A Blessing in Disguise

The storm that ripped through New Hampshire and Massachusetts over the weekend has left a lot of people cold and bored. Many are still without power. Many of the people that are without power are starting to find better ways to use their time. Many of my coworkers are talking about all the reading they've done, household tasks they've accomplished, and undistracted conversations they've had with their families. What seemed like a disaster at first has actually become a positive thing for many people.

 

I did not lose power. Not even a flicker. Living in a city with few trees I rarely lose power.

 

But I did have my own blessing in disguise.

 

My microwave broke. Just stopped working. And I won't have the money to buy a new one for a few weeks. Why is that good? Because microwaves exist to make food easy and fast. Often I find myself throwing something in the microwave not because I'm hungry, but because I'm bored. The joy of cooking exclusively with a stove/oven? You probably won't cook something unless you really really want it, because frankly it takes a lot of work! So I find myself eating only when I'm TRULY hungry- and it turns out that's a lot less often than I used to think.

 

So here's to living old school!

VIVA ITALIA!

I learned a lot over the last week. First lesson was that I understand Hamlet WAY better the second time around (read it first in high school). I'm keeping it in my purse so I can read a couple pages whenever the opportunity strikes, it's definitely not something I can digest in one sitting.

Now the second lesson is way more important than the first and I learned it from my mother last night.

Over the week I had eaten some real garbage. Many days I didn't eat anything until dinner and then at dinner I put away half a pizza myself! WOW! But then last night I visited my Mom in New Hampshire. It was another day I hadn't eaten anything all day. We made chicken parm (I know what you're thinking, but bear with me) and I noticed the cultural things my Mom has held on to that keep her healthy. Listed below.

-She used everything fresh. Everything was bright, colorful, and fragrant. She used WHOLE foods.

-She poured herself a glass of wine before she started cooking. Just A glass. And she slowly sipped and savored while she cooked.

-She made a SALAD. Salad has been my enemy for years. But I'm seeing now that by starting her meal with a salad she was guaranteeing she'd get her vegetables and not overindulge in the carby stuff.

-She talked while we ate, a lot. Each bite was punctuated by a story or a question. Not only was she getting in her chitchat time with me, she was controlling how quickly she ate.

-She drank water while she ate.

 

So while I was there with her I was basically her shadow and I mimicked everything she did. And you know what? Despite not having eaten all day, and having a plate in front of me of pasta, chicken, cheese, and garlic bread- I ate my salad, and then hardly made a dent in my plate of carb hell. And the couple of bites I took I ENJOYED.

 

So I guess the lesson is that eating can be an experience. The preparation is almost like foreplay and makes the main event that much better. Needless to say I left with some of her homemade caesar dressing and croutons (I plan on picking up some lettuce on the way home) as well as calzones, chicken, and some roasted potatoes. My experiment for the week- If I'm going to eat I'm going to enjoy and savor every moment.

 

<3

A Small Victory is Still a Victory!

A super quick post about small victories today.
Today was a weigh in *gasp* 195.6
Down .2
That's a small victory- still a victory but not nearly the most important of the day!
This morning I looked out the window at the torrential rain that has the northshore in a state of emergency. I thought to myself "There's OT today so I should just go in, but I know I won't be walking on my breaks in the rain." So instead of typical me behavior which would be to say "I'll just make up for it tomorrow."
Tomorrow, tomorrow, always tomorrow.

I decided Today IS Tomorrow.
I jumped right on my workout plan with a 30 minute cardio/core DVD. Incredible? No. Better than sitting on my butt? F### YEAH!

In other news, I located the copy of Hamlet from my senior year of high school, I'll get cracking on it tonight!
The entire works of Shakespeare in a year is a pretty lofty goal, but I always was one to swing for the fences :)

Keep on Keepin On

I'm trying to keep mindful of The List in everything I do. At the moment I'm focussed on the 2 hardest items, reaching my goal weight and getting out of debt! Luckily for me, now is a perfect time for both of those things- a new acquisition at work has us BURIED! But that means there is lots of overtime to be had, and not a lot of time to lay around and home being lazy. As much as I'd love to see my department hitting it's goals, I love being able to do overtime. I'm pledging to work ever hour of overtime available to me until we're out of this hole. If I can stay motivated and really stick to it, I could be out of debt within a month or two (I only have around 3k in debt). To help shed some pounds in the midst of all this madness I'm accepting a couple things.

1. I do not have time to cook. If I buy myself lots of healthy things to make I will end up eating takeout. This is FACT. While it is far from ideal, I need to depend on the quick and easy options (like lean cuisine meals, canned soups, etc.). My goal is to eventually gravitate back to a paleo lifestyle. I was paleo for a couple months, was about 25 pounds lighter than I am now and was FIERCE. That is the goal.

2. I cannot and will not wakeup at the crack of dawn and workout. My shift is 11:30-8pm, we open for overtime at 7:30am and my commute is a half hour long. Yeah, not happening. But what I can do is bang out some wall pushups here and there, and use my breaks to hike the giant hill on our property. I can get in an hour of cardio if I walk on all my breaks. I have a little workout plan all set up for once this work situation is over, kind of an easy P90X using other DVDs I have, towards the end of November I'll be starting P90X Doubles (I've already completed P90X in the past) and during that time I'll be back to my strict Paleo.

 

So I guess it's kind of like this. While we're in this Overtime Time (makes it sound cuter than it is) I've got my training wheels on. Some artificially controlled portions, getting back in the swing of being generally more active. Then phase 2, training wheels come off. Now I'm really riding! Preparing my own meals, following a 6 days a week workout routine. Then I trade in my 2 wheeler for a mountain bike! P90X/Paleo time!

 

But of course it's one day at a time, I've got to keep on keepin on. Weigh ins will be Tuesdays, This last Tuesday I weighed in at 195.8, down from 198.4 the previous Tuesday. Small successes are still successes!

Here goes nothing!

Here's the story.
I decided I wanted to write a list of 100 things to achieve before December 21, 2012- not because I think it's the end of the world- but because I want the opportunity to live like it is. So I wrote my list and one of the items was to start a blog about my project. I really don't care if it's ever read, I just want to know that I did it. I've already achieved a couple items on my list and am trying to get crackin at a few more, a lot of them are very shallow, a lot have to do with weight loss, some have to do with sex- if any of these things bother you feel free to write your own Bucket List, but this one's mine.

A little background on me.
My name is Cassy, I'm 20 years old. I live in Massachusetts and have most of my life. I live with my wonderful boyfriend of 5 years, 3 cats and a homing pigeon. I've been overweight most of my life, currently at 195.8. I love music, art, video games, books. I work in graphic design. A lot more will unfold, I'm going to try to post most days regardless of how I'm doing. If anyone ever does read this, I'd love support on my journey and I'd be happy to support you on yours.

The List
1. Go Rock Climbing
2. Run with or for my Grandad
3. Compete in a Fitness Event
4. Climb a Rope
5. Lift my heighest weight (about 200lbs)
6. Take a Martial Arts Class
7. Take a Bikram Yoga Class
8. Take a Pole Dancing Class
9. Take a Belly Dancing Class
10. Get Tattoo Fixed completed 9/26. a horrible tramp stamp is now a beautiful tree
11. Get a Body Wax
12. Get a Naughty Piercing
13. Get a Massage
14. Give the BF a Strip Tease
15. Wear a Short Skirt in Public
16. Buy (fake) Leather Pants
17. Learn to Surf
18. Take Horseback Lessons
19. Wear a Bikini in Public
20. Wear a Corset in Public
21. Run at Sunrise
22. Party with Strangers
23. Take a BJ Class
24. Do 10 Handstand Pushups
25. Take Tennis Lessons
26. Play Tennis with Dad
27. Have a Photoshoot
28. Take a Cooking Class
29. Change my Own Oil
30. Have Cats Professionally Groomed
31. Decorate the Apartment
32. Get Out of Debt
33. Go to a Bar
34. Pose on BF's Car
35. Reach Goal Weight of 120
36. Save 1,000k
37. Volunteer for Human rights
38. Volunteer for the Environment
39. Wear Shorts in Public
40. Run on the Beach
41. Complete a Spartan Race/Warrior Dash
42. Learn Free Running
43. Ski/Snowboard
44. Join a Gym
45. Get Under Size 10
46. Get Under Size 5
47. Improve the Twins
48. Complete a Marathon
49. Take a Vacation
50. Take a Spinning Class
51. Go on a Hike
52. Go Karting!
53. Go Dancing
54. Go Kayaking or Rafting
55. Eat Something I Grew
56. Have a Conversation with a Homless Person
57. Get a Lap Dance
58. Take Bartending Class
59. Buy a New Wardrobe
60. Complete Yoga X
61. Get a Raise
62. Try Crossfit
63. Drag Race
64. Work Out with Cakes
65. Wear a Flower in my Hair
66. Take an Art Class
67. Take French Lessons
68. Dress Up as WonderWoman
69. Go to a Lesbian Bar
70. See a Dermatologist
71. Buy Makeup with a Pro
72. Return Hair to Natural Color
73. Get Bronze Lean Certification
74. Go Tanning
75. Get Eyebrows Professionall Sculpted
76. Wear a Feather in My Hair
77. Wear Jewels on My Face
78. Wear White Pants
79. Go Mountain Biking
80. Bowl a Strike
81. Go Snorkeling or Scuba Diving
82. Go Sky Diving or Hangliding
83. Ride a Mechanical Bull
84. Read the Complete Works of Shakespeare
85. Take a College Class
86. Have a Library
87. Get Chakras Aligned
88. Start a Blog  completed right now!
89. Spar
90. Make Something for a Family Event
91. Take Sword Fighting Class
92. Buy a New Computer
93. Compete in a Beauty Contest
94. Gamble
95. Be a Hottie at a Rock Show
96. Get Hair Done at High End Salon
97. Get Mani/Pedi
98. Buy 5 Pairs of New Shoes
99. Get my Health Assessed by a Professional
100. Take Guided Meditation Class


Well. theres The List in all it's glory. I'll talk more tomorrow about what I'm doing right now to complete more items!