Balance

One of the challenges I have tried to tackle in 2010 is achieving balance in my life.  Perhaps this is something that may people struggle with.  Finding a balance between work, school, my marriage, family, friends, and personal time is something that I have tried to really work on in the last two months! (and yes, it is hard to believe that the first two months of 2010 are gone! - crazy!!)

My job is demanding - especially this time of year, especially when we are in the middle of a recession that is impacting higher education admission, especially when our office is short-staffed.  My tendency toward Type-A behavior causes me to always want to give my all to my job and learning how to separate work from home is difficult at times.  I worked from home every night last week after working at least 8 hours days at work everyday.  Luckily, I have a kind, patient, and understanding husband who understands my job, and also understands my desire to not leave anything undone - even when it means that we don't get as much quality time.

School is also keeping me busy.  I knew that going back to school would require some dedication and planning and my best defense has been to stay ahead as much as possible.  I thought that the fall quarter would be the toughest because I was traveling so much, but plane rides and waits in airports provided me with tons of time to read.  I haven't gotten that same time to read this quarter and have really had to plan that time into my schedule.  It is hard to believe that my second quarter of classes will be done in about 2 weeks and then I will be moving onto my third quarter. I only have 8 total to complete!  

I've also been working in time for myself more often.  I've been working out with a trainer at our gym since last summer.  Recently, he told me his is leaving and hooked me up with a new trainer.  I couldn't be more thrilled.  I liked him, but didn't really feel like I was being challenged by him during our sessions.  I definitely feel challenged by my new trainer.  I was sore for days after our first workout, but it was such a great soreness - it felt like I had worked hard and my soreness was a reward for that hard work.  I have a new outlook on what I am capable of and am determined to meet the goals I have set for myself.  I didn't realize how being unmotivated by my training was impacted my overall motivation.  My new trainer is also female - my first female trainer.  I'm excited to see what she and I can accomplish together. 

I also promised I would update regarding my "no-shampoo challenge".  I have not used shampoo on my hair since early December.  My results are mixed. I loved it for the first couple of weeks, then went through a period when I really didn't like it at all, and am now back to a point where I like my hair again, except that I need a haircut!  I've been using conditioner on my hair everyday as a substitute for shampoo, and really "scrubbing" my scalp with the conditioner like I would if I were using shampoo. Then, every weekend I make a thin paste of water and baking soda and rub it through my hair.  Then I mix about 1/2 a cup of apple cider vinegar with water and use it to rinse the baking soda out.  My hair is incredible after this treatment - super soft, silky, and absolutely clear of any residue.  You have to really work to make sure you get all of the conditioner out everyday and to get all of the baking soda out when I use that treatment, but if you do those things you should have little to no build-up of anything in your hair.  However, if you don't you will end up with a mess. 

Recipe

I experimented with dinner today and while I wouldn't say I hit a home run, it wasn't horrible.  I started with some chicken breasts I bought pre-marinated from HyVee - two were garlic, and two were tomato basil.  I was going to just purchase plain chicken, but when I saw these I thought they would be perfect. I sprayed Pam on a glass 9X13 pan and put the chicken in the pan.  I let it cook for about 15 minutes on 350 degrees.  While the chicken was in the oven, I cooked about half a pound of italian sausage on the stove, and added one and a half jars of spaghetti sauce.  We had about half a jar left from a meal we had over the weekend so that is why I ended up with the amount I did.  Because I always hate that some spaghetti sauce stays in the jar when you dump it out, I put a couple of tablespoons of red wine in the far, closed the lid, swirled around, and dump it into the sauce.  I also added to cans of diced tomatoes.  I let this sauce simmer on the stove for the rest of the time I was preparing the meal.   I added some additional red wine, garlic salt, and italian seasoning to the sauce during the cooking process.  When the chicken had cooked about 15 minutes, I took a ladle of sauce and poured it over the chicken. I kept adding sauce until the chicken was covered (about 2-3 ladles full).  I continued cooking the chicken for another 15 minutes.  As this point I checked the temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer (it needs to be at least 165 degrees in the center).  Once the chicken reached 165 degrees, I placed four slices of provelone cheese over the chicken and cooked for another 5 minutes or so so the cheese would melt.  I served the chicken with spaghetti and more sauce. 

This probably would have been a homerun except that I didn't really care for the pasta at all.  It was a box we had in the pantry and it must be older than I thought because it just didn't taste right to me.  We kept the leftover chicken and sauce, and will purchase some more pasta to make and eat with the leftovers. 

Date:1.5.2010


Starting Weight: 160.4

Weight Last Week: 160.4

Weight This Week 160.6

Weight Gain: 0.2
 
160 seems to be a weight that my body really enjoys.  I've been at or around 160 for quite awhile and it is a weight that my body seems to be comfortable with.  In order to combat my body's love affair with 160, I may have to shake things up a bit.  I just really haven't decided what to do.  So, I'm going to give it a week and see if my current routine actually is working and just wasn't reflected this week, and then make some decisions.

new year, new plan

I've decided to track my weight loss this year because it really helped me be accountable last time.  I'm following the same strategy as I did last year - working out 4-5 days a week (mostly cardio, but some weights too), drinking lots of water, and watching what I eat.  I hate counting calories and I fail miserably when I try so that is not part of my plan.  I do keep a "general" idea in my head of who many calories I am eating, but I don't track, count, or anything like that. 

I typically weigh myself everytime I am at the gym, but will only track on my blog once a week.   Tuesdays seemed to work well last time so I'm going to try Tuesdays again this time.

Date:1.5.2010
Starting Weight: 160.4
Weight Last Week: NA
Weight This Week 160.4
Weight Loss: NA

snow!

Matt and I arrive home this afternoon to more snow!  More snow!  We probably have about 20-25 inches on the ground right now that has fallen over the course of the last month.  Matt wasn't pleased about the prospect of shoveling again (and keeps hinting at his desire for a snow blower), and we now have a definitely tunnel of snow for the dog to walk through between the front door and the driveway.  Omaha is also rapidly running out of places to put all of this snow.  I have to admit I have a sort of little kid affection for snow and lots of it!  While most people are hoping that the snow ends for the year, I'm hoping that it just keeps coming.  Let's see how much we can pile up before April! 

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I return to work and start my second quarter of classes.  One of the huge bonuses of working for a university is the fact that we get Christmas Eve through New Year's Day off of work.  It is also nice that Matt also gets those days off of work so we get to spend some quality time together over the holidays.  It also gives us plenty of time to travel to see friends and family without having to plan around work schedules.   January always flys by in our office because it is one of the busiest months of the recruiting year. 

I'm excited to start my second quarter of classes.  The first quarter brought about some apprehension for me because I didn't really know what to expect from my online classes. But now that I have a semester under my belt I know what to expect, how much time I will need, and how to make it work for me and my life.  One of my classes will cover law in higher education and I am really excited about that class.

the purpose of a blog

I have been thinking a lot lately about what the purpose of this blog is for me. I strugle with posting regularly and I feel a major reason is that I have no defined purpose. I often ask myself, "is this blog for me, for family and friends, or for anonymous individuals who happen to stumble upon it?". Much of my previous blogging has included a recap of the daily events of my (our) life. But if that is the true purpose of my blog, I hardly doubt most of those on the outside will take much interest. Honestly, I might as well keep a private diary.

When I think about the blogs I most often read and enjoy, I notice a couple of trends. First, the blogs are usually a combination of recapping daily events and thoughtful words or advice of some sort. Second, I greatly appreciate the sense of transparency used by the authors. I think good bloggers have to let go of the idea that they can be someone they are not. Third, they do not turn blogging into something complicated. Reading a good blog is like having a conversation with that person and in some cases provides a glimpse into the deepest parts of one's sole.

I then return to the question of what the purpose of this blog is. I often think I have thoughts I would like to share with others, but don't necessarily have an avenue for sharing. Sometimes I have ideas I am pondering, and would love the opportunity to allow others to weigh in. In my never end quest to lose the extra weight I have carried around for yearsfar too long, I will make public my achievements in 2010 in this quest, but would also like to be real about the challenges. And there are many challenges for me.

I guess that is the beauty of a blog- that it can be about and for whatever and whomever the author chooses. Ultimately this blg is mine, but I would hope others could get something out of it as well. I am looking forward to what this blog has in store in 2010!

good-bye 2009, hello 2010

We had a debate last night about how we will refer to the year we just entered. Twenty-ten? Two thousand ten? Oh-ten? Personally, I am partial to Twenty-ten over any of the other options because it is clear to me what specifically I am referring to and working in a professional environment I tend to lean towards anything that is clear. It will be interesting to see how different people refer to this new year.


I am eight miles outside of Shelbina this evening. Our trip was postponed about a week due to our inability to drive our vehicle out of my parents neighborhood, and the fact that even if we got a car out we would not have felt safe driving on I-29. We encountered no difficulties on our way here, excepted for the stinging cold getting us when we tried to unpack the car. The temperature estimate for Omaha tomorrow morning is a balmy -14 and I would imagine it will not be much warmer here. It makes me appreciate the wood stove in my in-laws dining room and the fact that my mother-in-law turned the heated mattress pad on in anticipation of our arrival hours before we arrived. Getting out of bed tomorrow may be the only challenge ;)