The continuing adventures of Athaclena!

[Athaclena]

I'll start with my traditional "beginning of Challenge post".  For more about me (for the curious) - check my signature for previous challenges where I'll have a bio (beyond that I'm a traveling consultant - emphasis on travel LOL).  I also love to cook and have started a Recipe thread (I'll throw that into my sig as well).

I've decided to stick with the Rebels for at least on more challenge - but I'm starting to see lasting changes.  My last FEW challenges have been quite successful.  I've got a handle on my eating (and continuing to tweak) and I'm starting along the path of a workout routine - still struggling here, but making a start!

 

SO - this challenge I'm going to keep on keeping on - but focusing on getting on the workout bandwagon.  Starting with walking.  I've been working on getting in at least 3 days of walking per week although I'm not remotely getting to my ultimate goal of 10k on those days - so I'm going to back my "goal" down to average 5k per day over the week with a goal of 3 "walking" days where I need to far exceed that to meet that goal.  Any other Fitbit users want to track and keep me honest - my public URL is www.fitbit.com/user/27X45Y - feel free to friend me!

 

So - onto the list:

1) Nutrition - keep up with Probiotic and Breakfast shakes 5+ days per week. Continue cutting carbs for most meals (one cheat day - and realize I need to stick as much as possible when traveling).

 

2) Set myself up for success - During the week - drag my a$$ out of bed by 7am (may have to get up a BIT earlier when on the road - but enough time to get in AT LEAST 30 minutes of walking in the AM) - this does mean taking "workout gear" with me when traveling - but that shouldn't be a problem.

 

3) Exercise - Walk.  Just Walk.  I want to do MORE, but I've got to get some weight off so I'm focusing on walking this challenge.  Goal is 5k steps PER DAY average.

 

4) Sleep - Do my best to keep a sleep schedule\get enough sleep.  Fell off a bit this challenge - need to get back on the wagon here....

 

5) Check in here more.  Even while traveling - I have the technology LOL.  Check in on my thread at LEAST 3 times per week, keep up with the Juice Bar.  If I have time, follow a few other threads to encourage others.

[Athaclena]

Part of #2 (setting myself up for success) but not really in the GOAL is bulk cooking whenever I can so there's good, on plan food in the refrigerator.  This is VERY important for HUBBY to stay on plan because he WILL NOT COOK.  Now, to be fair, he suffers from chronic migraine (while the definition is 15 more migraine days per month - his is more like EVERY DAY - some are just better than others) so the thought of doing more than throwing something on a plate and in the microwave is literally unachievable most days for him.  Since I travel - a LOT - I have to make sure he has food to eat or he'll default to ordering pizza or going out for Fast Food.

Today I checked out Aldi's for the first time in a looong time (which is the US version of Aldi's North - we call Aldi's South Trader Joe's).  They have very much improved in the last 3ish years since I last shopped there.  At the moment I have a couple of Chuck Roasts going in my slow cooker (just added some Worcestershire, garlic powder and sliced raw onions) and a bunch of chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on) going in the oven (salt, pepper, thyme, lots of sliced lemon under & over the thighs with a lot of crushed\diced fresh garlic).  That'll take care of the protein this week.  I'll have some peas & green beans packed up for the sides along with bacon (going in when the chicken comes out - easier to do a large batch in the oven) and boiled eggs.

[Wobbegong]

I love your goals! And I'm glad to see you're still hanging out with Rebel this challenge, it's always great to see you around  

 

I'm very impressed with your restraint regarding getting back into exercise... I'm doing that myself this challenge, and already it's like "I wanna do this and this and this every day, and that and that as much as I can, and..." Which I know is totally a recipe for burnout, but... uggh.

 

Anyway, good to have you and I'll be around!

[zeroh13]

Welcome back! It's great that you're starting to see lasting changes. Good luck with your goals! 

 

 

[Bean Sidhe]

Welcome back

I will say when I was doing the daily step goal, I started at something easy to hit like 5000 steps, then I slowly upped it to 10. Sometimes, hitting that goal is a good motivator to continue hitting the goal.

[Athaclena]

Back in the airport this morning heading home. Week zero is going well. I was completely on my food plan yesterday AND the meeting went very well. I don't know if my boss fails to mention we'll have senior VPs in attendance because he forgets or thinks I'll be nervous. But it doesn't bother me  Just curious. I think me mentioning I was looking at other positions in the company a few weeks ago has spurred some thinking of another level in our group. There's another tier in other regions so there's precedence. It just means I have to learn more product lines and all of the integrations. Which is why my training next week was approved. Now I just need to look at the other product training and get cracking!!!

 

Yesterday being on plan for a travel day gives me hope. I even got all of my steps in! I'm on track for steps today since the drop off area for hotel vans is apparently as far as possible from my gate. I even crashed early (something about only getting a few hours of fitful sleeping the night before). So I'm on track for all of my goals. I just need to string together more days

[Amandaba]

Good Luck!

 

[Bean Sidhe]

The travel aspect alone would throw me completely off, let alone trying to travel as much as you do. Your doing great. Keep it up.  And good luck with the work thing. Hopefully the job thing goes your way.

[Athaclena]

Other than airport walking - haven't gotten my third one in yet this week.  I've been sleeping like crap - again. *sigh*

 

It looks like my travel schedule got a bit more hectic - while I get a whole week at home (because that week that "freed" up I'm going to tell work to SHOVE IT if they ask me to travel) - the next two weeks are going to be brutal. But then again - I'll get 3 days of airport walking in both weeks LOL.

 

New schedule: Next week fly out Monday afternoon, 2 days of training (me learning, not leading) in Chicago, fly out Wed to KC, healthcheck client 1 on Thursday, healthcheck client 2 on Friday and fly home Friday night - assuming there is a flight - there better be a flight - this one is tentative, but apparently they need to do a healthcheck on site Thursday and since the healthcheck I was going to be REMOTE for on Friday is ALSO in KC - I may as well stay.  If the last flight is at 5:17 (which I think it is) - client will have to deal with me only being there until 3pm though.  I'm NOT staying until Saturday....

 

The following week, fly to KC Monday after noon, 1.5 day site visit, fly to LAX Wed, 1.5 day site visit, fly home Fri (walk in the house about midnight). This means I'm NOT flying to LAX the following week, but I'll have documentation galore to do so work can deal.

Now, what this DOES mean is that I'll have a week home to recoup, then a relatively "leisurely" training trip (me leading training, not partaking) to NYC.  Maybe I'll be ok with the drive home for Christmas.....

[Wobbegong]

Holy cow that's a lot of travel. Glad to hear you get at least a little bit of a break after! Let us know if there's anything we can do to help support you through this... I'm sure you can handle it, but we're cheering for you and here if you need us!

[Athaclena]

Thanks for the support - don't be surprised if I rarely check in for the next 2 weeks.  My travel is thus:

 

Monday afternoon\evening - heading to Chicago

Tuesday & Wednesday - Learn new things (internal technical training on new to me product)

Wednesday afternoon\evening - Chicago -> Minneapolis -> Kansas City (no direct flights w\o changing airlines which was $$$)

Thursday - All Day Client Meeting

Friday - All Day Client Meeting then head home - land just before 10pm

 

Weekend - wash clothes, repack and try to recover

 

The NEXT week.....

Monday Afternoon\evening - heading to Kansas City

Tuesday & Wed AM - Client Meetings

Wed Afternoon - Fly to Los Angeles

Thursday & Fri AM - Client Meetings

Friday afternoon - Fly back east and land just before midnight

 

But on the bright side, I should get my 3 days of walking in  And I'm not traveling the next week (I don't care how much work begs).....

[Bean Sidhe]

*Hugs* good luck with the travel. I would take the week after off from traveling as well. Good luck at the training thing and safe uneventful travels.

[Athaclena]

Day one of the challenge in the bag LOL!

 

1) Nutrition - Staying on plan - probiotic, shake and low carb.

 

2) Set myself up for success - It was Sunday - so I slept in - BUT I crashed early enough to get a full 8 hours in last night - HUZZAH.

 

3) Exercise - Took it easy - it's going to be a GNARLY week!.

 

4) Sleep - Caught up this weekend, will do my best to stay on track with my insane travel schedule this week.....

 

5) Check - can't peruse many threads, but I can update MY progress

[Wobbegong]

Success! Keep it up! I'll try to remember to poke my head in and say hi and remind you to breathe and stuff throughout the next two weeks, if that's desirable. Or I could leave you be if you prefer. Let me know. 

 

You got this, Athaclena! 

[Bean Sidhe]

 

On 10/23/2017 at 9:29 AM, Athaclena said:

Day one of the challenge in the bag LOL!

 

1) Nutrition - Staying on plan - probiotic, shake and low carb.

 

2) Set myself up for success - It was Sunday - so I slept in - BUT I crashed early enough to get a full 8 hours in last night - HUZZAH.

 

3) Exercise - Took it easy - it's going to be a GNARLY week!.

 

4) Sleep - Caught up this weekend, will do my best to stay on track with my insane travel schedule this week.....

 

5) Check - can't peruse many threads, but I can update MY progress

 

It sounds like you had a good first day. I hope the rest of the week has gone as well for you.

[Athaclena]

Holy crap was I busy this week.  Traveled to 2 different locations - 2 days of training in Chicago, then went to Kansas City and visited 2 clients.  Next week I head out to 2 clients again, first back to Kansas City then off to LA. Also - life stuff occurring, but I'll get to that.

 

First up - challenge update

 

1) Nutrition - Totally forgot my probiotic (*boo*) - but remembered my protein shakes (*YAY*).  Had a couple of off-plan hiccups (client ordered pizza for lunch) - but by and large - staying on plan (and the hips - er - pants don't lie - I'm totally losing inches).  So excellent progress here.

 

2) Set myself up for success - I've been dragging my a$$ out of bed - even if I didn't add any extra workouts

 

3) Exercise - Totally got my steps in this week with airport hiking.  I even added extra hiking in the airports because I had time to do so

 

4) Sleep - Got 8+ hours most nights - HUZZAH!

 

5) Check in here more.  Well, 2 days of check ins with my travel\work schedule this week - I'll take it.  I'm at least checking in and not disappearing the rest of the challenge!

 

OK - onto the life thing.  I've probably mentioned that I've come to hate living in Atlanta and hubby & I are totally over living in this neighborhood.  The house we're in needs work and we don't have the time or $$ to fix it.  Hubby's parents passed a few years ago and he hasn't been in a state to deal with the estate - which has added stress to both of us emotionally and financially.  We are just buried.

2 things happened this week.  1 - the guy that sold his father property in FL is getting ready to sell his house (next door to the property) - and the well for the house is on the property he sold (without adding anything about access to said well in the sale\deed).  So we have the opportunity to sell that property in the short term - which we've needed to do.  We plan to not accept less than $X - so hopefully we can get that sold - soon.  The other thing is that one of hubby's oldest friends has been flipping houses in a nearby (relatively - 2 hour drive) city and has approached us to flip my father-in-law's house.  This is the first time it looks like unloading that house, and getting what we need out of it, is a reality.  While the details aren't completely worked out, we're working on what we need to do to make that happen.  And also, potentially, do the minor renovations to our house at the same time to maximize the $$ out of this house (with reasonable cost renovations because we can take advantage of almost wholesale pricing for labor\materials).  I can actually see us moved to where we want to live (in a rental, but at least out of Atlanta) this SPRING.

 

So - I've started making plans, setting goals, etc. for the next couple of months and ACTING on them. If we sell the FL property, that can fund the renovations on our house and a rental so it can be renovated w\o us in it and on the market for a quick sale.  The housing market is hot here in Atlanta, and both houses are in that sweet spot of in good neighborhoods with great schools but not too expensive for most buyers.  Just need them to be move-in ready and I bet they'd sell w\in a month of being on the market - especially if they hit the market in the spring when buyers are looking for a spot to move-in during the summer before school starts.

 

Fingers are FIRMLY crossed, because unloading all of this property will mean all of the financial overhead that is stressing me out will be gone. Like - seriously, 0 debt gone.  We can then spend time looking for the perfect, affordable property for our dream home.  With $$ in the bank to build it. Fingers crossed the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel isn't an oncoming train!

[Bean Sidhe]

First off, I think you did great considering all the traveling you did and have to do. I would not be anywhere close to my goals doing all the airports and hotels you are doing so great job.

 

Check in when you can. Again, its not like you were playing on the beaches while traveling, so checking in twice is still better than not checking in at all. We are glad to see you when we can.

As for the life stuff, I think it sounds great that you have a plan and a way to execute it. Owning all that property would be very stressful for me too, so I can see how it would be great to figure out a way to get to where you want to go. The fact you are making some serious progress is great and I hope that things work out like you are hoping. Good luck.

[Athaclena]

Quick mid-week check in from LA.....

 

1) Nutrition - Totally forgot my probiotic - AGAIN (*boo*) - but remembered my protein shakes (*YAY*).  I did switch up and have omelets twice (so far) - but that's still "on plan". Definitely staying "within reason" even with letting some carbs sneak in. Not 100% compliant - but not going off the reservation either - and definitely EATING LESS - and the pants are not getting tight - so HUZZAH!

 

2) Set myself up for success - I've been dragging my a$$ out of bed - even if I still haven't done any extra workouts - there has still been a fair amount of walking (mostly at various airports)

 

3) Exercise -  I'm getting my steps in - just not adding as many EXTRA as I need to....

 

4) Sleep - a little short of goal - but JUST short.... I'll take 5+ nights of ALMOST 8 hours than <6.5 hours per night....

 

5) Check in here more.  Doing my best with my crazy schedule - but hanging in there!!!!

My KC trip was jam packed - then flew to LA yesterday - landed at 4:30 (can you say traffic? - took us 2 hours to get to our hotel).  Finished up a bit early with the client today and was able to get a jump start on some of the documentation.  Back at it there for a couple of hours in the morning then off to the airport for the long haul flight home.  It wouldn't be so bad if there was a movie available that I wanted to watch that I hadn't already seen - seriously - with all of the movies available - not one that I really want to watch AGAIN, or one I wanted to see in the first place.  I mean I've flown almost 90,000 miles this year on Delta and have spent 65 nights in a Hilton.  And I've flown a few other airlines and stayed in other hotels when required by clients.  This year has been CRAZY.  I've downloaded a couple of things from Netflix - just not sure what I'll be in the mood to watch (finished Stranger Things 2 yesterday).

[Athaclena]

On the adulting front - about to put on my big girl pants and finish my errands from yesterday (in spite of feeling like crap - allergies or mild cold + jet lag = UGH).  Went through my current bills and going to bite the bullet and move away from Quicken to Mint.  While there are a few things that still IRK me with Mint - Quicken has just been slow as molasses the last few versions.  I'll just get some things cleaned up in Mint (say, back the last 3 months or so) and have it nice and fresh for the next year and do a better job of tracking $$.  I CAN track in Quicken, but Mint is kind of in your face with your budget (if you know what I mean LOL).  It also seems to do a better job of integrating with all of my accounts than Quicken did (which makes 0 sense - but hey - that's why Intuit sold it off I guess).

[Athaclena]

Aaaand I have a cold.  Which will likely impact my walking this week but I won't let hinder my nutrition.  Hot tea will be consumed in vast quantities today!

[Vibrantella]

4 hours ago, Athaclena said:

 Hot tea will be consumed in vast quantities today!

With lots of lemon (and maybe rum?), I hope!   Get better soon!

[Athaclena]

1 hour ago, Vibrantella said:

With lots of lemon (and maybe rum?), I hope!   Get better soon!

I do have all of the above in the house  There may be a hot toddy before bed!

[Athaclena]

Ugh - cold is worse today. Even though I didn't take Nyquil (or anything) last night, I felt like I had to CLAW my way awake this morning - even though I crashed by 10am. Resorted to a 12 hour Pseudoephedrine tab this morning - hopefully I can get through the day without being a zombie. I have too much documentation t write.....

 

Walking's not happening - but sticking to my nutrition goals and making sure I get my shuteye!

[Wobbegong]

On 11/7/2017 at 5:36 AM, Athaclena said:

Ugh - cold is worse today.

 

This is much more ominous 82 hours later. Are you still alive? I hope you're feeling better... 

[Athaclena]

I'm ALIVE!  Just busy as all get out .....

Today went to a hastily called HOA meeting.  Was up until midnight reading docs about entirely new covenants that the HOA was asked to look into putting in place (to give them "more teeth") - lots of highlights and notes were made.  Well, we start the meeting with - "You know that document signed\filed in 1988 with a 20 year expiration date, it didn't have an auto-renew clause so we've actually been a 'Volunteer' Association since 2008 and cannot legally enforce collection of dues - so these documents will have to be signed by all members to re-form the HOA."  Wait - so like when starting an HOA, if a resident doesn't sign, they aren't IN the HOA? "Correct." And those members with outstanding dues, you can't legally collect those? "Correct."

Boy, oh boy.  This is awesome for a few reasons - first, I'm not signing because I'd rather NOT be in an HOA - this means I can market my house this spring to BOTH buyers that don't WANT to be in an HOA (because this house WON'T be) - and those that DO - because they can always join.  And secondly, my friends up the street that haven't paid for several years because they've had a financial hardship - but the HOA has been going after them HARD - adding fees\interest, adding liens and getting judgements - essentially owe NOTHING and have all of that set aside and removed.  And THEY don't have to rejoin either. So it's win, win, WIN in my mind!

 

So all in all - a great day.  And here I wasn't going to go because I really don't have time.  I'm glad I did!

On the other front - everything is going well with the challenge - except the walking thing.  I'm keeping on keeping on!