The Laugh's On Me

So much for my plan of avoiding any kind of consumption. Today I realized Sawyer only has three pair of shorts, and one pair is at my mom's. So I broke my own rule, but not completely: I went shopping at the OARC thrift store. (Note to self: Always hit OARC first .They're prices are amazing. I bought a pair of shorts for Sawyer and a coloring book for a total of 35 cents. Huzzah! Similar shorts were 3.50 at Goodwill.)

Later the entire family and I went to Goodwill for some more shopping. I found a pair of shorts for Sawyer, which was the whole point. But I have trouble resisting deals and definitely experienced that clinging feeling. I wanted the salad plates, the tote bag, and the movie (in a medium we don't even own anymore). Even a thrift store brings out my desire to acquire. However, that feeling I get from acquiring only lasts for a short while, promptly leading to more acquiring. It's like an addiction and one that is encouraged every time I turn on the TV, walk into a store, drive past a billboard or listen to the radio.

My one success: I REALLY wanted a latte and not a home-brewed latte. I even got into my car to drive to Starbucks . . . and then got out of the car and walked hangdoggedly back into the house and brewed a mediocre iced latte.

Total non sequitur: I started getting chest pains on the way to Goodwill. I am pretty sure it's heartburn because what I read says that if when you lay down it gets worse, it's probably GI related. It was pretty painful and scary, and no, I did not go to the hospital like I know I should have. But I'm sitting here now and not feeling any pain, so all is well.

Low Impact, Round IV

I'm doing another low-impact consumption month. I am going about it a little differently this time. Instead of just making it about environmental issues, I am trying to incorporate awareness of clinging and finances. In the past, I didn't buy anything (or avoided buying anything) that meant more trash in our landfills. This meant I could buy electronic items, such as songs on iTunes and digital scrapbooking items from Two Peas.

My goal this time is to let go of the rush, no matter how small, that comes with acquiring something. If I'm buying an Adobe action or fonts for a digi page, I'm still getting the same rush I get when I buy brads and stickers from Michael's.

I also need to pay more attention to my spending. I'm not someone who goes out an buys a nice, new car or a new couch. I whittle money away. I buy three yards of fabric here and scrapbooking paper there and pants for my son here and a hat for my daughter there. It adds up.

What I want is to be more careful about differentiating between "need" and "want." At least being aware of the two differences may be helpful.

Here's the other issue that has recently come to my attention: I have A LOT of crafting items - paper, ribbon, fabric, patterns, etc. I just emptied my craft area of six bags of stuff to give away and two trash bags of garbage. Although things are cleaner and more organized, there is still way too much stuff. Since Sawyer was born, I have sewn very little - an outfit for my daughter and a few small items, like napkins. This hasn't stopped my purchasing of fabric and patterns, however. So I'm sure you can imagine how things start to pile up.

One possible glitch is that my sister-in-law is coming out here for a week with her three kids. We haven't seen them in five years; in fact, I've never met the two youngest. It may very well mean some fast food jaunts and what-not, but I'm willing to postpone the project if necessary. She's definitely worth it.

Hmmm.....

So I get on the "new" scale last night six times, and every time I get a completely different weight with a 22 pound range from the highest to the lowest. Maybe I haven't gained weight after all . . . .

I have gained a lot of weight recently. I am not far from my peak weight when I was pregnant the second time around. Not good.

I started working out again out last week - got three days in. I also watched what I ate most days. I lost three pounds in a couple of days and then gained five in the last few, putting me at +2. I've recently experienced a number of awkward pregnancy questions, which spurred me into researching weight gain in women as they age. Turns out that gaining weight, especially in the abdomen, is very typical of someone my age, and it also turns out that losing it is harder as we get older, since women's metabolism slows down 10% for every ten years of age. Plus, as women age, weight loss proves more difficult. Add to that that stress has been proven to be a factor of weight gain, and I have myself a perfect storm.

So now that I know what I'm up against, I can relax and tackle this more methodically. I can't expect to lose weight quickly, and I know that I'm in some ways typical of someone my age. I want to be healthier, and I want to look nicer. It will come with time and with workouts, but I know I cannot expect to be where I was ten years ago, let alone twenty years ago. That actually makes me feel a lot better.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to be more focused, less nibbly at night, and more active overall. We'll see what happens.

Cool Blog Found

I occasionally like to browse the blogs in blogger. Today I hit this blog: Avignon in Photos. I have been to Avignon and LOVED it. Looking at the pictures makes me want to go back. I loved the architecture, the food, the wine, and yes, even the people. I thought the French were very friendly except in Paris, which is a big city anyway. Looking at the pictures makes me smell France again.

Ahh . . . the days of being free and being able to travel to Europe. Although I miss those days, I ma very content with my life now. Still, I am looking forward to the time when I my kids are old enough to travel out of the country. I think they'll love it.

The extra poundage, dog update

I gained a lot of weight this semester in a very short period of time. I learned, incidentally, that I am a comfort eater, which I would have denied prior to this semester. Now I'm working on losing it. I lost two pounds in two days without even trying hard, which just goes to show how much I was having to eat to maintain this weight. Last night was a bust, and I ate like a pig. I had forgotten to eat lunch, so I pigged out at dinner.

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Our new edition to the family, Triton the dog, is going to have to go. I like him a lot and especially like that he doesn't shed, but he has bitten both kids in the face. The tricky part is getting the lady from Boxers and Buddies to accept the towel I'm throwing in. She's an excellent dog trainer, and when I told her Triton had bitten Sawyer, she had me come to classes with her and had me follow certain dominance establishing procedures. He seemed to be getting better, and then he bit Rosalind in the hand and then later in the face. As a mother, my first priority is the safety of my kids. Plus, it gets exhausting always having to worry about where the dog is, where the kids are, and whether the dog is feeling threatened. The kids don't harass him, but Triton gets very nervous about feeling cornered, which is when he bites.

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I'm loving summer!

What a Crazy Semester

This last semester was insane - busy and the most stressful I have had in eleven years as a teacher. Budget cuts are no fun. Nevertheless, our school still stands, and I am alive and well and ready to do some blogging. Right now I'm trying to cram a semester's worth of neglect (health and well-being, house work, intellectual, parenting, etc.) into a week of summer, which doesn't seem to be working. I'm going to have to slow down and take things one step at a time.

I'm thinking of changing my blogging up some and moving the Buddhist commentary to its own blog. It seems weird to mix it with pictures of my kids. Those of us at Dharma Zephyr have been

I am going to work on getting my sewing and crafting space into shape and am going to take before and after pictures. I have a ridiculously long list of projects to work on this summer. My craft area is first on the list.

Right now I have to go handle a temper tantrum. signing off . . . .