Quick Update

Ok, don't freak out. Two posts in the same month...but I just wanted to give a quick update. It's not pink eye!! I was playing with my dog the other night and I took a paw to the eye. Other than watering a bit I thought it was fine. Two days later my eye was looking pretty scary so I thought it was pink eye. After a trip to the doctor I found out it was a pretty nasty scratch on my eye and some blood vessels had burst. He gave me some antibiotic drops to take to prevent infection. I went back the next day to see him. He was able to tell that it was healing up and still no infection. I'll keep putting in the drops until next week. So far it's looking better and healing fine. The burst vessels will take a while to go away but that's no biggie. You can actually burst a vessel while blowing your nose. Anyway, I'm glad the eye is healing and that it wasn't pink eye.

I also found a pic from when I was at my highest weight and a pic I took on Saturday. Can you tell a difference? :-)

I'm a Slacker

Wow, it's going on almost three months since I posted! I've become a total slacker!! But that's nothing new I guess.

So I've been at my new job for almost six months. That is kind of freaking me out. The time has FLOWN by so fast!! That must mean it's going if time flies, right? The good news is that at six months I'll be out of the probationary period. That gives me more of a sense of security. I move out of "at will" status. And I get an additional personal holiday. Love working for the university!

I did get a promotion at work already. I've been in my "new" job for about a month now. I haven't been able to do my new stuff yet, tho. We had to hire my replacement and she doesn't start for another week. Once she starts, I'll spend time training her and then I'll be able to move into my new job. I'll still be in the same are. I'll be the team lead and will take on more training responsibilities. I'm looking forward to the change.

So all the house stuff has fallen through. I guess that's not a bad thing. I just need to take a breath and relax. I don't know why I was trying to force it. I hate renting and I want something of my own. But if I sit back and relax I can wait a year. I'll have more purchasing power in a year and more options so I just need to be patient. Something I'm not the best at sometimes. Ok, lots of times!

I was trying to find a new place to rent. My place has been cold this winter and I don't want to spend a fortune trying to heat it. so I moved my tv and dvd player upstairs to my bedroom. I've been warm but it sucks living in my bedroom! But rentals here are HORRIBLE! You pay tons of money for crap. Absolute crap. You can get lucky and find a good place but they go so fast. Because the rentals are so crappy it makes me want to buy a place.....ugh, it's a never ending circle!

Anyway, I think I have myself convinced to just stick it out where I am for another year until I can buy. I've been asking myself what I can do to make it more bearable until then. I think if I break down and get cable (gasp!) and internet that that will make a difference. Unfortunately, I live outside of everyone's service area!!! Of course I do! But I think I can do Direct TV or Dish Network. But they don't do internet so I'll have to figure it out.

On the non-frustrating front, I'm down 68 lbs. I had originally lost 140 lbs. Through various reasons (I won't bore you but I'm sure I wrote about it in other posts) I gained 70 lbs back. Now I'm only two lbs from being back to where I was. I'm sooooooooooo freaking happy about this!! I was so frustrated and upset with the weight gain. I never thought I'd lose but I did!! I'm going to keep on going and see how far I can take this weight loss. But honestly, if I only lose two more pounds I'll be fine. Life was good when I was this size before so I'd be happy with that.

On the weird front, I freaking have pink eye!! I can't believe it! I've NEVER had pink eye in my life and now here I am with it. Ugh. Whatever.

I went to the last hockey game of the winter last night. It's a bittersweet thing. I'm going to go stir crazy on Friday and Saturday nights now! But it means spring is almost here. (Spring comes late in AK) Our days are getting pretty long now, we have over 12 hours of daylight. And our temps are coming back above 0. We are supposed to hit 40 today. It's been in the 20s and 30s pretty regularly lately. I'm looking forward to summer, to hiking, camping and kayaking!! So yes, sad that hockey is over but excited to transition into the outdoors!

Ok so I think that brings you up to date. I'm sure there's more but that's all that comes to mind at the moment.

It's Been Crazy

It's been a crazy month/year so far. We had a bit of a cold spell but nothing like last year. We had about a week of -40 weather but it wasn't too bad. Last January we spent about three weeks between -40 and -55. That was crazy. It's a gorgeous day out today, sunny, clear, around -1. I can really tell a difference in the daylight, too. It's only been a month since solstice but we have already gained almost two hours of daylight. Changes happen fast up here.

Speaking of changes, lots of drama going on with the house. UGH It is driving me NUTS!! The builder and my agent have since had professional differences and have gone their separate ways. My agent said he'd understand if I wanted to stick with the builder on the house. Well I'm fed up with him starting and stopping so I walked away from it. I found a house that had been on the market almost a year. The seller is pretty motivated and is the president of a local bank. I put an offer on the house. After I submitted the offer, I was put in contact with another local builder, a legit guy who's been in the business quite a while. He initially said he'd be willing to do a lease purchase option. After some thought I withdrew my offer to pursue something with this builder. Well when we sat down and talked numbers, he can't do the lease purchase option unless I double my down payment, which I can't. He said he'd be happy to build me a house in April 2011, when I should be able to qualify for FHA financing. He has actually drawn up the plans for the house he would build and it's a pretty awesome house. Worth waiting for.

To muddy up the situation, the first builder emailed me last week. He apologized for what happened, said he assumes I'll continue with my agent. But if I was still interested in the house, he's starting on it again next week. He would honor the same terms as before. As if I need this to add to the mix! Do I want to do business with this guy? No. Is it a decent house at a good price? Yes. Crap. What am I supposed to do?? The other house is far and away a better house. But it is also $27k more than this house. Affordability wise, I should go with this one. But if I'm patient, the other one will be the better house. It will just stretch me pretty good. Luckily I don't have to decide anything this minute. I told the first builder to let me know when the house is done and I'll check it out. The second builder will be breaking ground soon on three houses he's building and I'll be able to check them out. I already know they will be the better house, it's just what is the best financial decision?

So talking about finances....there is a slight possibility that I will be getting a promotion at work. One of my coworkers is most likely going to be moving to a different group, a promotion for her. They are planning to take her position and make it a lead position. And they have someone in mind for this position: me. But it will be opened to the university as a whole. There is a chance someone better will come along but I have a pretty good in. Our director and assistant director really want to keep me as part of the group. This would be a great step in that direction. There will be a position a level above the lead position coming open in about a year and a half, and they are kind of eyeing me for that position. So this would be a great career progression. So, the second house might be a stretch, but if this works out, it won't be that big of a stretch. Nothing is certain. Several things have to happen. My co-worker needs to get that job. The lead job needs to be approved. Then I need to interview for and be selected for the lead job. We'll see what happens.

Last but not least, I finally found a local doctor who can do fills for my lap band. I went and saw her three weeks ago. It was an initial get to know you appointment. Technically she knows what she's doing. But her approach kind of put me off. It's like she has a box solution that she applies to her patients, regardless of their individual needs. The reason I chose the lap band is because it is individualized. Anyway, I saw her the following week to get a fill and it is darn near perfect. I don't give her any credit for it tho. She never asked how much I was eating, how much I was eating at my best restriction prior, etc. She just did her box approach. Luckily for me, it just so happened that it is what I needed. Since the fill only two weeks ago, I'm down 15 lbs!!! Freaking crazy!! I know this is not typical and I'm just taking it for the jump start that it is. I've really stepped things up at the gym too. I'm so focused and dedicated to getting this weight off once and for all. I have about 25 lbs to my goal. I'll re-evaluate things when get there.

I guess that's it for this month. Those things are the big things. All else is status quo.