Lesli's Live Long and Strong WISH Journal

[Jane E.]

Lesli, thanks for answering my post on the YC on my thread. I'd love to visit there on my next trip. It sounds like you really enjoyed staying there.

Congrats on finding a food plan that you can stick with! Thats the hard part.

 

[pearlieq]

Hi!

Sorry to have been MIA for a few days. I sorry to hear about all of the stress, and I'm sending you lots of to get through it. I know it might not feel like it, but you're dealing with it very well. Most people would be here venting their frustrations--they would be venting on those around them or taking it out on themselves. You're doing just fine and you WILL get through this.

I'm so glad to hear you and your DH got our for a night of fun! I'm sure it was a nice oasis in the middle of everything.

I hope today's been great! for you!

 

[keenercam]

Hi, Lesli! I hope today went well for you! You are doing remarkably well handling all the stress in your life. I hope things get easier for you. Sending for a very productive but unstressful time leading up to your opening and then huge success for you!

 

[Lesli54]

Thanks for all the encouragement!

I am sending out an SOS. The last few days have been really really bad in terms of food. I have done nothing but eat junk, chips, cookies, ice cream, snacky foods, and so on (with the exception of a nice salad last night). And it is constant, almost like you feel like a bottomless pit, but I KNOW there is no way that I am truly hungry.

So I have been doing alot of thinking about this and how I got so far off track and how it feels like the "before"........or at least real close. I think the biggest culprit right now is lack of proper sleep. Sleep deprevation makes you eat more, make poor choices, and slows the metabolism. The plus side, or at least the part that makes me realize that things are still not quite like the "before" so there is still hope out there, is that I am extremely busy all day, whereas before there were many times that I would appear to be busy and then just veg out. But I do know that I don't want to go there any more.

The other thing that is bothering me right now is the fact that when I am making these poor choices, I KNOW what I am doing and in fact tell myself that I should choose differently. But I have gotten real good at making excuses over the last few months and unfortunately, I am beginning to see that dreaded 200 from time to time and it scares me. I don't want all my hard work to go down the drain.

So more soul searching last night. I began to think about where I was at this point last year and where I am now. It's like two different people. And when I started this program last March, I decided to make a lifestyle change.....well, I did that. I no longer nap in the afternoons (except for a couple lately), in general I look better and feel better, I am more active in various things and in about a week I will be working outside of the home again, running my own business. Sounds like a lifestyle change to me, so I know I have succeeded, but it needs to go a little further.

I have just over a year before I hit 40 and I want to go into my 40's looking and being healthy, energetic, and upbeat. So back to square one. How many times have I said that? But I know what works for me and I WANT to work on that again. I know that the extra hours right now will calm down soon, but I can't keep using those as an excuse to eat poorly with absolute abandon.

So for the rest of the month each day, here are my goals:
1. Take my vitamins - I did so well on this for a long time, but then let it go
2. Drink 64 oz water a day - there really is no excuse for not taking water with
3. Exercise 30 min in the morning - this is what worked best in the past
4. Read 30 min of Dr. Phil's weight loss challenge book - it worked, but now I need to go back through the thought processes again as things have changed since last year and I need my answers to questions need to match what I am currently facing. You have to get real or you're just fooling yourself. Besides, it will help me relax and put a little more attention back on myself (something us women easily "forget" to do).

Sure there is a lot of stress right now, but who doesn't have that from time to time? Actually, all I am REQUIRING of myself is 1 hour a day to work on me, that shouldn't be too much to ask for and there is absolutely no reason why I can't make time for that. I am worth it after all.

So today is off to a good start. Breakfast was an egg, ham and hot tea. The rest of the day will be busy unloaded a very large order and putting it up. Of course, it helps that the is out.

I wanted a lifestyle change and I have within my grasp. Now it is time to own it and take charge of it.

Everyone have a great day and thank you so much for listening.

 

[Lesli54]

Well, I did not overeat yesterday, which is good, but I didn't eat the healthiest foods either. I need to work on better choices on the go, but at least I wasn't just shoveling it in, so that is a plus.......And I feel much better today. It is amazing how great you feel out of the food comas, but when you are in them, you just don't care.

Lunch was very very late and I had a cheeseburger and fries. Supper was non-existent. I know not good. But late, I had a grab bag of cheetos. Then after I got home (close to 12:30am), I was starving and thought about actually eating "supper" then, but opted for something lighter to ty me over til morning. So I had some ham.....then 2 Little Debbie cakes. I could have done without them. I guess I am going from one extreme to the next........eat tons, don't eat. It will settle out soon, it will settle out soon.......yeah just keep reapeating that.

I got plenty of exercise yesterday at the store. I was up there from 9:30am until after midnight, with a short break down the street for lunch. But the store is really pulling together now. A friend of mine came over and we got a lot of stuff put up. It was great! Just a little more to work on today and then I can "take the weekend off". So I am counting about 2 hours of hard work, lifting, moving boxes, getting up and down off the floor, as exercise.

I have started a new ritual at night and it seems to be helping alot. Lately, I have been drinking a cup of Chamomile tea w/spearmint (last box of tea from WDW ) about the time that I want to wind down for the evening. It is working wonderfully, and about 1/2 hour after I drink it, I am so relaxed that I am definitely ready for bed. So, I am thinking that I might combine that time frame with reading Dr. Phil again, just a way to unwind, take time for myself and then off for some good sleep.

Water could have been much better yesterday.

Breakfast today. I egg omelet w/cheese, ham, hot tea.

The rest of the day will be really busy. I have some errands to get done, need to finish up the sales tax, contact potential employees, and finish putting up product, then begin the "almost final cleanup". We have two newspapers coming today to do interviews and take pictures. Yeah, we are almost there. Next week, I can clean the "snow" off the windows and start setting the display, put final touches on the store with signs, and set up my office.

Well, I am off. I hope all of you have a great weekend.

 

[Lesli54]

What a whirlwind yesterday was. Food was much healthier over all and for the most part the portions were better. Water still isn't up to par.

I stayed busy putting up more merchandise and trying to clean up most of the mess before the interviews, which were laughable. I got the feeling that they were just being nosy and wanted any excuse to walk in before opening. Heck, I could have sworn that one was trying to get me to sell her things now. A bit frustrating. I think I could have just written the article myself and taken the photo across the street to the paper. Very poor questioning by one interviewer and I dont' know how many times I repeated something until she finally said the exact same thing then I knew she had gotten it. The other interviewer was just taking pictures (of course they wanted to take pictures in front of boxes and half empty shelves rather than in front of the shelves that are fully stocked, makes sense, not, so I refused). Anyway the 2nd person didn't do any questioning, I am just supposed to fill out details on paper for her. It scares me as to what will be written in the paper though. Yet I survived.

DH and I did manage to sneak away for Chinese during lunch. We have about 1 more chance before I open and then it will probably be a month or more before we can get away again.

The rest of the day was spent running errands and TRYING to get caught up on the little things.

Lunch was 2 sm bowls of egg drop soup, rice, veggie low mein, a few pieces of fried pork, 1 chicken satay, probably a little too much General Tao's chicken (love the stuff), and a sm sweet biscuit. Not too bad, the portions are much better than they used to be and I really love the idea of having more soup and less of the heavier foods, although I am sure there are tons of calories in the soup at least it "burns off" quick. Supper was a very sm portion of minute steak, some mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy and a couple bites of biscuit. Then I ate 2 little debbies and later had way too much ice cream. If it wasn't for those "treats", I think I would have done pretty well.

Oh, it snowed here last night and it came down fast. Kind of the reminder that winter is not over even though the temps were up in the 50's.

Breakfast today: 1 egg omelet w/ cheese, ham, and hot tea

My office exploded yet again temporarily, so I am going to work on that today. Later DH and the younguns are going ot run errands in the cities. Then I think I will head up to the store to do some more painting and stocking. The rest of the week will be long nights as I try to get all my year end work done for taxes, get up to date with the grocery store for this year, train employees, set up my office, and fine tune some things. But I finally see and end in sight for some of it.

I'm off to get more work done. Everyone have a wonderful weekend.

 

[goldcupmom]

Wow! You are wearing my out with the store stories!

It does sound very rewarding and a bit fun, tho!

Are you going to be there almost F/T when you open and DH at the other store? Busy Busy Busy.

Glad food is getting under control.

Don't overdo and try to take some you time.

Have a good weekend!

 

[Lesli54]

Just popping in for a moment. Things are soooooo busy right now. Almost EVERYTHING for inventory is up, amazingly. I can finish the rest tomorrow and it won't take long. Then with luck we will have the another small order Friday at the latest.

Can't remember everything I ate on Sat. We did have pizza for supper and I ate way too much. Plus I had ice cream really late.

Yesterday, I had toast for brekfast, can't remember lunch. Snacked on a small bag of cheetos and I am not sure what supper was. I had ice cream really late.

Today, I started with an omelet, ham, and tea. Lunch was a small bag of cheetos and 1/2 chicken salad sandwich on 7 grain. Supper was 2 pancakes, 1 suasage patty and a strip of bacon.

DH and I worked on making the store appealing yesterday. It's almost there, I can't believe it. I've started hiring employees, so training will begin on Wed.

This morning I was so exhausted that I took time off to rest this morning after everyone was off to school. It allowed DS to chill out as well which was good. Tonight will probably be long as I have much to do.

Everyone have a good day tomorrow.

PS. I love this "smiley"

 

[pearlieq]

I'm so excited for you! I can't believe the opening is so soon!

Sending lots of to help you with final preparations!

 

[goldcupmom]

Glad to hear you're almost ready! Hope things are going well. Take care of you!!

 

[Lesli54]

I'm still here. Don't know if I have been missed, but I have been mentally here thinking that I would love a small break to get a chance to journal.

Food is not on plan at all. I don't eat consitently and sometimes it is healthy, sometimes not. For the most part, I haven't been over eating tons of food. That is a good thing. Trying really hard to get water where I can. Exercise? Nothing dedicated, but I am on the go alot lately.

Right now, I am getting really scared. Going through the thoughts of will this work? will we make enough money to continue it? will we make enough money to pay the employees? did I hire too many employees? will I have to cut some of them or cut hours in a few weeks? will I have to stand in an empty store by myself because we can't make enough to have employees in the long run? is there enough of a variety for the customers to find the store appealing? can you really make it selling everything for a dollar in a small town? how long will it take before the "newness" wears off and we know the routine day to day of customer traffic? and can I really manage all the day to day operations of my own business (dh does all the managing at the other store)?

Tomorrow will probably be better and hopefully I will be excited again. I bet that all those questions are normal and that no matter how many businesses you open, they will always be there in the beginning. Still, I am beginning to feel the stress of charting into the unknown.

Sooner or later, I have to do the books for our other business as well. Thankfully, DH has been very understanding and has been taking care of dinner and dishes while I work either at the store or here at home trying to get everything going. Last night he told me that I was doing really well and that the store was looking very nice. It was a big boost.

Tomorrow, my last order comes in, we almost thought it wouldn't make it, so we are taking it as a sign that we are meant to do this right now. Pretty much everything has fallen into place so far, let's hope it continues.

Gotta get going. I need to go train the employees soon and get DH and one of his employees to hang my store sign. That will be exciting!

Everyone take care and have a great day!

 

[Lesli54]

Ok, quick while I have a minute.

Yesterday's food was a little on the heavy side. Alright alot on the heavy side. I started off with a large bowl of basic 4. Lunch was a Marie Calendar Chicken pot pie. That was around 1:30. I did have a few fake cheetos before that, but not many. That kick has died down alot. Supper was 3 slices of pizza, when I knew I was satisfied with 2. Then later I had about 1/3 of a pint of B&J Heath bar crunch ice cream. The plus side? I didn't snack all day. The down side, I didn't eat real healthy and chose foods that are loaded with calories.

The store sign is hung so now it is seeming real. My GS Regional director tracked me down yesterday and saw the store, she was really impressed, as are the employees. Anyway, my RD is sending other people my way and is already planning some big GS purchases from the store, including supplies for her week long day camp that happens in the next town over. DH took one of the grocery vendors over the other day (also a good acquaintance of DH). Well the vendor was really impressed and he deals with other stores that do some dollar merchandise. This is making me feel really good. Yesterday was a scared day. Today I am excited. Tomorrow, I will probably worry about everything yet to do.

Off to a good start for food and I was up earlier. Breakfast was 1 egg omelet w/ moz, 3 slices ham, and hot tea. AND I will definitely get my exercise today since a large order is coming in and unfortunately DH ripped his bicep last night hanging my sign (I feel so bad ), so I will be doing alot of unloading myself. Oh well, there could be worse things than exercise.

Goals for the day:
1. water as much as possible
2. Make better choices for food
3. stay upbeat and confident that we will get everything done.

The best news or "pact", I should say, is that DH and I agreed that come Monday after the store opens, we will both help each other to lose the extra stress lbs that we have gained. Just the addition of those few extra lbs makes a huge difference in sleep, energy levels, and appearance. I will definitely need to sit down and plan meals again. Looks like I will need to take a few Sundays to cook and really use that freezer we have, but that is ok with me.

Time to get going. Everyone have a good day!

 

[Lesli54]

It's up! All except reworking 2.5 feet of toys since we had some unexpected open space. But for the most part, it is all up.

You cannot begin to imagine how good I feel right now, how relieved, how excited, and how proud I am of myself and those who helped me. After a little more than a month of hard work I have managed to take an empty space and turn it into a store. A store that I am very proud of. It does not look like a store where all the merchandise is a dollar. The selection and variety is good and for the most part, the quality is pretty good. I can't believe that we are at this point. Today the store really pulled together and what looked like it still needed alot of work (and wondering if it could get done in time) just all fell into place and suddenly, there was a store. So cool.

My friend and I even managed to get the window display up, so we have a nice variety in the window to give people the sense of what to expect. Hopefully, the windows will get alot of attention tomorrow while people run errands in town.

So tomorrow, I just have to finish that small section of toys, put up the corkboard wall behind the register, pin up the mylar balloons, stock the check out area with supplies, stock my office with supplies, run to the cities for some last minute things, and get some signs on shelves put up. Then Sunday, we decorate with streamers and helium balloons. WOW!

Now just hoping that we get the business we need to keep a decent number of employees so that I can have a life and get away and so that we can still make a decent living.

On a sad note: DH did rip his bicep muscle away from the elbow. He is in pain, but dealing with it for the most part. The dr. says he has to decide if he wants surgery. If he doesn't do surgery, he will lose 25-30% of the strength in his arm. If he does do surgery, he will have to do it within 2 weeks and he will be in a cast for 3 months, then you know there will be physical therapy after that. I think he is going to go ahead and do the surgery, but he is gettting a second opinion first. He says that he still wants to pick up his son and soon he will want to play basketball with him not too mention the grandchildren in the next 5 years or so. Of course, the timing kind of stinks, considering that he can't help me much right now, and he hand unloads at both of the stores, plus a multitude of other things. I feel so bad for him, but he will get through it just fine, he always does.

Well, thanks for listening.

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

Hi!

Good luck with the opening of your store!

 

[Lesli54]

I took off 2lbs of this stress related gain!

My food choices weren't completely healthy, they were take out, but it was fairly portion controlled, I got in more liquids, and I was moving constantly.

Lunch was a bacon burger w/ mayo and tomato, plus I split fries with DS. Supper was a hot ham & cheese sandwich, one cheddar cheese ball, and 2 little debbie cakes. Around midnight, when I finally made it home, I had a bowl of basic 4. I was starving be then and needed some time to unwind.

Exercise was great. I unloaded the truck, moved boxes around, was constantly up and down and bending to get the stock up. I even ran through the store at various points.

Well, gotta go. Off to the store.

 

[goldcupmom]

Congrats on the 2 lbs!

Encourage your DH to have the surgery. I've seen lots of ripped off muscles and w/o the surgery, he will be sorry down the road, and the sooner the better.

Glad the store is coming together. I wish I could come for your big day on Monday. I'll be praying it goes well....I know it will!

Try to rest a bit and have a good weekend!

 

[Lesli54]

Water yesterday was pretty good. Not quite where it should be I am sure, but I know I had plenty more intake. Food, not so good. I started stressing about 1/2 way through the day.

Lunch was very late and I had 3 soft shell tacos (was full after 2), as well as some cinnamon twists. I think I ate 4 little debbies throughout the day. Supper was a MC Chicken pot pie and 3/4 grab bag of cheetos. Mind you, I knew I was full, but I didn't care, just stressing and so so tired. Not an excuse, just a fact and at that point I didn't want to take the time to reason this out. Later, I had a bowl of cookies & cream ice cream (Edy's Grand, tons of calories).

But on the plus side, I am just about ready to open. My corkboard wall for balloons isn't working out well. I tried some other suggestions for putting it up, but today, I will go back to my original plan for securing which I know will work.

Even better, I got a lot of sleep last night. I couldn't even stay awake until 9:30pm, so rather than trying to keep fighting, I went to bed. I think it was around 10pm and I slept until 8:30 this morning. It felt so good to get sleep. Isn't it amazing how sleep can really perk up your day?

Breakfast this morning: 1 egg omelet w/ too much cheese, 2 slices ham

Goals for the day:
1. As much water as possible
2. Try to eat lighter
3. Get my work done early so that I can come home and make soup and relax with the family. We really need some time together and we all need a good homemade meal.

I will try to get back late tonight or first thing in the morning before I leave for work. How funny is that? I haven't said "before I leave for work" in 6.5 years. All of my work has been here at home during that time. Guess things have to change.

Everyone have a great day!

PS. I don't like my Mickey smiley on the "more" page. This is a Disney chat board, I think Mickey should ALWAYS be available on the main smiley page when you are posting.

 

[Lesli54]

Guess what? I open today!!! Sure it is hours off, but I can't sleep. Good thing I slept last night.

Anyway, the store is ready and it looks good. I just need to remember to take pictures in the morning so that I can see how far we have come in such a short time.

I spent most of the day fighting the corkboard wall. It just took a bit longer than expected. Of course, it took time to figure out exactly how to secure everything. It's not perfect and there are many imperfections, but no one is going to notice and for the most part there will be mylar balloons and other signs on the wall. But it sure does make the store look very fresh, which is good. One of our employees from the grocery store and her mother (ex-employee) came over this afternoon and were very impressed and very excited. Their opinions made me feel really good.

DD16 helped me get some final things done and just a bit ago, a friend of mine helped me to finish up. I did the wall and she blew up balloons to decorate a bit. I am so excited! I doubt I get much sleep at all.

On to food. Water wasn't too bad, probably close to 45-47 oz. The best in weeks. Lunch didn't exist, too busy to stop and since breakfast was late, I wasn't very hungry, but I did have a grab bag of cheetos. That was officially the last bag. I don't need them any more and a new routine will fall into place soon. For supper, we went out to Applebee's. DH wanted to celebrate and he thinks it may be awhile before we all go out together again. I ate very healthy. My body loved it, but was in shock. I had the Teriyaki Steak Skewers on the WW menu. It was so good. Not an over abundance of steak, but enough to satisfy. It came with a rice pilaf (not a lot), and a ton of broccoli and carrots, of which I ate most of them. We all split a chimi cheesecake for dessert, so I got about 2 bites each of ice cream and cheesecake. Plenty to satisfy and that was all I wanted. It was nice to feel a little more in control again.

Well, I am off. There are a few things that I need to wrap up for paperwork and then hopefully, I will be wound down enough for bed. I probably won't be back until tomorrow night (oh, I mean tonight).

Everyone have a great day!

 

[goldcupmom]

Congrats! It's Opening Day!!

I'm praying that all goes well today and that tonight you can report the glowing results of all your hard work & investment!

 

[Lesli54]

Monday was so unreal. It was strange to think that we were actually open.

Oh, breakfast was 2/3 of a cheese omelet and yogurt. DS got the rest of my omelet. Then I was off.

The first 1/2 hour drug on and on as we waited in anticipation for someone to come through the door. Finally, one came in and then they all followed (guess morning coffee was over ) Throughout most of the day it was pretty steady, which was good. I got many compliments on the store and many comments that it was more than they expected. All nice little boosts. I ran up and down the steps to my office a few times. Exercise.

Lunch was late and DH brought me a LC glazed chicken dinner. I ate it in stages. Then after we closed up I had a few cherry twizzler nibs. For supper I ate some goulash and 2 tiny biscuits (DH cooked). Later, I had about 2/3 bag of popcorn.

I actually went to bed around 10, I was so exhausted. It was a good day.