Payoff

I've been trying (some days less than others) to lose weight for 10 months. Today I decided it was time to replace some pieces of my wardrobe, even though I had decided not to buy anything new until I was where I wanted to be, but my work pants are trashed! I went to Shopko and grabbed pants a size smaller than the last ones I bought and headed for the fitting room. I put on the first pair of pants and they fit okay, but alas no pockets. I need pockets. I tried on the next pair and they were saggy. The next pair also too big. I went back out and grabbed both styles in the next smaller size and went back to the dressing room. Both fit rather well, with room to spare, which is what I want a little of in work pants because I have to tuck my shirt in and don't want to feel like I have to suck it in for ten hours at work. I was really happy! I haven't fit in that size in 6 years! If that's not a motivator to keep eating right, I don't know what is! Maybe by Christmas I can drop one more size! Here's to healthy eating!!

Early Monday Morning

Today was one of those days that you get into and then realize perhaps staying in bed would have been a better choice. Last night I was following the news about the Herriman fire, and so didn't get to bed entirely early. It wasn't really late, but I woke up at 7:30 a little groggy. I read the latest news that ksl.com had about the fire, and then got ready for work. I pulled into the parking lot just as the governor was saying a few words so I sat in the car for a few minutes and then decided it was time to get to it. My opening cook wasn't there yet, which is really strange for him, he usually beats me by 5 or more minutes and I ended up having to call and wake him up. I walked in and glanced at one of my cash registers and it had squiggly lines on it, and was blinking like a strobe light. This is not the first time I'd seen it do that, but I had the guy out on Friday to fix it and was charged $200 for it. I went immediately to the phone and called him back. He told me he'd be there around 10:30. Next I went to my office computer. It has been having some problems, but as long as it doesn't get turned off, it's been okay. Over Sunday, it must have gotten some new updates and restarted itself to install them, and wouldn't go back on. I called my boss to let him know, then called the IT guy to come. He told me he'd build me a new tower, and bring it by tomorrow. That's all well and good... for tomorrow. What about today?? I tried throughout the day to get it to start, but no go. Without the computer, one must do all the paperwork by hand. Now luckily, I've worked for Arctic Circle long enough, so I remember how to do things the precomputer way; however my assistant manager and supervisor have no clue, so not only do I get to do day books by hand, but also night books. That means going back in at 10 and spending an hour doing it the hard way. Needless to say, I'm really not appreciating the wonderful technological advances of the 21st century. If only they would work!! It's amazing what I take for granted at my job. Hopefully tomorrow will bring less excitement!

Early Sunday Morning

So I don't know much about the inner alarm clock or whatever, but everyday I have to be to work by eight, and I'm usually stumbling out of bed at 7:40, racing to the bathroom, putting in contacts and praying while I pee (yeah seriously), pulling my hair into a ponytail, dressing quickly (usually forgetting something important like deodorant), and running out the door with 20 seconds to spare. Yup, I can be ready for work in 7 minutes...and I look like, well never mind. The last two Sundays? Awake at 6 or shortly thereafter. And not like, oh it's 6 something, roll over and go back to sleep. No, like oh it's 6. I'm done sleeping. And so I get up and curl my hair and apply makeup and think about how much better I'd look for work if I got up and put my face on. So here we are, 8:04 am and I've been reading blogs for the past 45 minutes and all I have to do is put a dress on. Now please explain to me why I can't be done sleeping at 6 on Monday morning and have a nice leisurely morning before I have to go open my store? It's the mystery of the week. I've tried all the tricks. I put my alarm clock across the room so I have to get up to turn it off, no go... I push snooze and take it back to bed. I've tried going to bed earlier, later, whatever. For some reason, I can only wake up at a decent time on Sunday morning. Maybe it's because subconsciously I know it's my only day off, so I want to be awake for it. But then again, last Sunday I woke up at 6:18 and by 5:30 I was napping on the couch and then wasn't tired at bedtime. It's a pretty conundrum. Maybe someday I'll figure it out. In the meantime, morning is quite a nice time of day. Maybe I'll try to see it tomorrow before the mad dash to work!

Christmas Music in September?

I just opened my email to an email from a local radio station proclaiming 100 days until Christmas. They were having a Christmas kick off- playing Christmas music from 8 to 5 today and giving away a great Christmas prize. I was really afraid this was the kick off and they'd be playing 100 days of Christmas music, but luckily for me, not so much. Now let's get something straight. I love Christmas music. A few years ago, I was that girl that started playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. Sometimes I listen to The Forgotten Carols in July. Then the radio stations started the radio wars, you know- be the first station to play nothing but Christmas music, and it starts a little earlier each year. I like Christmas music. Play it in November--maybe mix it in every fifth song or so. I just don't like turning on the radio in November and hearing the same songs over and over for eight weeks until I've completely lost the spirit of the holiday and threaten to throw the radio if they play Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer one more time! So for what it's worth, here's my two cents... Please hold the Christmas music for a few more weeks! There are a lot of other holidays between now and then!

Connection is the Key to Courage

Today I dragged my tired worn out work body home quickly, jumped in the shower for some rejuvenation, and headed out in my Sunday best for a Stake Youth fireside. It was a veg on the couch kind of day, but I'm so glad I didn't give in to that feeling. The speaker was Doug Nelson (not sure if the spelling is right), but he's a public speaker/psycotherapist and was amazing! I told one of the counselors in the Young Women's presidency that I love youth speakers, they are way more entertaining than adult speakers! He took our Courage in Action theme from Youth Conference a few months ago and expounded on it. He talked about how we all need a little fear in order for us to exercise Courage. He then said the key to courage is connection. We all need to be connected with our Heavenly Father so that He can help us to "Be Strong and of a Good Courage." He related several scripture stories. He talked about how in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve had partaken of the fruit, God came looking for them. He asked us to think about how often in our lives is God looking for us, and we're not paying attention, or we're hiding from him. He talked about the Prodigal Son and how the Father saw him coming from afar off. The Father had to be watching and waiting for the return. Our Father watches us and looks for us and if we live connected to Him we can have courage in the hard times. He also talked about how important it is to remember whose we are. If we truly know that we are children of God we will have the courage to face what the adversary throws at us. He talked about how fear is holding us back from accomplishing the mission we came here to do. We all have a mission in life, and if we don't fulfill our mission, we are selfish. We need to overcome fear with courage and defeat Satan in all of his power. It was such an amazing fireside. I really hope the youth got as much out of it as I did. It really is rejuvenating to have a spiritual experience after a hectic day, and for that I am grateful.

September???

Is it just me or did September come really fast this year? I swear time goes twice as fast every year I get older. I was thinking last night about my goals at the beginning of the year, to eat better and get in shape and I can't believe that it was nine whole months ago that I decided to do that and that it's been five months since I did it well. Good thing there is forgiveness, because I've decided to forgive myself and start again. I still can't believe that it's the beginning of fall and cooler temperatures and almost time to get out the harvest decorations. It's sad when I look back and feel like I've lost chunks of my life because time passes too fleetingly. It's good though, when I look back over my blog, and feel that I've done a pretty good job of documenting at least the highlights, and it's not completely hopeless. Well here's to another September. Maybe we can hold December off for a few years huh??