The Kitchen is Closed

I always have trouble staying out of the kitchen at night. I have a tendency to raid the cabinets for snacks, but I'm trying to cut that out. I allow myself to have tea, pouring it out of my lovely blue teapot into nice cups, providing a treat that isn't calorie-laden. It's still hard, though.

I have an added incentive tonight, since I need to see my doctor tomorrow for some blood work that requires that I don't eat anything after 9pm tonight until I get my blood taken at about 9:30am tomorrow. I know that I've been better about the types of food I've been eating, and I know that I feel better, but I don't know what to expect from the tests. Last time, my blood glucose level (after fasting) was too high. The last thing I need as an unemployed person is a condition that requires regular meds, even with medical coverage that will continue for 12 months whether I get another job or not.

I weigh in tomorrow morning, too. I don't have high hopes for the result, though. I was good with regard to food, but terrible with exercise. It's been so cold, that I was left to my own devices indoors, and I was just not good about doing anything. Well, we'll see what happens.

The rest of the day tomorrow will be getting my tax info together, picking up veggies for dinner, and finishing laundry -- the never-ending chore. I'm looking forward to it, strangely enough. It always seems that working makes everything else take a back seat, and I'm getting to things (slowly but surely) that I've been putting off for a long time. I must be doing better if I'm seeing a silver lining even in the prospect of doing chores around the house.

Next week, my DH and I are going to splurge and go to hear Kenny Rankin at Jazz Alley. If my blood work comes out okay, I'm going to treat myself to a Guinness, too. Everyone needs a little extra treat now and again. For now, I just have to keep reminding myself that the kitchen is closed.

The week begins on Tuesday

Just couldn't make the week start yesterday. Just couldn't do it. I spent the day reading on the couch with a blanket and a very warm cat on my legs. On the bright side, it was a low-calorie day, since I didn't do anything. On the downside, I didn't do anything of value toward getting out of the funk and onto the job search or at least job preparedness.

Even Mother Nature seemed a little out of sorts. The cold and sunny morning turned into a snow storm (didn't stick) and then into a cold and cloudy evening. Just to make matters a little stranger, a tree fell and took out power for ~4000 people, of whom I was one. Just as I was going to hop in the car and head to over to Kirkland to see my DH, my car wouldn't start. I need a new battery - I know that - but I thought I could wait a bit for it. I don't know what I did to drain the battery so badly, but it's gone, gone, gone.

So, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?

Today is a new day, and I am still on track with my eating plan. I can't control my job (or lack thereof) situation, but at least I can control my eating. I just need to up the exercise a bit. 2 pounds per week doesn't sound like a lot, and it's not, but now that I'm into the program and am only 4+ pounds away from my next milestone, it feels pretty good. We had dinner at friends' the other night, and the main course was chicken-fried steak. I'm sure it was good, but I just brought my own dinner -- two large ravioli over a bed of spinach -- and shared the green beans that they had prepared and a large salad. I didn't miss the entree (and the rich sauce). Staying on track is more satisfying now than eating anything I please. It's an interesting change of attitude, and I hope contributes to some needed self-confidence when I get out there interviewing.

BTW, I added a weight-loss gadget at the bottom of the page that shows my progress. I only weigh myself once per week, so it will just creep along as I get closer to my goal. I'm anticipating the losses being smaller as the weeks go by, since I'm halfway to my goal now, but I'll update the ticker every Friday, even if I don't add a post that day.

Friday morning I have an appointment with my doctor. It will be interesting to see how (and if) my diet has changed my glucose levels (if at all) and what my doctor has in her bag of tricks for menopause symptoms. I'm finding that I'm generally happier (with some down times, obviously) so I'm thinking that the chances are good that my blood work will be less problematic than it was when I was last in her office. She did say that one of the options for dealing with night sweats and hot flashes was an anti-depressant. If we go that route, it couldn't come at a better time with job searching on the horizon. Having a little happy-pill backup sounds good to me right about now.

A Journey of 1000 miles

begins with a single step.

I started the week by submitting my resume to Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG). They are in the same building as my current job, and I ran into someone I know who works there last year. We hooked up on LinkedIn, and I checked with him about submitting my resume, since I know some companies give employees kick-backs if they hire someone who was referred in (as opposed to paying recruiters, I suppose). Anyway, I just submitted it, so I don't know how long it will take to hear whether I passed the first hurdle.

I also took a look at our company's website to see if there are any open jobs. The only ones I could find for which I was somewhat qualified are really a better fit for a friend who's currently working in LA, but wants to move back up here. It wouldn't get him all the way to Seattle, since the jobs are in Yakima, but it would be a shorter (and cheaper) commute to Snohomish, where his family is already living in anticipation of his finding work up this way. I hope one of those jobs works for him. Didn't propel my search any, but I'd feel more than satisfied if it helped someone I care about to find something good.

I have a seminar downtown on Wednesday morning, and a meeting with an outplacement company on Friday. So, I'm not being my regular lazy self this time. That's an interesting change. I still have not taken Lester down to see what I can come up with for volunteering, but that will come in time.

Meanwhile, I'm just about finished my current Nero Wolfe mystery, and there's a new one waiting at the library for me. Also, today was a good calorie day, I had a fast walk from the pet store (wet food for Shaynala was on the list) after work, and the kitchen is officially closed until morning. I will treat myself to a cup of tea, but nothing more to eat. If it gets too hard, I'll just head up to bed and call it a night. Being on a diet is a lot like living like a cat - short periods of wakefulness and frequent naps. Whatever it takes.