Category Archives: Health

The little things that have been bugging me

Posted on August 11, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Warning – this blog is going to end in a rant 👿

I’m on my mini-vacation and right now I think I’m going to need a mini-vacation to recuperate. I had a ton of plans for the first 4 days and no plans at all for the last 2. The first 4 days (Thurs – Sun) included a Thursday night at Phantom of the Opera as a late birthday present from Kahuna, a Friday evening wedding/reception for a beautiful person, Kahuna’s Saturday sprint at Camp Pendleton (where he took 1st in his age group for the military division), tri-club network meeting that same evening, and movie and jazz concert Sunday afternoon/night. We had talked about going to the race track for Monday but the two of us are pooped from being gone every single evening and most all of the day Saturday and Sunday.

You notice there’s no mention of any training in there for me, right? All my plans went out the window. I thought I would be home more, but nope. However, today I took Silver out for a ride with the new-to-her fat-bottom girl seat and it was tons better. I’m definitely going to need some butter, but using the tri-shorts I was able to find in *Athena* size will be okay. I have been terribly worried that I was going to fail my first attempt at a triathlon because of that bike seat. I didn’t really admit how scared I was until I got on it this morning (and adjusted it about 3 times) and actually was able to take a quick ride around my neighborhood in less than 5 minutes.

The next thing I need to work on is what top to wear. I have found a sleeveless plus-size top, that zips up the front, but it has a collar so I’ve decided to order it and take it to a tailor to have the collar removed. I think doing that, plus wearing the tri-shorts I found at Aero Tech Designs, will allow me to not have to stress about what I’m wearing during the swim inside the wetsuit (which is another whole ball of worry).

I’d like to give a shout-out “thank you” to another triathlete for posting in her blog about a place to rent a wetsuit – but I can’t. (I’ll be calling them in a week or two to discuss what I’m looking for). So, why can’t I? Her blog was changed while I was on hiatus to ‘invite only’ and I could no longer read her posts. It seems some people just are so unkind to *fat* people and the comments she received caused her to make her blog by invite only and eventually completely delete it. It saddens me because she was an interesting read and I learned things from her even though she’s about 20 years younger than me.

Hello, just because we’re fat doesn’t mean we don’t want to have fun too. And that’s the whole reason I wanted to attempt a triathlon…being on the sidelines watching all shapes and sizes of men and women have fun…I wanted to have that fun too. I always had the impression that triathletes had to be super fit because of the *endurance* aspect behind the race, until I went to my first race with Kahuna. I was so in awe of the large people out there and every single person was having a blast! I have never seen so many supportive people either!

As an aside – because of Kahuna’s time, we hung out for the awards ceremony. We were diagonal from the finish line so I was watching the latecomers while we waited for the ceremony to begin and then waiting on Kahuna’s name to be called. Anyway those individuals who were finishing last, weren’t finishing alone. The volunteers were 90% Marines. Those Marines were practically surrounding those finishers and running in with them. It was so fun to watch. You could see the runners’ step it up a bit having that help and encouragement, but the one that brought pride to my heart, and tears to my eyes, was the very last runner to finish. A woman who was probably in the 39 and under group. Not only did she not have to finish alone but almost every one of the Marines who marked the path to the finish line fell in behind her, started running in formation, and started singing cadence all the way to the finish line. She had the biggest grin on her face, and I was jealous. She was DFL and I wanted to be her! So many people stopped what they were doing and turned toward that finish line and started cheering and clapping for her.

Back to some of the little things that are upsetting me lately:

In addition to the slow training I have to do in order to not hurt myself (more than I already have), I have a harder time of it because of the clothing situation. I know it’s mostly my own fault I’m the size I am but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to participate because of a clothing issue. In fact, one of my largest aggravations in the clothing area are the organizations, such as Danskin, that have their own triathlons, but don’t carry plus size triathlon gear, even though they carry plus sizes in their other active wear. Grrrrr.

And to cap it off:

Saturday, someone told me it wouldn’t count if I had to walk the run portion of the triathlon I’m signed up for. A woman who was in that conversation said it did, but it still hurt to hear those words come from someone I thought would support me 100% in my efforts. And no, I’m not planning on walking it, but that part of the conversation came after I discussed my fears about the bike portion because of the pain the old seat was causing. I said something like, I know I can swim the swim, and I know if I have to I can walk the run portion, but the bike scares me…then the comment about it not counting. Definitely put a damper on my enthusiasm for the event and try as I can here it is 2 days later and I still can’t get it out of my head. It also makes me wonder that even if I do complete that triathlon will I feel like I belong because of my size…never mind that I should belong because of my accomplishment.

Head demons suck.

Comments Off on The little things that have been bugging me

Posted in Races, Training, Weight

Still 'gutting' it out

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Kahuna has a plane load of Marines coming back from Iraq tonight (Woohoo!!) so we decided to switch our movie night to last night (we saw Wall-e). Because it wasn’t planned, we headed out for something ‘light’ for supper. I ended up getting a chicken burrito, and even tho I asked for no beans, they substituted pintos for black beans. There weren’t very many on there because I wasn’t really sure I was tasting them, but this morning, I knew for a fact that they were. Beans K.I.L.L. me and my stomach was cramping so bad this morning that it woke me up. I’m so sensitive to them that I’m surprised I wasn’t hurting about a half hour after I ate them. It’s now 3 hours after my shuffle around the neighborhood and I’m still in pain. It made me so much slower because all I could focus on was my stomach and not my stride. I am seriously praying that it goes away before swimming tonight.

Kahuna lowered the nose of my seat last night so we’ll see how that works out tomorrow. I know just a smidge can help considerably. Of course I’ll try out the other bajillion saddles we have in the garage before spending the money on a new one, but I’m looking at the Koobi tri saddle if what we have doesn’t work.

Even though I haven’t raced my first triathlon, I’m already planning next year’s races. I want to do the super sprint in May that I originally was supposed to do this year, but didn’t get to because of my PF (which is doing 90% better thankyouverymuch!).

I also want to do a sprint early in the season before it gets too warm here (I was amazed at how hot it was at 8 a.m. a couple of weeks ago at Kahuna’s race, and could not imagine running on that concrete in that type of heat for an hour).

Lastly, I am planning on doing the Subaru super sprint again next October, just so I can see how much I’ve improved my time.

However, Darla’s comment below has made me go ‘hmmmmm’ and now I’m thinking about a relay before a full race by myself. It would give me a chance to do a full open ocean swim without having to worry about the biking and running portion before attempting to do it all on my own.

Comments Off on Still 'gutting' it out

Posted in Movies, Training

Gutting it out

Posted on July 22, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Isn’t that a lovely subject line! 😆

I did better in the pool last night that I ever had. I borrowed Kahuna’s ‘finger’ lap counter and tried to go 25 yards further than I have in the past. I figured I’d have to get back to the other end anyway, so I forced myself to finish and I managed to go 50 yards further and swam it in a shorter amount of time. I’m still slow by pro standards, but my swimming is strictly arms only, except the breathing stroke and I’m doing better without the pull buoy than with. Major accomplishment, for me. I was starving and worn out when I got home.

The time in the saddle (T.I.T.S.) is getting better too. My sitbones (butt) have accepted the saddle. The lady parts have not. I am going to tilt my seat for the next ride to see if that helps. If it doesn’t I’ll be on the hunt for a split horn saddle. I gutted it out for about a minute and a half more than last time and my goal is to just always go longer than the time before. I know that minute and a half doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the mileage that I’m most concerned with.

I need to be able to swim .375 kilometers, bike 6.2 miles, and run 1.58 miles. So far the only thing I ‘can’t’ do yet is the 6.2 miles on the bike, but I’m working up to it, a mile at a time. Babysteps, right?

Comments Off on Gutting it out

Posted in Training

Oh my, I neglected my blog again

Posted on July 20, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

I don’t know how this has happened, and I’m sad about it. I love blogging but for some reason I’ve stopped. I need blogging more than it needs me because this is my diary. I love going back and reading old posts and seeing where I was a month, a year, 2 years ago. Of course if I were to see where I was a month ago, I’d find myself missing. Before I try to catch up I’ll respond a bit to the comments on my last post:

Gas is still high here, like everywhere else. I did see it get to $4.80 but fortunately I never had to pay that price. By the time I had to fill again it had dropped back to $4.70 something. Right now it’s hovering around $4.60. I could say I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one suffering with the gas prices, but I love my stitching blogging friends too much to wish that on them. Gas prices suck the big one for everyone right now. Kahuna is talking quite a bit about trading in his BMW M3 on a car that gets better gas mileage. He loves that car, so I know it’s something he’s given a lot of thought to if he’s really serious. He hasn’t gotten to the test-drive stage yet and I keep reminding him that the next new car is mine. I’m thinking me and my purse would look good driving around with a car that bears this emblem.

I’m still not convinced it’s time for me to return to school. The Marine Corps has just about approved for members to transfer their education benefits to family members if they’re not going to use them. I’m sort of holding out to see if that’s going to happen. Of course, now that they’re throwing actual dollar amounts around Kahuna is thinking of retiring and going back to school to get the monthly allowance being offered to students. I could smack him since for him it’s about having more money to live off of while he surfs. For me, it’s about furthering my education (okay, being able to make more money to buy purses and shoes) but honestly I don’t want to quit my job right now to go to school full time, which is probably what I would have to do. The curriculum is 3 years of full-time study or 4 years of evening study and I just don’t have the mental energy to put myself through full time school and full time work again.

As to me making an excellent attorney, that’s a frightening thing (oh, and yes, J.D. is the degree of juris doctor). I still don’t know if I have the self-confidence to stand before 13 people and convince them not to throw a client into jail for the rest of his/her life for whatever they’ve been accused of doing. I do know there are areas where that would not be an issue, but remember….I like the criminals. Of course, I also like personal injury and if I were to go that route, it would probably be products liability, instead of slip and fall/auto accident injuries.

I do want to do something though, so I’m thinking of taking spanish lessons. Far cry from what’s discussed above, but it is learning.

So to the present.

I’m in full-on training mode for October’s super-sprint. Last week Kahuna and I started our ‘every day swimming’ schedule, knowing that we actually wouldn’t get to swim every day. It’s a mindset for me though and as far as I know there’s no reason to miss a night this week. I’m trying for 5 days a week in the water. Every morning finds me dragging my pooped out behind out of bed to either run or ride before work. I’m trying to decrease my run time each effort, and increase the amount of time I’m on the bike. My butt still doesn’t like that seat; however, I’ve learned that if I just stay on it long enough the blood circulation will finally be cut off and I’ll go numb. 😆 I’m back religiously on my WW plan and that and the training is paying off. I lost another 1.6 pounds this week. I bought Oahu Revisited for my upcoming trip to Hawaii (the afternoon after the tri 🙂 ) and have been fantasizing about laying on the beach reading romance novels, while drinking something with an umbrella in it!

I stopped eating beef and drinking alcohol on my birthday (June 30). So far I’ve had beef once and no alcohol. I’m tempted quite frequently by both, but I’d like to see if I can just do without either as much as possible until the end of the year…or at least the triathlon considering that comment about about the umbrella drinks! 😆

We finished one of our trials and are waiting on the sentencing portion – another trial was continued until next month – and we took on the sentencing portion for a new client, which happens tomorrow. I’ve been on-call every night for Federal jury duty, which lasts a month. It’s rather aggravating since I can’t make any plans. I have some routine medical stuff I need to get done and I’m having to put it off since I can’t make an appointment I don’t know I’ll get to keep.

Last week Kahuna competed in another triathlon and I volunteered to work body marking and transition. It was a fun race, but man was it hot! This weekend has us at an outdoor jazz concert down on the beach and the weather is dreary right now and I’m hoping it’ll stay overcast so we don’t have to deal with the sun. Next week Kahuna is competing in another triathlon, but I’m just going to watch. This is the same triathlon I went to last year (my first) that got my interest peaked. Kahuna was suffering from a leg injury and didn’t do all that great, but this year he’s in excellent shape and I cannot wait to see how much time he shaves off of last year’s results.

Wednesday night is movie night for us (the only day of the week for no swimming) and we’re catching up on new releases. We normally see a movie about 2 weeks after it’s released so we don’t have to deal with the crowds. That last few movies we’ve seen are Love Guru, Wanted, and Get Smart and I think this week will have us seeing either Wall-e or Journey to the Center of the Earth. I’m looking forward to Dark Knight, The Mummy, Hancock and X-Files.

And you notice there’s no mention of stitching? I’m hoping to remedy that today. Maybe. If the groceries get bought and the laundry gets started…which means I need to get off this computer.

I can’t promise to blog more frequently, but I hope it’s not 6 weeks until my next post.

Comments Off on Oh my, I neglected my blog again

Posted in Life, Training, Weight

I love weekends like the one I just had!

Posted on April 20, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Nothing special happened, it just was.

Kahuna was supposed to compete in a duathlon on Saturday morning but changed his mind on Friday (His quads are still tight from playing soccer and rocking his 3 mile PFT [19:46]) so this left all day Saturday to do what ever. And guess what we did!!!! Nothing! Woohoo! Okay I did some laundry and he finished building my bike, but we never left the house and it was fantastic.

Today I grocery shopped then we went to get my car detailed, made a return at WalMart (and proceeded to spend $50 on very important “stuff), made an Ulta stop (that place is dangerous to my checking account) and to the bike shop where we bought handlebar tape and I found the perfect helmet to match my bike and tri-“uniform.” I’m going to be one color coordinated “triathlete” when I come across that finish line. I even have matching sunglasses that Kahuna bought me this past Christmas, in pink of course! 😆

I have a chicken baking in the oven and am waiting on Kahuna to finishing putting on the tape so I can show you my new toy. I have no idea if I’m going to name it. Guess I’ll see how it makes me feel riding. One thing you will notice is that I’m not using clip in pedals just yet. I need to get used to riding it and then I’ll switch over.

Tada!

Up close and personal – but not so focused.

Tomorrow is my first day at work by myself. “A” is having surgery tomorrow morning and will be out from between 6 weeks and 6 months depending on what the surgeons find when they “get in there.” She has been very patient training me and I’m nervous about being on my own, but also looking forward to it. I have been feeling very satisfied in my work since I started. It’s so nice to be putting to use what I’ve learned. I have no time for the computer, barely time to go to the bathroom, and so far I’m loving every minute of it. Here’s hoping it continues that way.

And every time the camera comes out, so do the hams 🙂

Did somebody say cookie?

Comments Off on I love weekends like the one I just had!

Posted in Puppies, Training, Work

Budgeting

Posted on March 23, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Budgeting – we all do it, in all aspects of our lives. Some of us are better than others, some succeed in one area of their life and fail miserably in the others, some of us have it down to a science. I don’t know that I’ll ever get to the “science” part, but I am trying! 😆

Money – I thought since I’m starting a new job on April 1, I would use that as a jumping off point to faithfully budget in one area of my life. I have mentioned (over and over) how ready I am for Kahuna to retire. While I want to get myself out of college debt, I want to have a life too, so I’m looking into budget programs. My goal is to be personally debt free by 10/10/10. 😀

I would greatly appreciate comments from you if you budget. What do you use to budget your finances (pencil or computer)? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? Where can more information be found about it?

Work – I’ve been very busy at work this past week while we’ve been getting ready for a federal trial, plus I’ve been trying to wrap up some loose ends so New Girl can start fresh in those areas. Naturally, on Friday, the Judge continued the case until mid-April. 🙄

I expect to be super busy at the new job for at least the next two months. The paralegal in the office is going out on a leave of absence in May to have surgery and recuperate, so I feel a bit under the gun to get everything down in April. Nervous, you betcha. This is where the “I’m not good enough” demons come out to play havoc with my self-esteem psychy.

Fitness – I’m focusing on fitness, just not my own. I’m to the point where I just mentally roll my eyes while he tells me something that’s going on with his training. The same something he told me about yesterday morning, last night, and will talk to me about this afternoon. I do care about his fitness, it’s the repeating that’s getting to me but I know he needs to get it out and we’ve always been sounding boards for each other. He hasn’t even started this race and he’s already told me he’s taking his checkbook hoping to get a roll-down slot at the AZ IM in November.

Weight – Goes hand in hand with Fitness, but I’m doing okay in this area. I have continued to go to WW (not today because they’re closed for Easter). I love the support of my group. I’m even in contact with several members outside of the meetings.

Stitching – Haven’t touched a needle in 2 weeks. I’m going to try to sit down with it today though. I need it.

Downtime has been at a premium for me this past week. Kahuna and I have been on the go a lot. It’s mostly focused on his getting ready for next weekend’s race and I am really looking forward to it. I know this coming week I’ll be super busy again getting everything turned over to New Girl at work, I’m working race registration Thursday and Friday evening and Saturday morning will find Melissa and I standing on a street corner at 4 a.m. waiting on the first cyclists to exit T1. I.am.so.excited. for Kahuna it brings tears to my eyes. I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to find him out of T1, in and out of T2 and be there as he crosses the finish line.

Comments Off on Budgeting

Posted in Finances, Fitness, Life, Stitching, Weight

Reading is a luxury

Posted on March 5, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Annette posted a book meme that grabbed my attention. I find I spend my time wanting to read while I’m stitching and then wanting to stitch while I’m reading. I know there are audio books, but I just love turning the pages of a good book. I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to a book that I haven’t actually read.

Look at the list of (100) books below. Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you want to read. Leave blank the ones that you aren’t
interested in. (Movies don’t count.)

1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) – this happens to be next up in my reading
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I got up at 4:45 to swim this morning. I need to get up earlier if I want to continue doing this since I forgot about the the amount of traffic that’s trying to get on the base in the mornings when I return. Tomorrow is treadmill day. I’ve changed the orthotics in my shoes and am hoping I won’t be limping around the office tomorrow afterward since this will be the first full session on the treadmill since being released by the doctor.

Comments Off on Reading is a luxury

Posted in Fitness, Reading

Plans for March

Posted on March 1, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

I will be glad when March is over. I admit to getting a little tired of Kahuna’s training taking priority over everything, even though I understand why it is so.

I’m trying to get my act back together this month by making me the primary focus. I know it’s probably going to take some juggling to keep doing everything I want to do, but I’m going to give it my all. I’ve slacked off in a lot of areas lately, and I’ll be taking steps to get it all back under control.

I will actively look for another job.
I will get back to WW meetings, faithfully.
I will get back to eating better, faithfully.
- 1 free day a week. Period.
- 1 fully vegetarian day a week.
I will get back to the gym, faithfully, and build up to:
- Walk 3x a week
- Swim 3x a week.
- Bike 2x a week.
I will continue plugging away at my finances. I’ve divided everything out and know that if I continue on the path I’m on now I can easily be ready to retire on Kahuna’s retirement date, if I decide to go that route at that time.
I will continue to stitch in my stash as much as possible.
- I will get The Token framed. The fairgrounds has already notified me about this year’s entries.
- I will get my TSL patterns up for sale.
- This month’s stitching goals include:
  - Start stitchalong for Hannah Beeby
  - Next lesson on Ann Holewll
  - Page 5 & 6 on French Alphabet Sampler
  - if any time left over, start Flying Monkies

Comments Off on Plans for March

Posted in Fitness, Goals, Stitching

Woohoo it's Monday!

Posted on February 18, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

and I don’t have to be to work today 😆

I managed to make a dent in the “to-do” list I posted on Friday.

The swim went great for me. I managed to push myself 100 yards further than the last trip, plus for the 1st time I managed to swim 100 yards twice without stopping. The second time I had to roll over and backstroke a couple of times, but I did NOT stop. This is a great breakthrough for me as it shows me that I have not been pushing myself hard enough. Kahuna is convinced I need to be swimming everyday, and I’m going to ramp it up a little this week. I don’t know if that means going more yards per trip, or more trips. I’ll be playing it by ear.

Saturday I got my hair cut….short. She even shaved my neck, which I’ve never had done in my life!! I’m not sure I like the cut. It’s really the same as I’ve had, just shorter in the back. My hair grows in a circle around my head and with it being this short, it kind of wants to do the fuzzy chicken thing unless I mess with it a lot. I’m not the sort of person who wants to mess with her hair much. I got it cut short for less messing with. I’ll see if it “grows” on me. I love the way it looks, it’s just a little more work than what I’m wanting. I also went to a new stylist, who was 50% cheaper, fast, great – and pregnant. Why is it I feel like I find someone I like, they’re never around for long? I didn’t ask her if she was going to return after having the baby (her first). I’ll go to her again in about 6 weeks and I’ll talk to her then. I’ve also found myself a new manicurist, who’s also 50% cheaper than my last one. I wasn’t going to continue having my nails done but the swimming just destroys them, and while I don’t keep them very long, I would like for them to look nice. Both ladies work at the salon on the base which is 5 minutes from where I live. Amazing the great resources you can find when you take the time to look. But you realize that I’m moving right? 😆

During all this beautifying Kahuna was surfing, and then he had a cycle/run brick which left me at the house working in my office. I think it was 3 before we left the house to do our errands. I went to Joann’s and got the fibers picked out for Hannah Beeby. I am really happy with my choice and am looking forward to the stitchalong starting the end of March. I’ve decided on DMC 839, 3863, and 224 on Lambswool Linen.

I haven’t decided on 28 or 32 count, but am leaning toward the 28. I just need to see if what I have is large enough. I also picked up a pair of embroidery scissors, a thread holder for my sewing machine and a couple of other little things bringing my total to less than what I would have paid for the scissors full price. Yay for sales and coupons. I neglected to get a new bulb for my OTT though and I have a 40% coupon for that, that I really need to take advantage of, since the lighting by my sewing machine is next to none.

I went through my pantry Saturday and made a menu and grocery list around what was in there. I’m determined to get us back to eating better and not break the bank doing it. I spent less than my budgeted $75 on groceries Sunday, and only forgot 1 thing. Woohoo!

The rest of the day was spent doing a whole lot of not much. We really enjoyed Daytona 500. I would have been happier if Dale Earnhart or Casey Kahne won, but it was great that Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordan did not! 🙂 The rest of my time on Sunday was spent on and off in my office. I made great headway with my desk and got my keyboard and printer moved and almost everything put where I want it OFF the desk. I have some photos to be framed and moved around and I’ll be tickled with my desk setup.

Stitching? Well except for playing floss toss for Hannah, I didn’t have anything to do with stitching on Saturday or Sunday. That will be different today though. I am running out to town to see about the above mentioned picture frames, and to hit up Costco for some bread (but will still be way under budget). The rest of my day will be spent doing laundry, stitching, and catching up with the stuff I have recorded on the DVR. I only have 1 small thing to stitch on the RR that I want to mail out tomorrow and then I’ll be working on Ann Holewll. I’m going to have to piece together some qsnap components for it, but am planning on using some of the money I get from selling my stash to buy another set of rods for my Handi Clamps.

I would like to get the fabric cut for Houses of Hawk Run Hollow today, but if it doesn’t happen I’m not going to worry about it and just put it on next week’s “to-do” list. My poor French Alphabet Sampler is probably going to be ignored today as well since I really need to get caught up with Ann Holewll.

I wanted to stay off the computer over the weekend and except for cleaning out some old emails and emptying my camera chip, I did pretty good! I managed to sell several of the Shepherd’s Bush items I posted so was on the computer getting that squared away. I didn’t do any posting of The Silver Lining stuff, but that’s because the box they’re in is sort of out of reach right now as I work my way across my office cleaning and sorting and selling. I do need to get them up though.

I didn’t get anything done on ebookdrop.com either. I could probably do that from work, since I’ll have to haul them in for mailing anyway. I know the prices won’t be much, but they’ll be more than just sitting in my office taking up space and collecting dust. I’m almost to the point of throwing things away so I don’t have to move it or clean around it so if I can get some money for it, that’s better. I also want to look into cashduck.com for a bit more income. I think I’d rather go this route for now and not increase my hours at work until we decide where we’re going to live. I may increase them by 15 minutes a day though in a week or so. We’ll see.

I’ve decided to split whatever extra I have coming in equally 3 ways:

Training – Kahuna is building me a bike from components he’s selling on one of his bikes, and I want to contribute. This money will stay in paypal, since he buys a lot of components from places that accept paypal.

Stitching – I love my hobby. I have tons of money invested in it. I have lots of beautiful things to work with without buying more so I’m trying to buy only what I need to stitch from my stash. The first item will be the 14” bars for the Handi Clamps I mentioned above. I’ll probably also use this $ for finishing. I have a savings account I don’t use that I’ll keep these funds in.

Debt – While it won’t be much, the last 1/3 of my extra income will go toward getting my debt paid off.

I thought I would feel deprived while I worked on getting myself out of my debt fix; however, I have taken the advice of several blogs I read and made sure to have some “wants” budgeted for (like my manicures). It’s working and I almost feel like I’m playing a game seeing what I can accomplish with what I have. I’m also trying to get out of the impulse spending that I practiced in the past. I’m doing pretty good! I also have my wonderful hobby that entertains me which helps a lot.

I didn’t mean for this to get so long, but I guess I had a lot to get down after all my thinking this weekend. I guess I’d better say “The End” to this novel and get on with my day.

Comments Off on Woohoo it's Monday!

Posted in 4Sale, Ann Holewll, FAS, Finances, Hannah Beeby, HOHRH, NASCAR, Training

Gearing up for a long weekend

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Friday sure got here fast and I’m ready to go home and start my long weekend. Kahuna just left from bringing me Taco Bell. Not exactly waistline friendly, but I have $1 and no time to go to the bank. There’s a Taco Bell on the base by where he works so since he got off early today he was kind enough to drive by and drop off some food. Actually, he hung around long enough to eat with me before he left.

And just to backtrack to yesterday for a minute, my Kahuna Marine surprised me! He brought me the most beautiful bouquet of creamy orange roses for Valentine’s Day. I have to stick my nose in them everytime I walk by. They are so gorgeous.

We had unexpected storms yesterday that left roads closed due to snow and mudslides. Today’s temperatures are low but the sky is a clear blue. I hope it stays that way all weekend because Kahuna has a lot of cycling and running to do. It’s just 6 weeks to his half-ironman. I think he’s getting excited. I know I am, and I’m just volunteering!

So what’s up with me for the weekend?

I’m going to do my best to stay off the computer this weekend, except to post more stuff 4Sale. I was rather surprised how fast I got the SB stuff together last night, but that’s the way it should be when you’re organized. I think my The Silver Lining items are organized already, so hopefully that’ll be painfree.
I’m going to try to get rid of some books on ebookdrop.com this weekend. If you have experience with it, leave a comment, please.
I want to get a lot of stitching done this weekend.
- Get RR piece in the mail.
- Get my lessons done on Ann Holewll.
- Get the fibers needed for Hannah Beeby.
I’ve decided to quit putting of starting HOHRH and will pull my fabric and get it measured out to start the first block. Who knows, it may even get some stitches.
French Alphabet Sampler desperately needs attention!

We’re headed to the pool tonight after supper and then maybe settle in with the puppies and watch a movie. Have a great weekend all. Oh, and don’t forget…..Gentlemen, start your engines! Woohoo!