Just do it

It's been an interesting week...and I have an interesting idea. But that's not for this blog.

Tonight was pretty cool. I went to an information session for GW...I'm finally getting to give back more than money!!!!! Granted, it's difficult to fit into my schedule, but I want to be a person who does volunteer work. So, if I want to be that person, I have to start being that person! And what better way to start than to do. So, tonight, I went to a local high school and met the new regional director of admissions for GW and answered prospective student and parent questions. I let him know that I'd like to get more involved and that I'd be happy to help out with financial aid questions and aid nights. Cool.

Does this work in other areas of life? You bet it does!!! If you want to be the kind of person who eats healthily, you have to do it! If you want to be the kind of person who exercises, you have to do it. It's amazing how that works, right? Stop wanting to be this or that kind of person, and just do it! (to borrow from Nike...)

 10/22/12

Back to the office and back on the light breakfast

 And back on the pizza...

And the pizza...

10/23/12

Tasty Burger!!!

I must have forgotten to photograph breakfast...and whatever I ate for dinner

 10/24/12

Yum!!!!!

 I really can never resist the chocolate muffin!

 Ethiopian for dinner...cottage cheese appetizer from Addis Red Sea in Porter Square

Uh, that was the sampler...

 10/25/12

I'm totally cool with the flavored Greek yogurt...I'm going to have to go back to just plain old plain yogurt and sacrifice the protein

PIZZA!!!!!!!

And the only Pepsi that I like...diet cherry Pepsi

I tossed most of the salad away

And I had popcorn for dinner

If that makes any sense

I'm back from a long weekend in Vermont. This may sound corny, but it was a weekend where I was able to reconnect with something so basic inside of me...a feeling, a peace, a calm. It was four days of keeping a focus on a solution. Four days of truth, emotion, cleansing, and healing. Four days with 12 other women, some I've known for years, some I just met. Women who have become my family. There's the family that we are born to and love, and then there's the family that choose and love. These women are my family of choice.

Our group ranges greatly in age and life experience. Our group changes from one year to the next. Our group changes and yet we all have the same reason for coming together. We all come together year after year. Every year in Vermont. And we all focus on a solution. A solution to whatever in our lives is a problem. This year, there was a guided meditation...I've never done a guided meditation before. I have to say, it was a powerful experience. One that I need to make time for in my life. While exercise has always been meditative for me, this was an experience like I've never had before. This was a meditation that felt like it helped me to find something that really matters.

If that makes any sense at all...

 10/16/12

chocolate covered pretzel latte, cheese danish and yogurt...by the way, that was the best damned cheese danish I've ever had!

 burrito for lunch

Snickers for dinner

 10/17/12

yogurt, fruit and granola

 snack time!

burrito for lunch....

And I'm sure that I had something like a candy bar for dinner again in class...

 10/18/12

eggs, chicken sausage and toast

a blondie from Brattleboro...I had a ham and cheese sandwich with some chips and a granola bar in the car on the way to Vermont

 10/19/12

Greek yogurt with fruit, banana, and toast with jam and peanut butter

 roast beef and cheese sandwich, beef and barley soup and salad

 pork loin, apple sauce, bread, roast potatoes, baked zucchini and squash with tomatoes and cheese

spice cake

 10/20/12
French toast, sausage and fruit

 salad and chicken noodle soup

 salad, the World's Best Pot Roast, smashed potatoes, carrots, beans and peas with homemade bread

cheesecake with raspberries

 10/21/12
bagel with scallion cream cheese, fruit and cheddar cheese stick

 Bear Naked granola, vanilla yogurt and berries

 Ben and Jerry's Half Baked ice cream on a stick

 homemade Vermont cookie bar

Velveeta mac and cheese...back at home

Closer than I thought

I was having dinner with a friend last night and describing to her how I mark time these days: by moving past certain markers of responsibility.

1. Staff retreat
2. Vermont trip
3. Freshman Seminar
4. Thanksgiving
5. Orlando trip

Five big things on my plate that are not school related, but make completing schoolwork difficult. The staff retreat is done. The Vermont trip is this weekend, but the hard part is done. Then, somewhere between that and Thanksgiving, my teaching will come to a close. Next, Thanksgiving. Actually, the holiday is more of a time marker than a marker of responsibility. Although, I'll be doing a huge amount of schoolwork that weekend and that's a big responsibility. Immediately after the holiday is my trip to Orlando, a vacation-pretend. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing some friends and visiting Disney, it is a work trip and I'll be bringing mucho mucho homework.

It occurred to me at dinner the other night though...really, I'm closer than I think to graduation! That this fall is going to serve as a great training for spring. That I'm going to need this struggle now because it will let me know that I can face the next one and better! I wondered if I can survive until May...just over 7 months. Do I have the energy for it??

When I look at it that way, in one giant chunk, no. But when I break it down, sure I do! First, I've got all these time markers through the fall term, right? They're already in place to help. Well, there's going to be 3 - 4 weeks between the semesters, so it's really only 6 months!! Look how much easier that just got! And spring term has this wonderful thing called spring break...a full week off school with nothing to do but work. The closer the spring term gets, the more likely that I'll have some natural time markers to help me break down that time even further to help it seem even more manageable. So, yeah. I really am closer than I thought!

And anytime you're wondering, you can always check out my 

GRADUATION COUNTDOWN!!!

 

 10/14/12

Breakfast at Panera

 Lunch at Panera...turkey harvest salad with pears, dried cherries, gorgonzola, and cherry vinaigrette

baby back ribs, greens and mac & cheese from Soul Fire

 10/15/12

yogurt and granola

 salad, pizza and diet cherry pepsi

chef salad, cake and there was a chai tea latte too

It's getting better

I've noticed lately that even though I've been feeling stressed, it's getting better. There's many things that have contributed to this. For one, I'm starting to get into a routine, finding my groove so to speak. Of course, it helps that 6 weeks of the semester are behind me...I've got enough experience with this term to think, 'yeah, I got this!' My inner control freak has fewer tantrums when a routine is in place.

I've had some exercise peppered in there too. Weeks like this one help. I've got more reading to do than I know what to do with! I tried something new today: One hour running on the elliptical followed by walking on the treadmill until I finished the desired amount of reading. I changed it up just a bit, yet remained engaged in an activity that allows me to stay more focused than when I'm sitting at my dining table. I love it when I can focus on a solution!!

Paying attention to benchmarks is helping too. Knowing when certain items are dropping off my radar is helpful in marking accomplishments. I was planning a staff retreat at work that went off without a hitch on Thursday last week. Big Big Relief to have the day done and only have follow-up to attend to.

Lastly, that little extra valium a day to keep the shrink away...Just kidding!! But hey, I can't argue with anyone who recognizes that their coping mechanisms are not working effectively and seeks medical assistance. I'm all for getting help when it's needed. Sometimes that extra help is something as simple as a girls' night out, a massage, a few hours of extra sleep, or stopping to just enjoy a stupid silly movie. One simple trick I've been trying, is rubbing lavender scented lotion on my hands and neck before going to sleep...a little aromatherapy for relaxation!

 10/11/12

Still trying to find a greek yogurt that I enjoy...TJ's this time. The mango is good, the pomegranate, not so much

And a cinnamon twist

Lunch at the staff retreat: greek pasta salad (that cous cous looking thing), pita, salad with chicken, grilled veggies and a little dessert

there was some candy too


And I think I ended up having popcorn for dinner

 10/12/12

TJ's pomegranate greek yogurt and a ham and cheese filled croissant

 Oh yeah!!!! Potatoes and bacon on pizza = heaven

 pork gyoza and chicken lettuce wraps on girls' night at Osaka

 a sushi boat for the table - other than the obvious tuna and salmon, I have no idea what I ate!

Hibachi dinner--filet mignon and lobster tail

 10/13/12

I love mornings when I can cook a hot breakfast!

chicken sausage (apple and maple syrup!) with a veggie scramble, apple, and toast with strawberry jam

giant salad with chicken that I could not for the life of me finish

Chocolate

They call it comfort food for a reason, ya know! They say that chocolate is the most craved food by women. Well, of course it is! When we eat it, it releases endorphins and endorphins make us feel good. Others say chocolate contains anandamide which triggers the release of serotonin. And serotonin make us feel good too! Supposedly chocolate also has some wonderful things that stop anandamide from being broken down...leading to more and more and more serotonin. If there's one thing I like, it's MORE! Does it matter whether chocolate releases endorphins or helps to create serotonin? Not to me! It just tastes good and makes me feel good.

What's really going on? S.S.D.D. or Same Shit Different Day. There's some relief on the horizon though. The work retreat that I've been planning is tomorrow. By 4:30, that will be done and the big part of it off my plate. The follow up will be easier because I'll have help. The Vermont Retreat is coming up in a little over a week. I'm looking forward to getting that off my plate as well. These two events have thrown me some curve balls this week and my inner control freak threw a tantrum. It wasn't pretty.

Of course, removing those two items from my 'To Do List' won't relieve the stress from school and some other work tasks that are adding to it all. But that's OK, there's a light. The class I teach is over in mid-November, then it's Thanksgiving and several days off work! After that, I go to Orlando for a conference. And after that, the semester is almost over. Eye on the prize, eye on the prize...

 10/9/10

I'm not sure where the day can go when it starts with a cookie...

 chicken and rice soup and BBQ chicken pizza

pizza and a french toast muffin...this where the day ends when it starts with a cookie

 10/10/12

Now, before you think that I skipped breakfast, I didn't. I had yogurt and some granola. I just didn't take a picture.

Trader Joe's frozen mac and cheese. Perhaps the world's second best comfort food??

And there it is...the very crave-able, the very delect-able, the very eat-able...wondrous and sweet and smooth and rich and endorphin creating and serotonin triggering...CHOCOLATE!!!!!