I think…LOL!

• Work is nuts, you can definitely tell it is our busy season. My boss today informed me that sleep is overrated. I don’t agree :). 3 more work days till the Christmas Eve rush is over and 5 more work days till vacation!

• Monday, I had my routine appointment with my oncologist. My white blood cell counts are up to 24 from 18 at my last appointment, 3 months ago. Sigh. She’s not worried, because in her eyes that is a small jump but it still bugs me. I am back up to where I was when I was diagnosed almost 2 years ago. Wow, has it really been that long?! It’s still just watch and see because I feel “okay”. I have gotten sick twice already this season (a minor cold and pink eye) after not getting sick at all last season. She wants me to keep an eye on it and if I keep getting sick, she will check my immunoglobulin levels. If they are low, we can always do IV immunoglobulins but she has only seen about a 50% success rate in her patients. Her goal though is to do anything possible to prolong the amount of time until I have to go on chemo and I agree with that approach. She did contact the hospital at Nellis AFB and I can be seen on base, so now it is up to the chief and AF to send us there instead of Holloman AFB.

• Tuesday I had my band appointment. We won’t even discuss my weight, let’s just say I have gained a few pounds (if you really want to know, up on the top under about me is my band page). I’ve been really battling head hunger and mindless eating lately. Not sure why, boredom I suppose, but it needs to take a hike. He gave me a 0.5cc fill bringing me to 4.5cc total in my 10cc band. He thinks one more feel and I will be at my sweet spot (something about the pressure that comes back on the plunger when he fills). I actually get a real dinner again tomorrow night and I can’t wait to see where my restriction is although I am thinking it is going to be pretty good. Last night I ran a little over 4 miles and proceeded to gulp my water like I usually do. Bad idea, I could feel it not going down. Thankfully none came up, it eventually trickled through, because that would have been embarrassing (totally full cardio room with lots of cute guys in uniform, including mine but it wouldn’t have phased him).

• The weather here sucks. It has done nothing but rain the last few weeks. Jacey even asked me the other day if we really lived in the “sunshine state”.

• This weekend, I am doing all my Christmas baking/goody making. I do plan to have a piece of each (just being honest here) but the rest of those calories are going on some one else’s hips *insert evil laugh*!

Do you ever feel like you are cruising along in life with no speed limit? Driving the Autobahn, going as fast as you can, just because you can, even though it is not good nor safe?

Sigh…that’s been a pretty accurate description of my last few weeks. Trying to meet mine and everyone else’s needs, wants and expectations even though it is causing my stress level to shoot out of the roof and my fatigue to almost become crippling. Will I ever learn? Let’s just go back through the last week, I won’t even torture you with the last few.

Where do we start…oh, Monday. Monday, I had work, Jacey had a dentist appointment and then we started painting my new office. Finally made it home about..oh…8pm.

Tuesday, yes, I  remember that day. We finally got to have our 10th anniversary flight (thank you God for allowing the weather to cooperate) and it was awesome. Since we had a sitter, Bry and I headed to lunch and then went to work. That afternoon/evening, we painted some more till we ran out of paint. Went to Crestview for paint (good thing Lowe’s stays open till 9pm, we barely made it) and dinner.

Oh wait, let’s not forget that I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday as well.

Wednesday, we finally got to start putting my furniture together in the new office. Only got partway through the first piece, because we had to head off to Pensacola for my doctor appointment. Finished Jacey’s school shopping while we were there and had dinner with a new friend. Came home and totally crashed.

Thursday, is my crazy day at work, so no breathing room there. Then, we dove headfirst back into furniture building. Why exactly did I not get it assembled before delivery?! Oh yeah, because I was trying to be a good steward and save the church some money…sigh. Even the whole family joined in building today. Managed to get all the pieces built and the only thing left is to screw the hutch to the desk.

Friday…yes, Friday…my day off. I actually got to sleep in an hour…LOL! We had Jacey’s open house/meet the teacher (so totally not impressed) and then headed back up to the church to finish my office. Got the desk connected, furniture in place and computer hooked up. Everything else is still sitting in boxes waiting for me to tackle tomorrow (Monday). Finally came home at 4:30pm because Jacey was supposed to go to the Destin Y for Parent’s Night Out and we were supposed to have a date night. The weather canceled pno although I cannot say I was too depressed. Tired can’t even begin to explain what I felt/feel like.

Now where are we..oh yes, Saturday. I did actually get to sleep in till 9am and it was pure bliss. Poor Bryan had to be up at 7am so he could take care of the yard. Saturday was the ribbon cutting and Kids Blitz. We had a fantabulous time and Jacey did great at the ribbon cutting. Kids Blitz was lots of fun and J even got picked to participate up on stage. Afterwards, we headed into FWB to don some more office shopping (since Bryan is making me put up pics this time…LOL). Found 2 frames at AC Moore, a wooden saying for my desk and a vinyl wall saying (it is a scripture verse) for above my hutch. Now I need to find/edit 2 pics for the frames and get them ordered. I can’t wait to see it all finished. Dinner was Olive Garden, even though I had meat thawed. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we have eaten out this week and how much money we have spent on food. I’d probably get depressed.

Finally today. Church and Sunday school which marks day 8 up at the church. Don’t get me wrong, I love the church and love working there but the only place I want to be at THAT much is my house (or maybe Paris…yeah, definitely Paris:). Came home from there, ate lunch and crashed. Dummy me though forgot to set my phone to vibrate and in turn, the phone that rarely rings rang at the most inopportune time. Cleaned up Jacey’s room, got all her new school clothes hung up and made dinner. Now, here I sit doing nothign really. I should be editing pics for my office so I can get them ordered but I am not. Instead, I am going to finish this blog post, go eat my chocloate covered strawberries I was too full after dinner to eat and go to bed. Tomorrow it is back to work and back to school for my new little 2nd grader and another crazy week of things I need to do.

I need a vacation…

P.S. Maybe this will explain my lack of posting a bit though…eh :)?!

P.S.S Forgive the pics, I am too lazy to edit them right now.

Today I said goodbye to my old office and start work Monday in my new office. I am sad to leave the ladies downstairs, but am looking forward to being upstairs where it is MUCH quieter and closer to my “guys ” (aka my bosses).

We went and bought paint for my new office today…asparagus! It’s bright (not nearly as bright as my current office color though) but I love it! It’s gets painted on Monday.

My new office. This coming week, Bryan is going to paint it asparagus green for me and put all my new furniture together so I can move in (that desk is not staying in there). I can’t wait!

Thirteen random thoughts on my mind today.

1. I am learning recently that I am not superwoman as much as I want to be. There are some things that I have to let go of to maintain my sanity and a life.

2. Since the children’s building is almost finished at work, I am getting ready for the move to my new office. I had two to choose from, so I went up and chose this week. Bryan measured it for me and then I proceeded to go furniture shopping. What an ordeal. I found this first set which I fell in love with. Priced it online and then went to go order it from our contract sales website for that company. Total price was almost $1000 more than the regular website. Huh? What gives there. I left a message with our contract sales rep in hopes that they could get me a better deal but no call back, so I went shopping some more.

I found this second set at one of the other places we shop at and truly think it will work better. The first set still has my heart for finish and design but this set is more functional. This set was also more on our contract site versus the regular site but only by right under $100. I don’t understand why business customers get higher prices yet, we are bringing them business on a regular basis and typically in bulk. So, now I wait on our sales rep to get back with me and get these pieces ordered next week when I am back in the office.

The office is a rectangle but has a window, so my current paint color, jadesheen will be way too bright. So, I am going with this color, asparagus. I also plan to use chalkboard paint to make a rectangle over the credenza unit and then either find a vintage frame to finish it or some molding. Not sure what else yet. I get to move in the week of the 17th and can’t wait!

3. I noticed this morning, that I am no longer losing hair. YAY! About time.

4. On the other hand, my hormones are out of whack again. I thought the weight loss had helped the PCOS issues but they are back. Skin is breaking out like crazy, I feel like I am 14 again and that monthly womanly thing is nuts again after 8 months of regularity. I really need to get in to see my doc, but who has time?!

5. Speaking of the children’s building, Jacey gets to be one of the ribbon cutters at the grand opening on the 22nd. How cool is that! Our senior pastor will be holding the ribbon and Jacey and our junior pastor’s older son will be cutting it.

6. I finally updated the pics/video on the webpage if you’d like to take a peek. One of these days, I’ll get an update email sent out as well (I’d advise you not to hold your breath on that one:).

7. The word cancer is evoking some not so nice feelings from me these past few weeks. I am SO tired of being SO tired.

8. I finally found J’s school supply list on the school’s website, so we can start tackling that. Haven’t heard from the school yet about teacher/open house although I would think that should be any day now. Only 2 more weeks and a few days till school starts. Gee, I can’t believe I have a second grader now!

9. I am debating on taking a class at church with semester on Wednesday evenings while J is in H20. My friend Steph is teaching a class called “One Month to Live” which sounds really interesting but I am REALLY bad about sticking with classes. Adult onset ADD perhaps?!

10. Tomorrow is a squadron bowling event that I agreed to participate in. Wish me luck, this is the first “military” event I have done in a while. I normally stay pretty far away because there is typically a lot of drama that tends to ensue.

11. Made this for dinner tonight and it was delish…or should I say yummo, since it is a Rachael Ray recipe :).

12. Instead of doing what I should have been doing earlier, I played around again. Perhaps this is why I don’t get as much done as I should?!

Before

After
Totally Rad Actions: Oh Snap! @ 100%, Rusty Cage @ 100%, Claire-ify @ 80% and Yin/Yang as needed

13. I have only been working on this blog post, off and on since 6:30am…it is time for me to go to bed.

Are you kidding me? Yes, I stole that line from one of my fav photographers, Bobbi+Mike.

• Monday, Bry and I were out running errands and I had a wild hair to run into Kohl’s. I was looking for another pair of Levi’s, the exact same as I had on, only in one size smaller…a 10. Couldn’t find a 10, but I found an 8, held it up and thought no way. Bry convinced me to try them on and THEY FIT! I couldn’t believe it. I even tried on 2 other brands of size 8′s and they fit too. I am SO thrilled. All through this journey, all I wanted was to be out of the plus sized section…I never imagined myself in a size 8!!

• Yesterday, Bry came home after his MXG Commander’s Call and said his squadron was looking for key spouses. I was a key spouse when we were stationed at Dyess and then briefly at Lakenheath before I bowed out due to drama. When we moved here to Eglin, I was told his sq didn’t have key spouses because they don’t deploy…turns out, they do have key spouses after all (and why they didn’t call me once over a 2 month TDY last year is beyond me…anyway, I’ll get off that soapbox before it gets ugly). Bry asked me if I wanted to be one and I (yes, I am a glutton for punishment) agreed to give it a go again. he did tell his First Shirt though that I will not put up with any drama, so we shall see. Not like I don’t have enough going on already, what’s one more thing…LOL!

• I’ve been less than thrilled with our gym here lately (we are members of the Niceville YMCA). It is always dirty, in need of repair and hot. Truly makes me wonder what exactly my membership fees pay for. They just put a huge, brand new gym down in Bluewater Bay so we went and checked it out. It’s nice but it really started us thinking. The new gym would cost $15 more a month, even with a charter membership and I haven’t even been in our current gym but once in the last month. We have 2 gyms (my smaller work gym and the huge base gym) within 7 miles for free and I prefer to run outside anyway. Is a gym membership even truly feasible for us?! After much conversation, we decided no. We are going to cancel our Y membership, continue to run outside like we already do and use the 2 free gyms when we want weights and such. The base gym also offers all sorts of classes, some free and some only $2 a class. I can take 15-20 classes a month, plus my gas and still not equal the cost of our Y membership. Nothing wrong with saving a few bucks, I say.

• Any of you that follow my 101 in 1001 list might remember that there was a task to not eat out for 30 days. I have determinied that will simply never happen in this household, so I changed it to simply no fast food for 30 days. That is still a stretch but I can actually see thaty happening. Not sure what I was thinking with the original task…I don’t like cooking THAT much.

• My ice cream addiction has to go. They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, so starting today I am on a 21 day challenge to have no ice cream. Ice cream is not bad in and of itself, but I have absolutely zero control when it comes to it. So, the best thing is to just not have it at all. Hopefully at the end of the 21 days, I can have it occasionally but not have the severe cravings for it all the time that I have now. I will need help though, so keep me accountable! No ice cream till August 5th!

• Normally at work, my summer is pretty quiet. I normally use this time to work from home a little bit instead of in the office the entire time. Not this summer…sigh. We open our new children’s building next month and it is pure craziness trying to get everything set up. I am just very thankful that I am not a part of the children’s ministry and only have to deal with the children’s choir portion of the schedule/building. I went in to ask a simple 5-10 minute question today and finally got back to my office 2 hours later. I know it is SO worth it, but I have to keep reminding myself of that lately because the headaches are definitely there right now.

• I finally go in for my cut and color Friday…YAY!! I really needed it last week, but have just been so busy. I LOVE my stylist, she does an awesome job and is just so sweet. And hey, there is nothing wrong with a little pampering time and after these past few weeks, I need it!

Another thirteen random thoughts from Lacey :)

1. So, this morning I was being a bit obsessive. Friday is my normal weigh in day, but I weighed in at 7:15am when I got up to use the bathroom and again at 10:45am when I got up for the day and the weights were over a pound different. Not sure how that happens, but the later weight was the lower one, so I am taking it…LOL! I am now sitting at 152.4, so close to that 80 pound mark (152). It would be great if I could make that by my bandiversary on the 25th. Technically, I should since it is that nasty TOM and I am holding water weight right now.

2. Wednesday, I went to Zumba for the first time. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall watching me…I would probably be dead, from forgetting to hold onto the wall for laughing so hard. I always considered myself pretty coordinated and took dance for numerous years as a child. After this class, I am beginning to wonder if Bryan’s two left feet have rubbed off on me. I had a blast though and was wringing wet with sweat by the time I was done, so I will definitely go back. Eventually I might even look like I am dancing to the music instead of being off in lala land.

3. My Mom bought Jacey one of those “as seen on tv” topsy turvy tomato planters that hang upside down. Amazingly, it works and Jacey has 5 or 6 green tomatoes out there right now.  It is also amazing just how much water it takes though, you forget one day and the tomato plant looks like it has been neglected for a week. I think next year we will stick with a pot on the ground, I am just not that on the ball.

4. Our 10th anniversary is coming up on the 31st (wow, that makes me feel really old even though I haven’t hit 30 yet) and we are going parasailing as an early gift to each other tomorrow. I am so excited, I have wanted to go for years! We thought we would take advantage of not having to fork over $60 for a babysitter and go now while J is in Texas. I think we are also going to go go-kart racing afterwards (and make a stop at Godiva, but whose counting) and then do an anniversary dinner at The Melting Pot next Friday while we are still childless. Bryan has already ordered my gift but I have no clue what to get him. 10 is tin, what the heck is that about?! I have one idea for him that I know he would absolutely love but it involves me calling in a “favor” and I hate asking people for favors…LOL! So, I’m still working on it.

5. I have pretty much stopped going to the lap band talk forum and only follow a couple of  great banders (a few are local and I’d love to meet someday). I found that I am doing great on my own and the obsession on the forum is driving me nuts. I want to live a real life, have real food and occasionally have a dessert. I want to be able to skip a day of exercise if I don’t feel good and realize it is not the end of the world. The point now to me is lifestyle changes and moderation…and, apparently it works :). I just don’t get how people feel they are going to maintain the weight loss in the real world, getting to “goal” by only eating pre-portioned, processed foods and never having to truly “think” about it. I’m sure some people won’t like me saying this, but it is my blog right and one of the few places I can have my opinion.

6. I am definitely happy with my level of restriction again. I can still eat pretty much everything, just not too much. I am still only back to what I was at in October (before all my gallbladder issues) but since I am almost to goal and will soon just be maintaining, I think I will be good for a while. Who would have thought it would take this little for me (I only have 2.5cc in a 10cc band).

7. “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens.” 1 Thes 5:16-17 -  A good friend of mine reminded me of this verse yesterday and it really hit home for some things that have been going on recently. Definitely something to work on.

8. I miss my baby girl. 8 more days till she comes home!

9. I have been SO tired lately, I feel like all I do is work and sleep. I know my white blood cell counts are up again but I wonder if that is the cause or not. I see my oncologist again in September and don’t really want to go in before then just for tiredness. I guess that is just life with leukemia…sigh. Most days it doesn’t bother me, but some days it just sucks.

10. And so it begins, Relay for Life 2010. We have a round table discussion coming up this month and then we start actual committee meetings in August. I still wonder if I was having a moment of insanity signing up to be the vice-chair for the Niceville/Valparaiso event this year. It will be worth it though!

11. I would love it if everybody could take a few minutes to register here and help support our troops. This is a great (easy) opportunity and they appreciate it SO much!

12. Sigh, this was my last short week at work for a while and it is going to suck. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job but you quickly get spoiled to short weeks and long weekends.

13. Tonight Bry and I did an almost 4.5 mile walk to get ice cream. See how bad my addiction is (wasn’t I just talking about obsession earlier…LOL). At least I walked off half the ice cream so I didn’t feel SO guilty about eating it :).

[iframe http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=883325400fd3a6fa244f7b8a205d4f61&u=e&t=run 450 550]

• Monday was weigh-in day and I am befuddled. How do you eat like crap (I mean really, I didn’t even attempt to track it) and stay the same exact  weight, down to the .2?! For 3 weeks?! Trust me, I am not complaining but it is just really weird. I am still 2 pounds from my lowest during this journey, but I have lost some of the weight that I put back on right after my complete unfill.

• Monday, I also got my stitches out. Everything looks good and no *heavy* activities for 4-6 more weeks (i.e. changing a tire…yes, he honestly used that example). I am cleared to run, but just plan to finish out this week with walking and go back to running next week, since my belly button area is still tender. (Strike that, I ran anyway.) I was a bit bummed, because I can’t get a fill till the end of April BUT, I know it is better this way. Gives me a chance to get back on track with my food choices, bite sizes and speed before it becomes a pain (literally).

• Where I live it is bathing suit season AND I finally tan again. YAY!! So, Friday I started the search for a new suit since none of the ones I have fit anymore. Tried on 7 different suits with no luck. Did find board short, but no suit. Monday, while we were in Pensacola for my appointment, I looked again, trying on 13 different suits. 20 suits thus far and not a one of them that I liked and fit…sigh. I have a few more places to look, but if I don’t find something soon, I may just have to go topless…would definitely be a good way to clear the beach!

• With the job market and the economy being the way it is today, don’t you think ALL businesses would be a *bit* more concerned about customer service?! We had a kick butt server at Longhorn last week. He got me the meal that I wanted, even though it wasn’t in the lunch menu, kept drinks refilled, checked on us often enough to be attentive but no so much he was a pest, etc. He was great and our tip reflected that. Then, on Monday, we had a complete 180 at TGI Friday’s. Waitress took 10 minutes to take our drink order, another 10 to bring them and we were in the restaurant 55 minutes before our food came. She didn’t come back to check on us until the end and then almost walked off after Jacey ordered her dessert without waiting to see if Bry and I wanted anything. Then, after she took our check it was another 15 to bring it back for me to sign. Ridiculous! The resturant was not busy and they didn’t appear short-handed. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am so thankful to have a job and a secure income right now, that I put effort into my work.

• Today was my first day back in the gym since my surgery last week and I can defintely tell I still don’t have all my energy back yet. I had planned on only walking for a few days, but couldn’t keep myself from running once I got on the treadmill. I only ran for 15 minutes before I pooped out, then walked with an incline for another 15. I’m tired, but feel SO much better being active again.

• Our building project at work is moving along quickly and the new building will be open for use in August. This means, that I will be moving upstairs to an office closer to my bosses once the children’s people vacate to the new building. I am excited, I will have a window again and natural light just brightens the spirit (in my current office, I don’t have a window but have the blessing of not having to share even though I am only a part-timer). Now I need to figure out what color to paint…do I keep my current office color of jadesheen or go for something different? I dunno. I need to find out if I get to buy a new desk, since the one in the office now is going with the children’s people and the color of the desk might weigh in on paint color needs. I’ll be sure to share pics once I am all moved this summer.

• Has anyone seen the previews for the new Fast & Furious? I loved the first one and the other two were okay, but Vin Diesel is what made it for me. Well, he is back in the fourth one and it will be set in original locatin too. I told Bryan he HAS to take me to see it at the Rave!

Work…a very important part of my life. I am blessed to be able to work at our church, so I am surrounded by people of faith every day.