Auction Action

I had a fun weekend. Friday I went to the auction house with my sister and her husband. We all got some great deals. I bought my daughter a desk and a glider for her deck (with cushions) for $5 each! The stuff was nice and nothing wrong with it, people just didn't want it. I got some other random stuff at great prices. I enjoy seeing what stuff goes for and looking at the vintage items, not to mention the energy of the auction.

There was a cute guy that I noticed (a little younger than me) working at the auction who I saw (and could feel) looking at me from time to time. When I'd look at him, he'd give a shy smile. Well, a few hours later he came up to me and started talking and slightly flirting.  By slightly flirting I mean that he didn't say anything out of the way, he was just being friendly talking about the items, but you could tell that he was kinda' flirting with his eyes and smile. You know what I mean, you just get a vibe from people and know whether there is an attraction or not. He also leaned in when he was talking and asked me if it was my first time coming there, blah, blah, blah... (awkward small talk). Then right before he walked away he smiled real big, blushed and dropped his head. It was so cute. There was also an awkward pause before he walked off, like he was wanting to say something more but decided against it. We only had a minute to talk because the auction was busy and he had to get back to work.

None of this sounds particularly interesting separately but add them up and I think maybe, just maybe, he was working up to hitting on me. At first I thought: Don't flatter yourself, he's just being friendly. Who'd want to flirt with you? You're not attractive to men anymore, especially someone younger...

Then a few minutes later my sister told me that she saw that he made an effort to come talk to me and thought that he was hitting on me and saw him blushing. (I didn't know, but she witnessed the whole thing.) I didn't see this man approach or talk to any of the other women there, and there were alot. Was he attracted to me or just being friendly?  Am I over analyzing this petty incident? Hell yes. It's been so long since I've gotten even a tiny bit of attention in that way from men that I wanted to savor every minute of it, whether it was imagined or not.

I glanced around for him before I left the auction but didn't see him. I just might have to go to the next auction and scope him out a little better ;)

At any rate, this is definitely great weight loss motivation. Stay tuned for the continuing saga...

Hurray for Friday

Out at noon today - yes! I only have one more Friday to get out and noon and then school starts back and we revert back to the M-F, 8-5 schedule.

After work I'm meeting my sister at an auction house where they have estate auctions every couple of weeks. We go every once in a while and it's great fun. We usually end up getting some good deals and I love to see what stuff goes for. It's about time that I get out and do something.

Not much to report, just plugging along. Have a wonderful weekend, all! :D

The Purpose Driven Life

I've been wanting this book for some time and I came across it in a thrift store the other day so I snatched it up for $1.00. JACKPOT!

The book is about creating a spiritual journey, which I'm really into, but as I was flipping through the book last evening, I realized that a lot of these principals can be applied to weight loss as well as other parts of our lives that have to do with change (For me: empty nest, divorce, mid-life crisis (sometimes I think I'm having one) and transitioning to a new phase in my life).

Here are a few excerpts that I wanted to share:
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Growth is often painful and scary.  There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; there is no loss without pain.  Every change involves a loss of some kind.  You must let go of old ways in order to experience the new.  We fear these losses even if our old ways were self-defeating, because like a worn out pair of shoes, they were at least comfortable and familiar.

Believe God is working in your life even when you don't feel it.  Spiritual growth is sometimes tedious work, one small step at a time.  Expect gradual improvement.  The Bible says, "Everything on earth has its own time and its own season."  There are seasons in your spiritual life, too. Sometimes you will have a short, intense burst of growth (springtime) followed by a period of stabilizing and testing (fall and winter). (I feel that I'm in the fall and winter stage in so many parts of my life.)

Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go.  You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.

Be patient with God and yourself.  God's timetable is rarely the same as ours.  You may feel frustrated with the seemingly slow progress you're making in life.  Remember that God is never in a hurry, but He is always on time. He will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for your role in eternity.
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I love that:  Remember that God is never in a hurry, but He is always on time.  Just soak that sentence in.

I will keep Faith, moving forward doing the best that I can do every day, knowing that God has me exactly where I'm supposed to be.

 

I am ready.  Are you?



Being Kinder to myself

Why is it easier to be our own worst enemy rather than our own best friend? That's usually the way it goes...

For the past couple of weeks my weight loss has stalled. There for a while I was on roll with the weight coming off nicely. I wasn't counting calories, just eating primal and having sensible portions.  Somewhere I started veering off the path. I'm in no way making excuses but here's what I think happened (I need to own it in order to move on)...

 I decided to start tracking in MyFitnessPal. I plugged in that I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week and it told me that I could eat 1600 calories a day. That seemed like a lot, but I ate them, and my portions slowly started growing from what I had been eating. I'd watch the scale go up one day and down the next, basically I've been maintaining. I've recently adjusted MyFitnessPal to allow myself 1200 calories a day.

I've also been slacking on the exercise. One day off turned into another, turned into more than a week. I was starting to feel stiff again and I don't like it at all. Once you get out of exercising, it's so hard to get back at it. I was also getting discouraged that the scale wasn't moving and that didn't help with my motivation. I know how good I feel when I'm in the groove and exercising several times a week and I want that back again. I want that loose, flexible feeling of a healthy body. This morning I got up early and did a two mile walking video and this evening I'm going to go arm exercises. I know that a few days in and I'll start feeling great again.  I'm glad that I knew enough to get these two things in check.

I have been eating good though (other than too much). My fridge is packed with produce. I actually think I have more in there that I can eat before it goes bad. I'm still buying and making too much than one person can eat - especially when it's fresh perishable produce. I'm not going to buy anything else until I use up what I have.

I've been beating myself up about this stall for about a week now. I must be kinder to myself. I must focus on the positive:  I never give up, I'm learning more everyday (I'm thankful that I WANT to learn and am open-minded), I'm healthy despite being obese and don't take any medications, I'm making it on my own as a single woman and don't need a man to live off of, like many women I know, I have this blog community of amazing people for inspiration and support. Life is good. I'm being too hard on myself for a minor setback. I must learn to be my own best friend.

That being said, I weighed in at 227.8 this morning.  Let's see what I can accomplish this week :)

Cooking Weekend

 I felt like cooking a little this weekend. Since I'm alone, I usually don't feel like cooking that much, especially in the summer. I finally made the zucchini boats that I was talking about.  I stuffed them with ground chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms and topped with a mix of parmesan/asiago cheese. They are really good. I'll be eating them for my lunch all week.

 

 

 

I also made steak salad with blue cheese crumbles and balsamic dressing (drool). I could eat this every day.

I finally made the egg muffins that Gwen recommended. I made mine with chorizo, green pepper, onion and sharp cheddar on top. Delish! This will be my quick breakfast all this week. I put a couple in the freezer. Wasn't sure about freezing eggs but wth, I'll give it a try. Does anyone know if you can freeze this kind of stuff?

 

My daughter is away on vacation so I have to go over and feed/check on/play with her cats this evening. She is having a neighbor do it 5 days and I only have to go over twice since I'm 25 minutes away.

 

I also need to adjust MyFitnessPal this evening to cut back my calories. I have it set for me to lose 1.5 pounds a week and it's allowing me 1600 calories/day which seems like way too many. I'm going to bump it up to 2 pounds a week so it cuts my calories back.

 

That's it for now, not much going on.  Make it a great day.

Saturday Randomness

I was up early this morning and out the door. I hit several thrift shops and didn't find much other than a couple old books, I like using them to decorate around the house. I did treat myself to a new necklace and earrings (not from thrift store).

There is a drive going on here for school supply donations for needy kids, so I went to Walmart and got 4 bags of supplies for only $10. They are having a massive sale.

I finally went to the food coop that is basically an organic grocery store.  They sell mostly local produce and eggs. It is a cool place but SUPER expensive, especially for a single person like me.  I only bought a container of rainbow grape tomatoes, fennel, and local eggs. It's a neat store but I highly doubt I'll go there again.

I haven't exercised in two weeks and I'm getting lazier with each passing day.  I keep saying that I'm going to and somehow I never manage to do it. Ugh! I feel so much better when I do, so why can't I make myself do it? I was tracking my food on My Fitness Pal, it recommended that I eat 1600 calories a day, but I think that's too many because my weight loss has stalled.  I was losing more weight before not tracking and just eating primal.  I gotta do some figuring. I think maybe I should be around 1300-1400.

That's it for now.  Hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend.

Finally Friday!

I'm so glad it's Friday - this has been along week. Work has finally returned to normal today.

Not much to report - I'm just plugging along. Last evening I went to the grocery store and stocked up. I feel so good grocery shopping now with only healthy items in my cart compared to how I used to shop before :)

I bought some nice steaks and have them marinating in the fridge for this evening. I'll have one tonight with some grilled zucchini and save the other for a steak salad for lunch tomorrow. I have a lot of zucchini that people have been giving me from their gardens so I think I'm going to make stuffed zucchini boats with ground turkey and random vegetables. Something different.

I tried to get in for a haircut this weekend but no available appointments but I am going to color my hair. I always feel nice and fresh afterwards. Not much planned this weekend, just taking it as it comes.

I'm going to treat myself to something this weekend - not sure what yet - but I'm getting something!

Have a great weekend everybody! :)