A Season of Change

Yeah, so I'm clearly not the best at staying up-to-date on this whole blog thing. Well, I have some good reasons for that.



Smash is now in full-time day care. That is because I am now enrolled in two different schools--still in grad school, but now I'm also doing a teacher certification program. The reason I have to be nuts and do both schools at once is because unemployment is paying for a big chunk of my certification program. Because I want unemployment to pay, they lit a fire under my ass and made me enroll as soon as possible. I had to enroll in one of their approved schools, and the nearest school with the program I want/need is 40 minutes away, and I am in class 2 nights a week for 3.5 hours each. Ick. So, back to Smash. He is in full-time day care now because I need the time to do homework for both of my programs during the day. In the evenings, I am either in class or have students. Weekends are sort of unrealistic, because it's summer and we want to get out and enjoy the weather, go out with friends, etc. Thank goodness he has adjusted well to day care. He is the youngest one there, at only 16 months, but he's already eating independently with a spoon and in the process of potty training. Bless his teachers.

I have also begun an intensive weight loss program. It started at the beginning of May, right when we returned home from a week in Florida with the in-laws. During our trip, we went to a safari place so Smash could see the animals, and the park had a water play area. I got in my swimsuit and chased Smash through the sprinklers while DH took pictures. Once I saw those pictures and got a good look at my huge butt and thighs in my swimsuit...that was it. I haven't looked back since.

When we got home, I started cutting my calories and carbs and bought a Groupon for a 4-week boot camp. Once the 4 weeks were up, I found another Groupon for another 4-week boot camp, at a different gym much closer to home (and not so early in the morning!). I liked that new boot camp so much, I stayed another 4 weeks and paid full price because I was seeing such good results. During that next month, I also bought another Groupon for a 20-class fitness pass at all the Lifestart gyms in the Chicagoland area. This allowed me to double up my workouts every day, and I was doing just that.

This brings us up to about 2 weeks ago, when I had to make the decision whether or not to renew my expensive membership there for another month. I'd already lost 15 lbs so far, but I'd really plateaued, despite my best efforts--I was up to 2 intense workouts a day and dropped my calorie limit to 1500/day--but I was exactly the same weight for the past month. I made the decision to not renew for another month. Instead, I did some research and ended up signing up at Fitness 19, a gym chain that has a location near my house and has a really cheap monthly rate. Granted, the place is small and it's limited to basic machines, weights, and balls, but that's all I need. After 3 months of grueling boot camp workouts, I know what works for my body and where I will feel it. I'm now going to Fitness 19 several times a week, doing cardio on the elliptical and then strength training with weights and machines. I'm also still trying to use up my 20-class pass. I have about 8 classes left.

Also, I modified my diet quite a bit. When I complained that I'd plateaued, someone told me that it may be because my body is sensitive to gluten products. So, I gave it a try. I cut out all gluten from my diet for a week and watched what happened. The results were ridiculous--I lost another couple of pounds, the acne on my face cleared up, the rest of my skin started to glow, my digestive system was suddenly rigidly regular, milk didn't make my stomach hurt anymore, and I was overall in a better mood. Umm...I have decided to stick with that. For 2 weeks now, I haven't eaten any gluten and that decision has done nothing but good things for me. In those 2 weeks, I have lost another 5 lbs, bringing my total weight loss since the beginning of May to 20 lbs. I'm on my way! My plateau is over thanks to the gluten-free lifestyle and I am on my way to losing the other 20 lbs to my goal weight.

So...I have had a lot going on. Getting an education and getting fit are both self-improvement, so I'm happy these days.

Moving on...

I always talk about what I'm reading and/or watching, so let me fill you in. Yes, even with my hectic schedule, I have found some time to do some reading and TV show watching. I just finished the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, which consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. I knew going into it that these books were considered controversial because of their stance on religion, but I was curious. And I see now exactly why they were controversial--Pullman is an atheist, but the ways things happened in this series was very different from anything I'd imagined. It is an incredible tale of friendship and loyalty, right and wrong, good and evil, and is full of amazing characters. I highly recommend it.

I started reading another series called Blue Bloods. I found a box set of the first 3 books at TJ Maxx for $10, so I shrugged and decided to give it a chance. Well, wasn't I unpleasantly surprised? The entire premise is about a group of super rich and elite Manhattanite teenagers who also happen to be discovering that they're turning into vampires, because it is their legacy. The books are complete crap; I got about a third of the way through the second one and gave up. The story just doesn't get any better. You're probably better off skipping this series...

I started watching White Collar, and love the show now. I caught up with the first two seasons before my certification class began, and am now following season 3 as it's airing. I LOVE MATT BOMER. WOW.

Also, DH and I started watching Prison Break, at our good friends' insistence. They were right--the show is fantastic! It's intelligent, suspenseful, action-packed, and the characters are wonderful in their richness. We're halfway through season 2 now, so we need to get a move on and finish all 4!