Buns Again

[Aprincess]

Hi Buns,

I was just looking at your profile. I have a 36 (almost 37) year old mentally challenged daughter. We picked up her right ear hearing aid a couple of weeks ago and her left hearing aid today. It’s so cool watching her go through this. We tried hearing aids when she was younger (10 or 15 years ago). She hated all the squealing and squelching so she got to a point where she refused to wear them. Now that they are digital .. soooooooo much better. AND, they pair with her iPhone. She is just thrilled. Anyway, I just saw the connection and thought I’d say hey...

~ Amy

[bunsofaluminum]

Watermelon and grapes are summer fruit.

Last night I OD'd on grapes and had to crawl under the coffee table to sleep it off.

heh grapes, eh? not the fermented variety by any chance?

Hi Buns,

I was just looking at your profile. I have a 36 (almost 37) year old mentally challenged daughter. We picked up her right ear hearing aid a couple of weeks ago and her left hearing aid today. It’s so cool watching her go through this. We tried hearing aids when she was younger (10 or 15 years ago). She hated all the squealing and squelching so she got to a point where she refused to wear them. Now that they are digital .. soooooooo much better. AND, they pair with her iPhone. She is just thrilled. Anyway, I just saw the connection and thought I’d say hey...

~ Amy

Hi Amy!

thanks for dropping by! I think my profile probably mentions my working with disabled adults. THE best job I've ever had, though I moved on from it several years ago. It simply didn't pay enough. But if I could afford it, I'd go back. I loved those guys!

[bunsofaluminum]

Woot! I weighed this morning and I am down three lbs! Yay it’s working!

[bunsofaluminum]

This past weekend was a little more indulgent. I had several Hershey kisses, and made a veggie egg scramble for lunch on Saturday.

Back on track now. But let it be known:The Pleasure Trap is for real. I struggled with cravings just a bit on Saturday, and I'm feeling it today, but not gonna cave.

When I stepped on the scale on Saturday it showed down three lbs, and when I weighed on Sunday it was up two lbs. LOL. Scales are stupid.

Today I feel strong, though. I pushed hard for my weights for 20 minutes, and then 15 min on the recumbent. Oat clusters and watermelon for brekkie. Wish I had a not-sitting-at-a-desk job. Lots of energy.

[AnnetteW]

I'm having a bit of an "issue" with my scale right now too...we are not friends right now. I keep saying I need to just stay away for awhile...let our friendship heal with a little distance, but I keep being drawn back. Kind of like a "bad" boyfriend....

[sirdle]

I'm having a bit of an "issue" with my scale right now too...we are not friends right now. I keep saying I need to just stay away for awhile...let our friendship heal with a little distance, but I keep being drawn back. Kind of like a "bad" boyfriend....

[bunsofaluminum]

I'm having a bit of an "issue" with my scale right now too...we are not friends right now. I keep saying I need to just stay away for awhile...let our friendship heal with a little distance, but I keep being drawn back. Kind of like a "bad" boyfriend....

It's just horrible! All the broken promises! Phooey on the scale anyway. I feel fantastic, and clothing is fitting JUST a bit better. The main thing for me is YES, going 100% all in, and not eating anything processed (in addition to you know, the no animal thing) IS actually working, even though I am in menopause and my already low metabolism is pretty much non-existent these days. Seriously, I was puttering around the place, tidying up some drawers in the bathroom and found a thermometer. Took my temp. It registered 96.7 degrees. Kinda normal-ish to be honest. I remember one time, after chopping ice away from a gutter in the apartment complex where I lived (long story: I was busting with energy, and it needed doing)...because I was sweating, I took off my parka and worked in my sweatshirt. Well, when I was done I was SO cold. I could feel it between my shoulder blades, and I got a chill. Shivering in my house. So I took my temp. No lie, it was in the low 95's. All that to say SEE?! Low metabolism! and menopause has done nothing to INCREASE my metabolism so I have halfway been blaming my not losing weight on that.

Pfft. All along, it's been me wandering off the rails. SMH. A treat here, not really caring there, monster munchies one day, just a few tortilla chips another day. Like that, day in and day out. I figured at one point that i was about 85% on track most of the time. Well, that doesn't really cut it. I still don't think it'll come off very fast, but I have a friend who started a weight lifting regimen about five years ago. He posts on FB and you can see his progress...lookin good there, kiddo, etc. Then BAM, seemingly overnight, he is BUFF. And that's his report, as well. He worked hard, and loved the workout enough to keep at it, but his body went through some rapid changes recently and he REALLY started looking fit.

I think it's the same with losing fat. The body does not want to release it. Hello? Keep it for the upcoming famine? But over time, something clicks and the pounds start falling away. It's consistency and compliance, long term, that make it happen. Losing that three lbs is proof that there is now a downward trend.

[bunsofaluminum]

Woot! Killed my workout this morning! I challenged myself with heavy weights, including 100 lbs on the lat machine and I went through all the upper body machines twice. Got my heart rate up, and boy did I sweat!

Breakfast was watermelon, a banana, and some oat clusters.
For lunch I made a quick easy stir fry (aka: rice in the bowl, stir fry vegs on top, and an Asian sauce over it all.)
I'll have a big salad over baked potato, dal on top, for dinner.

Gee I feel terrific. Hmmmm, except my left lat/side. I wonder if 100 was too much.

[keithswife]

Woot! Killed my workout this morning! I challenged myself with heavy weights, including 100 lbs on the lat machine and I went through all the upper body machines twice. Got my heart rate up, and boy did I sweat!

Buns, you are a warrior! I totally need to start working with weights. Good for you for sticking to your workout

[bunsofaluminum]

Thanks Keithswife. I have a lot of energy and it feels so good to burn it off at the gym. Even lifting gets my heart rate up very nicely. I lift pretty heavy, compared to others in that circuit training area. Curling 50 lbs eight times WILL elevate your heart rate And that feels GOOD.

Yesterday I felt a little iffy in my sub-scapular something or others (under the shoulder blade, and into the side/armpit a bit) Because I set one of the machines at 100lbs I think it was the lat pull. Anyway, it was too much and I thought I'd pulled a muscle or something. Went looking (thank you, Interwebz) and found a tutorial on releasing knots from that area. I did those things and viola! Pain gone.

Eating continues good. I'm hooked on Well Your World on YouTube and FB. Lots of motivation, and fun enough videos. He cooks McDougall friendly food, and keeps it simple. Going to watch his dialogue with Chef AJ today

[bunsofaluminum]

Well I worked out this morning, but the entire time I was irritated at the PEOPLE. Ugh. It's just plain irritating when you're in the CIRCUIT room, for a person to get on a machine and stay on it for all the "circuits" then an old dude comes in and starts stretching...ON the machine I wanted to go to (because the one I NEEDED was being hogged by the other dude tweaking out on his everloving biceps.) Hello? There are machines out on the freaking FLOOR that don't have a TIMER on them. You can use them until your dang arms fall off and no one else will be WAITING for them because there's A DOZEN of that machine out there. Go THERE, not the freaking circuit area. Geez, Louise. I finally left the circuit room and found a bicep machine elsewhere, but it was already over by then. I didn't feel good, I felt irritable and cranky, so I left after a pretty listless workout. Maybe 25 minutes all told, and never got that sweet rush from getting and keeping my heart rate up.

Eating continues really good, though I did have a treat this morning. They're serving a pancake breakfast and part of that is this caramel syrup. I chose a small pancake and put about a half TBSP on it, folded it, and ate it like a sugar taco. It was SO good. But I had already eaten my oat clusters and watermelon and wasn't hungry so that one small pancake was all I had. A treat.

Tonight there is a class reunion that I didn't *really* know about until this morning. I think I saw something about it on FB but didn't pay attention. But then a friend of mine asked me to say hello to a few people and I said "There's a class reunion? I didn't know" and he poked one of the organizers (who happened to be one of my few friends back in the day) and she sent me the info. Well, this evening there will be a potluck, and I can peek in and say hi without eating. It might be kind of fun to see some familiar faces (though I suspect that only one will be REALLY recognizable: the one who invited me is also a FB friend and I'll know her when I see her...but not anyone else. I recognize a lot of the names but I didn't have many friends in school.) Anyway, it could be good to see those who knew me as this misfit stoner loner girl with greasy hair and zits I'm fatter now, but I'm also much less socially retarded these days.

HUGE news at work! I and three others on my team (I work for an insurance company, call in support for brokers selling our Medicare plans: Medicare Broker Support) WELL...in the Marketplace side, they have developed what is called a CARE team, where the individuals provide support for insurance brokers, field reps, broker channel managers, and clients. The manager of that team is developing the same team for Medicare, and they selected the four who they thought would provide the best service! Isn't that SO COOL! She thought about who would be best suited for exemplary service to these people and *I* was on her short list! woot!

ANDDDD

No more working under the micro-management non-skills of my current boss! (who is actually a likable person but DANG she needs to work on her leadership technique)

My training starts on Monday and I'm excited! It's such a more easy going group. They laugh with each other, you can hear them conversing a bit. Even the decor in that area is nicer. yess! things are gonna be GOOD!

[SilverDollar123]

Congrats! Things are looking up! & When you are happy with the work you do you may find the pounds
slipping away! RAS

[moonlight]

Congratulations, Buns!! Yay you. I’m sure you would be a super representative. Woot woot! Is there a pay raise in your future,too?

[bunsofaluminum]

Thanks RAS and Moonlight. I'm excited to see how this new chapter unfolds.

Late last year, the Marketplace broker support moved onto our floor and the difference was immediately evident. They casually visit together, there's a moderate amount of horsing around between three guys who are friends, and nothing gets out of control; nothing explodes, etc. It was an eye opener, to say the least, considering that we have a boss who shuts us down when we visit between cubicles. She has changed a little bit since MP moved here, but initially it was "use your chat!" and she'd give a holler if we talked "over" the cube walls (they were high, but...we were also in a corner of the floor. Even talking over the cubicle walls didn't disrupt anything anyone else was doing.) So, she had us trained that we must be quiet all the time. Then MP arrived with their easy going visiting and some laughter. It made our sad little team look so...sad and little

But then I started noticing something else. All of the signs and sayings that are posted around the team I'm on are work related, and hand made out of freaking craft paper and glued on sequins or stickers. SO sixth grade! "Work Hard and Be Nice" in black block letters with teeny tiny bee stickers on it. "What Bus Are You On?" (what even does that MEAN?) better: "Focus on Your Blue Chips" ??? It took me a while, but I finally figured out that my boss went to a company management training or some such, and heard these motivational sayings and she CUT OUT ALL THE LETTERS and stuck them to POSTER BOARD and LAMINATED THEM and hung them up for our benefit. It's sad, because she clearly put a lot of effort into these. She even made names for our walls, IN GLITTER! shiny! and so so sad.

Then MP arrives. They have two giant stuffed giraffes in one corner, there's a montage of pictures of the team near the manager's door. There is a Mandala dominating one wall, and in the giraffe corner, plaques like you'd put around in your own home "Follow Your Heart" and a list of cheerful "commands" : Wake Up Smiling BREATHE Have Hope Be Strong Laugh Loud ... etc. Right now, it's decorated like a summer beach. It's friendly and homey, and seeing that highlighted how rather dreadful our poor little office decor is. There have been times where walking in the door to see these weird lame sayings and poster board home craft things was the worst part of my job. The giraffes! They are my favorite animal, and the manager who is developing this team also adores giraffes and she's just...I dunno, jolly. She's a forest person, while my current boss is a tree person, and not even trees, per se, but the detritus lying around on the forest floor at the foot of the trees.

And I do feel SO bad for my boss. She isn't a troll or an evil person, just someone who knows the technical aspects of our job better than anyone I've ever met wit ZERO leadership skills. Her team is kinda being taken away from her and she looks sad today.

Still going strong with compliance. I did have chocolate over the weekend, and had a couple of Riesen's chocolate toffees that I stole from Wylie. but otherwise, everything I put in my mouth was unprocessed. Made a batch of split pea spread (not soup) and baked 10# of potatoes for ease of grabbing on the go. I want to do something Ethiopian, a la Well Your World, so I bought berbere spice at the store.

Working out. Oh lordy, I've had a time waking up this morning. I came THIS CLOSE to saying screw it on working out, but then went anyway, and put in 30 minutes on the recumbent. I didn't have it in me to do weights today. And I'm glad I stayed out of the circuit room...that old dude actually stretches ON a machine. Like...stands on a part that is low to the ground and stretches his dang calves. Up, down. Then puts a foot up on the seat and stretches his hamstrings. WTF dude? there's an actual STEP on the floor, you know? with a hand rail for stability. So anyway, the recumbent was good for a moderate cardio today. I don't regret it, but I wasn't into it at all. And I'm still yawning my face off. Wonder what's happening.

My gray jeans that were feeling snug on my butt now fit just fine. Happy about that. The scale is stuck again but whatever. My energy is fantastic and I have stamina. I feel good, I knew that I would!

[sirdle]

Congratulations with the changes at work! I hope they work out for you!

Working for a micro-managing boss is the worst.

Well I worked out this morning, but the entire time I was irritated at the PEOPLE.

This was cracking me up yesterday when I was in the weight room.

How about the people who get on the leg press machine and treat it likes it's cardio equipment? 10 million reps at 25 lbs. They can tie up a single machine for 15 min...

... or the people who sit on a machine for 5 minutes between sets while playing with the cell phones...

... or the people who collect all the dumbbells they're going to use for their entire workout and stack them in a pile around them like a fort so nobody else can use them...

... or the people who use the weight bench as a table for their cell phone while they do standing bicep curls. (It's not like they're hogging the bench... there's plenty of room for other people to put their phones on the bench, too. LOL)

Oh well, I can always find something else to do. I'll just circle back around when they're gone. It does make me wonder what they're thinking though.

Cheers,