Lulu201's Healthy Living Journal--Just trying my best to walk the walk! Come on by!

[DoeWDW]

to you, WISH-sis! Looks like you're making your way through the busyness of the week!

sent to Liz for her audition today and prayers going up for her.

I haven't gotten a chance to delve into the books you sent, other than a quick glance to see that they all look interesting! I can't wait to get some reading time in this weekend!

Your trip is so close!!!! Todd and I are so excited for you and Mike and Liz! Pace yourself over the next week, realizing that you'll have all your regular work plus all the errands and busyness of packing. Take extra good care of you!

and

 

[lulu201]

Geesh, it's a busy day today! I had a breakfast meeting with one of our teachers this morning to discuss different teaching options with her, and now I'm going down to the studio to teach until 6. DD wants me to take her and a friend to the mall tonight, so it'll be late by the time I get home.

1. Devotions--read the Purpose Driven Life online devotional
2. Vitamins--forgot yesterday, better take them today
3. Water--have just started
4. Exercise--walked Mickey about .75 of a mile
5. Food--had "hearty grain" pancakes at IHOP and coffee
6. Scale--I'd prefer not to discuss this topic today, thank you very much.

I'm still deciding whether or not I'll go visit my mom tomorrow. The sensible side of me says I should stay home and catch up on housework. The real side of me says I should just seize the day and give my mom a happy surprise. Decisions, decisions. Maybe if I weren't leaving for Disney in a few days the decision would be more clear cut.

Off to work,
Erin

 

[lulu201]

September 25, 2005

I stayed home this weekend, and I'm glad I did. My body needed it, plain and simple. I took DD and her friends to the mall Friday night and didn't get home until about 10:30. Saturday morning I was in the car at 8:45 and on my way to work, then DD and I went to Kohl's to do some more shopping. I've had headaches for the last couple of days, and this time, even though I wanted to see my mom in the worst way, I decided to listen to my body and REST.
Because of that, I'm feeling better.

Here's a little bit of what I've learned this month.

**when my work schedule increases, I forget to take my vitamins, exercise less, and eat junk when what I need to do is to eat healthier and care for myself MORE! It just seems like healthy living takes more than I have. I've intentionally wanted to reduce my focus on weight this month, but it's really resulted in less care of myself.

**I have not abstained from sugar the last couple of weeks. Allowing myself to eat sugar at TOM culminated in last night's grand treat to myself--a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. I've never eaten a pint of ice cream in one sitting in my life. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but I'm WAY off track right now, and I don't like how it's making me feel.

**I'm "cutting myself slack" as a way of taking care of myself, but like a pendulum swinging wildly from one side to the other, I'm not doing much for myself at all now! I'm not even drinking enough water in a day or popping the vitamins in my mouth!

**I haven't achieved my September goal of eliminating caffeine, though I've seriously reduced consumption after 12 noon. I don't think I'm going to give it up yet. . .I'm just going to try to keep with the "none after 12" program.

**I want structure in my eating and exercise programs. For all my talk of keeping a good food log, when my work schedule increased, I just stopped doing it. I want to do that again. I miss it; I need it.

**I walked Mickey every morning this week, but didn't give myself any credit for it because it wasn't aerobic. I don't think that's right--I should recognize that as exercise! It's not enough, though. I know I need to get on the treadie and do some aerobic work; I always feel good when I do. The trick is fitting it into my life in a healthy way.

So, here's my plan for the upcoming week.

1. Devotions every day.
2. Vitamins every day.
3. Water every day.
4. Exercise--I'll walk Mickey in the park and will walk on the treadie for 30 minutes tomorrow. Tuesday through Thursday I'll walk him in the park, and will then head to WDW where my exercise will be strolling around that World Showcase!
5. Food--I'm going back to my food log. Three meals a day plus a small high carb bed-time snack. Eating many small meals isn't working now--I just eat too much. I'll continue to experiment with the timing of this. I'm going to abstain from sugar 'til Thursday. When I'm in WDW, I can't make any promises!
6. I'll be on that scale every day (except on vacation), working to stay within 175-185.

THat's enough thinking for today.
Erin

 

[septbride2002]

**I have not abstained from sugar the last couple of weeks. Allowing myself to eat sugar at TOM culminated in last night's grand treat to myself--a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. I've never eaten a pint of ice cream in one sitting in my life. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but I'm WAY off track right now, and I don't like how it's making me feel.

Oh honey, welcome to the ben and jerry's club. My downfall is always Karmel Sutra.

Ya know what - pick yourself up and give yourself credit for what you have been doing. Because it is more then alot of people.

~Amanda

 

[lulu201]

September 26, 2005

Hi, Amanda. Thanks for stopping by and comforting me after my little affair with Ben and Jerry. Geesh those men are dangerous!

It's a new day and a new week. Here's the plan for today:

1. Devotions I thought these were so nice today:
Daily Thoughts:
A Time to Think:
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. -Henry Van ****
To Act:
Use today, for it is a gift, to extend your love.
To Pray:
Dear Lord, help me to remember that the brightness of Your loving presence is always with me.
2. Vitamins
3. Water--working on my 2nd glass
4. Exercise--walked Mickey for 1.25 I'm not going to get the treadie in today. That's just how it is.
5. Breakfast was 2 slices of whole wheat toast w/pb and a glass of milk, oh, and coffee, too. Lunch will be a chicken strip salad. Dinner will be a tuna sandwich. Late night snack will be an english muffin. (my alternative to a potato)
6. Scale-- 185

The next few days are going to be busy as I try to get everything ready for our vacation. I have to take Mickey to get a bath and a haircut and then I have to head over to school to ask official permission for "family travel." I have the studio newsletter to get done, the laundry to put away, the house to straighten and students to teach. It'll all get done as long as I keep mosying through it all.

I'm moving forward and looking Upward!
Erin

 

[DoeWDW]

Don't worry about Ben & Jerry. I find that after a visit with them, I really don't feel like seeing them for a long while.

You've got lots on your plate but I'm betting you'll move through it all with grace and style. On the inside, you may not be FEELING graceful and stylish, but you'll make it look easy. Only 3 more days, sweetie, and you can rest and relax!

The treadie can wait until you get home. You'll be walking plenty real soon!

Enjoy your day in spite of the busyness.

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning Erin!

I'm sending you some to help you through your to do list today. Just think... in a few days, you'll be relaxing with and .

Have a wonderful Monday!

 

[septbride2002]

Write up a to do list and just start checking items off. I always find I feel better if I can see what I've accomplished. Where are you going on vacation? I am green w/envy!
~Amanda

 

[lulu201]

September 27, 2005

Where am I going, Amanda? I'm glad you asked!

I'm going to Disney World!

I'm still way behind and struggling like a crazy person , but I know it'll all get done. Even though there's a load of (clean) laundry on the dining room floor, I'll get it put away somehow and leave on Thursday afternoon with a tidy house. How this will happen, I don't know, but I've got faith, what can I say?

We'll be at the All Star Music from Thursday until Tues. afternoon; we'll be back home by midnight (hopefully) on Tues. night. We're all looking forward to some "kickin' around the World" time. We're not bringing a single alarm clock!

Today's looking like this:

1. Devotions
Daily Thoughts:
A Time to Think:
Make a mental list of happy thoughts and pass them through your mind several times a day. - Norman Vincent Peale
To Act:
Allow yourself to be loved and to love all that you meet.
To Pray:
Dear Lord, heal our wounds and give us hope that the ultimate end of human sorrow is not continuing sadness, but eternal goodness.
2. Vitamins--will take soon
3. Water--drank lots yesterday and will drink more today.
4. Exercise--Mickey and I had an excellent walk/run this morning around the park, 1.25.
5. Food--I stuck to my program yesterday! These are my meal plans for today:
breakfast--2 slices w. wheat toast w/pb, coffee, glass of milk.
lunch--tuna sandwich on w. wheat and some yogurt
dinner--saladworks (hey, it's Tuesday)
emergency snack--cheddar cheese stick
bed-time snack--w. wheat english muffin w/butter (maybe a little jelly? )or triscuits
6. Scale--hmm, looks like 184.5

I'm reading another book by ("Potatoes, not Prozac") Kathleen Desmaisons: "The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Guide." (I think that's the name of it.) This woman is so great. I realize now that I was doing too much too soon--trying to give up sugar, caffeine, etc. She cautions OVER and OVER again to take the process slowly, so I'm concentrating on the breakfast with protein and keeping my journal. I'm also trying to find a way to structure my meal times so that I only eat 3. She explains about the blood sugar and small meal thing a little bit more in this book and I can see what traps I fall into when I'm eating every couple of hours. Hey, she's the expert. . .I'll try it her way.

Haven't heard yet about DD's select choir try-out. . .maybe today? I'm just so proud of her for trying.

Not a bad day today--3 classes and 4 students. Still working on the newsletter and plans for the kids' computer lab time.

OK, off and into the day. I thinkin' Phil. 4:13!

Erin

 

[DoeWDW]

I'm so excited for you and your imminent trip to Disney World!! Don't forget your pink hat. WDW is probably the only place you can wear it and no one will think it odd. You've got to keep that harsh Florida sun out of your eyes somehow, right??

Thanks for the advice about letting Steph help with my shopping. I've helped her plenty through the years - I'll just tell her it's payback time! I'll let you know how it works out.

What NEEDS to get done will get done. Just be very careful about labeling tasks as NEEDED. You'd be amazed at how few things really NEED to be done. The rest is nice but not necessary. Lighten your load as much as possible over the next 2 days.

and to you, dear WISH-sis!

 

[lulu201]

Doreen, you said "What NEEDS to get done will get done. Just be very careful about labeling tasks as NEEDED. You'd be amazed at how few things really NEED to be done. The rest is nice but not necessary. Lighten your load as much as possible over the next 2 days." I don't think you could have said anything more helpful than that. It's changed my perspective on everything!
Thanks, friend.

Oh, and when Liz helped me we had such fun! I said, "you're the fashionista, help me with this" and she immediately rose to the occasion, offering suggestions of colors, accessories, everything. We had a great time. I hope you and Steph have some fun, too!

E.

 

[septbride2002]

I WANT TO GO! Ask Doreen and she will tell you that I am desperate for a Disney trip. LOL! You guys are going to have a blast! I agree with Doe - take the princess hat, no one will think it is weird their! Not to mention I can feel like I'm walking around the Magic Kingdom with you. So what do you all have planned! Dish up the details because I need to live vigariously through you!

~Amanda

 

[toystoryduo]

Oh Erin!

I am so excited for you! You are going to Disney World! I know this may sound strange, but as crazy busy as life can be right before we leave for WDW, I love the crazy busyness because it means we're going to Disney! (I'm getting lots of exercise from jumping in your journal today! ) I agree with Doe... just do the things that need to be done. The other stuff can wait.

I love the devotion that you shared with us today. I'll need to remember that.

Have a wonderful day Erin!

 

[Strings]

Hi Erin,

I was wearing my princess hat today, and I had som people roling their eyes at me. I just kept wishing I was in WDW! You are going in a day in a half!! I am so excited for you. Doe is right that not everything NEEDS to get done before the trip.
Take care and don't work yourself to the bone before the trip.
Beth

 

[DoeWDW]

I know sometimes I make myself overwhelmed with all my SHOULD BE DONEs and it truly is hurtful to my soul and my sanity. In the busyness before a trip, it's especially easy to fall into that way of thinking. Glad my reminder helped you, WISH-sis.

Steph & I had a wonderful time shopping last night. Thanks for the encouragement and for the idea of taking my own little "fashionista" with me.

Have a wonderful day, filled with preparations for your trip, but also filled with moments to pause and smile and take a deep breath and just be. Tomorrow you'll be soaking in the magic. Take a jar or a Ziploc bag with you and bring some pixie dust home for us, please.

Love ya,

 

[Strings]

You leave tomorrow! Has it sunk in yet? Are you buzzing with excitement? What are you doing on the DIS!?! you don't have time to be on the computer. Just kidding.

I hope you have a magical time. I will pray that you have a safe journey.

Take care and say hi to the Mouse for me,
Beth

 

[lulu201]

Ok, ok, so I'm a little excited!

I've revamped my "should do" list, thanks to the counsel from my WISH buddies. Whatever I get tidied before I leave tomorrow will be enough. Probably won't get the floors scrubbed (yeah, that was on the mental list), but so be it, I'm kicking that compulsive side of me to the road! I only worry about extreme neatness in two instances: 1. When I have company coming and 2. when I'm going on a trip. I LOVE coming home to a picture perfect little house. This trip? Well, it ain't happening!

Amanda, we don't have a lot of real plans. . .no, I shouldn't say that, we have some meal reservations, but this is a relaxed WDW trip, if there can be such a thing. Let's see, here's the outline:

Arrive around 6 tomorrow evening. We've got the Magical Express included with the trip, so we'll check our luggage in at Phila. and then it'll appear in our room sometime that night. Cool, huh? You just walk off the plane and into the arms of the waiting Disney guy who leads you to the beautiful Disney bus!

We're not sure where we're going to eat. . .we may grab something at the food court at the ASMu, we may head over to Epcot, or we may go to Downtown Disney, it'll depend on how we feel.

Friday we're going to MGM; we have a reservation at the Sci Fi. I think that place is so cute.

Saturday I think we're in Epcot. Yeah, that's right. . .we are. We have Le Cellier reservations. Have never eaten there before (you and me, Tracy, seem to be the only ones on the planet ).

Sunday we're at the Magic Kingdom and Monday (for DD's birthday) we're back in Epcot for dinner at Alfredos (DD's request). I used to think DD wanted to go there because she's a pasta nut, but Doreen's clued me in on what the teenage girls are really going for: all the cute Italian waiters!

One of those days we're going to spend the morning in AK (my least favorite park--no flames, please) and we hope to hit the Boardwalk.

We leave late on Tuesday, so I don't know what we'll end up doing. . .guess it depends when the bus is taking us back to the airport. You don't really have much of a choice with the ME package. . .they call you the night before and tell you when they're picking you up.

So that's the plan!

Now here's the ole healthy living thing:

1. Devotions--haven't done these yet, but I'll do that when I'm done here.
2. Vitamins--likewise
3. Water--am working on the first glass
4. Exercise--for the 3rd day in a row, Mickey and I have walked our 1.25.
5. Food--I had my 3 balanced meals yesterday and my high carbo bed-time snack. My goal is the same for today: w.w. english muffin w/pb, coffee, glass of milk. Lunch will be a McDonald's California Cob salad. Dinner will be a tuna sandwich and yogurt gulped between lessons. Bedtime snack will be
triscuits.
6. Scale--185

I've been visiting the radiantrecovery.com website to read various articles about sugar addiction. . .it's just such a fascinating subject to me. One of the things that is stressed in the beginning is "stability." Just getting your blood sugar and chemical levels into a set, predictable pattern. . .just getting your MEALS into a predictable pattern. As a sugar-sensitive person, the book says, you become accustomed to living with lots of highs and lows--lots of enthusiasm and energy and then big crashes (and this can be in any given day! ). When you stabilize your food, your cravings, your emotions, etc., it may almost feel. . .boring! As addicts, a lot of us like the big emotional highs and bursts of energy, but getting "evened out" will help in the long run. . .we just have to get used to it. There was also an interesting article about clutter and how s.sensitive people deal (or don't deal, as the case may be) with it. Lots of good reading.

Enough now, I have to get to work and the challenges of the day. Actually, it doesn't sound too rough--2 classes and 9 students. The big challenge, I think, will be keeping my mind on everything!

Gotta go pack the hat--
Love to all,
Erin

 

[septbride2002]

Le Cellier is my FAVORITE resturant at Disney! I highly suggest the mushroom fillet. It will melt in your mouth! Oooohhh and the Cheese soup! Try to send me mental images while you are there so that I can pretend I'm there as well. I am SO jealous of your trip!

Italian Waiters are HOT!

~Amanda

 

[toystoryduo]

Oh Erin!

Your trip to WDW sounds relaxing and fun.... Please, take me with you! I love Doe's idea of bringing home some for your WISH friends. Just in case you want to know, I take an Extra Large in .

I hope you have an amazing trip! And please... let me know how you like Le Cellier.

Have a great day, Erin!

 

[lulu201]

Good morning, everyone! It's a Disney Day!

We're leaving this afternoon; I have lots to do! Still I wanted to check in here before leaving.

The plan for today:

1. Devotions
2. Vitamins
3. Water--will try all day!
4. Exercise--airport and Disney walking!
5. Food--had my ww. english muffin w/pb, but not enough milk. Have to find some more protein somewhere
6. Scale--185. At least it's steady.
7. Eat 3 meals with protein.
8. Keep my food log up to date.

I want to feel my absolute BEST while walking around WDW, so I want to keep doing all of my healthy things! I have no sugar restrictions other than to try to eat any sugary treat WITH a meal in order to minimize its damage to my blood sugar levels. Right now I'm feeling calm, centered, and READY TO GO!

I thought I'd make the rounds and visit everyone's journal before I go, but it's just not going to happen. Know I'm going to pick up some for you all and will happily sprinkle it into everyone's journal when I come back to journals next Wednesday. Extra large special doses for Doreen, Amanda, Beth, and Tracy!

My hat is in my carry-on!
Love,
Erin