I SHOULD KNOW BETTER

My husband and I are in the same line of work...working for the same company even. We are both in management....although he is working towards higher management, and I have made it clear that I'm not interested in moving up any farther than I am now. I've had the opportunity presented to me, but it just doesn't interest me. Frankly, my entire line of work doesn't interest me.

As you can imagine, working in the same field AND for the same company has it's good and bad sides. The good side is that we understand what the other is dealing with on a daily basis, and can easily commiserate when things go haywire. The bad side? Pretty much the same thing. Where am I going with this?

It is nearly impossible to make any solid family plans due to these jobs...my husband's in particular. His schedule is different every single week, and by different I'm talking drastically different. One day he'll work at 5am, the next day he'll have to be there at 3pm, and the day after that maybe 10am. Yes, he's the one writing the schedule, but he has to be there when he is needed. As you can imagine, this is exhausting...for him in particular. He's on call all hours of the day and night. His sleep patterns are a mess, and it's frustrating for me to have all the last-minute scheduling changes.

For example: This past week was Spring Break, which I had been planning to take off so I could spend some time with the little folks. Alas, this was not in the cards, due to work being very busy due to Easter, and less than sufficient scheduling for it. Throw in the fact that I have inventory Monday, and my fate was sealed. I guess I could have just taken it off anyway and thrown dear Amanda to the wolves, but I'm a kinder boss than that, and apparently I have this desperate need to control things.  My husband was originally off tomorrow (Easter Sunday), and while I really wanted to have that day off together to celebrate Easter with our children, I knew I needed to spend a few hours at work to finish up inventory stuff. So, I planned to go into work early before church. That plan was all set out and then he had to completely turn his schedule upside to accomodate for some issues going on at work. Now, he is working at 5am on Easter, and the rest of the week is mixed up as well. Sigh. See my dilemma? Now, the little Suttons and I will be going to church tomorrow morning without him, and then the darlings will be coming to work with me. Sounds fun, dontcha think? Actually they will enjoy it and I will put them to work and make them earn their keep. HA!

I'm going to do my darndest to salvage the rest of the day for my family. Holidays will always be a struggle for us because it's a busy time in our line of work. I SHOULD KNOW BETTER than to try and make any plans at all with my husband's crazy schedules. My boss reminded me of that yesterday. While my job isn't quite as complicated schedule-wise, there are only two of us to do it all, and cover every day. We do what we can with what we're given. We bitch about it alot....but I think we're also glad to at least be in it together....we're a good match that way. I'm mean to her and she throws me attitude right back. I share my peanut butter and she brings good magazines. We meet for martinis and really let it all fly. You get it, right?

My goal for the coming months is to hammer out solid family time every week...especially for my kids' sakes. They are so used to being with one parent at a time...on the days when we are all together those little eyes light up like its Christmas. That breaks my heart every time. They deserve both of us together, more often. Right now, there isn't much we can realistically change...but we hope that my husband will get a promotion soon (company movement is pretty much stagnant right now, who wants to retire in this economy?), and that will at least offer him a more consistent schedule on a regular basis. Of course, we are both so thankful to have jobs that can afford us a safe home, transportation, food, insurance and retirement. We know we are lucky. We just want a little more time together to enjoy it all!

A BIT OF BABBLE

This past Friday night I met up with some girlfriends after work for our friday night knitting club. Its great fun. We meet at a coffee shop, visit, knit, and beg Amanda to fix all our mistakes. It's awesome. We even have a new member who just happened to be walking by one day, stopped to chat about our knitting, and has now joined us!

In other news, I am preparing for my inventory "re-do", after a disastrous screw up a few weeks ago (not on my part), caused us to start over at square one. Irritating.

My weight loss journey continues to go well! 36 pounds so far! I've been a bit frustrated with how slow it seems to go for me, and I think part of that is due to a medication my Doctor put me on a few months ago. The number one side effect is weight gain. Oh goody! On a positive note, I guesss its great that I'm losing at all! I may quit taking it, as its not a "necessary" prescription, just something I've been trying out. We'll see about all that.

Our final weigh-in at work for our "biggest loser" competition is on Feb. 4. I'm in the top 3! Wish me luck, I've got some serious competition! I've had several people tell me that they've been inspired by what I've been doing, thats such a wonderful compliment. Hearing that really inspires ME as well! Thanks to you all!

A bit of great news is that I feel fantastic!! After 3 months of a vegetarian diet, minimal sugar, very little processed foods, nearly a gallon of water a day, and hard excercise, I have never felt better. I finally feel like I got over that hurdle that was always holding me back from becoming who I want to be. I have wasted alot of time being overweight, and I will never go back to that lifestyle. The good thing is, my new lifestyle makes me so happy! I crave nutritious foods, and love researching health and nutrition so I can continue on this lifelong journey. Most importantly, its teaching my children good habits so they don't have the same struggles as I have. I love seeing them grab an apple, carrots, or a glass of almond milk out of the fridge for a snack. I've found that kids will generally eat whatever you put in the house. They'll eat the chips, cookies and other garbage if its there, but if you put low calorie goodies, fruits and veggies, they are just as likely to grab those. There are so many great low-calorie snacks on the market these days. Read your labels!!

On that note, I found a few new products that our whole family liked!

These are YUMMY!! Morningstar does put alot of extra stuff in their products, but I do really like this one, as did Paco and the kids. No one noticed a difference. They are 4 weight watcher points per serving, and a good source of fiber, which is key to weight loss. Tonight we are having a chef salad and Im going to cook these up and toss them in. Sounds sooo good! My original plan was just to try the vegetarian lifestyle for 3 months, but honestly, I don't think I could ever go back to my old ways. I feel too good! Oh, this stuff is TOO good. Again, fiber rich (6g!), and, for my weight watcher friends, only 3 points per serving. I mix a little flaxseed and almond milk in it for even more flavor and nutrition. The kids gobbled this up this morning!

Not much to report...I'm on a day 10 work stretch so that's been keeping me busy. Thank goodness, because I have nothing else to do. HA. Good thing I've got work to fill all that empty free time.

Hope everyone is well. More later!

COCKTAILS, ANYONE?

Oh, how I could go for a cocktail right about now. I had the workday from you. know. where. In fact, it was such a fantastic day that I am going back tomorrow morning at 3am. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming. Who knew that my life would be so glamorous. If only I could spend every day at work accomplishing the impossible, completing work on an unrealistic labor budget, bringing my work home, and of course doing it all with a smile on my face because, of course, I can indeed work miracles and am more than happy to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Back to that cocktail. Given that we are heading out to the door in a short bit to Gracie's daisy scout meeting, it would seem apparent that alcohol would be a poor choice right now. You know. 'Cause I'm driving and all. Instead I will have to settle for a hot cup of hazelnut coffee served with a side of bitter and angry.

It just doesn't taste the same.