January 14, here I come!

I officially start the 20/20 Lifestyles program on Monday, January 14. For the 16-week program, I'll be doing the following:

Working out with a personal trainer in the evening on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

Meeting with my nutritionist once a week after one of my personal training appointments

Meeting with a counselor on Thursday evenings

Meeting with a women's support group on Monday evenings

Working out on my own at least two other days a week besides my personal training sessions on M/W/F

After the 16 week program, I'll go into the 12-week maintenance phase, where I'll still work out with my trainer, and meet up with my nutritionist and my counselor, but on a slightly less frequent basis.

I'm so excited to get started, but I know that I'll go through moments where I wonder what the heck I've signed up for. It will be the most intense exercise and nutrition program I've ever done in my life, and I already lead a pretty busy life. But, in the end it will be worth it when I see and feel the results. And it will certainly get me out of work at a decent hour, which is always hard during a ship year, but I just can't wait any longer. After we ship one thing, there's always another thing right behind it. So, I just decided to bite the bullet and do it now. I realize that will change some of my habits as far as work goes, and will probably slow me down a little bit as far as promotions or things go because I won't be taking on so many extra things. But, maybe that's a good thing. We work in this really busy, fragmented, always-something-else-to-get-done kind of place and it takes its toll on a person.

I think this program will make a world of difference in my immune system, back problems, asthma, acid reflux, and migraines. Once I get all of the food allergies and such figured out, and get my body moving, I know that I'll feel better just by doing that. The weight loss will be just that extra benefit to help with my back problems and asthma. And I sincerely think that my immune system will finally start to improve when I take better care of myself. Looking back on this year, I've been sick once a month every month since August. And that doesn't count the flu and cold that I had at the beginning of the year. That's just awful, and I don't want to feel that way anymore.

I am hoping that I find some kinds of activities that I really enjoy so that I stick with them. I always hear about people who kind of get addicted to exercise, and I just can't fathom it. I hate working out with a passion. Anything I can do to make my life less active, I'm all for. So, the cool thing about this program is that your trainer helps you to find activities that you're interested in so that you stay with them. I want to do some swimming, because I've always really enjoyed swimming. And I have a friend who wants to try some group classes with me, such as step aerobics (which I like, because I like dancing) and pilates, so that will be good. I feel more motivated when I have a friend because it doesn't seem as much like work. I might also pick up a fun activity, like badminton or something where I meet people who like to play. My friend really likes squash, so I might try that with her. It seems a little bit less painful than raquetball.

Anyway, I want to go into my 30s a much healthier person than I've been in my 20s and make that something that I can maintain for my lifetime. Wish me luck!

Christmas recap

L. and I had a very nice Christmas celebration with family and friends this year. On Saturday night, we got together with Kati, S., and K. for dinner at Beppo's and games at Jillian's in downtown Seattle. I hadn't seen any of them for at least a few months, so it was good for us to all get together and catch up. I actually did well at pool this time, but sucked at air hockey. I'm amazed at how sore my arm was the day after air hockey. I can definitely say that I really get into the game.

On Sunday, L. and I took it easy because he was getting over a cold and I was just getting into one. We went to a couple of places to finish up some last minute shopping, and stopped by my cousin's house to drop off some presents for them to take over to my family in Eastern Washington. Little T. opened his presents while we were there so that I could see his reaction. I got him a couple of tee-shirts from my various trips this year, and he thought they were cute. But clothes never get as big a reaction as toys when it comes to little kids; clothes tend to thrill the parents, though.

On Christmas Eve, L. and I made our way down to Federal Way to spend the evening with my dad and step mom's family. We had the traditional prime rib dinner, complete with everything you'd love to gorge yourself on. I had a great time, despite the fact that my cold continued to worsen and I didn't feel so great after stuffing myself that night. I got to thinking about it, and I hardly ever eat red meat anymore, so I wonder if that had something to do with it, too. I love a good steak, but only eat one on rare occasions, and I never feel that great afterward. I'm not vegetarian or anything, but I gave up eating hamburgers and such a long time ago.

Yesterday, we went to my mom and step dad's house for Christmas Day celebration with my sisters. My sister L. brought her new boyfriend, R. My sister P. brought over my niece and nephew, and her husband ended up showing up after all. It was a good day, overall, and I'm still hopeful that she and her husband will work things out. It's still very iffy, but I'm praying for them.

As usual, I was totally spoiled. Tonight I sat down and wrote out my thank you cards as I was putting things away. I always have a hard time finding places for everything, and of course you always end up with one thing that you're just not sure what to do with. But, it's the thought that counts, so I'll try to figure out how to use it or give it to someone who can use it.

L. gave me a set of beautiful earrings and a necklace from Something Silver. And he got me a Lorac makeup set and the Jean Paul Gaultier Classique perfume that I had my eye on. He also went out and got me all of the Smashing Pumpkins albums and singles from their last release (since they released several different versions with varying bonus songs and I had only gotten the one from iTunes). He was really cute about the CDs, too. He wrapped each one individually, and then wrapped them altogether so that I was thrown off the scent.

I stayed home from work today because I was still fairly sick. Yesterday was fun with the family, but I slept a lot in between the festivities because I wasn't feeling well. I slept until after 3:00 PM today, but felt a bit better after waking up, so I must have needed the rest. Hopefully I'll feel even better in the morning because I am going back to work for Thursday and Friday before we leave for Montana.

Hope that everyone else had happy holiday celebrations as well!

Plantlife

For Christmas, I have received two plants from well-meaning people. The first is a fir centerpiece that holds candles and it is currently sitting on my breakfast bar. It's lovely, and luckily it's not meant to last indefinitely.

The second is an amarylis plant from my manager that's still in bulb form. Her instructions were, "just water and it will grow". I let out a little chuckle. These are probably sufficient instructions for most people, but I have a black thumb. I'll be shocked and awed if the thing actually blooms. I couldn't even get the poor plant home before it tipped over (despite my best efforts to keep it propped up and to drive extra carefully). So, I need to get to a gas station this weekend and vacuum out the potting soil from my car mat.

I'm not sure where I go wrong with plants. They are seemingly simple, as my manager's instructions point out. I always read the instructions, and try to put the plant in a good area for the light it needs and water it accordingly. But it's just not a success. This is odd, considering I come from a long line of farmers on both sides of my family and even worked on the farm when I was a kid. Come to think of it, my grandparents are lucky that I didn't kill the wheat and alfalfa just by being in proximity of the crops.

When I tell people that I have a black thumb, they're always quick to offer plants that are so simple, no one can kill them. Believe me, I can and have. My mom buys me a plant every mother's day (and for all of my sisters), and I have yet to keep one going longer than a few weeks. The only successful plant I've ever had was a lavender bush, and I think it survived a whole year in spite of me. Once I moved to a new place, it was never the same and I took it to my mom's house to recover. Plants LOVE my mom. They perk up in her presence, and she has one of the nicest yards in the summer. The plants always get depressed when she and my dad go on their summer vacation and I'm tasked with watering the flowers. As for that lavender plant, she gave it back to me once it got back on its feet and it promptly died. I think it committed suicide when it realized it was back at my house.

So, we'll see how this whole amarylis thing goes. It already had a rocky start in my car. At least they just boom once and then that's it. That's not too much pressure. If it doesn't work out, there are worse things that could happen. And as for the fir centerpiece, it will be nice over the holidays and then I can throw it out after it runs its course for the season.

Some more thoughts about the Zeitgesit filem and Ron Paul

This is semi in response to a comment by my friend, Web Dev Girl on my last blog post, and semi to clarify my last entry and my thoughts on Ron Paul.

First, about Ron Paul. Ron Paul has some interesting ideas, but I have some big problems with several of his stances and I think that he sometimes has a very limited and simplistic view on things. Also, I don't really agree with his views on abortion, the second amendment, health care, immigration, and education. Some of them I agree with in theory, but not with what his proposed actions are. For example, I find it interesting that he wants to repeal a lot of federal legislation, but continues to support the movement to limit and take away women's reproductive choices. That displays a paradox in his views.

With regard to the second amendment, I agree that it is important to uphold it, but I don't agree that it is to be done without common sense such as beneficial legislation introduced by such bills as the Brady Bill. We can uphold something while being smart at the same time. Making someone wait for a few days to obtain a weapon isn't removing their right to bear arms. And frankly, we have a big problem with guns in this country, the likes of which are not seen in other places around the world. The founding fathers wrote the Constitution in a way that we could add on and make changes in the form of amendments. This is a very important tool as we continue to change and grow as a nation.

Now, about the movie. I think the video was interesting in that it gets you to think critically about things, which is why I say that I took it with a grain of salt. I would never watch that and take it as Gospel truth. But there was a lot of interesting historical information, some of which I remember learning about long ago and it kind of reminded me of some of those things. What I like is that people are starting to take a look at some things and ask questions to foster actual debate and promote an aquisition of knowledge. This is something that has been sorely lacking in our society, and frankly went from bad to worse when Bush took office in 2000. And unfortunately, it will take awhile to bounce back from the destructive programs like No Child Left Behind in our educational system.

Wow - Zeitgeist will blow your mind

A friend told me to watch the video on Ron Paul's Web site, which is actually the third part of a longer movie. The section on Paul's site is approximately 45 minutes, but the actual full movie (on www.zeitgeistmovie.com) is much longer. I plan to watch the full movie at another time, but I can definitely say that this third section blew my mind. Part three covers the federal reserve, war mongering, the decline of American schools, the fallacy of 9/11, and what it all means for our future.



The actual Zeitgeist site has some interesting information to supplement the film, as well as the full film for viewing and downloading. I still take some of this with a grain of salt, but it definitely caused me to open my eyes a little and re-analyze some things.

And, I have to say that I've been blogging and talking about some of these things for some time. It's actually kind of nice to see that some of this information is starting to get out and affect conservatives who have been so blindly following Bush. Of course, all of this is not dictated by party lines. It's just unfortunate that we are in a two-party system here, because I think it keeps the power in very limited rotation. And frankly, liberals have been talking about some of the points from the movie for a long time but were silenced by the changes that have occurred in the media and political sphere.

Here are a few old chestnuts from my blog:
Growing Fascism in the US
Awesome opinion piece about the state of the nation with a link to We're Being Gaslighted
Hell House

Is it really the week before Christmas?

Really? It sure doesn't seem that way. Despite the fact that Thanksgiving came early this year, I didn't even get my Christmas tree up or any decorations out. It's in part because I've been so busy with my new job and just pooped when I get home, and in part because of some of the difficult things going on in our family right now. At least I got my Christmas cards written and mailed, and all of the gifts are wrapped. So, that may be the extent of what I can do this year.

L. and I will be spending Christmas Eve at my dad and step mom's house with whatever other family members decide to show up. Who knows, it may be just us, my parents, and an aunt and uncle or two. And we'll spend Christmas day at my mom and step dad's house with my sister P. and the kids, and my sister L. and her boyfriend. Right now it doesn't look too good for P.'s husband to show up. Then, on the 29th we'll fly to Montana to visit L.'s mom and step dad. We'll spend New Year's Eve with them and then come home on the 2nd.

So, things will certainly pick up next week. I'll work Wednesday through Friday next week before we leave for Montana. From past experience, this time of year is one of the only times I actually get significant work done while at work. It's amazing how different it is when I have no meetings and only a few people are in the office.

Life update

It's been an extremely busy and interesting last month. I started my new job in early November, and I still feel like I'm fumbling around trying to figure things out. I started getting a little bit down on myself today because I feel like I should be further along, but then I had remind myself that it's only been a little over a month and I'm the one putting the pressure on myself. So far, everyone has been really helpful and I've been receiving good feedback. So, I just need to ease up a little on myself.

It's kind of weird, in a way. When I was a contractor and a vendor, I had to move around much more frequently or at least be prepared to move around frequently. My contract or project could change at any moment, so I think I was more used to adapting to change. I was on my last team for almost three and a half years (three of that as a full-time employee), so I had the ability to build the documentation set from the ground up and to become a subject matter expert (SME) in that product. I was definitely on top of my product and documentation, so it was much easier to make a decision about where new information should go and how to prioritize all of the work. But, during that time I wasn't as focused on keeping up with other things in the industry because I was heavy into building my expertise.

This is one of the hardest things at NerdCo (a name I've blatantly stole from a fellow blogger/previous co-worker). It's a huge company with all kinds of different specialties and technology development. We're constantly on the cutting edge and as a result, I don't think any of us really ever feel comfortable in our expertise. There is always something else out there that we'd love to know if we had more time in the day. But at the end of the day, we're all part of this machine trying to meet deadlines and then moving right onto the next big thing. And the fact that everyone has different ship schedules and products are constantly in flux means that it's really hard to always get a good end-to-end scenario documented until after things stabalize. Sometimes we don't even get that until customers go live with our products and can give us additional information.

In any case, I'm realizing that this is not only frustrating for customers but also for those transitioning to different teams. I just took over this new documentation set, and I'm trying to figure out what's currently there, what's missing, and how I can improve on the existing content. At the same time, I'm trying to learn the last version of the product and the next release of the product so that I can update old content and write new content. And, as if that weren't enough, I'm trying to figure out all of the processes and the culture of this new team. I had a sort of fire-drill yesterday when I thought I had missed something big. It turned out that we are marching to a slightly different schedule than a few of the other content teams, so I was worried for no reason. But, it freaked me out enough to wonder if I'm missing something other things. And of course I'm missing other things because I'm new, but I won't know what those things are until something happens to bring it to the surface.

I've also recently been reading through customer feedback on my newly-acquired topics and some are really frustrating because it doesn't have to do with the topic per se, but rather their frustration about how to get technologies to work together and they just unload it all in a comment in one topic. There's absolutely nothing I can do about those kinds of scenarios, because we just can't possibly address every single thing. We try to get the 80% scenarios to work and then the rest have to go to experts who can help to troubleshoot issues that often have to do with environment issues or that span several groups to try and get the technologies to play nicely with one another. It's an incredibly difficult job.

And I understand their frustration. I feel it every day when I'm trying to figure out how best to present information, and you can never make everyone happy. So you get comments that people hate content that has links in it, while other people hate to scroll and thing a topic is too long. Or you get a low rating with no actual comment, so you have no idea what the person didn't like about the topic.

Today, I went to the bookstore to pick up a couple of books about the last version of my product. While I was there, I saw a couple of new books had come out about my last product. I looked longingly through the pages at all of the things that I actually understood. And then I reminded myself that it took me three and a half years to acquire all of that knowledge. So, that's when I decided that I need to give myself a little bit of a break. I'll still work my butt off to learn all of this stuff, but I need to be patient with myself and understand that this will all come in time. And I reminded myself that I can't compare myself to the woman whose documentation I'm taking. She's been on this team and product for over eight years, and built everything from the ground up. I'm in the same position as the woman who took over my old documentation on my last team. We actually went to dinner last night, and consoled each other in how difficult this all is.

I know that I'm whining, and I apologize. There are so many good things about this change, and I will write about them later. And I always know that I am lucky to work for such a great company and with such great people. It's just sometimes overwhelming. I definitely work hard for my money!

New Year's resolution, a little early

Tomorrow night, I'm going to the introduction session for the 20/20 weight-loss program. This is something that I was going to start in September, but that got postponed when I got sick in August and then in September, and then my asthma got bad and I ended up in the emergency room that night in October. And of course, my back went out last week and it's still a bit sore this week, but I'm going to go tomorrow and at least get signed up so that I can start it right away in January.

It's definitely time to shed these extra pounds and get back to a healthy weight, and learn how to maintain that throughout my life. This program is really comprehensive and has a high success rate, and it's a very healthy way to do this because it teaches you how to lose weight through diet and exercise, while dealing with any emotional or medical issues that may be complicating matters. I've had a few friends who went through it and were very successful. I want to head into my 30s as a happy, healthy woman and this will help me to better achieve that goal.

Making something usable again

After my divorce, I put my wedding ring in my jewelry box and left it there. Every once in awhile, I'd run across it when looking for a pair of earrings or something to accessorize my outfit, but for the most part I forgot about it. After L. and I got engaged, I thought about my old wedding ring and thought of what a shame it was to just have it sitting in that box with absolutely no current purpose. I knew that the stones were very good quality, because C.'s uncle was a jeweler and had saved them for something special, which happened to be C.'s and my engagement. Even though I didn't clean the ring as often as I should have, the stones were always very sparkly and I always got compliments on the ring. It was perfect for me in that relationship, in that time, and in that place. But after the divorce, that was no longer true.

So, I decided to have the stones reset in another piece of jewelry. I commissioned our friend, A., to make a pendant with the stones, and he just finished it and dropped it off a little bit ago. I'm absolutely stunned. The piece is beautiful, and it is now something that I will wear and love again. In the end, C. may have been a big knucklehead, but at least he knew enough to put good stones in that ring. It's weird how some things that had a certain meaning a few years ago no longer mean the same thing, but it's good that I was able to do something with that gift and make it something that is applicable to my life now. I remarked that the pendant is too beautiful and nice to wear on a daily basis, but A. quickly disagreed and said that I should wear it often. Why keep it hidden away for only special occasions? And in a way, he's right. I mean, I'll still wear my regular ol' fun necklaces and such from time to time, but I can throw this new one into the mix.

And, I have to say that A.'s work is amazing. I've known him for years since he became friends with my cousin in college. He worked with L. to design my engagement ring, and I couldn't be happier with that either. I now have a real go-to person for my jewelry needs and wishes. There is something really neat about having a piece designed just for you. The elements of the design are found in other pieces, of course, but I was able to take ideas from different things and pull them together in one thing that I really wanted. That is very cool.

My favorite stores

Because of the holidays, I've been doing a lot of online shopping. I've also gotten a few things for myself along the way, both for practical items and some splurges. So far, I absolutely love, love, love the following stores. They have the best selection, prices, and great customer service.

Zappos.com
If you want shoes, Zappos is your store. They have incredible selection and prices. Even with regular shipping, I always receive my shoes within a few days and sometimes they even up the shipping to overnight (for free) so that I receive them the next day. They also have free returns. One time, the price of a pair of shoes kept changing when I added it to my shopping basket, so I called their customer service line (about 1:00 AM). It was answered by an actual person, and they honored the sale price, even though it turned out that their web site was wrong. They also overnighted the shoes that time so that they came right away. I can't say enough good things about Zappos.

SkinStore.com
I have very finicky skin, so I'm always looking for good products to help soothe my face and get rid of breakouts. Skin Store has a comprehensive selection, great prices, and their site is great at helping you find things targeted to your needs. I always receive things quickly from them, too, and they always send good samples. I just ordered a new line called Atopalm and so far I'm really happy with the results.

Sephora.com
I love the online store, and the physical stores. They carry so many brands and some really great exclusive items. I love that you get free samples with every order. I've actually gotten samples of a few things that I went back and ordered at a later time. Sephora is definitely a one-stop beauty shop.

Amazon.com
I have always loved Amazon for books, music, and movies. Their prices are always amazing, and they have just about everything and anything I've ever searched for.

Overstock.com
I love this site because it has so many things in one place. Again, the selection is great, the prices are unbeatable, and the shipping is cheap, cheap, cheap.