A “Me” Day

Yesterday I had a chance to spend some time on myself – a rare thing for a working mother of three!

In the morning, I went to an exercise “bootcamp” with my friends Cheryl and Kim.  It was pretty intense, but surprisingly, after all the exercising I’ve been doing lately (I’ve lost 19 pounds now since Christmas), I kept up pretty well.  I was actually a little bit proud of myself – it’s nice to see my hard work pay off.  A few months ago, I NEVER would have been able to keep up with the class. 

And after the class yesterday, I decided to go do a little bit of shopping for some new work clothes.  I’m down 2 sizes now – yipee!  I went up into the attic a few weeks ago to find some of my smaller sized clothes and found that all I really had in that size were jeans – It seems that the last time I was this size, I was a stay-at-home mom and all I wore were very casual clothes.

But at least the jeans I found fit me – so I started wearing them to work. 

While my workplace is pretty casual, people starting commenting on the fact that I was wearing jeans every day – I blamed it on Mike.  He doesn’t see the point in spending money on clothes that I will (hopefully) not be wearing for very long as I continue to lose weight.

Speaking of work, I’m finding that people are starting to notice my weight loss.  And for some reason, it makes me extremely uncomfortable – not sure why.  I guess I don’t like to think that I’m the subject of conversations – I’d rather not be noticed at all, I suppose.  Mike thinks it’s a control issue – since I’m not present during the conversations, I can’t control where they go.  I may need to examine that a little further…

Anyway, I finally broke Mike down on the spending-money-on-smaller-sized-clothes issue and I went out in search of a few pairs of black pants to get me through the next few months.  After trying on MANY pairs of pants at Gap and Macy’s, I found the perfect pair – the new pants from Dana Buchman at Kohls.  They fit me so well, I bought two pair!  While the tops in her line are a bit too colorful (and a little too wide) for me, the pants seem to be made to actually fit a woman’s body – no gap at the waist, just the right amount of stretch…love ‘em!

So while I’m holding off in buying a whole new wardrobe, at least I have some jeans and black pants – what more can a girl want?  A new pair of shoes, maybe…

Back from Florida

The kids and I are back from our trip to sunny Florida – and have been welcomed back with a snow day!  I am SO not a winter person – I just don’t understand why anyone would enjoy being cold.  When the colonists decided to settle in America, why didn’t they go further south so they wouldn’t have had to worry about those severe winters anyway?

At least for a few days, we enjoyed some gorgeous weather and great company.  We stayed with my dear friend Linda, her husband Tom and their children Kylee and Zachary.  My kids were excited to be able to swim outside in February. 

And yes – I took all three kids to Florida by myself – Mike stayed home with the dogs.  Getting through security at the airport was interesting – we had to take out all of our electronics, remove our shoes and put all the bags, coats and liquids on the belt – not nearly as easy as it sounds.  With three of us, it was quite the project.  To make it easier on the way home, I pulled out all of the iPods, Gameboys, cameras and cell phones ahead of time – plus, we were able to go through the faster “employee” line after I showed my FAA badge (it doesn’t come with many perks, but that’s one of them).

This was Matt’s first time flying and I was afraid that with his AS, he might have an anxiety attack.  He did, at first, but I was able to distract him by letting him play on my laptop (something he is not normally allowed to do).  Mid-flight, he looked over and said, “I don’t even feel like I’m on a plane – I feel like I’m at home.”  I was happy he had a good flying experience on the way there, because on the way back, we flew through a front that caused some moderate turbulence during the ENTIRE flight (even I was stressed – FAA perks don’t help you there).  But he handled it okay – I told him it was just like going over bumps in the road.

While we were visiting, we spent a day at Epcot which was a GREAT choice for Matt (he doesn’t like rides at all) and the other kids as well.

Epcot was a great combination of hands-on science stuff and cultural displays which was perfect for the kids.  They also had a new scavenger hunt program using a Kim Possible theme.  You’re given a Kimmunicator (aka cell phone) that gives you clues and activates special features throughout the park – even Andrew thought it was really cool!

We also visited the beach while we were there:

I wish I would have pushed my hair out of my eyes for that photo!  And I’d also like to point out how tall my son Andrew is (although he was standing on a little sand dune).

The kids enjoyed staying with their friends and had so much fun playing and swimming – we also visited Linda’s friend Judi who was kind enough to warm her pool for our stay.  My kids were in the pool for hours – the last time they’ll be able to swim until Lake Kandle opens on Memorial Day weekend.

Oh – and we also attended a ‘Puppy Shower’ – the Brandons got a new Westie puppy after we left and the neighbors threw her a party to celebrate while we were there. It was actually really cute – there were games like ‘pass the rawhide’ and a little agility course for the kids to maneuver while acting as puppies.  Their new puppy Molly will join Geddy’s brother Buddy who was more than happy to attend the party:

It was so nice to be in the sunshine – even if only for a few days.  But now it’s back to reality – and about 8 inches of snow.  Even the FAA Technical Center is closed today – and no one can remember the last time that happened!

One more thing – I managed to stay on my diet and exercise plan (for the most part) while we were away and I’ve now lost a total of 18 pounds since the holidays.  Unfortunately, I’ve still got a long way to go (I was pretty discouraged after seeing the photos of myself), but at least I’m making progress…

A quick update…

I haven’t been able to post as much since I’ve started this full time work schedule, so I thought I’d give you a quick update on what’s been going on around here…

First, I have continued to stick to my New Year’s resolution and have lost 2 more pounds for a total of 14 pounds lost so far.  This particular week I didn’t make as much progress as I’d hoped – my weight pretty much stayed the same.  But I am happy to report that I am seeing a definite change in the flab vs. muscle ratio – especially in my ‘core’ (a word – along with the word ‘powerhouse’ – that is WAY overused in yoga and Pilates, in my opinion).  I have been exercising every day, even getting up at 5am some days to work out before going to work.  Once you get into an exercise routine, it becomes more and more enjoyable – even addictive (not that I have an addictive personality or anything…).

On the work front, I am happy to report that the Alaska Flight Service Modernization (AFSM) Screening Information Request (SIR) package has FINALLY been released!  This is the package that we have all been working on for the last year.  What does this mean to me?  It means that work on this project can start moving forward again – things have been pretty slow the last few months which drives me CRAZY – I’d much rather be busy (it makes the work days go by faster).  Of course with the timing of things, I’ll probably have to go up to Alaska in the winter next year…

I am adjusting to the new full time schedule – having every other Friday off helps quite a bit.  But working 9 hour days is hard – especially with an hour commute each way.  I did move into a new cubicle with a window view though – which caused QUITE the controversy since I am a contractor and not a federal employee.  Apparently, window cubicles are prime real estate at the FAA Technical Center…

I’m off today and am trying to catch up on some things around the house – whatever I can do to make the weekdays easier!

Diet Progress

Just a quick update on the never-ending diet/exercise plan…

I’ve lost 12 pounds so far and have continued to keep up with my New Year’s Resolution of exercising at least 5 times a week (even if it’s just for 20-30 minutes each day).

Exercise TV has become my new friend – there’s so much to choose from that sometimes I spend more time deciding which workout to do than I spend actually doing the workout. 

I’ve also been really good about watching what I eat and have tried to start some healthier habits.  No more candy, chips or cakes – I’ve replaced them with fruit, whole grains and yogurt.  Well…I say that, but one of my little secrets to success lies in Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies (40 calories each) and ice cream sandwiches (140 calories each).  I allow myself one treat every day so that I don’t feel deprived.  Of course, I have to stop at just one cookie in order for this strategy to work… 🙂

I still have a long way to go, but at least thing are jiggling just a tiny bit less than they used to (and I’m not super-sore after every workout anymore).

Feeling a little bit better…

So now that I’ve had time to adjust to the idea of going back to work full time (and have recovered from a bad bout of either food poisoning or the stomach flu that I had earlier this week), I feel better about my decision.

Mike and I worked out an ‘alternate work schedule’ where I will have every other Friday off and he will have the opposite Fridays off – which means that one of us will always be home every Friday.  That gives us the flexibility to schedule things that can only be done on weekdays (cable guy, home repairs, doctor appointments, etc). 

For some reason, the idea of never having a weekday off again (other than vacations and holidays) felt stifling to me.  I was so stressed the other day that I had a complete meltdown on the way to work.  Maybe I just needed that release…I don’t know. 

Plus I met with the owner of the company I work for and she offered me a very nice full-time package – I was quite happy (and a little surprised) with the result.  And since I was only working part-time before, I didn’t receive paid holidays, vacation or sick time – now I will receive all those plus all of the other benefits too.  What a great concept – getting paid for not working!  I love it! 

I also realized that since Emily is now in first grade and is in school all day, I really don’t need to have those weekdays off.  On my days off while she is in school, I usually spend my time just relaxing and catching up on silly stuff (like my favorite reality TV shows on Bravo – what do you think of how mean the other OC housewives are to Gretchen on The Real Housewives of Orange County this season!!!).  I have to admit, that time could be much better spent earning extra money for the family.

I will be starting my new schedule on Monday.  Looking ahead, February shouldn’t be too tough – there’s a government holiday (President’s Day) plus I’ll have some time off when we go to Florida at the end of the month.  Not a bad start…

In Loving Memory of Helen Torrence

Mike’s grandmother, Nan, passed away peacefully at home last weekend – her funeral service was today in Allentown, PA.

I posted last summer about how she gave Emily a bracelet that belonged to her mother.

I also posted about our recent visit with Nan over Thanksgiving. 

Nan was a lovely woman who was as sharp as a tack until the very end.  She lived a full life, full of love and surrounded by her family. 

She will be sorely missed…

Things they are a-changin’…

More changes are coming to the Torrence household this year. It looks like my part-time job is turning into a full-time career. This is happening for several reasons:

1. My employer keeps asking me to switch to full-time.
2. We could use the extra money to get out of debt quicker.
3. Most importantly, we NEED the extra money to pay for some unexpected expenses (think April 15th).

So as of next week, I am a full-time employee working a 40-hour week (I was working only a 24-hour week previously). And my income will almost double (a good thing).

I am not so sure how I feel about this change, but I have to say that in this economy, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to have a good-paying, secure job (or even any job at all). I’m going to just keep reminding myself as I am getting up everyday at 5:30 in the morning to get everyone out the door by 7:00am…

Faux Mosaic Tutorial

Lynn in St. Louis, who coordinates the weekly technique challenges SplitCoastStampers, saw a few cards in my gallery using the faux mosaic technique and asked me to put together a quick photo tutorial for this week’s challenge.  

The sad part is, my craft room is SUCH a mess, I had drag my supplies out to do this project on my dining room table (today’s chore is to clean up my craft room – it’s always such a mess after the holidays).

This technique is really easy and there are so many ways to do it – just have fun and be creative with your mosaic!  The basic idea is that you create paper ‘tiles’ and use embossing powder as ‘grout’ to create a mosaic that can be used as a background or accent on a card or scrapbook page. 

Supplies needed:

• Double sided tape (you can use Stampin’ Up!’s Sticky Strip or the same type of red-lined tape sold in sheets either in the craft store or Pennywise Arts – or even just regular double sided Scotch tape)
• Embossing powder
• Heat gun
• Cardstock and/or patterned paper

To start, cut a piece of cardstock to size for the base of the mosaic (it doesn’t matter what color – the cardstock won’t show).  If you are using a sheet of red-liner tape, cut it to the same size as the cardstock.

Then peel off the white part of the tape sheet and apply to the cardstock.

If you are using Sticky Strip you can just cover the entire piece of cardstock with strips, removing the white liner for each piece. 

Remove the red portion of the red-liner tape, exposing the sticky side.

If you are using double sided tape, just cover one side of the cardstock entirely with the tape, exposing the sticky side.

Now you have a very sticky piece of cardstock – set it aside (careful not to handle the sticky portion too much to keep it clean).

Next, create the ‘tiles’.  You can either stamp a piece of cardstock and cut it into randomly shaped pieces:

Or…start with patterned paper and cut it into either randomly shaped pieces or similar size squares.  If you’re really OCD about your crafts, you can cut the pieces into the exact same shape and size – I’m more free-form with my projects.

Arrange the pieces onto your sticky paper.  This is where you can get creative – you can arrange them into a random pattern or space them evenly…it depends on the look you’re going for.  For this card, I was looking for more of a vintage tile wall look, so I kept the pieces mostly the same size and spaced the sort of evenly, but not exactly.

I even overlapped the edge pieces a bit – I just trimmed them off from the back:

Next, sprinkle embossing powder over the sticky side of the entire sheet.  It will settle into the spaces between the tiles, acting as ‘grout’ between them.

Shake off the excess:

And heat emboss:

If you want your tiles to be shiny, you can add Crystal Effects to each tile:

But be prepared – this take a LONG time to dry.  24 hours later, and it still looked like this:

Being impatient (and wanting to show you a completed card), I did another mosaic using black embossing powder instead of silver.  Here’s my finished card:

Different colors of embossing powder will give you much different results. 

Here’s a card I made using gold embossing powder (the tiles were made of glossy paper colored with ink and a brayer):

And another one using silver, but with randomly shaped pieces:

And a much more funky card using plain colored cardstock and white embossing powder:

Thanks for the interest in this technique, Lynn – I can’t wait to see what everyone on SCS creates!

Dreaming of Cookies…

I had a dream last night that I ate an entire package of Double Stuff Oreo cookies – and they tasted REALLY good.  I think this diet thing is getting to me…

Why does this bother me?

This is going to sound really awful, but I’m jealous of my husband.  Or at least I think I am.  I’m not sure, exactly.  Oh…I don’t know what I want sometimes…

Maybe other working-moms-turned-stay-at-home-moms-turned-working-moms can relate to this.  I walk into work some days and disappear into my miniscule dark little cubicle with the fabric walls and the tiny little modular desk and as I go to get my morning tea, I walk by all of the offices along the windows.  Not cubicles…offices with actual doors and real wooden desks.

By the way…for those who don’t know (Steve S.)…proper cubicle etiquette says that if you walk up to someone’s tiny little cube and want that person’s attention, you should either knock on the side supports (again…no actual doors on a cubicle) or clear your throat or jingle the change in your pocket…something to let the person know that you are there instead of scaring them nearly to death by silently looming over their shoulder (for God knows how long) and then making a loud noise.  Just thought I’d mention.

Anyway…so as I walk by the real offices with the managers inside, I wonder where I’d be in my career if I hadn’t taken the seven years off to stay home with my kids.  Not that I regret staying home with my kids in any way, shape or form – I’ll never get those years back and I am SO glad that I was here to witness their first steps and first words and to be their whole world if only for a short time.  But as I schlep to my tiny fabric box-of-an-office, I sometimes feel a little tiny pang of jealousy.  Just a little.

So now Mike is being considered for what would be a rather large promotion (by the way, he already has an office with a real door with a handle and everything).  I’m so proud of him – he is one of the smartest people I know and he really deserves this – he’s perfect for the job. 

So why can’t I shake this tiny voice inside of me that says, “It could have been you.” 

Is that what I really want, anyway?  I love working part time – I enjoy the time I have at home with my kids, working on my crafts…so why does this bother me?  What do I want to be when I grow up?  Is it too late for me to have a real career?  Would I want one, anyway?

And how do you hang things on those stupid fabric cubicle walls?!?!