LADDventure

Five Minute Friday - Bare

These shelves are bare, and it's exciting.  I've been wanting this shelf for our office for quite some time.  It's a Swedish blank slate of organized opportunity.  The needs of this room are different now. The office no longer needs to hold art supplies for teacher projects, stickers, and binder upon binder. It is now the office (well half of it) of a writer and the shelves should be full of words and books and inspiration.  I feel like the office is growing up today, and I get the chance to arrange the bare shelves, like a blank piece of paper, into a story I can be proud of.

I wrote for 5 minutes on one word, hit publish, and linked up over here.  

Do you have 5 minutes today?

Wordless Wednesday - Busted

Invitation to Tea

This morning I am up early.  I wake to a headache that turns into an invitation to join the day way before I normally would.  I decide to take the day up on its offer after laying in bed for a bit, listening to the sounds of Mr. Ladd readying himself to go into the office.  Some mornings I shove a pillow over my head, annoyed at the predictable sounds of his morning routine.  But other mornings, I love the steadiness of it...how I know he's going to put lotion on after he puts in his contacts, or how  (ever the multitasker) he will get dressed while brushing his teeth, thumping from the closet to the dresser with bare feet and a toothbrush in his mouth.  I know he'll put his shoes on before his shirt, and this morning, I love him for his quirky, dependable patterns.

After he leaves, I head downstairs in a sweatshirt and slippers, relishing the silent morning chill that will only be around for a couple more months.  The dogs remain burrowed under blankets upstairs, unwilling to comply with my unusual timing.  It's just before sunrise, and the sky is Earl Grey, with warm tea stained edges at the horizon where the sun is stirring.  I stand at the kitchen counter with my toast in hand, staring out the window, not wanting to miss it. The first birds are sounding the alarm sleepily as kitchen and bedroom windows begin to light up in the surrounding houses.  Neighbors are rising for work and school.

As the sun lights up the palm trees from underneath, setting them on fire, I am grateful.  Many mornings I've only cursed this hour, well into the frantic norm of rushed preparation for the day ahead; quickly grabbing a boring lunch, putting on sensible shoes, and mainlining caffeine as I tried to recall too many obligations.  I had missed it, but today I will not.  I am given an invitation to slowly join the day, so I take it, sitting down with the sun to sip some tea and feed my soul.

WAIST Management - Week 5

Current Weight:  181.4

Weight Lost This Week:  1.4 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 4.9 lbs 

Really scale, couldn't have made it an even 5 this week?  No honestly, I'm totally thrilled with 2 weeks in a row of decent weight loss, especially since I probably ate that entire 1.4 pounds back in taco dip and mini weenies last night.  Curse you Superbowl!  Oh well, I have a week to work that back off, and I just need to account for it in my points. 1-2 pounds a week is a healthy, maintainable rate of weight loss.  In addition to the numbers on the scale going down consistently, I have noticed some other major changes these past two weeks:

The cravings have dramatically decreased.  When I first started trying to lose weight, I constantly craved the junk I had been feeding myself.  I wanted chocolate after every meal, craved carbs at night, and salivated at the smell of french fries.  Now that those things are no longer the norm in my daily diet, the craving beasts have settled back down.

Water is really the answer.  I know I've said this a lot.  But, getting my 90 oz. (about half my body weight in ounces) of water a day is one of things that makes the biggest difference in my eating for the day.  The days I'm feeling a little deprived or ravenous, I look at my water intake throughout the day (which I can track on Weight Watchers) and realize I'm behind.  I've been slamming water before indulging in any "treat" I think I need or to curb late night snack attacks.  It totally works.  Mr. Ladd ordered me a cute pink 32 oz. Nalgene bottle, so if I just drink 3 of those a day, it's an easy way to drink my 90+ oz.

I'm actually OK with less.  I'm been getting full much faster and paying attention to that full feeling.  This takes a few weeks, to actually feel satisfied with the smaller portions and not just frantically think about your next meal, but it will happen. The inverse of that is I don't feel very good if I overindulge with rich foods or eat too much at one meal.  Hmmm.  My body's not used to that kind of abuse anymore and lets me know.  Go figure.

It's getting much easier to choose the orange!