Well, we survived packing up the family and shipping out about five or six hundred miles!  Whew, was that a lot of work.  We may never leave North Carolina simply because moving is getting to be too difficult. ;)  Although with our track record, not moving would be a lot less likely than dealing with all of this again.  (Pete and I have been married for almost seven and a half years and have moved from Jersey to South Dakota to Florida - first in St. Pete then to New Port Richey - and now to North Carolina, all of the moving starting after we had our first baby!!)

There were quite a few times I thought about sitting at the computer just to vent about the day or week I just dealt with, but times are different now…  I have some horrible things to deal with here.  DIAL-UP - I shudder to say it.  So, because of that I’ve been neglecting my online ‘diary’.  And I’ve kind of missed it.  So, today is a test.  I want to see how bad it is to upload my blog with dial-up, and I’m going to throw a picture into the mix to see if that is the worst mistake ever.

I have to admit, though, there is an upside to not having high speed internet or cable (we do have satellite, but it’s just not the same).  The time on the computer is actually reduced.  What we have to do on there takes an unbelievable amount of time, but there is no ‘recreation’ on the internet.  We get on, do what’s necessary, and get off.  It’s amazing how many hours could get whittled away just surfing the internet.  And the other night we had the fire going and no tv (not as many choices, couldn’t find anything good on), it was just the four of us hanging out in the living room talking and enjoying each other’s company.  Huh, go figure.

I do like it here.  Everyone is extremely nice and it feels more relaxed.  We really aren’t into any kind of routine yet, but once we do I think that will help to make it feel more like home.  It’s getting there, though, slowly but surely.  Most of the rooms are done, except for this area.  I think we’ve neglected the computer area because dial-up sucks and being here is just a reminder of that!!  But I digress… 

Pete and Peter Zachary dug out a fire pit in the yard, and we were out there the other night and it was so nice.  For some reason that is what being here feels like to me.  I can’t really explain it any better than that.  It’s like being out there in our sweats cuddled up by the firepit roasting some marshmallows is it.  Like that’s what we’re here for, that feel.  Something we haven’t had for a long time, and I really like it.

Tuesday’s seem to come around an awful lot!  More than any other day, I think.  I weighed in today at 1$9.4, so I’m into the ‘new’ numbers again.  That’s nice.  But I’m not really making any progress.  It’s hectic around the house lately.  We are packing up slow but steady, and I think we are going to have a garage sale on Saturday, plus two little kids running around is just chaotic in general.  Add to it, trying to fit in a proper ‘good-bye’ to all your friends (everyone wants to get together before you move), and worrying about losing weight just gets lost in the shuffle.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being bad.  I’ve managed not to gain, it’s just the extra effort of dieting that I can’t manage to swing lately.  If I’m a little stressed from the day, I like a little bit of ice cream (mmmmm, ice cream) to put me in a calmer state!  I’m going to have to be honest, for the next two weeks I just expect to maintain - that way if I do lose, it’s just icing on the cake I probably ate a little of!

Well, today I weighed-in at 1%0.0 which means I’m up .4 of a pound and back to the old numbers…  that’s not too terrible, I suppose, considering that I spent about 4 and 1/2 days sitting in a van (driving to NC and then looking at houses) eating garbage.  Next week will be better.  I’m back home (this is home for less than three more weeks ), so I’ll eat better now and get back to exercising at least a little in between packing up the house. 

I did my weigh-in this morning, bracing for the worst.  Pete and I have done a bit of celebratory eating since closing on the house, and I have been cheating basically since vacation.  But yet, the scale was good to me.  I’m not sure how that is, and I checked twice then put my son on the scale to make sure it worked!  I didn’t lose a dramatic amount, mind you, it’s just a surprise to see numbers that I haven’t seen for years.  I weighed in at 1$9.6 (different symbol, different number).  I’m without words, just very excited to get closer to my goal. 

It’s amazing the way things work out sometimes.  I was hoping to lose a little more weight and sell the house while on vacation (although not believing either was possible ;)), and so far so good.

First off, our house is officially under contract as of about 12:30 this afternoon.  The offer (full price, I might add) came in yesterday a few hours before I left New Jersey.  I’m still a little in shock.  For some reason I had started to worry that the house would never sell.  I must say, our realtor has been doing MUCH better in the advertising department with the house and I always knew it would just take that one person who belonged with the house to see it.  But still, somewhere in the back of my mind, the doubt persisted.  I think it was just a fear that we were running out of time.  Pete’s official last day of work here was going to be September 29th, and we weren’t really sure what we were going to do from there.  It was like, “okay, the house gets sold this week, or we do something drastic.”

…and it got sold this week…  sweet!

And to top that off, although it’s not weigh-in day, I weighed in today at almost a pound less than when I left!  Don’t ask me how that is even possible.  I missed my Jersey food, so I partook quite a bit. :)  Between Banzai (Japanese hibachi steak house in Denville) and M&S (the best pizza I’ve ever had) and Anthony’s (the second best pizza ever, but the absolute best chef salad) and Friendly’s sundaes (self explanatory, I think), I really felt I should have put on all the weight I lost, but whoo and hooo! 

What a relief, today is a good day. Better than good really - it’s just perfect.

I never did post my weight yesterday (the kids and I decided to go to a water park, so I didn’t get the time). I’m down another pound - 1%1.0. Slow, but steady, I guess. This week will be a test though.

I leave for New Jersey tomorrow - I haven’t been up to visit since last April. I’m excited about it, but it’s always harder to ‘diet’ on vacation. I just don’t want to gain back any of the weight, especially since it takes me so long to lose even a pound. I’m not going to worry about it though because I refuse to be one of those people who gets obsessive about their weight. I’m going to try and eat smart, but allow myself to cheat a little bit!! Hopefully, while I’m gone our house will sell and I’ll still lose some weight and everything will be just perfect.

I weighed in today at 1%2.0.  Essentially, I maintained.  Although I suppose I’ll take .2 of a pound lost over nothing. 

Well, I’m down another pound - 1%2.2, which is a good thing. I was kind of stalling out and not really going anywhere the last couple weeks (could be because I was eating too much to lose weight :o), but at least I’m headed back in the right direction. The disappointing news is that I’m only down 3.6 pounds in five weeks. If I look at it that way, I’m liable not to want to continue. I think that we as a society are so used to getting everything immediately, that when something takes time and effort it’s hard to continue. Fast food, microwave dinners, instant mashed potatoes (which my husband weened me off of in the first year of our marriage - having the real thing, I now know why), all these things are to “help” us get things done quickly, but at a cost. Fatter, lazier and more stressed…

So, if my initial goal of 15.8 pounds takes me another 20 weeks (I can’t lie - that sounds ridiculously long), so be it. I just can’t stop. I want to lose the weight. I want to be healthier and have more energy and be less stressed. I like having a little time to myself everyday and not feeling guilty about it. I’m just writing this down now so when I need to be reminded WHY I’m still doing this, it’s right here.

I did lose the two pounds I gained during last week, so that’s good. My official weigh-in is 1%3.2, it’s not amazing, but it’s where I’m at. This past week my exercise schedule (or lack of one) has been the main problem. We’re selling the house, and a lot of people have come through to look at it. Good for selling, but bad for exercising. I don’t want to be in the middle of Tae-bo and have the realtor call and tell me I need to be out in 30 minutes! I have to shower after exercise and it would just take me too long to get ready and make sure the house is perfect. I’ll have to work something out there so I can do better. Let’s see what next week brings.

Word of advise to all of you out there on a diet:  Try not to spend too much time with pregnant women!!  A good friend of mine is about 5 1/2 months pregnant, and in the last four days I’ve gained two pounds.  She has to eat every couple of hours or she gets sick, but she never wants to eat alone.  “Oh come on”, she says, “just get a little something so I don’t feel bad stopping”.  Then when I say “no, I’m trying to be good”, she replies with a “never mind, I won’t get anything”.  Next thing you know we’re pulled over on the side of route 41,  and she’s throwing up!  So, we finally stop at an ice cream shop, no less (because I’ve given in and said I’ll get something), and she asks me what I want.  I let her know I’ll have a small cup of chocolate and she proceeds to order me a peanut butter cup sundae.  I’d like to say it was torture, but the truth is it was great…  like I said, never diet with a pregnant woman!  I’m determined to stay away from her this weekend and at least get rid of the two pounds I put BACK ON.