices. It's been a great year in that respect!
 
Happy Weekend!

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We are half-way through the month!

One way some may be getting some extra steps this weekend is shopping!



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Which shopper do you relate to? Also, as we are approaching the last few weeks of 2017 are you approaching the end with a crazy scramble to meet a goal or are you calmly coasting towards the finish line?
 
This year I've made some pretty subtle but significant changes in the way I live, but hadn't been able to articulate the shift until I read a Blog earlier this week that spoke to the difference between "self improvement" and "self cultivation". The author's point of view was that "self improvement" is based on fixing something that is wrong with you and that the best you can do attaining your self improvement goals is to get to where you "should" have been all along. Whereas "self cultivation" isn't about trying to become more acceptable, its about doing and being in ways that bring you personal growth, and about becoming someone with depth and experience, someone with interesting stories to tell about themselves and their life... if you will, someone you'd enjoy talking to at a party. For me this insight has brought order and meaning to the seemingly random things I've done this year which were all exploration of things that interested me, with no perceivable end goal. So that's my big learning for the year... cultivation over improvement.

According to the author the key to self cultivation is desire, and she recommends that you ask yourself questions like "what do I desire, what am I drawn to, what do I want to learn and how do I want to be"... and be prepared for some strange answers to pop up, but know that those answers come from deep within you, so pay attention. When I asked myself these questions in relation to how I want 2018 to pan out, the answer that came to me was "I want to see beautiful things", things that are so amazing they send shivers down my spine and bring tears to my eyes. So this shows me how to plan out my year, and in particular my vacation and travel time - I really want to do a big hiking/knitting trip in Scotland, Iceland or Norway, so slowly moving thru beautiful amazing places, which in turn tells me I need to be fit and healthy to get the full experience.

I love these thoughts, thank you for sharing them and for sharing her website. It will be fun hearing all the wonderful places and beautiful things you see/visit next year.
 
I am shopping tomorrow. I am not a big shopping. I don;t browse. I get annoyed with my mom when she has to look at every piece of clothing on a rack and every rack in a store.

Today was a good day. My should still hurts some but much better then what it was yesterday. I didn't even have to take advil today. This morning DS had his last karate class before his surgery, I had an eye dr appointment (3rd or 4th year my eyes have not changed Yay!!!), went to see Star Wars and then DS had a basketball game. So we had a very busy day. Tomorrow I will going with my mom to have lunch with my grandfather. He is in an assisted living place and his health is quickly declining. My grandmother is in a nursing home in the last stage of Alzheimer and we can't get to do the lunches any more but I am glad I get to with my grandfather. After lunch my mom and I will get the last of my Christmas shopping done. It will be a fun day.
 
Today was a good day. My should still hurts some but much better then what it was yesterday. I didn't even have to take advil today. This morning DS had his last karate class before his surgery, I had an eye dr appointment (3rd or 4th year my eyes have not changed Yay!!!), went to see Star Wars and then DS had a basketball game. So we had a very busy day. Tomorrow I will going with my mom to have lunch with my grandfather. He is in an assisted living place and his health is quickly declining. My grandmother is in a nursing home in the last stage of Alzheimer and we can't get to do the lunches any more but I am glad I get to with my grandfather. After lunch my mom and I will get the last of my Christmas shopping done. It will be a fun day.

Glad to hear your shoulder is on the mend. Sorry to hear you cannot do the lunch with your grandmother anymore, Alzheimer's is rough - but it so good you are spending time your grandfather. Good luck with your son's surgery.
 
Which shopper do you relate to? Also, as we are approaching the last few weeks of 2017 are you approaching the end with a crazy scramble to meet a goal or are you calmly coasting towards the finish line?

Well I think I started off as a calm shopper this year - did some online, bought other things as I saw them - then realised it was mostly for DD :scared1: - its just that teen girls are easier (IMO) to pick up little bits here and there that are cheap - teen boys not so much! I am starting to feel like the crazed shopper as I am hunting some headphones with microphone for DS13 the same or very similar to the ones I got for DS17 last year - no luck yet - I am off in the morning to try one last store before deciding if I want to overspend the budget to get him some of a different kind ugh. I really only have a few things left to get for the kids after that and something for my dad. The kids are frustrated with me as I just don't know what I want.

As for my goals - I am coasting to the end of the year - not that I am achieving a goal mind you - but I am too exhausted to do anything else at this point. I am off to the doctors in the morning - I am over having zero energy. I am napping everyday - and not just cause I can - because I literally cannot keep my eyes open at a certain point.
 
My christmas shopping so far
boxes of chocolates and good cookie selection/wine - all in my in laws so I don't feel tempted
DS - amazon, was looking for nintendo switch, delivered already.
DH- for first time ever he had a wish for anything - Bose Speaker. I bought it in the store! It was the last one they had in stock, I was happy to get it
Me - yes, I bought my own present too on amazon, bose headphones - but probably will arrive after Christmas
MIL jumper from her favourite shop with gift receipt.
FIL 100% cotton pj's from the only brand he wears - wight gift receipt
Niece - dresses, jewelry, jacket - all with receipt so can be exchanged
Newbridge silver tree decorations - both for emergencies
Cinema vouchers - again, if we have people dropping over without us expecting them. If unused, we can use them

I think that's it! I also buy shoe box appeal for the homeless.They give specific list as toothbrush, socks, gloves, deck of cards ... I always get very tiery when I read the list, it's so sad to read that someone would like socks hat and deck of cards :(

I need to buy game or two for DS as if we give him console and say he needs to use the money from his grandparents he will drive us insane

I am organised this year!
 
Good grief. I can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted!! So thank goodness I am now on break. That didn't stop someone from calling me and asking me to go turn off the alarm at school because she forgot her code, but it was inside on her desk and could I please just come over and I wouldn't have to stay!! sigh There are definitely disadvantages to being nice and living so close to work! :headache:

It's been a rough week eating wise. Too many events. I have two more breakfasts out this week. I've tried to be good and choose healthy when I can, but boy somebody gave me cookies that were just delicious!!! I had to put them in a closet so I wasn't tempted!! I've had some way over calories days and some under by double digit days. All in all I just keep plugging along. Yesterday you would have laughed at me. I didn't have my steps in. DH doesn't care for it when I do laps in the house. He ran to the market and I did my laps, then I realized they weren't accumulating fast enough, so I jogged but then would have to slow down to go around a corner then speed up again. I'm sure I looked like quite the clown! It was kinda fun, though, and I got my steps in.

My stress relief is food. When I was in college I used to clean, I really need to get back to that! I think working out has been a huge stress reliever for me. It's hard to have a bad day when you start the day laughing with friends playing pickleball! I really enjoy my yoga class when I get to it. Wednesday was stressful but I made it to class and felt much better on Thursday. Now I'm off work and DS is home from college and I think the shopping is almost done so I can relax a bit! Now it's time to go to a concert. That'll be relaxing.
 

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