Something's got to give

Hello, my name is Tracey B and I am lazy. I wish that I had a better confession, but it all boils down to being lazy. It doesn't help that my husband is lazy as well. We can sit at home all weekend long and do absolutely nothing, but watch Netflix instant play. It's sad, but we just love to be in each other's company. We're not big on crowds, so going to the fair, circus, or even Six Flags is our nightmare. Although, we have been to those places (except the circus) on occasion.

Something's got to give and something's got to change. Before our 2 week vacation in the Canadian Rockies and Glacier, we started exercising. Our exercise consisted of going up 220 steps and a service road (it's a pretty steep incline), and then walking a loop that's at the top of the service road. We would be out there for about 1-3 hours (given what day it was or what time of day it was). We were up to going up the hill 11 times before vacation. Unfortunately, I did not lose any weight doing this, but I wasn't very consistent with it. We were trying to build our stamina for the long hikes we were going to be up against and not really about weight. Even though my husband lost a few pounds, that nerd.

Last night, I decided that I need to start doing our exercise again, and stay on it. I have ALL this free time. I spend some of it cleaning house, and then the rest watching tv shows on Netflix Instant Play (right now, I'm watching Dawson's Creek.....silly, I know), and taking naps. So I set the alarm for 6am and once I was up, I made Jeff's lunch, grabbed some water, and headed out the door. Jeff seemed really proud of me for going this morning, even though I would only go for an hour, but that's better than sleeping in until 8am or later! The past few nights, I have had trouble sleeping, but hopefully once I start exercising, and stop taking naps during the day, I'll be able to sleep easier at night. And Jeff and I are early birds when it comes to sleeping, we go to bed about 9pm (last night was 8:30!), but we do sit in bed and read until we fall asleep. Unfortunately, I had writing this blog on my mind, among the excitement of starting to exercise.

Now, why can't I go do other exercises, like crunches and running? Well, I have a bulging disc in my lower back that prevents putting pressure on my back (so crunches are out) and pounding my legs really hard (running is out as well). I have lots of weight in my tummy, that if I could just get rid of that, my back would feel so much better, but since my stomach muscles are lacking, it's really hard to keep motivated and keep exercising, because one little twist or a hard step will send awful pain down my leg. Now, I will say I am lucky, it's not constantly hitting the sciatic nerve so I do not have leg pain or numbness 24/7. I do thank God for that one. I could be in much worse of shape.

Today, I only did 2 sets on the stairs (going up and then down= 1 set) and one set of the hill (going up and down= 1 set), then once around the big and little loop at the top. Not much, and it wasn't a whole hour, but it was around 53 minutes. I wore my tennis shoes today, and I thought they would be okay, but going down the stairs in them, make the arch in my left foot scream in pain. So starting tomorrow, I will wear my hiking boots, which are much more comfortable.

Okay, so what about my diet? I'm such a picky eater! I do not eat vegetables, but I can tolerate cucumbers, lettuce, shaved carrots, and celery with peanut butter (but as my twin informed me, if you eat too many, it will tear up your stomach). Jeff is a picky eater as well, he refuses all vegetables so it would be hard to make two separate meals for us. I just don't know what to do about that, BUT he only eats one meal with me during the week and then lunch and dinner with me on the weekends (Fri-Sun). Jeff doesn't eat breakfast, unless we go exercise, then he'll eat a little something. For breakfast, I eat frosted mini wheats with skim milk. For lunch, at the moment it's pizza rolls, but I think today I might try a fruit medley: two tangerines, grapes, strawberries, and an apple. I need to figure out how to make my stomach smaller without starving myself. I hate feeling hungry (as do most of us). More of what I don't like: seafood! Gross me out, so eating fish is out of the question. I know that's good for you when you're dieting. We will eat potatoes (but that's a starch so it doesn't really count) and then I will eat corn (once again, a starch).

I am at my wits' end and I don't know what else I can do. I am hoping that I will at least be consistent in my exercising, and that will raise my good cholesterol (it's always 31-39....which it's suppose to be 45..I think), which is another sign that tells me I'm LAZY. If I raised my good cholesterol, it would balance out my bad cholesterol, and I could possibly get off the cholesterol medicine I'm taking. That would be a nice goal. :).

My goal weight: 120-130

Wish me luck! Any advice would be much appreciated :)

2003- I was 98lbs during my teenage years

2005- I hated this picture when it was taken, because I thought I looked really fat....boy, I had no idea how wrong I was and how much worse it could get!

2008

2010

2012 (just w few weeks ago)

Okay, I hope I didn't say that I would be consistent with this blog. I'm just not good at writing and things have been pretty quiet. In two weeks I'll be getting ready to leave for FL, and will be staying there for 5 weeks! I'm very excited about it, but I will miss Jeff a lot. Luckily, we have google video and can chat on there. I didn't want to leave him for that long, but Shana, my youngest sister, is pregnant and is due April 5th. I wanted to have plenty of time with Shana beforehand and with Shana and Addison afterwards. Before all that can happen, though, Jeff is having a "nose job"....lol. He has a mole on his nose, which hasn't started really showing until 2007, well, the doctor was concerned by the color and rapid growth. Now, this thing is not huge or anything, but it does need to have a biopsy on it and taken out just in case it's anything serious. Well, while we were at the plastic surgeon, the doctor looked inside his nose and saw that it's really crooked. He was surprised to find out that Jeff doesn't have trouble breathing at all, but it could get worse as Jeff gets older....so we decided he should get that fixed as well. Luckily, Jeff's mom will be coming up on March 7th to stay with us and help out and then go back home March 14th (the day after I leave for FL!). I'm so glad she's coming up, because let's face it, men are awful at being patients.....Jeff is no exception and when he's in pain, he is very difficult to work with. Please keep us in your prayers and hopefully he'll have a quick recovery. The "nose job" should only take 30 minutes, but I'm not sure how long the mole removal will be.

So, what's been going on with me? I've been subsituting all over the Pattonville School district. It's been wonderful. I finished my permanent sub position Feb 2, and then just continued subbing all over for the past month. I do get to go back to that 4th grade classroom tomorrow for a full day and on Thursday for a half day. I am excited to see the students and staff again.

Okay, this has been on my mind for a long time now. I want a baby. I cannot convince my husband that we should have one. It is so hard, because I don't want to push him into something and him resent me for it. This is so tough, but I know I'm going to regret not having any children...and then I'll resent Jeff for that...see my problem? Luckily, we are traveling a lot....this June we will be going to the Canadian Rockies, and then next June we will be going to Australia. Amazing!! I'm so excited, but inbetween those times, I have baby fever. Also, I'm tired of being on birth control...although, I'm on Implanon (this may be TMI for some of you) and haven't had a period since October 2010....that's the nice part, but I'm tired of being on something. I told Jeff that once Implanon expires (October 2013), I'm done. I'm just done with birth control. He can figure something out. I've been on some type of birth control for 10 years now, and I'm done for now. I want my body to have a break. I'm sure by then, we could be ready to have a child or I may not even be able to get pregnant.....we'll see what happens. I'd rather try and not succeed, than to not try at all.

Well, that's it for now! I have an afternoon of subbing for so I need to clean the house a bit before I go to work.

      Okay, it's been awhile, but I really had nothing to write about. We still have to do the crown molding (which I believe we're waiting until my dad gets up here because he wants to learn how to do it) and put our new bedspread on our bed.

    So, on Tuesday, I was substituting in a 5th grade classroom for the same school I permanent subbed for last school year and the Principal walks in. I didn't hear him walk in and all I hear is,"Tracey!" I about jumped a mile...lol. Then he asks if I was interested in a long-term subbing for a 4th grade teacher that has been out. Of course I jump at the chance! I will be in the classroom until December 19th, only 3 weeks, but I will take those three weeks and give it 100%. I just love that school because the teachers are so welcoming and treat you like you belong. It's awesome. Then I have students who know how to say my last name the right way and some who just say,"Mrs. B" saying hi to me. It's such a great feeling. Oh and the kids in this classroom are so well-behaved. There are a few that I will have to watch out for, but I'll take it! Unfortunately, I won't be able to be in this morning because I'm getting my upper braces off!! Yay!

    Well, I hope everyone has a great 1st of December! I celebrated by giving Jeff an advent calendar so he can open each one every day until Christmas. When he saw it this morning, he didn't even know what it was! Since we don't have kids, I'll have to just make do....I know my mom bought us elf in the shelf for our potential future child so maybe I should just hide it around the house for Jeff to find...haha!

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I'm not sure if that button up there will work, but here it goes. What's been going on here? Well, we finished everything in our house EXCEPT for the crown molding. I'm not sure if we'll ever get to that. I did have my best friend (for 20 years!) come visit with her husband and barely a year old son. They were so much fun! I hated to see them go. We went to the Butterfly House, Lone Elk Park, visited Main Street St. Charles, went to the Zoo, and then finally Grants Farm. What is really neat about them, is that they are vegetarians....which is the total opposite of what Jeff and I are (we can't stand veggies!). They do eat more than just veggies, but it's just funny and different. I am just awed by their lifestyle change since they did not grow up as vegetarians. I need a lifestyle change....maybe I'll start exercising. I know Jeff would be happy about that. Anyways, it was an awesome visit. I'm excited to do some subbing this week (only two days so far, but hopefully more will pop up). As much as I would LOVE my own classroom, I do love having the day already planned and ready to go. I just need to worry about time and classroom management. Which can be difficult, but I love the challenge of it. :)

so exciting!

Tomorrow, is the start of our hardwood flooring to be refinished! Yay! They'll be here around 9-9:15am (depending on traffic). We have moved into the basement until it's finished. It's almost like we're in a 5 room house....we have the basement, extra room in the basement, laundry room in the basement, our kitchen, and sunroom. Very, very cramped. I would love for Jeff to take pictures of our cramped quarters, but he can't stand the clutter. I'll try and talk him into it. I guess I can update on the shows we've been watching. We're on Season 4 of Madmen...such a good show! I highly recommend Sons of Anarchy, we're hoping Netflix will put Season 3 up soon. Season 4 on FX will start next month. The League is hilarious. We've started The Good Guys, it's so cheesy and funny. I do not recommend watching Kenny Vs. Spenny...awful, awful show (only watched the 1st episode) Oh and I have the best news!

One of my best friends, I've known her since 2nd grade, is coming to visit us with her husband and baby!! I am so excited. I just hope we finish our renovations and have everything complete before they get here. Or at least this gives us an incentive to get everything finished.

Oh and a little tip; do not put a clothespin on your cat's tail, she will go crazy! I promise we do not abuse our cats! Jeff just didn't know what kind of reaction she was going to have. Poor Miss Cleo. She seems to have gotten over it, though.

90 minutes of Heaven

Oh my gosh. That massage was amazing. I'm a little sore today, but it didn't help that we had to sleep in the theater chairs, in the basement, since our power was off from 7:50pm-3:40am. The massage therapist kept telling me that I was so tense and a hot mess. She couldn't get all the kinks out so she told me to come back in a few weeks. I'm not so sure that Jeff will be on board, but I will try :). Afterwards, I felt so relaxed, I've never felt that way before. The lady also gave me $10 off for my next session that I have to use by the 31st. My bulging disc doesn't seem to be in too much pain, but then again, pretty much all my muscles are sore and I just woke up. So, now I'm watching Twilight since I just finished reading it. Yes, I'm a twilight fan :). This movie is awful, but it doesn't feel right not watching it after reading the book. I'll do the same with the Harry Potter series after this.

No more painting walls

Our bedrooms are finished! Well, the painting part, that is, which was the biggest project we have that we're doing ourselves. We still need to put the blinds back up in each bedroom, the outlet covers need to go back on, and the vents as well. Last Monday, I could barely paint because my back was hurting me. I have not had this constant pain (at this magnitude) in a long time. It's so bad that I am going to a doctor on the 12th at 10am. I am counting down the hours and days. I also talked Jeff into letting me go get a massage. A real massage. I've never had that done before and I am excited. It's going to be at 10am tomorrow and I just can't wait! 90 minutes of pure relaxation coming up :).