Gardening

So far this has been a good weekend. I went to the store and picked up some gardening supplies. Gardening is expensive lol. And I didn't even get everything I need. I just started with the basics. On the plus side, a lot of what I bought today is one time purchases like a weed eater, trowel, hose etc. I really thought about buying some flowers today.Ultimately I decided to wait until i get the flower beds cleared out so I can transfer them right away. I would hate to buy flowers and have them die.

When I got home from the store I started to weed my flower beds. I admit I forgot to take a before picture. It's not done though so I will take one tomorrow. Granted it will be kind of a half way photo but better than nothing. I worked in the yard for about 40 minutes. With how hot it is out it's difficult to work outside for very long. That and I developed my first garden induced blister. I made good progress though. It will be one step at a time. Especially since I am not used to having yard upkeep as part of my regular schedule. A drawback from being an apartment dweller for so long.

An update about weight watchers. Overall, I like the program. I basically can eat what I want as long as I say within my points for the day. I never feel hungry which is a plus. Also, there are many foods, mostly fruits and veggies that are 0. I have lost 5 pounds so far. Admittedly, I have not been trying very hard. I have been concentrating mostly on getting into the habit of tracking foods. I downloaded an app to my phone to make that easier. For people who have a hard time being self motivated and keeping track, weight watchers probably is not the program for them. It also requires planning ahead. I know that can be difficult for some people.

For me, I think this will be a good program. I am totally a planner. I LOVE my lists. No, seriously. I have a list for practically everything and I keep them up. When I was living with my brother and his family that was one of my biggest frustrations. I am a planner and he SOOOOO is not (though he likes to think he is for some reason haha). So planning ahead for meals is easy for me. I use to do this when I was in law school. Anyone who has been to law school knows there are A LOT of very long days. Often you come home after spending 12+ hours at school and internships and you really don't want to cook. You can only eat so many sandwiches so you end up just picking up something on your way home at the local fast food place. In other words, you ate like crap. I got in the habit of spending one day on the weekend cooking meals and putting them up to eat during the week. That way I could eat quickly after a long day and I ate so much better. Draw back is I have gotten out of the habit in the last year so I am getting back into it now.

I will keep you posted as I go through the program, both good and bad. I know that this program is not for everyone. I hope I can share my knowledge and help the people that this would not work for discover that before spending money. Well that is all I have for now. Pugsley and I are goign to cuddle up and watch Dr. Who now. Have a goodnight everyone!

Getting Organized

I am settling in to my new life here. I am really liking the house I am renting. It will be even better once I have enough furniture to fill it. (For those that are wondering: I need a dining room table, more book shelves, a bed for the spare room and a pantry cupboard). Not to mention I need to work on storage solutions for my bathroom. One thing I will say is my old bathroom was larger and had way more storage. Not that the bathroom in my house is so bad. It is just going to take some creativity to eliminate the clutter problem. Not to mention money.

Don't get me wrong I am getting paid (Finally!) but after coming off of a year of unemployment there are a lot of bills I am playing catch up on. I am getting there though. It will just take some time to get caught up. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to do so. I am still amazed how different my life is now compared to two months ago. Today I received my official business cards. How cool is that?? :) I feel all official now.

There are so many projects that I want to do around the house and in my office it is hard to know where to begin. I say that but honestly I will probably start by weeding and planting my flower beds in front of my house. My neighbors all keep their yards very nice and my yard is  bit of an eyesore. So much so my neighbor has been mowing my lawn for me. I don't own a lawn mower yet. When I rip out my garden and replant it I will post before and after pictures.

Closer to the topic that my blog is supposed to be about, I joined weight watchers. That is part of why I need to get things organized. I have a friend that has used that program to lose weight. Very successfully I might add. She said what is most important is to plan ahead. Though the program does allow you to still live your life and eat out, your life is much easier if you plan your home menu ahead of time and prepare your food in advance for nights you are not likely to cook. This week I am not doing so much with weight watchers except putting together my meal plans and shopping list.

I don't think this will be easy but I also know I can do it. I have been through a lot in life and overcome many obstacles. I was able to quit smoking 5 years ago and never started again. I completed law school and passed the bar. I rode the wave that is the crappy job market. And many other things I will not get into right now. I have come out a better person because of these challenges. This will be the same. With dedication, hard work and let's not lie lots of frustration I will come out on top. I have never set a long term goal I have not achieved, though some took much longer than originally planned.

When my meal plan is complete I will post it online and share my joys and challenges with you. I am going to take you on this journey with me. Partly to hold myself accountable and partly because I hope that my challenges and the lessons learned from them will help someone. Even if all it does is make someone feel not so alone then my goal is achieved.

Well that is all for now. I hope this was not too all over the place for you. Guess I am a little scattered today.

Feeling spoiled!

Today was a long day. I spent most of the day in court though I really only had a couple clients on the docket and both were set for the morning. Originally I was planning to be back at my office after lunch but then one client was moved to the afternoon docket. So to make a long story short I didn't get back to my office until almost 4. I did get to leave the office early though.

After I got home I hooked my Wii up to my new Wi-Fi. I can stream Netflix now. I am feeling so spoiled right now. :) I use to have it set up at my old apartment while I was in school. I never bothered when I was at my brother's house. I didn't think I would be there long enough to justify taking the time. Little did I know. Lol. Now that I am settling into my new place and getting back some of the things I enjoyed I feel so lucky.

One project I am going to have to tackle soon is gardening. Part of my lease is I have to maintain the lawn and the garden. Right now it's a bit....what is the best word...free-range. I don't have a lawn mower so the grass is a bit tall. Not as tall as it could be though. One of my neighbors was super nice and mowed my lawn. I have flower beds in the front yard which are more weed beds at the moment. Drawback to moving from an apartment to a house is you don't have the equipment to care for your yard.

I am looking forward to the gardening project but I am having a hard time deciding what kind of flowers to plant. I want colorful flowers but I live in a high heat area. I don't want to spend a bunch of money on flowers just to have them wilt and die. I am totally open to suggestions if anyone has ideas for what flowers would be good in high heat.

This weekend is the town-wide garage sale. Once a year here almost everyone in town has a garage sale on the same weekend. I have never been to a garage sale like this. I am hoping maybe I can find some gardening tools or cute things for my house cheap. We will see. Even it I don't find anything I want to buy it still sounds like fun. Well that is all for now. Aren't you proud of me. I updated two whole days in a row :)

I am back!

Sorry I have not updated in a long time. I was not able to for quite awhile because I had no internet at home. Though there is a library in town that provides free wifi, it keeps very limited hours. So I was only able to get there on Saturdays because I always worked too late during week days. Even on Saturday the library was only open for a couple hours. I am amazed how much my email piled up only checking it once a week.

For those that might be wondering why I did not check my email or use my phone for internet, it's because my cell phone got absolutely no reception here. This part of Missouri is a complete dead zone. I bought a cheap prepaid cell so I would be able to make and receive calls but it did not have internet access.

I was without internet at home for a month. I swear I was having withdrawals. Lol. The reason it was a month is because I receive my paychecks on a two week delay. They have to be processed through the main office before they are distributed to the employees. I had a good friend volunteer to put down the deposit for the internet for me but I was trying to avoid owing more people money. My first check was only a partial check so I ended up taking my friend up on the offer. Which I am very very thankful for. She is my hero.

Honestly, I know it sounds like I am complaining but I am really am happy with my situation. I found a cute little house to rent that is really close to my office. Everyone I work with has been very nice and welcoming.

Everyone loves my dog here. I still have people stop me on the street while I am walking him to say he is fabulous. Pugsley is liking it here as well. I was concerned how he would adjust. He has never liked moving. Pugsley surprised me and settled right in. There is a little min pin next door named Diesel that Pugsley loves to play with.

I am still adjusting to work. My schedule is crazy this month. This is really due to the last attorney set up my schedule for me. Once I get past June the craziness will pass and I will get my schedule back to normal.

I feel so fortunate to have this job. I cannot even tell you how excited I was to get my first paycheck. Granted it was only a partial paycheck and was pretty much spent before I got it, still an improvement over the last year. There is a great sense of self satisfaction for getting a paycheck and being able to pay my bills with it. There is a long list of things I need to buy like a lawnmower but I know things are going to keep getting better. Now that I have internet I will do my best to update more often and let you know what is happening in my world

Huzzah!!!!

Okay. I know I have been completely horrible and have not updated in... a very long time. I am going to try to be better about it. I am not going to make any promises though because my life is about to completely change. Not that I am complaining about that mind you. Actually it's about damn time it happened. I have felt like I have been stagnant for so long. When you get in such a rut it is hard not to lose hope. I was really beginning to feel like what was the point of continuing to submit resumes and apply for jobs when the majority of the jobs you apply to never respond.

I especially started to lose hope when I received a job offer but the pay was so ridiculously low I would have made more money making burgers at a fast food restaurant. I was very excited when I first got the offer thinking that the end of the tunnel was in sight. I made the assumption they would negotiate on the salary. I know, silly me. Needless to say they would not budge so I had to walk away from the offer. I was so happy when they first extended the offer then very down after I had to turn it down. Part of me could not help wondering if I had made a giant mistake. After all I have been out of school for almost a year at this point and other than my volunteer position with a local organization I have been unemployed the entire time. You can't help but feel like no one ever is going to hire you.

Over the last year I have interviewed for every position with the Public Defender's Office that was available. That was a lot of interviews. During this last week I went interviewed with 3 different offices, though part of me felt like what is the point, they are just going to turn me down. Two of the interviews I felt good about. The last one I did not have good feelings about. He expressed a concern about my ability to adjust to a very rural setting. I was surprised to find out the next day the office I last interviewed with was calling my references. I dared to have hope that I have not allowed myself to have in quite awhile.

Today was the day. I was extended a job offer with the Public Defender Office!!!!!!! I honestly do not have words to tell you how excited I am. I accepted the offer right away. The ironic thing is the offices I felt the interviews went well with decided to hire someone else. The interview I walked out of thinking I was going to get a rejection letter from is the one that wants me. Shows what I know. lol

I can't believe I really, really have a job now. It's almost surreal. To those still job hunting, don't lose hope. Keep trying! You never know when you will find the job for you. Being tenacious goes a long way.

Now I am looking for a place to live in a very rural area. That is going to be easier said than done but I feel like my life is finally getting on track. I am setting up appointments to go look at rentals an one house that is in foreclosure in the area. I will keep you posted as things develop. It is going to be a crazy couple of weeks. I need to find a place to live, pack my stuff here, get the rest of my belongings out of storage and move one state north. My new boss would like me to start on the first. I am going to do my best but not sure if I can make that happen. If not I will be starting on the sixth.

Thank you to all my friends and family for putting up with me this last year. I know I have not always been the easiest to deal with. Love you.

Food for thought

Have you ever felt as though food is your best friend and your worst enemy? How can a person manage to be thin when there is so much good food out there in the world? Pasta, hamburgers, pizza, cookies, cakes, candies, potatoes, the list are endless and restaurants are always coming up with new ways to keep us in their take out lines after work.

From experience, I know how easy it is to fall in a deeply imbedded food trap. I used to go to work where I would snack all day on various foods that were easily obtained from the kitchen. One cook had a crush on me and was always making me treats. After that I would then go home to more fast food or the freezer section of my grocery store. There have been times that I know my body was screaming for more nutrition. I was ignoring the screams. What are the screams, you wonder? I will explain… (Please forgive the gross-out factor): excessive flatulence, dehydration, dark urine, fatigue (low-energy), indigestion, heart burn, the list goes on and on. These are simply the symptoms!

Eating poorly for a good portion of your life can lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, weak immune system, this list also goes on. These food issues are not unique to people with excess weight. Chances are, you know several people who are of moderate weight that eat horribly. I know I do! These people can be very frustrating to be around especially when their body does not seem to show signs of their bad habits! Truth be known, that these habits will probably creep up on them later on in life.

There have been points (currently and recently) in my life that I have had an over saturated palette. In order to taste good to me, my food needed to be drowning in grease, saturated in butter, rolled in sugar and heavily sprinkled with salt. I was suffering from the “but, it tastes good” syndrome which is one I am still trying to overcome. Eating well does not have to be a painful experience. You just have to be willing to put in the time and find recipes that taste good and are also good for you.

One of my 101 goals is to eat at home more often. This is due to many reasons. First and foremost it is healthier. You can control the portions and what goes into your food. Not only do I want to lose weight but I would like to eat cleaner. By this I mean use butter and not margarine, don’t use artificial sweeteners, etc. The more I hear about chemicals that are being put into our foods the more it scares me.

The second reason cooking at home is less expensive. Right now I really have to watch my money being unemployed. But even after I line up a job I am still going to have to watch my dollars (and make them stretch as far as possible.). I don’t know how much I will make (that depends on what firm hires me, or if I am in the public sector like a public defender or a prosecutor). Regardless of how much money I am bringing in, I have large student loans looming over my head. I would like to pay off my student loans as soon as possible and buy a home. (A girl has to save money where she can!)

As I try recipes I will post them and whether they are a success or a failure. I will give a few disclaimers. My food NEVER looks like the picture. Might taste awesome but doesn’t look as pretty. Another thing is I absolutely hate mushrooms so I will not be trying recipes that involve mushrooms. If the recipe does they will be judiciously left out or substituted for something that is not nasty.

If anyone has recipes they think are awesome feel free to share them with me. I am always open to suggestions. It might be awhile before I can really start testing recipes. It is hard to do things like that while living with my family. Fathead does not have an adventurous palate. Lol

OMG a bear!

Yesterday I volunteered at Legal aid. I spent the whole dya helping organize files and writing closing letters to clients. The office is feeling the crunch at the end of the year to get files closed.  I wish I could get some money for it but I am so grateful to have the opportunity to keep practicing law even though I am not working right now. It helps keep my resume fresh and gain more experience. 

Honestly, I thought I would have a job by now but I do not despair. I know that if I keep at it I will find a job. Lord knows I have gone on a lot of interviews. One thing I know for certain is my lack of experience is working against me. Legal Aid will help me rectify this.

I am keeping my eyes on the future. Things are tough for me right now but I know I am tougher and will get through this. Soon I will be able to share with you that I have found a good job and am moving into my own place again.

In other news, my brother met with the neurosurgeon today for his surgery consultation.

Since I have 3 brothers I will call this one Fathead (a childhood nickname for him lol). Fathead has had a back disease since we were kids called Scheurmann’s disease. Here is a link telling more about it. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002220/ He used to have to wear a back brace and do physical therapy, amongst other things. About a month ago Fathead woke up with severe back pain. After a fun adventure at the Emergency Room, CAT scan and other tests the Doctor diagnosed him with three bulging discs in his spine. One of the discs is pressing on his sciatic nerve which is making one of his legs go numb. Needless to say he has not been walking around much. The E.R. doctor recommended surgery, as did the doctor giving a second opinion. So he made an appointment with the neurosurgeon. Regrettably he was not able to get in until after the holidays.

The appointment didn't go as Fathead hope. (Meaning he was not rushed directly to surgery) The surgeon prescribed him an anti-inflammatory, We are going to wait fir ut to build up in his system and see how it affects the problem. Right now Denton is being a little ray of sunshine, reminiscent of a bear in pain.