Back in business.

I've missed you, dearest blog of mine!

I've had a few things on my mind lately that have kept me very busy.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been in the process of interviewing for a pretty exciting job. I had a phone interview, a written test, and an in-person interview (for which I had to prepare a 3 hour lesson plan).

It was all on the stressful side, but it's over now and I know I did my best. I don't know yet if I got the job (and I'm really trying not to get my hopes up), but no matter what, it was a good experience and I'll be that much more prepared the next time 'round!

Through all of that, my dad has still been in the hospital recovering from his heart attack. He had a defibrillator implanted on Friday and will hopefully be returning home soon. I've been visiting him most days.

I wish I could say that I've been 100% on-plan and exercising through all of this, but that's frankly just not true. I also missed my meeting yesterday because I was out of town. However, the week before was mostly good and I was actually down at my last meeting! I'm hoping to start fresh NOW and make up for some lost time this week, now that my life seems to be getting somewhat back in order.

It's also the end of the semester for the courses I'm currently teaching. On Friday, I taught the last class of the term, and now I have a little break until their final exam on Wednesday (which I have the joy of marking).

With my rare bit of free time, I visited with a couple of university friends this weekend in the country. The visit involved, among other things, a corn maze (that I danced through at times):

baby goats:

and Saved by the Bell:

All in all, a much-needed weekend of fun. :)

Hopefully, I will start blogging more frequently and, more importantly, taking care of myself with healthy eating and exercise. I know in my head that's a better way to deal with stress than, say, ordering Chinese food, but sometimes my actions don't reflect that.

I am relaxing now with So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Good night, all!

keep on keepin' on

Sometimes I feel too grown-up for my own good.

I have my own apartment, I pay my own bills, I cook my own meals, I do my own laundry. Although no one has done any of these things for me for years, occasionally I wish I didn't have to be so responsible. While I like having complete control over my own life, and I do think that has helped me immensely with becoming healthier, sometimes I miss the days where I "didn't have" to care so much about what I ate. When times get tough, and I can cheer myself up by buying a danish with my morning coffee, then I'll invariably do that. My healthy routine is often the first thing to go.

I've had some stressors and changes in my life over the past few months, and while I don't think they are excuses for my slight weight gain of late, they are definitely factors. I started my first real job in September, and was living alone for the first time in my life. While these were both really good things for me, being solely responsible for things like rent and hydro was a big change.

I haven't mentioned on the blog that I had a difficult break-up a few months ago. This definitely took its toll on me. For several weeks, I felt I should take every opportunity to eat some delicious food. I think the last few weeks (or maybe even months) of that relationship was when my current plateau began.

Recently, I've begun seeing someone new. This has been a big change, as well. This is only the second person I've dated in my life, so it's all very new to me. And even though it doesn't feel stressful, it's shaking up my routine, and sometimes eating healthy and exercising can fall by the wayside.

On Saturday, I got the new Weight Watchers monthly pass, which includes unlimited meetings and e-tools! I was super-excited to be able to track online again (I was an online member before I started going to meetings). Saturday and Sunday, I tracked diligently. Surely, here was the ticket out of my slump! I thought.

Then, on Sunday night, my dad had a second heart attack (his first one was 10 years ago). He's doing well now, thankfully. Understandably, I've had a stressful few days. I think I've tracked one meal since then.

But am I unable to track because I'm distraught, or do I latch onto any bad thing that happens as an excuse to let everything go? Obviously, things happen, and it's important not to beat yourself up if you're not perfect all the time. But I've been consistently imperfect for months now. And I'm afraid that this is how the weight comes back: one excuse turns into another, and before you know it, you weigh more than when you started.

Ashley put it best: she told me one day that you have to be kind to yourself, but you shouldn't be a pushover!

I think I need to be a grown-up about this, too. It's time for some tough self-love.