Escape

At first I thought that maybe something was wrong with the debit machine at the store, but when it didn't work a second time I knew that something was amiss.  A call to the bank confirmed that my card, or it's number, was stolen and Visa (thank you, Visa) shut the card down and did not allow any further charges.  The woman at the bank asked me if I had recently been in the Dallas area.  When I told her I had not, she said that the location must have tipped them off.  I was curious, so I asked about the places they tried to use the card.  It was nothing exciting.  A few food places in the mall and Wal-Mart were all they could muster.  Didn't they want to have more fun?  Didn't they try to buy a fancy dress or treat everyone to a round of drinks?  Wal-Mart was the best they could do?  Even though I was very, very glad that no money was actually spent by these criminals, the fact that such a mundane mix of stores called for an alert depressed me.  I am so boring and so sedentary that I really only ever go to two places: HEB (groceries) and Target.  That's it.  Other than the occasional clothes purchase, my monthly cell phone bill, and the daycare check, my bank account would put you to sleep.

At work and amongst my friends I hear talk of summer vacations.  Everyone has a great plan, whether it's the beach or Disney or a cabin somewhere.  I am not ashamed to admit that I am jealous.  I was jealous when, as a child, we only took one trip per summer in the car to Iowa.  We would visit my dad's family, look at the farm, swim in the lake, and go home.  I swore that when I had my own family I would take trips and drive to the beach and have lots of fun in the summers.  We are only going one place this summer.  You guessed it - Iowa.  We are going on a plane, though, so at least there won't be a long drive to endure. 

I want to be the trip people.  I want my facebook status to say "We decided to take a last minute trip to the beach!  What a great weekend!"  We aren't those people.  We are stay-at-home-and-do housework people.  We are take care-of-the-yard-and-blow-up-the-inflatable-pool type people.  Just once, though, I would love to have the time and financial freedom to take a short, last minute cruise or drive to the Hill Country to see what we can see.  I don't want to leave my life or my family, I just think we need a little escape.  Of course, maybe I should just stay put.  They might shut my card down again if I leave the area.  I guess I better go warn the bank about the Iowa trip.

April Update - Stalled

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April was an ok month, but by the end I just sort of felt like I wasn't really getting anywhere.  From a weight loss perspective, I didn't lose at all.  I am trying really hard to get back into my eating routine, which is not where I am now.  I did continue the running and it is going pretty well.  I haven't run in a week because of a nasty cold, but I will simply repeat the last week and go from there.  That is one of the nicest features of the Couch to 5K.  It allows life to happen while you're training!

We have made a committment to work really hard on unpacking boxes and sorting throughout junk.  I took several bags of clothes to the Goodwill and mailed a lot of baby and maternity clothes to people I know who can use them.  We still have a long way to go, though, and I have to try very hard not to get overwhelmed by that.  Family time has been going well.  We went to the zoo last weekend and L hugged a "dolphin".

                                                          

A good time was had by all.

I am hopeful about this month, mainly because BOTH kids are sleeping through the night.  That's right.  It is a day that I never thought would come, but miracles do happen.  Actually, getting E to sleep through the night was easy.  There were a few cry-it-out sessions, but after two nights, she was fine.  L has finally adjusted to his new bed and room. He does have bad dreams, sometimes, but he's not up two or three times a night like he used to be.  It is amazing how the knowledge that you will get to sleep without interruption improves your outlook and ability to handle just about everything.  I didn't list it as a goal, but I'm writing about it because I think it qualifies a a major accomplishment!!

Ok, the goals for May:

1) Get back to clean eating. I want to recommit to my points plan and identify the things that cause me to make bad eating choices.

2) Keep running!

3)Keep unpacking.  If we can stay focused on the weekend I think we will be set in no time!

4) Scrutinize expenses.  We recently got a terminal diagnosis for our current kid friendly car.  It needs more repairs than it's worth, so we're looking for a low-mileage used vehicle.  We're looking at a Toyota Sienna or a Honda CRV.  We are lucky enough to have money saved for just such an occurrence, but it's still a major money hemorrhage, so I need to examine our expenses this month.  I'm mainly going to concentrate on the grocery bill, since we really don't go out.  I still think we waste too much food and I know that there are things in the pantry that we need to eat.  I was an avid meal planner, but got away from it, so it's time to get back on track. 

What are your goals this month?