How I Miss Thee...

Oh, dear blog and bloggy friends, how I miss thee. 

2012 feels like it has barely begun and yet, it's weeks into the new year and I've barely dropped in to even say hello and ask everyone out there how YOU are doing so far this year?

I have been doing so much and for once, most of the things I do nowadays are because I *want* to, and not *have* to.  That is so very freeing.  I am finally enjoying the time I have now that I do not work a second job in the evenings and on weekends.  My evenings are still sucked up and I don't consider them "free" time, but what I do during that time is in the pursuit of better health and fitness. 

I realize I have not come back recently to share with you the ongoing trials and tribulations of my fitness foibles, but suffice it to say that the Sadist still sees me weekly.  In fact, I have been visiting her torture chamber three times a week now (up from merely two whip-me-into-shape sessions).  I am thankful that she has Boot Camp classes that are much less expensive than a private session, allowing me to increase my time with her.  In addition, I bought a Living Social deal for Zumba classes at a local dance and fitness center.  I have only used up 3 of the 10 classes I purchased, but I have made a commitment to go to Zumba once a week, on top of the three Sadist sessions.  I have missed a week or maybe two since I started that commitment, but that's because of The Great Bedroom Renovation.

In addition, thanks to Move More Eat Well 2012 with Cathy Zielske,  I have begun to focus on my fitness journey in a slightly different way.  My mind is ever-evolving and I appreciate the things Cathy shares with us in videos, online message boards and in the documents she shares with us every month.  I have not made the time to sit down and put my MMEW book together yet, but I have been doing the work... just not the printing and cutting and putting-into-page-protectors. 

After watching Dr. Oz (who, by the way, I am not fond of) interview Rosie O'Donnell (which everything she said except 2 things could have come directly from my own mouth), I am finally embracing that the way I eat is really an eating disorder (eat for all reasons EXCEPT hunger).  I have begun to wholeheartedly and honestly document the food that I eat daily using My Fitness Pal.  I have given myself a week to just eat and write, and not worry about staying below the calories allotted to me.   Well, that was an eye-opener, I must say!  So, starting tomorrow - beginning of week 2 - I am working very hard to stay within the calorie limit set for me (and actually I accomplished this today). 

[To Watch Dr. Oz Interview Rosie O'Donnell, Click Here To Start]

I will prevail!

So what about my weekends?  Why haven't I come on and written posts and visited on the weekends? 

My weekends... oh my lovely weekends.  First, can I say that not having to work my "social calendar" (snicker) around my 2nd job's working hours is absolutely wonderful!  Second, my "social calendar" is packed!  How did that happen?  No matter, I'm loving every minute of it.  Much of it revolved around actually scrapbooking and crafting, and that's AH-MAZE-ING!

Take just the month of February so far, shall we?  The first weekend was spent partially working on The Great Bedroom Renovation and the other part was relaxing and patting ourselves on the back for a job well done, which included scrapbooking with a friend (when I made my vision board).  The second weekend in February I was at a crop with friends all weekend.  It was local, so I slept in my own bed, but we were cropping until midnight on Friday, all day Saturday until midnight and much of the day Sunday.  Heaven, I tell you.  Heaven!

When all of those things are said and done, and I do the bit of blogging that I do over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, suddenly I'm kind-of tired!  So my own personal blogging has taken a back seat.  For now.  It won't last.  I just need to work it into my social calendar a bit more reliably. 

So hang in there with me.  I have so much to share.  Obviously y'all will want to see The Great Bedroom Renovation (which still isn't done, but finishing it is what's on the schedule for this upcoming weekend), the recipe books I made at the last crop, my upcoming crop retreat and a bazillion other things I want to share with you.  Not to mention I have had a 10 Things post  and a challenge from a commenter that I've needed to follow up on from last June! 

Oh, it's coming... it's coming!

But O!  How I miss thee...