puppy chester says hello!

After a quite successful fight with the sprinklers, Chester takes a break.

PS we decided to name the puppy Chester. Just in case you hadn't figured that out yet.



Why do the sprinklers hate me?

More later, when I feel like writing instead of playing with this little bundle of love.

oh hai there, is this where i board the strugglebus?

Major life changes are, well, major. (Wow, that was profound). 

I don't know how you deal with them, but it takes me a little while to adjust. Something inevitably suffers,whether it be sleep, social life, eating habits, it's always something. 

This week, I started a new job *throws confetti*. I'm superly grateful for the last few years at the restaurant, but it was time for change. Well, this is definitely different. Not only do I sit in an office all day, but the hours are different. Who knew normal business hours were Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm? I was definitely under the impression that they were Sunday through Saturday, 10am to 10pm. You learn something new every day. At the moment, I'm in the process of transitioning from one job to the other. I'm mostly at the new place, but still at the restaurant for a day here and there helping out, to get through the bulk of the manager vacations. The plus side? More money for Europe (did I mention I'm going to Europe?). The downside? Remember all those factors that inevitably suffer when you go through a major life change? Yeah. 

Coffee is my best friend right now. I turned off my alarm this morning accidentally instead of snoozing, which has only happened like, 3 times. Ever. Thank you, LivingSocial deal, for arriving in my inbox at 8:15 this morning and waking me up with the vibration of my phone. I'm lucky I'm a light sleeper. Sleep is definitely bearing the brunt of this, which makes me sad. I think my last day off was like 10 days ago, and I'm pretty sure my next one is in 10 more. If you see me and I look like a zombie, it's probably because I am. But not a real zombie. So please don't shoot me or put a stake through my heart (though a steak would be nice) or anything. I promise, I'll be back to normal in a few days. If there were a test to prove I'm not a real zombie, I would totally take it. 

The good news? I have my newly-painted highlighter pink nails to keep me company. Oh yeah. Also, my family's getting a puppy (!!!!!!!!!!!! x infinity) in 6 days. Stay tuned for a bajillion cute overload pictures to keep you company since, ya know, you (probably) don't have awesome highlighter pink nails. Sorry, not everyone can be as cool as me.

In terms of eating habits, this has actually been a really great change for me. I got way too excited about being able to pack a lunch the night before I started. Like, really excited. It's the little things, right? Anyway, it makes life a lot easier when I'm not around the delicious aroma of pizza and garlic bread all day. I may love the food, but it certainly does not love me back. Or maybe it does, and that's why it sticks around for so long on my midsection. I guess this is an unhealthy relationship either way. I want a divorce.

And now, I'll leave you with some puppy love...

One of these little guys will be joining our household. Don't you just want to squeeeeeee for a week?

it takes 21 days to form a habit.

Sidenote: it's really hard to concentrate on anything (read: blogging) while watching the Food Network. Like, super difficult.

Where was I? 

Oh right. I haven't started yet. Curse you, Bobby Flay! You just had to be making fish and chips while I'm trying to write (Not really, though. Boy Meets Grill is a staple of my morning routine).

One of the great things about the WW message boards is that there are always support groups and challenges popping up. I had seen the OP to Overcome challenge floating around, but never thought anything of it. (Correction: I thought it was awesome for those involved, but didn't think it had any benefit for me. I'm perfect, remember?). One of the hardest parts of my WLJ has been planning ahead. I love planning and list-making, but follow-through tends to be a rough spot (I blame the Food Network). Tracking is no different. It never seemed to matter that when I did plan ahead with my meals, I saw better results. I'd get overly confident and think Oh I've got this. The planning would stop, and tracking all together would slowly come to a halt. So would the weight loss. Damn, I guess I don't. Typically at this point I will just wallow in self-pity and french fries for a few weeks, and then attempt to make a comeback. 

This time has to be different. It has to. I need to make a serious change while I'm still young and yadda yadda yadda. For serious, though. I can't keep using the excuse that I work at a restaurant to keep me from planning ahead. It's not that hard, guys. We have healthy items on the menu, and if I feel so inclined I can just waltz back into the kitchen and cook something up myself. On my days off? No excuses. Planning should be a joke. Crucial to success will be getting into a strong enough habit of planning that when I decide to be social (yes, I have friends), I won't be completely derailed.

The point of this? Yesterday I joined the OP challenge. There are no end dates, no official start dates, just a bunch of people with a common goal of creating good habits. I decided to make my first goal planning each day ahead of time. Yesterday went swimmingly, and today I'm one meal into my planned day. Since I started in the middle of my week, I'll wait until next week to post some official results. But so far, I'm liking it! When I plan ahead I don't tend to use all of my points, which is perfect for work days because I have a little leeway. I can pick at a couple french fries or take a piece of the brownie ends that the cooks (whom I love so much) set out when they cut the tray of brownies (heaven, I tell you). As long as I still track those, I'm good to go.

Happy tracking!