Eye exercise

I found the following article about eye exercises . . . thought it looked very interesting. Enjoy!
Eyesight FitnessThese exercises, designed and used for patients at the Tao of Wellness Center, are helpful for maintaining and improving your vision.
Try to do these exercises first thing in the morning and just before bed. Another good time is when your eyes feel tired, such as right after computer use. Make sure that your hands are clean and that you are relaxed in body and mind. The key to progress is practicing regularly, preferably every single day.
1. Warming the Eyes: Rub your palms together to create heat, and then place them against your eyes for five seconds. Repeat this three times.
2. Pressing the Rim of the Valley: Use both thumbs and press slowly from the inside outward along the upper rim of the eye sockets. Then switch to both index fingers and press along the lower rim of the eye sockets from the inside outward. Repeat three times.
3. Rolling the Marble: Press the back of your thumbs gently against the eyeballs; slowly roll up and down 12 times. Then slowly roll from side to side 12 times.
4. Turning the Wheels of Fortune: Place the thumb knuckles at both temple areas and massage in circular motion three times. Repeat the same actions above the mid-point of the eyebrows at the forehead, then below the eyes on both sides of the bridge of the nose.
5. Staring at the Light: hold an object out in front of you as far as possible. Focus your eyes on the object while slowly moving the object closer until it is six inches from your nose. Then focus on the object as you move it slowly away from you. Repeat this three times and relax briefly in between.
6. Spinning the Basketball: With your eyes open, roll eyes clockwise, then counter-clockwise three times each. Try to look into the sockets of your eyes as much as possible.
7. Taking a Nap on the Job: Put your head back, close your eyes, and relax for three minutes.

Cleaned out my closet

I have been a little out of sorts lately. I feel like I'm in some weird kind of waiting stage, and I'm not really doing anything. We are still waiting to hear about Chris' job. This is taking FOREVER. But I'm learning patience. And trust. Just because I'm learning them, doesn't mean that I'm enjoying them. Anyway, I decided to work on some stuff that I CAN control while we are waiting for something that we can't.
So I'm starting at the corner of the house (the master closet). It had gotten pretty cluttered. So last night I dragged out all the stuff that was on the floor. I rearranged some of the storage, and sorted the clothes according to type. We put out the summer clothers, and put away the winter clothes. I vaccumed the flour and ran the rainbow on air filter for the whole night in there. It looks FANTABULOUS if I do say so myself. I will be creating a project plan for each room, that will list all the projects that I would like to do in each room with all the necessary details. For example, in the closet, I would like to get some more shelving so that we can have an area for our towels and such (oddly enough, our house doesn't have a linen closet or a coat closet). So I will write down at the measurements, and do a rough sketch, so I can get some prices together.
Tonight, it is the master bathroom. It shouldn't take too long, because we just got the toilet fixed in the master bathroom last friday, and hadn't been using the bathroom for about a month before that.
The best part about this plan, is that it is only about organizing, and not about cleaning. Chris and I have devised a new housekeeping plan. I do everything that has to do with organzing, arranging, and/or putting away. Chris does all of the actual "cleaning". If it involves a chemical or a tool, its his job. It really plays to our strengths. Chris doesn't like trying to figure something out, or doing a job that he considers to be "vague". However, I'm really good at that stuff. And I HATE the actual physical cleaning stuff. He doesn't mind it so much, and when he puts his mind to it, does a really good job (he has shown some perfectionist tendancies in that area). Plus, I feel like a burden is lifted off of my shoulders. I always felt so guilty because I very rarely got to the "cleaning" stuff unless company was coming, because the "putting away" took so long. And overall, this gives us a very clean deliniation of tasks.
So, after I'm done organizing the bathroom, Chris will come behind me and do the actual cleaning. Here is the order of the rooms:
Master Closet
Master Bathroom
Master Bedroom
Living Room
Kitchen
Entryway/Laundry room
Guest Bathroom
SMT Office
CMT Office
Garage
We may be getting a digital camera soon, so hopefully I will be able to take some pictures of the newly organized house and add them to the site.

taxes

Finally did our taxes. I LOVE owning a house. Before we itemized we were going to owe 1600. Once we itemized, it was on 400. And that is only with half a year worth of interest. Next year we are going to be golden! FINALLY! It all works out in the end cause we are getting more back from the state taxes than we owe on the federal. Now that was unexpected . . . if I had known that I would have filed back in February. I was just so tired of owing.
Next year you can guarantee that I will file early. :)

Pray for my husband

Hey everyone, if you could take a second and pray for Chris, I know it will make a difference. He is going through a very tough situation at work, and it has really affected him. He just needs wisdom and strength to get through this. This should be a happy time for him (hope to have an announcement about his job in the next few days (week), and it is definitely being overshadowed with some major drama.
Thanks a bunch!

I'm back

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back. I swear to you, last week felt like it was a month long. Between the grief, the driving, being away from home, planning, remembering, not sleeping, and regret, I feel like it lasted forever.
I wasn't sure that I was ready to come back to work, but I didn't think staying home would help me get more ready. Thankfully, knock-on-wood, today isn't crazy busy. Busy enough so that I'm distracted, but not so busy that I'm overwhelmed.
I think I'm still a little shocky, because I can't quite seem to get into anything. I had a number of projects that I was getting ready to start and/or complete before I left last week, and I looked at them last night . . . . and just felt nothing.

Grandma

My grandmother on my father's side, Gloria passed away on Monday, Februrary 19th at 11:35 pm. I was able to be with my Grandma and my family on Monday, and was with Grandma when she passed away. Please pray for the family during this time.

Been awhile

seems like the longer you are away from blogging the harder it is to come back. things haven't been particularly crazy lately, just haven't been particularly in the mood to update. So, at least for right now, instead of trying to catch up on what has happened, I'll just start from now and go forward. i think that a lot of good stuff has happened, but some of it has been kind of private and there is that weird line that is hard to know who might be seeing the info. so anyway.

my EXCITING (dripping with sarcasm here, its terribly exciting to me, but everyone else will think it is lame) news is that i have spent the last few weeks setting up my office. as part of my birthday present, chris helped me clean out my office to the point where i could get a handle on the organizing part. we rearranged the furniture a bit, and i'm in the midst of the organzing right now. i have spent quite a few evenings working on my filing cabinet. it gives me a weird thrill to see the nice organized, LABELED, filing system. i tried to get chris as excited about it, but it was a no go. i thought about taking a picture of it, and posting it, but then everyone would be able to see all of our accounts, and that is kind of creepy. but believe me, it is BEAUTIFUL! i am mostly done with the filing. probably about 75% done. i have all of the file folders labeled and put in the right order, but i have a big stack of papers to be put INTO the file folders. All of the papers are organzied, so honestly, that shouldn't take too much time. chris also made me a shelf to go over my desk for the various items that are cluttering up my desk. I have put on a primer coat, and the first coat of paint. Chris is going to install the mounting hardware, and then I will paint the second coat, and then install it. After that, Chris will help put up the decorations in the room, and i will be all set. I bought a 4 ft folding table to use for scrapbook stuff. that way i don't have to put away my stuff all the time. i'm also in the process of upgrading my computer a bit.
let me know if there is anyone out there still reading this! shamelessly begging for comments. :)

Backpack

I had plenty of time to blog today, since I was at work, and we were a little slow. but I have been busy setting up my new fun toy! probably not as fun as whatever you are thinking, but quite cool to me.

I have been looking for a good organization/to-do list/calendar program. simple, cheap, and something i don't have to carry around. well, i found one. it is like i am the one who invented this program. they must have read my freaking mind. it is EXACTLY what i want. how cool is that. It is a program called backpack by 37signals. I haven't had enough time to get it ready for other people to see yet, but it is quite handy. head over and check it out. I'll let you know how it works out for me, and post a review later.

hope you all have a SAFE and happy new year!!

Don't know what title to give this

I have been lacking in the blogging department. We are staying pretty steady at work, and doing the normal holiday activities. We aren't terribly busy, but I just haven't had the gumption to type a blog.

Things are going quite well. We are almost done with our christmas shopping. Hopefully everyone likes what we got them. Chris' parents will be with us for the next week, and then my parents are coming down for New Years. The house is decorated, and clean (for now). We have all of the presents wrapped except for the ones that haven't arrived yet. I'll be mailing my siblings' gifts today.

I've been busy working on some knitting projects, but you will have to wait till after christmas to hear about those (don't want to give anything away).

Life is good. Weight watchers is holding steady. haven't gained or lost for the last 3 weeks, but I'm okay with that. Pretty good for me during the hoidays. Plan on hitting it hardcore this week while I'm off. Hopefully I'll have a chance to hit the gym in the mornings. I think I'm going to make a vow to not watch tv during the day while I'm by myself. It's usually just crap anyway. . . we'll see how that goes. I'm going to try and get some scrapbooking done while I'm home too.

Entry for November 30, 2006

I just wanted to let you all know something very good that I found out about Ruby Tuesday. Most restaurants don't provide nutrtional information at all. Some will provide the information for a select few items of their choosing. But Ruby Tuesday has provided the nutritional information for their ENTIRE MENU!! That is incredible. It is so freeing as a weight watcher member, because I don't always want to stick to the few items that are the "healthy choices". Sometimes it is a special occasion, and I want to get what I want. But it is hard to make that choice when you have NO IDEA what the nutritional info is for that item. The freedom with weight watchers is that you can choose to splurge, you just have to know how much so you can work it into your points. Even though there aren't too many low points items at Ruby Tuesdays, I will still be going there more often, because I will have an exact idea of what I can and can't have. I have already sent them an email thanking them for providing this, and if you are a ww member, or just like having the nutritional information avaialable, please send them an email from their website as well.

That being said, it is SAD that the Carolina Chicken Salad has 26 points. That is just wrong.

sorry i've been M.I.A for so long

Things are trucking along over here. My weight loss is staying steady. I've lost 14 lbs so far. I have this horrible cold that is going around. I've had it for about a week. I was home from work Wed, Thur, and Fri last week. I could barely talk at all. I'm still pretty croaky, but thankfully we haven't been too busy at work, so my voice has had a rest. Getting ready for my parents to come for Thanksgiving, and then a few days later, Chris' parents fly in. They will be here on and off throughout December. And then my parents will be here for New Years. Busy busy few weeks, but I'm really looking forward to the company. The house is ALMOST ready. Just need to clean the guest bath tonight and do some generally straightening. We spent most of Sunday re-organizing Chris' office because that is where our guests will be staying. It looks really good now. We are also going to make Chex-Mix tonight, and maybe some homemade cookies! Hope things are going well with everyone out there, and I will try to post more regularly.

Check this out!!

Okay, if you are at all like me, then you will want to go check out this link.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/EverydayDinner/ShoppingListSplashPage.htm?e=email

They have made up 10 weeks worth of menus, and combined them in this very nice pdf file with a shopping list!! They include all of the nutritional information. They also coordinate together, so you don't have to buy as many groceries!! As much as I love to plan, sometimes I get too overwhelemed when trying to create a new menu each week (too many choices). This is going to be fabulous for the next few months. They have a really good variety, and most of the recipes are short and easy!!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is my five year wedding anniversary. On the one hand, it doesn't seem that long. On the other hand, I don't remember what is was like before Chris was in my life. We are the best of friends. No marriage is perfect, but I know that mine is perfect for me. We fight, we laugh, we love, we cry. But we are always honest, and always there. We seem to make our decisions a little bit slower, but we know they are always the right decisions for us. We are so different, but we know each other so well. No one gets me like he does. I never want to take it for granted that there is someone out there like that. And that he loves all the quirky, weird, stupid, and annoying things about me. And he makes me laugh. My life is so full and fun with him. I love you Chris!!

This is a picture of what Chris got me for our anniversary. It is called a Pandora bracelet. The "S" is obvious. He got the hedgehog bead because he once told my mom that the animal that I remind him of is the hedgehog (because they have a tiny head). The blue glass flowered bead is because blue is my favorite color. And the flower bead has 5 petals for our 5 year anniversary. One of the things I love the most about this is that Chris customized it just for me. And he will be able to add to it as we experience life. And I will be able to tell a story about our life when I explain the beads.

i've been a bad blogger

Sorry I haven't updated lately. I was doing good about updating for awhile, and I've been kind of lazy for the last few weeks. Things just got really busy here. We have been putting some finishing touches on our house, and it is really coming together. There are still some more things that I want to get, but it is starting to look really neat. And I have some cool ideas for my office that I want to do. :)

Chris' birthday was this weekend, and we had some people over for a cookout. I got Chris a homemade pasta maker and two cds, and a gift certificate to a woodworking shop. Our anniversary is this weekend, so we are going to a cabin for the weekend. It should be very fun! :)

I've been doing okay on WW. I have stuck to my points this week, but I didn't feel like I had lost anything. According to the scales this morning, I have lost, so we will see how that works out tonight on the scales. I'm still trying to find the good balance between protein, carbs and veggies. Cause sometimes, I feel like I'm eating all empty carbs and they don't fill me up very much. So I had more protein this week, and it helped keep me satisfied.

10 lbs gone!

Well, last night's weigh-in was successful. Down another 1.4, for a total of 10 lbs in 3 weeks. So I got my little 5 lb star to add to my bookmark (you'll know what I'm talking about if you are a ww member - past or present). I know that my weekly losses will start to slow down, so I think I need to be more intentional about adding activity. I was supposed to last week, but it just didn't get down. I'll work on some laundry tonight, and pack my gym bag tonight, and reset the alarms for early. Then I won't even have time to think about it in the morning.

This weekend we had a successful garage sale. The proceeds will be going towards new furniture. Just the little incidentals that we have been living without. The plan is to get two bookshelfs for the living room (one for dvds and one for games), two endtables, two nightstands, a table for the entryway, and shelving for my office. If we have anything leftover, some more art for the living room.

I went to Meijer and bought 2 bookshelfs for 19.99 each. We were at Meijer on Saturday night and saw the same bookshelfs for 49.99. I wanted to sleep on it, so we came back on Sunday to get them, and they had been put on sale for 19.99 each! We came up empty at Garden Ridge and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Last night we went to the other Meijer to see if they had any matching endtables, and came up empty there too. We headed over to Target, and found a console table for the entryway on sale for $80 (originaly $99). So, the next priority is to get two nightstands. We may wait awhile on the endtables. They aren't as necessary as the nightstands.
So right now, this is what I'm considering getting for nightstands. What do you think?

Option 1 IKEA Hemnes

Happy Days

My weigh-in last night was very successful. Last week I was only down 1.4 lbs, but this week I was down 7.2 lbs for a total of 8.6 :). Not bad for two weeks. I think I actually lost about half of it the week before, but I had some major water retention during last week's weigh in. I'm hoping for about 2 lbs a week for the next few weeks, and then about a pound a week. I know I can do it if I stick with it. But it felt good to see it pay off. :)

I hate weigh in days

Sometimes I hate them because I know I didn't do well. Sometimes I hate them, because I think I did well, and I don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed. In both cases, I guess I just hate the waiting. Its not like there is a lot I can (besides staying within my points, but that actually won't affect tonights weight that much). I had my hopes up so high last week, and then only came away with a 1.4 pound loss. Good for one week, but not so good for the FIRST week on weight watchers. Now I truly feel like I have made up for that this week, but the point is, I don't know, and I just have to sit here and wait. and wait. and wait for 5 o'clock to roll around. Then Missy will pick me up, and we will be on our way.

3rd time is the charm?

I have been trying to post this blog since I got here this morning (45 minutes), so we will see if it works this time. I got my daily email from Hungry Girl, and thought I should share it with my oh-so-few (but greatly appreciated) faithful readers.

Choc-horrific Calorie Catastrophes!

Outback Steakhouse - Chocolate Thunder From Down Under
(Approx: 1,220 calories, 78g fat, 130g carbs, 0g protein = 31 Points)

This evil Aussie dessert is legendary! No one stands a chance in a face-off with this 1,220-calorie thunder blunder. By the time this storm settles, you’ve been slammed with nearly 80 grams of fat! Board up the windows, or at least stay far away from the Outback.

P.F. Chang's - Great Wall Of Chocolate
(2,240 calories, 89g fat, 376g carbs, 20g protein = 52 Points)

If you find yourself at the foot of this frightfest with a fork, it may already be too late. There’s no escaping the colossal 2,240 calories and nearly 90 grams of fat this wall weighs in at. They must’ve built this thing with bricks made of carbs…it’s got 376 of ‘em!

On the Border - Chocolate Turtle Empanadas
(1,280 calories, 81g fat, 440mg sodium, 131g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g protein = 32 points)

Toss out any superstitious notions that turtles are a symbol of long life, health, and
cleverness. These turtles deliver 1,280 calories and 81 grams of fat to your dessert dish! It’d take more than a slow ‘n steady pace to burn off all of that!

Ruby Tuesday - Brownie
(1,030 calories, 43g fat, 138g net carbs, 8g fiber = 23 Points)

Nope, the scariest sweet on Ruby’s menu isn’t that Chocolate Tallcake. It’s the plain ol’ Brownie lurking quietly in the corner of the menu! This terror packs in 1,030 calories and 43 grams of fat. Um, no thanks.

Freakish Cake 'n Pie Blunders!

Applebee's - Sizzling Apple Pie
(Approx: 1,085 calories, 56g fat, 580mg sodium, 146g carbs, 7g fiber, 14g protein = 26 Points)

Apple desserts are safer for you, right? Uhhh, guess again. Run for cover – the Weight Watchers section of the 'Bee’s menu is an especially safe haven!

Macaroni Grill - New York Cheesecake w/ Caramel Fudge Sauce
(1,760 calories, 113g fat, 710mg sodium, 168g carbs, 1g fiber, 19g protein = 44 Points)

It’s no secret that cheesecake has lots of calories (doy). But we are truly in awe of the 1,760-calorie and 113-fat-gram price tag on Macaroni Grill’s cheesecake. Yowsa!

The Cheesecake Factory - Carrot Cake
(Approx: 1,510 calories, 84g fat, 600mg sodium, 179g carbs, 6g fiber, 129g sugars, 18g protein = 36 Points)

If you thought cheesecake was all you had to fear at the Factory, guess again. One slice of their carrot cake’ll cost you about 1,510 calories and 84 fat grams! No amount of superstitious safeguarding will protect you from those nightmarish nutritionals. Those POOR carrots...

Johnny Rockets - Apple Pie a la mode
(1,450 calories, 91g fat, 940mg sodium, 140g carbs, 6g fiber, 134g sugars, 15g protein = 36 Points)

J Rockets' Apple Pie a la mode contains a ghastly 1,450 calories and a morbid 91 fat grams. 91 FAT GRAMS?!?! Are they kidding???

Macaroni Grill - Dessert Ravioli
(1,720 calories, 89g fat, 770mg sodium, 214g carbs, 3g fiber, 16g protein = 41 Points)

This unconventional dessert may sound enticing, but with a horrifying 1,720 calories, 89 grams of fat and 214 grams of carbs, we think this pasta pastry dish must be possessed. Skip it, peeps!

I stick by my opinion that this is the reason that restaurants don't release nutritional information. It isn't because they don't have it, it is because if people knew how horrible the food was nutritionally, most wouldn't get it.

I'm doing well on Weight Watchers. I meant to post after my first WI (weigh-in), but I didn't lose as much as I thought I would. But instead of letting it get me down and pigging out, I chose to stay strong (might seem small to some people, but for me it was a big deal). I'm going to be extra cautious this weekend, and strictly count my points, cause I want there to be some major movement on the scales this Monday.

holding steady

Still holding steady. I think some of my water weight from last week is gone. I came up with a reward structure for my weight loss. I've come up with these before, but they never really seemed to be too much of a motivator. Especially because I usually end up buying the "rewards" for myself instead of earning them. So I came up with a non-food reward structure that isn't the typical rewards I would use. I usually just get my haircut at Great Clips, and have never been to a salon/spa before, so I thought going there would be fun, and different, and something I wouldn't normally do, but should enjoy. I will probably get all of these done at the Planet Salon and Spa in Beaumont.

1. 10 lbs - essential Manicure ($22)
2. 20 lbs - eyebrow waxing ($12) and haircut ($30)
3. 30 lbs (also my 10% goal) - Detoxifying arometherapy body wrap ($70)
4. 40 lbs - makeup lesson ($50) - (i suck at putting on makeup)
5. 50 lbs - rainspa manicure ($30) and rainspa pedicure ($65)

After I reach that point, I will come up with some more. I didn't want to focus on the big picture, because I have so far to go, it is easy to get distracted.

first weigh in

Well, my first WW weigh-in was tonight. I was down, but a lot less than I thought I would be. I thought I had lost 4-5 lbs, but I only lost 1.4. I'm really hoping that a big part of that is because I started my period yesterday and I usually gain a few pounds (water retention) during my period. I WILL stay on task this week, and we'll see what happens next week.

I'm starting a new bible study tonight. Hoping that will give me a little bit of focus.