catherineaq

surprises herself often, lately



I'm doing 23 things
 

catherineaq's Life List

  1. 1. be active, so that I can describe myself as "basically in shape," while accepting that I will never be an athlete
    114 entries . 48 cheers
    2 people
  2. 2. get back to my prepregnancy weight, since my son was born in 2000, so I've clearly been carrying these extra pounds for far too long
    40 entries . 16 cheers
    1 person
  3. 3. take stock of my days
    15 entries . 1 cheer
    1 person
  4. 4. spend more time playing with my son
    16 entries . 82 cheers
    2 people
  5. 5. do 10 minutes a day of routine tasks at work
    3 entries . 12 cheers
    1 person
  6. 6. raise my son so he isn't a suburban cliche
    17 entries . 115 cheers
    1 person
  7. 7. describe the things I want to do sometime in my life, but are not worthy of taking up entire spots on my real goals list
    9 entries . 34 cheers
    1 person
  8. 8. paint my living room
    2 team members . 5 entries . 35 cheers
    65 people
  9. 9. finish removing the pile behind the shed
    4 entries . 21 cheers
    1 person
  10. 10. buy all the greeting cards I will need for the upcoming year, so I can avoid last-minute trips to the store
    4 entries . 26 cheers
    1 person
  11. 11. document a family health history
    4 entries . 23 cheers
    1 person
  12. 12. sell things on ebay
    2 team members . 11 entries . 19 cheers
    92 people
  13. 13. pay off credit cards
    2 team members . 14 entries . 34 cheers
    1,247 people
  14. 14. declutter my house
    2 team members . 23 entries . 22 cheers
    832 people
  15. 15. establish and maintain household routines
    10 entries . 22 cheers
    4 people
  16. 16. take advantage of living near Boston
    8 entries . 20 cheers
    1 person
  17. 17. learn to use all the gadgets we own
    3 entries . 8 cheers
    2 people
  18. 18. try 43 new recipes
    7 entries . 10 cheers
    35 people
  19. 19. organize my recipes
    7 entries . 22 cheers
    83 people
  20. 20. organize my photos
    2 entries . 26 cheers
    1,143 people
  21. 21. organize my email
    12 entries . 11 cheers
    32 people
  22. 22. Dress better
    13 entries . 29 cheers
    1,045 people
  23. 23. Have and follow a financial plan
    3 entries . 13 cheers
    2 people
Recent entries
post randomly (read all 38 entries…)
hey all 1 day ago

Just wanted to pop in to say that I’m off 43 Things for a while, but I’ll be back soon!


take stock of my days (read all 15 entries…)
Thursday, July 31, 2008 6 days ago

It dawned on me how much work I have left to do in the next few weeks. This caused me to experience the calm sort of stress that makes me stay at my desk long after my work hours are over. Basically, I worked until my eyes were blurring and I couldn’t focus on the screen very well! But as I said, I did this calmly. It wasn’t fun, but I’m salaried, and I know few people in salaried positions that don’t work overtime at least occasionally. Anyway, I got through a lot but I see a bit more OT in my future.

E’s second day in a row of having a play date. Wed. it was with an old friend with whom he’s had many play dates, there and here. This play date was with a new kid. I’d never met the kid, I’d never met the mom, and so on. So the whole series of minor hurdles, real and emotional, that go with a new play date: find the house, make small chitchat, stay for a few minutes, assess the huge and clean but cluttered with kid stuff house, wonder if she really does want you to stay or is just being polite, drive away feeling vaguely worried that you’ve just left your child with a stranger, wonder if it’s rude that you didn’t stay because maybe the mom wanted to become friends, and so on. It was all fine, but now we’ve got yet another kid we owe a return invitation to. Let’s see, um . . . yup. E was the last to go to the other’s house for all his play date friends. Yikes.

I’m new to all this baseball stuff. Manny Ramirez was traded yesterday. That’s E’s favorite player. We haven’t been telling him that Manny’s been saying negative stuff about the Sox, but even Manny leaving is a bit much for E to digest. And now, if E wears his Manny shirt, is he making some kind of statement? I don’t really know! Ah, the challenges of parenting that you never, ever anticipate.

Because I was so very preoccupied with work, S did more than his share of things this evening. Normally he and I do roughly half apiece—people would be really impressed to learn how equal we are in household duties. And then when necessary, whoever is not the stressed out one takes over everything. Last night was one of those nights. He just uncomplainingly assessed what needed doing and got through it. I really appreciate that.


get back to my prepregnancy weight, since my son was born in 2000, so I've clearly been carrying these extra pounds for far too long (read all 40 entries…)
I find I am afraid to say anything 1 week ago

I haven’t met my goal weight yet (according to the bathroom scale). But I’m consistently below the decade mark that’s just above my goal, so I am really within 3 or 4 pounds of my goal. why is that so scary to say

Also, the Wii Fit gives me a weight a few pounds below that of my bathroom scale, and it says my BMI is normal. Just barely. If I have a bad day where my weight goes up even a smidgen, I edge back into overweight. That hasn’t happened for a while though. Knock wood it stays that way!

People continue to comment on my weight loss. I’ve even had some ask how much I lost, which I don’t want to answer! I just happened to read in an etiquette column in the paper that it is, indeed, rude to comment on someone’s weight, even in such a positive way. I’m glad it isn’t just me. I can see how for some, that’d be a huge motivator and they’d want the positive attention. I don’t get angry at people who are just trying to give me a pat on the back. But it makes me so uncomfortable! First, I don’t much like to draw attention. Second, it makes me think that they’ve been silently thinking, “She should really lose some weight.”

[Note: Online pats on the back are fine, because you’re not looking my body up and down, and you haven’t seen me at any weight. The remoteness of 43T makes it OK.]

Oh, and the weight I am right now? Wii Fit tells me that my “ideal” weight is almost 20 pounds lower than that. That seems too low. But it worries me, because when I do reach my current goal weight, how can I keep that out of my mind when I set my new goal? I’m such a rule follower and pay too much attention to what I “should” do all the time that I fear that I’ll aim for that weight. Even though it seems unrealistic to me and it’s just a stupid machine that only knows a limited amount about me.


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