Some improvement....

Summer is coming to an end - and I am almost relieved to get back into a routine. I am one of those people that need structure. Being a housewife/stay at home mom was never high on my list, and while being a teacher allows me the best of both worlds(read:home when my kids are home) the end of summer always confirms my chosen path in this life. We have had numerous beach trips, day trips to Sea World, the zoo, lots of movies and camping on the Sabinal river...I am ready to not "plan" my children's entertainment and get back on track. I eat better and generally feel better (the last 2 weeks of summer vacation are much like the last 2 weeks of pregnancy - you are just ready to get it over with!) with said structure and routine. I feel like all I did yesterday was yell at my girls. Not fun for me and I am sure not fun for them. Tonight, I am taking my eldest (9 years old) to go fishing on a pier late at night and crash in a dive motel. She is sooo excited for our grand adventure - and I am looking forward to indulging in my favorite, yet hardly ever indulged in pastime, FISHING! She loves it as much as me - and I am trying really hard to get one on one activities in with all 3 girls. My 7 year old goes 4 wheelin' with her dad as the baby is too young and the 9 year old could care less - so this works.
School clothes and supplies are all bought and I have a few days left to work in my classroom - would be none, but I have been moved to teach 4th grade math....because it is a needy group and I build good relationships with students.....yeah me! I am soooo good with everyone else's children, wish I was as good with my own.
I have been validated by my close girlfriends and let go of some drama inducing, unhealthy ones....feels like a load off! My best friend may be moving down this way...will know more after this Wednesday. I have fallen completely in love with a new blog www.thepioneerwomna.com and have done some reading and no writing except for this poor little neglected blog.
Hubby and I have written out a new budget. Amazing where $6,000 take home a month goes....terrible. Really.
I wish I was more focused and dedicated to writing here. These long jaunts make my entries entirely too scattered. Perhaps soon I will pick just one topic to expound upon. Until then, I feel like this is just a place holder fo me until the next time I can find a few spare minutes to write....

Is summer almost over??

We spent time at the beach. We went to SeaWorld. We camped in our RV. We went chopping, swimming, to the Zoo and to West Texas....have one last trip to the Frio and then school will start. My 15 year old step daughter came down and reinforced my beliefs that I am SOOO not ready for a teenager. Especially a feamale teenager. I am reminded as to why some animals eat their young....

My best friend is moving down to my town - from the big city.....I think she may have culture shock.. No Starbucks around here baby. I am stoked - she has dropped like 70 pounds in under a year - and I will have an exercise partner,....and my best friend to hang with. EXCITING.

I am working on my classroom - going to teach math this year. *crickets*

yeah - I know. I will have to figure out a way to get some creativity into that curriculum.

My weight - terrible.

Next step - meeting with a registered dietitan with my 2 eldest daughters on Wednesday. I have a mAster degree. I am smart. Apparently not about food. I am so screwed up - and I don't want my kids to be. $50.00 for once a month, educational and accountability all rolled into one neat little hour? Sign me up.

This wasn't an advertised service.

I had to call around and ask for it.

Strange - huh?

Will know more then.

Until then - I am continuing to wokr on STAYING positive. I wuit taking Welbutrin due to splitting headaches. I am not feeling the desire to go try something else.l

I think it is now.....

I am in a pretty good spot right now. I am coming off of a totally self destructive path of literally "feeding" the infant in me - what I want, when I want, how much I want - talking about food here! It is as if I was psyching my self up for a diet, and my juvenile mind was taking over and tantrumming "I don't want to!" - so I was giving in and eating everything and anything I wanted. Honestly, most of it wasn't even that great. Of course, the really good stuff I ate way to much of. Well, let's just say the scale was beginning to reflect that...and there are not many numbers that terrify me - but nearing 300 pounds is one way to get my attention! I don't know why 287 seems so acceptable -but 297 is not! I find myself so unbeliebvable at times....

This brings me to the seemingly unrelated pics above. One is at our HillBilly House party - hence the pig tails and gingham shirt - and the other is Havasu Falls. The party pic - I was having a blast, but felt SO huge! Could be the checkered tablecloth of a shirt I was wearing, the constant sweating in the 100' weather, the fact that I was the BIGGEST person there (not to mention the biggest person on my campus where I work, in my social circle, at my high school reunion...the list goes on and on..) Honestly, I think part of my acceptance of myself concerning my size is that I have always been an Amazon among my peers. At 5'10'', I am pretty damn big - no two ways about it. I have been large built my whole life - but I really do think I was more athletic in highschool - not fat. Well, there is no doubt now...

Anyway - the other pic. I am a water baby. I LOVE the water. Unfortunatley, that generally requires a significant reduction in clothing to enjoy - and when I went to the Bahamas - fat be damned, I jumped in my expensive (because a $150 suit makes me look better!) one piece and hopped in. Yes - biggest one around - and what?? But the falls you see in this pic.... to get to them requires a certain level of fitness. I am talking a 10 mile hike to an Indain Village , then another 2 miles to geth there. Of course, you COULD take a Helicopter in to the village and only hike the 2 miles, but they have a 250 pound per passenger weight limit - or you have to pay for 2 people (how mortifying!) You can also get there on horseback (those poor horses - I refuse to even ride a Morgan at this size!) or the use of pack mules to carry your stuff. Either way, I doubt many 287 pounders have expereinced the nirvana these travertine falls offer.

So long rambling to a close...those falls are my goal. The weight loss will be a by product of that goal. Yes - I know I have a significant amount of weight to lose. Surgery still terrifies me. I want a level of health that will coorelate to the activities I want to particiapte in. My body will fall in line with that. My new Saucony tennis shoes from Amazon.com (I wear a size 11 - hard to come by in a store!) should be here in a day or two. I ate a healthy breakfast today and am planning my lunch and dinner. I have a kettle bell to start some kind of weight resistance, a tread mill at my disposal, numerous work out dvds, 3 children and a supportive husband all waiting for anything I throw at them! Oh - and a pool membership, and friends that go to gyms, and parents that will help me in any way....

I am so lucky.

I just can't wallow anymore....

Okay - I am getting over it. Of course -in the course of getting over it I have made some very interesting revelations about myself as well as catching a glimpse of how other people see me. None of which were really great....

1st) People, people close to me, view me as bitter, angry, mad, upset. Funny thing is, I only view myself that way...SOME of the time. And only lately at that. I remember last summer a girlfriend bemoaning some error her husband had made, and I was a good listener - and she commented that I NEVER complained about my husband. My - how times can change..... Then the daughter of a friend was visiting and said " Smile - I haven't seen you smile since I have been here..."

2nd) As I spiraled into almost rage at the absence of my husband over a holiday weekend while I was home with OUR 3 kids and a semi-functioning vehicle, I came to the realization that I have no desire to be a single parent. Right - no divorce in my future. Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief before I slap you across the face with this fact....
If I was to get divorced, I don't think I would want primary custody of my children. At least not right now. I just don't think I could do it. Of course - with his job - he couldn't either - so there you go. I do love my husband - and I believe he loves me - but man, our communication has got to improve. That - or we just may be battling it out in front of a judge...deciding who WILL take the kids!

3rd) I may just be a little crazy. I had a moment where I was crying, talking to my husband about feeling abandoned..and one huge tear formed over my eye, spilled over the edge, and a strange sense of clarity arrived at about the time the last of the moisture was pulled from my lens...literally, it was like sadness gathered in that droplet and left my body. I sat up, washed my face, and just decided I was not going to cry any more. Now don't get me wrong - my eyes still prickle with tears at asinine reasons, but the waterfalls are stopped - for now.


So overall, I am working at not being such a bitch, smiling more, loving my kiddos more, and communicating better. Yeah - summer here I come. Not sure how much pretend play I am going to be able to handle - but I do well with beach trips. Yes - lots and lots of beach trips...

Damn - that means swimsuits for me.....uuugghhh - another post another day.

How do you see yourself?

I know that this is a kind of funny picture. It is obviously not how I look (you can see my profile pic to the right) - but do you ever feel like this? Do you ever wonder how others see you? I definitely have parts of my body that I do not like, and I am sure I see some of my parts in a much better light than viewed by others. How did we ever get to the point that so much emphasis was placed on appearance anyway?
Are you judgmental of someone if you feel their appearance is self-imposed? A fat person has no self control, they did it to themselves, they are lazy. What about people/children with birth defects? Do you view them with pity and cast a suspicious glance at their mother and wonder what she did? Do you even give a person with burn scars a chance and try to get to know them or do you turn away, not make eye contact, and walk away?
I am not perfect. Not in a physical sense, emotional, spiritual, financial sense - not in any way at all. I can hold grudges, gossip, binge eat, over spend, not go to church - you name it, I am probably guilty of it....
but I do think I have one silver lining that shines through. I have one personal attribute that I AM proud of and while it is not one that is openly commended in public or even really discussed, I am proud of myself for it. I do not look at anybody's physical self and make a split second decision about them. This is not something I was born doing - in fact, quite the opposite. I almost wonder if we are geared (through media and peers) TO judge others at first sight very early in our lives. Societal pressure is a BITCH! However, over the years...through my own personal evolvement, I no longer do that. I do a lot of other stupid, hurtful, idiotic things - but not that. No human being is invisible to me. I meet the eyes of the person in wheel chair, talk to the mother with the 3 year old with Down's Syndrome I see at the grocery store, I hug the child at my school that drools. No one is perfect. No one should be invisible. No one should be judged by their appearance. It is shocking how often I see it happen in public and at schools. Take a look around - and embrace every soul on this Earth with the compassion human beings are capable of.

A Therapeutic Post

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Behind Blue Eyes

I am 10 days without smoking and 10 days with 150 mg of Wellbutrin. Overall, I would say the meds must be helping some as I have not killed anyone..yet. I still find myself in a foul mood - and of course, it is my mother who has born the brunt of that. It is almost like an out of body experience when I am lashing out at her. I see it happening, I want to stop, but I don't...then I call her and apologize and feel so fortunate that she is so forgiving...with me anyway.
Something else I have come to terms with...all the feelings of isolation, the stinkin' thinkin' about myself and relations with others, feeling like I am on the outside looking in - well guess what? I am not alone in this. I have always like the song "Behind Blue Eyes" - by The Who. No one knows what it's like...behind blue eyes...
because I felt it described some of my feelings. The wonders of blogland have opened these blue eyes to sooo much. There ARE others like me, that are sensitive to some of the most insignificant social nuances. There are others out there with difficult children. There are others out there that just feel like they THINK differently than the masses. There are others that view eating, food, weight, family, jobs, and friendships like me..and they like to write like I do. Granted, many are much more fluent and prolific than I am, but I am here. And so are they.
It is nice to know I am not alone. It is nice to know I am not a freak or terrible mother or have absolutely no will power. It is wonderful to not be the only one behind blue eyes.