Week 44: October draws to a close and preview of November
So, I started another book yesterday and read most of the day today so I finished another book. Shocker, right?
Yesterday I stepped on the scale after the last couple of weeks of poor food choices to discover that I’ve put some of the weight back on that I worked hard to take off. I’m not surprised as I barely logged my food, ate out more than I should have, and didn’t go to the gym as often as I had previously. Due to busy schedules and being exhausted, I let myself slide. I’m making the choice to do better from this point forward. I’m sure I’ll have slip ups, but the habits I have worked hard to build since late June are still mostly there. The hardest day this coming week will be Wednesday as we have a 12 hour day and I won’t be home to hit the gym. I will be wearing comfortable shoes so that I can do laps while at work. I’ll have to walk around the central portion of the school approximately 20 times. That seems excessive, but I have goals to meet and I’m going to work on doing what I need to do so I can be successful.
With all of that in mind, I purchased food tonight (during my weekly grocery trip) that should help me regain control of my slip up and present me with opportunities to do better. I pre-packed my lunch for tomorrow (salad and chili) and have already logged it into myfitnesspal. These are all things that I was lacking for the past few weeks. I’m also going to look at my schedule after this weekend and see what I can do to tweak the 75 Soft program I worked on previously to make it manageable for the next 75 days. I think that getting between 7,000-10,000 steps daily will be one minor change I will make, especially since the weather is getting colder and I hate going outside when it’s cold. I can easily do laps at work, which will help me meet that goal. I also need to get more protein in my diet without overshooting my fat goal. It’s really hard and it makes me wonder if the required protein amounts are accurate. Because people were able to maintain muscle mass before fake protein powders and drinks were invented, so where’s the disconnect?
Monday, October 28
Tonight I walked while the little one was in his Acrobatics class. The wind was mad strong so walking against it was a workout by itself! It doesn’t look like my times are getting faster, but I’m finding that I need to look for additional places to walk on Mondays, since it’s getting dark out so early I want to stay in spaces that have street lights, so walking over the bridge isn’t really an option. I will walk on it about ¾ of the way across, but that’s as far as I will go.
Tuesday, October 29
The last day with students for 5 days (weekend included). It was a little hectic, but not bad. I found out the bands performing at the 2025 When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas and I think I might brave the insanity that is Las Vegas so I can see some bands and check them off my bucket list. I realize that it will really limit what bands I can see for 2025 in terms of cost and travel, but I weigh the idea like this: I spend more traveling to shows in my own state than I think this entire trip will cost. In the end, I might save myself some money. LOL!
Wednesday, October 30
Today was a LONG day at work, but the school was allowed to host a book fair, so that was exciting! I managed to get my 10,000+ steps in while at work for 12 hours. Sadly, I didn’t focus on reading as much as I should have so I’m still not very far in the book I’m reading. I get the feeling that once I sit down with it, I’ll be absorbed in what’s going on and lose track of time and space.
Thursday, October 31
Ahh, Halloween, my favorite holiday. The day that the universe decided to give me some levity on joy and rob me of any more time with my precious Dad. Halloween has become a pretty bittersweet in the last 6 years. This year was rife with things happening too fast. Everything seems to be sneaking up on me (and a lot of people I know). So, I originally was going to stay at home because the little one was supposed to go out with his father, but life had different plans so the little one and I went out together. We walked and talked while he went trick-or-treating. We saw some great decorations in the local neighborhood, but also heard a variety of people say that barely anyone went trick-or-treating. I have a friend that purchased a TON of candy, because she was so excited to sit outside with a little bonfire and spread the sugar cheer. She had 2 trick-or-treaters. While I think that COVID helped dampen the joy of trick-or-treating, I think the bigger piece of damage is done with trunk-or-treat events. There are so many of them leading up to Halloween (and some on Halloween) that parents no longer take their kids out to neighborhoods to trick-or-treat. Yes, it’s centralized, but when we live in a country that tips the scales at morbid obesity, maybe a walk around a neighborhood or two isn’t such a bad thing. It’s another opportunity to create memories with your child that include physical exercise and conversations. You get the added bonus of sugar. You can greet others in your area and see kids proudly walking around in their costumes. There’s always those neighborhoods that a lot of kids go to because they know the good candy is there, but as a person who has done trick-or-treating in those neighborhoods and my own neighborhood, I’ll choose my area any day. Plus, we have hidden gym houses that give out the always sought after full sized candy bars. Both of my boys have received full sized bars from two different houses while trick-or-treating. And the best part, walking away knowing how surprised the next kid is going to be when they get their full sized candy bar.
I closed out the month doing something that was for both me and my little one. I made memories with him, because I know the years of wanting to trick-or-treat with mom are growing short. I also know that he’s dead set on handing out candy one year and I’m hoping that when he’s able to do that, we’ll have either enough money to surprise some kids with full sized bars, or run out of smaller candy because so many kids come around. Either way, I’d say it’s a win.
Final Reflections for October:
While it was easier to do things for myself during my birthday month, I sometimes felt selfish for doing things for myself. Most of my life has been dedicated to taking care of others, so it’s a very different vibe when I’m taking care of me. I typically feel like I’m neglecting my duties as a mother and asking others to take care of my kids when I want to go out and do something that is not centered around them. However, I also know that if I don’t have those times to be away from “mom duties”, I burn out really fast. So, I will work to find the balance of doing some things for me while also being there for my kids.
November 1:
This month, the goal is to rebuild some of the Lego sets we have in the house. The pieces are all here (I’m pretty sure), but the space is a MESS. I hope to start out with clearing off the tables, sorting the Lego, then rebuilding the sets with the books we have available along with the sets we have listed on the Lego app. I will be purchasing some plastic baggies so I can put the set pieces together with the name of the set. If the little one wants to build a set, I think this will make it easier for him. That’s the hope at least. I’d like to try and get a decent chunk of it done before he has friends over, because the sets, when built, get messed up and I think having the pieces set aside to build when he likes will be more fun for him when he wants to play with Lego, but doesn’t have a friend to play with.
Today, I am leaving town for a girl’s weekend, so I don’t have the time to start, but I’m hoping to start after I return on the 3rd.
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