I get an email every day from Jillian Michaels, who is one of the trainers on THE BIGGEST LOSER. I signed up for it at the BIGGEST LOSER website. Okay, I’M a loser, but I need all the help I can get!
So, every day she has helpful hints for losing weight – like take your dog for a nice, long walk (don’t have a dog), or walk with a friend (don’t really have a friend, either). Lots of them are about portioning food, or believing in yourself. They’re all pretty helpful, if you can implement them! Anyway, the other day she said that you shouldn’t weigh yourself every day, because it’s torturous to see the scale go up and down. She said to weigh yourself once a week and – if you’re really doing your job – you should see results each and every week.
I’m wondering if that’s not a good idea, because Sunday I weighed 126.8 – pretty bad. Yesterday, I lost a pound and was down to 125.8. Wheee! Today, I was back up to 126.2. This is driving me CRAZY! So, I decided I’m not going to weigh myself again until NEXT Wednesday and see how well I can do in a week. The problem is, it kind of lets you off the hook, so you can cheat a little, which is what I ended up doing tonight…but let me start at the beginning!
I knew I was going to have a busy day today. I got up after just one “snooze” (I usually snooze twice – sometimes three times). I was ready by 7:00pm and decided to go out to wait on the street for my ride and call NY to see if they had received our COBRA payment and the benefits had kicked in yet. No such luck, but they told me as soon as they receive it they will process it and our benefits will be back. So, I just have to keep calling.
My boss never usually arrives until after 9:00am, so I knew I was in trouble when he said, “Good morning!” at around 8:30am. I had left feeling miserable yesterday – blowing my nose and sneezing a lot. I really thought I might be getting sick, but I was okay last night and fine this morning. I know he was relieved, because he had a LOT going on today.
I really earned my keep today. I completed three PowerPoint presentations, one of which was express mailed to 11 people in Canada, and 2 of which were emailed. I was busy ALL day. When I finally finished the third document and looked at the time it was 4:35. I really had a great day. I enjoy keeping busy, and the work was not too challenging, so it was actually fun. I never minded the work I do and enjoy it when I finish something and do it well.
I collaborated with someone in Milwaukee, and an executive and a couple of other admin people in my office, so “it took a village” to get these three documents done. There wasn’t one hitch and I even caught a couple of mistakes someone else made, so I was really proud of myself. When it was time to go, I walked over to my boss’ office to say goodbye, thinking he’d probably thank me and tell me what a great job I did.
I didn’t even get a thank you. I said, “Goodnight!” and he said, “See you tomorrow.” That really annoyed me, but it’s just because I’m the kind of person who ALWAYS thanks people profusely and tells people how great they are and what a wonderful job they did, and I definitely like to hear it myself. I enjoy a pat on the back – so sue me!
That’s one thing I always enjoyed about working for John at PwC, with whom I worked for 3 years. He would always compliment me – “Fantastic!” or “You’re the best!” and always thanked me for my hard work. I could tell he meant it – he wasn’t being patronizing or just saying it because he knew I liked to hear it (although he did know). He just was able to express his gratitude and it made him a wonderful person to work for, because I always felt appreciated and valued. That’s a wonderful thing to impart to an employee, because – after all – isn’t that what we all need? Validation and a feeling of self-worth?
I called the agency at lunch and found out that I didn’t get the job. I was so relieved and told the girl that I didn’t really want it. She said, “I could kind of tell when I spoke to you after the interview.” I had just expressed to her my concern about commuting – since I wouldn’t have a ride to/from work every day and Eric needs to have a car, too. She said they really liked me and it was a great interview, but they interviewed 5 people yesterday and there was someone else who was “a better fit.” I was happy they really liked me, and she said she had no critique at all – so it was all good!
I had eaten a very fast lunch, because I was so busy – a pint of my vegetable soup and a tiny container of low-fat cottage cheese. When I got home, I was exhausted and hungry. I asked Eric to take me out to eat. He said he had back-to-back basketball games and didn’t want to go out, so I got undressed, had a snack of hummus and snap peas, and settled in to watch TOP CHEF (my newest obsession).
At about 6:15pm, he came into the bedroom and said, “Okay. Get dressed. We’ll walk up the block to LA DOLCE VITA and have dinner.” I got dressed and up the block we went. I was a little hesitant about Italian, because it’s SO hard to be good, but I wasn’t going to argue if Eric was willing to take me out!
He ordered a chicken cutlet parmigiana dinner and I ordered a special – lobster ravioli with scallops in a pink sauce. I immediately felt guilty, but figured if I watched my portions I’d be okay. I had ½ a piece of bread – more to dip it into the fantastic sundried tomato dip they give you – and then we each had a tiny cup of their fabulous tomato bisque and a salad. I kept my salad to a minimum – all veggies, a touch of blue cheese and a couple of anchovies. I only ate 2 raviolis and a few scallops and was pretty full. Then, my phone rang and it was my friend, Geri. She’s visiting friends in Washington with her husband and she got a bad sore throat. My poor darling. I don’t know if she’s getting a chance to go online but – hope you feel better, Geri!!!
It was the perfect time for a phone call, because as I was talking Eric asked the waitress to put the rest of his dinner in a box and I pointed to mine, too. If I had been left to my own devices, I probably could have put away another ravioli or two, but since I was satisfied, I stopped where I was. At least I kept my portion in control, although the sauces were very fattening, I’m sure.
When we got home, Eric went back to his game and I went back to TOP CHEF. He brought me a little gelato in our tiny gelato cups and I enjoyed that as the finale to a wonderful meal.
I felt my eyes close and ended up turning off the TV completely and taking a nap. Eric knows when I’m sleeping, because I usually come out to the living room at almost every commercial, so he came in and found me out like a light. He asked me when he should wake me and I said, “10:00pm.” He woke me – I washed up and came out to blog. If I had been all washed up and ready for bed, I probably would have slept through the night, but that’s something I just CANNOT do. I HAVE to wash up in order to go to bed – I can’t sleep without doing that. It’s a cardinal sin to me to sleep all night without brushing your teeth and washing your face!
I had a few minutes during the day today to read my new book – THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN – while I was waiting for documents, or in-between completed documents. It is a beautiful story that takes place right after World War II starts. A young man who lives in Hong Kong travels to his family’s summer home in Japan to recuperate from tuberculosis. The people he meets and relationships he builds tell a lovely tale that has me enchanted. I am intrigued by anything Asian, so I really enjoy the description of furnishings, gardens, clothing and food. I can’t wait to get back to it tomorrow. I know it won't be as busy as today, so I'll have more time to read. I really did work hard today, but I enjoyed every minute. I like being able to read, but I really enjoy when the day flies by -- as it did today!