The Nelson Narrative

It’s Monday.  That means it’s my Weight Watcher’s weigh-in day.  I did not have a good week.  I had bought my birthday cake at Costco the weekend before, knowing that I wasn’t going to be back there again before my birthday.  The plan was to have a piece that night and put the rest in the freezer until my birthday, which I did.  But then I kept taking some out throughout the week because I love cake and just couldn’t resist and while sometimes I’m super motivated and can resist anything, even cake, last week was not one of those times.  And then there was that fabulous dinner out and other splurges.  So I knew it was going to be bad, so I skipped the weigh-in and just went to the meeting.  But I did weigh at home this morning and yes, it was bad.  Starting December 28 th, I lost 3.6 pounds by January 8th, and since then, true to form, I have done nothing but gain back 3.8.  But if I have a good day today I’m sure I’ll be down a go...

Today is my birthday!  Paul and I had a date night last night and went to Daniel's Broiler, a restaurant on the top (21st) floor of the Hyatt Hotel in Bellevue with stunning views of Lake Washington and Seattle.  And the food was amazing.  We both had steak because that's what they're known for.  Paul had a rib eye and I had filet mignon and it was SO good.  And we had coconut-something lobster for an appetizer and they gave us a free chocolate molten lava cake for dessert.  I should have taken pictures but I didn't.  After dinner we went into the bar where they have live piano music.  It was a wonderful evening. Today I slept in until 8:30, then poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down to watch HGTV, my absolute favorite thing to do on a weekend morning. Then I opened my presents.  I got a new coffee pot (I had mentioned that ours was not functioning properly but turns out it was fine, meanwhile Paul went a bought a new one) and...

This abbreviated post is the result of a night owl child who hogs my computer playing Animal Jam ( although I sometimes blog from my phone) and refuses to go to sleep until 10:30.  That is all for now, as I am tired and want to read for awhile before turning in.

I did pretty good this weekend.  Here is my original list with completed tasks crossed off: Get my driver's license renewed .  Like I said, I tried Saturday morning but they were closed so I went today on my lunch break. Clean the litter box Iron on a bunch of the girls' Girl Scout badges . Work on planning/shopping for their separate rooms .  We went to Ikea on Monday and got a nightstand that matches the girls' existing dresser, then we got another dresser and matching nightstand and some small décor type stuff.  We were going to get beds too but they weren't going to fit in the car without putting the back seat down which we obviously couldn't do with the girls sitting there.  So Paul will have to go back soon and pick them up, or we might find some we like better online. Organize my closet . Grocery shop.   Organize some drawers Put some pictures in albums or frames Watch the Seahawks !  I missed...

I got a call Thursday afternoon from the school nurse.  Olivia had fallen off some bars and hit her face on the ground (whatever that black playground surface is).  Her one remaining front tooth was knocked really loose and bled, and she was bruised and swollen around her nose and mouth.  The school can't give her anything for pain so I had to leave work and go pick her up and take her home.  I was relieved when I saw her because it sounded worse on the phone than it really was.  The next day she lost her tooth.  And we just had Christmas, too, so I guess it's too late to change her wish list. Then she left a note for the tooth fairy

My list for this weekend: Get my driver's license renewed .  I tried this morning but they are closed today because of the holiday on Monday (I assume since they are already closed every Monday they chose to close today and of course that never occurred to me beforehand.  I'll try again during the week.  I can't do it online because I did last time and you can only do that every other time). Clean the litter box Iron on a bunch of the girls' Girl Scout badges. Work on planning/shopping for their separate rooms.  (The girls currently share a room but we are getting ready to move one of them to our spare room so they each have their own room).  Organize my closet .  Already done! Grocery shop.   Done! Organize some drawers Put some pictures in albums or frames Watch the Seahawks!  Except I'm going to miss some of it because it's my weekend to volunteer in the girls' Sunday School class. Start working on the consignment stuff. ...

So as I mentioned previously I always go into the weekend with a list of things I hope to accomplish and almost every Sunday evening I still have not done most of the things on that list.  Saturdays are mostly taken up with errands and fixing and cleaning up after meals and Sundays are church in the morning and Bible study in the evening so everything else has to squeeze in around all that.  So I thought it'd be fun to keep track for awhile how much (or little) I manage to check off my list every week.  So here is the list I posted on Friday with completed tasks crossed off:  Clean the litter box Clean the hamster cage Purge/clean/organize the fridge Organize the pantry Return some boots I ordered on Amazon   (I got them packaged up but the UPS store was closed yesterday) Put photos into albums or frames Start organizing/tagging items for the spring consignment sale Read Do some form of exercise Go through the stack of mail/school pape...

I'm whined on here before about how I never have time to do much other than work, run errands, fix lunches and help with homework and all that.  I always go into the weekend with a list (either mental or written down) of things I want to get done and usually most items go unchecked.  So I'm starting a new thing where I will document my list every Friday, and then recap every Sunday or Monday to see what I actually accomplished. This weekend I want (or have) to: Clean the litter box (done!) Clean the hamster cage Purge/clean/organize the fridge Organize the pantry Return some boots I ordered on Amazon Put photos into albums or frames (pretty sure I won't get to this) Start organizing/tagging items for the spring consignment sale Read Do some form of exercise Go through the stack of mail/school papers that accumulates on the kitchen counter Find some new recipes, especially freezer meals Watch the Seahawks! I will report back on Sunday or Monday ...

I never write Christmas letters, but almost every year I think that maybe I will the following year but then I still never do.  You're welcome.  I mean, I know they're annoying and most people just roll their eyes at them, but I just have a lot of long distance friends and relatives that I'm pretty out of touch with and it seems like an efficient way to catch up with of bunch people at once.  But I never got around to sending cards this year much less writing a letter.  So here are the things I would have mentioned in my Christmas letter had I written one, in mostly chronological order. I became a permanent, full-time employee after 7 months as a part-time contractor. The girls started gymnastics again and did that until June, then did soccer instead in the fall.  Olivia now wants to get back into gymnastics. The girls turned 7, visited the American Girl store and had a fun party at a pottery painting place. We got a pet hamster. Paul and...

Ok, so I completely started over with WW right after Christmas.  Monday the 28th was my new Day 1.  My weight at home was exactly the same as when I originally started back in July, and at my meeting I was 1 pound over my original WW starting weight.  But yesterday I was down 3.2 pounds at home and 3.6 at WW.  And it was a week with lots of family functions, too, so I am off to a good start.  But how many times have I said that.  Sigh.  My goal for the month of January is to have a loss every week, no matter how small.  But I'm still going to have cake on my birthday :)  

    I always love the start of a new year.  I just love the newness and the opportunity to make a fresh start.  I have lots of ambitions, goals and ideas for this year.  First, my official 2016 New Year's Resolutions:  Lose 20 pounds.  I want and need to lose more but a goal of 20 for the year is good. Read 16 books.  I'm just not on of those people who can read 4 or 5 or 20 books in a month, and lately I hardly read at all so I'm just hoping to get back into reading somewhat regularly Train for another 5K.  I really want to get back into running but now that I'm working full-time and evenings are filled with kid stuff and next-day prep, it's SO hard to find time but I really hope to figure out how to squeeze it in.  I just need to commit to going right after work twice a week, even though that means I won't get home until 7 or so, and then once on the weekend. Drastically reduce my sugar intake.  I eat fairly heal...