First Day of School

Two classes down and one to go! Monday is such a long school day for me. I've been here since 10:00 this morning and will leave at 8:30 tonight! Oh well, that gives me lots of extra time the rest of the week.

On Friday Mike and I went to dinner at the Pie Pizzaria. We had a Greek pizza and it was great! Then we went to see National Treasure 2 which we both liked.

It snowed about 6 inches early Saturday morning so it was an adventure getting Eline to the high school for flag team practice. The plows hadn't hit any of the minor roads so my little car was not doing so well. The main roads were still a mess, too, but not as bad. By late afternoon the sun had come out and then all the roads were clear.

Yesterday it snowed about 3 inches early in the day, which Chelsea volunteered to shovel (she also volunteered to shovel on Saturday!). Later yesterday it snowed another 4-5 inches which Eline shoveled, although she wasn't exactly a volunteer! :)

Since the weather and roads were so bad there was nothing to do but play a game. Eline's mother sent her a game called "Mister X" which is a mystery game where two or more "detectives" look for the spy, "Mister X". Chelsea was X and did a great job of keeping Eline and me at bay. We never did find her, so Chelsea won the game.

I go in tomorrow for another CT scan. I think this is my 7th in the past 12 months. I just hate having to drink the barium mixture. Even though they put flavoring in it, it is soooooo gross! I read in the paper the other day that too many CT scans can lead to cancer. Great, just what I needed to hear. The CT is to see if the spots on my liver have grown since my last scan, which I think was in August. I also have blood tests to see if I have Celiac's disease or some other problems to explain my abdominal pain since surgery and colonoscopy didn't reveal anything. I still have the pain but I'm almost getting used to it now. I really want to find out what the problem is, but I am sick and tired of doctors, tests, scans and having a camera up my butt! All of that is almost as painful as the pain itself. I do have to say that I am very thankful for my health insurance. I've had over $40,000 in medical procedures in the past year and it's cost me only $275!

Mike and I have had some discussions about "if we were married". I think we are definitely headed that way, but we have a lot to think about. Mike met my family at Christmas and he wants me to meet his aunt and uncle (his parents both passed away several years ago). Don't know when that will be but of course I'm nervous.

We are also planning a trip to Seattle for a weekend. Mike gets every other Friday off and I am done with school by 11:00 on Fridays so we could get an afternoon flight out and come back on Sunday. Now to find somewhere for my girls to stay. Chelsea is easy, but with the exchange program it's a little harder with Eline. She definitely has friends she can stay with, its just getting all the paperwork and approval that's a pain. Eline's dad will be her from Jan 30-Feb. 9th and we even need to get approval for her to go to Las Vegas with him!

I'm going back to Weight Watchers with my friend Carol, starting this week. I'm below my WW goal weight but about 2 lbs above my personal goal weight. I really like WW and it will motivate me to get back into my healthy routine. I've struggled with that since my trip home.

I think I had at least one, if not two glasses of wine (and even three on occasion) most days while I was on vacation, and so I've had to get back to my "no alcohol during the week" plan which helped me with my weight loss the past few months. I am struggling though with not eating junk between meals. My meals have been pretty healthy, but on vacation I grazed on baked stuff and candy the whole time and now my body wants to keep it up. I know I'll be up way more than 2 lbs if I don't quit! I also have been a slacker when it comes to exercising and there is no excuse! Well, except maybe the weather, but I could get my lazy butt up and go to either the university gym or the base gym. I just hate running indoors, but if it doesn't clear up I will have no choice. I can feel the flab on my legs getting worse!

Okay, enough of that. That's why I'm going back to WW to get my motivation back! Well, it's time for a Social Work club meeting and my last class of the day! I can't wait to get home and relax!