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So my future weight loss will be measured here- No pressure, just keeping it real...If you want to support me, be my friend on "My Fitness Pal" and help me along the way...

Spending Fast...

Anna Newell Jones, of AndThenSheSaved.com went on a spending fast for a year and got out of debt…she is my hero!

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to be debt free as soon as possible. And then the disasters began- broken appliances, fractured sewer line, pay decreases, and car issues… Things were so bad, I raided the money you are not supposed to touch, EVER!!!

So to get back on track, and have a better idea of the priorities, I am going to try a spending fast… From August 1st 2011 to February 1st 2012. I have taken Anna’s list and made the changes that reflect the differences in our lifestyles…

This is my draft- and please let me know with your comments if I am missing something obvious…

Items I need to spend money on:
Mortgage/Home Insurance/Escrow: Not optional!

Urgent Home repairs… but hopefully I am past that stage… Please God...

Utilities (keeping lights and water off as much as possible; keeping the thermostat at 65 and wearing a sweater when the cold comes)

Basic Cell phone service- I will need to start paying my own way come the end of October. Ouch!

Internet/TV/Phone- because as much as I need to pay my debt, I need 911 ability when the power is out, internet for working from home, and TV for my kids so the next six months does not kill them

Food (store bought and only when I run out of stuff in cupboards and freezers)

School fees and Latchkey (like death and taxes- unavoidable!)

Allowance for John- cause he works so hard

Fairfield Community Center Pass for me- the exercise is essential to my health plan

Swing Class- again invoking the exercise clause, though I may start going every other week.

Doctor Dentist and Medication co-pays- cause healthy is happy

Car payment and Car insurance- with any luck, the Land Rover Payoff will happen prior to the end of my 6 month fast

Birthday and Christmas gifts for my children and our family Kris Kringle- this is a need for the holiday spirit, cause Christmas is still really hard for me.

Gas for commuting, oil changes, and other car maintainance stuff

Life insurance

Charitable giving- I have routine donations I make, but will not be making any additional donations till the end of the fast...

Debt repayment and emergency fund...


What I'm NOT spending money on:
Books… painful even to list…

Cards and Gifts - truth be told, I probably have enough cards in the house to last a year

Clothes/Coats/and any other thing worn on the body.

Trinkets…AKA crap...There is a great deal of stuff that fits in this category...

New make-up, hair stuff- bands, elastics etc… This may belong with trinkets...AKA crap...

Eating out- no McDonalds, IHOP, Applebees… the list goes on but you get the idea...

Movies/DVDs… not even Harry Potter on DVD…. Already hurts…

Shoes…which usually is not a big deal for me…

Bed linens/Towels/Houseware items…after my stint at Macy’s, not really a huge issue…

Decorative house stuff- including paint and carpet for right now…

Amazon.com… so expect their stock to PLUMMET during these 6 months

Cafeteria food… I spend a BOATLOAD of money in the cafeteria…

Poker…KILLING ME…

So did I miss anything on either list? As my friends, I encourage you to be BRUTALLY honest… And I need your input by next Monday because the fast will be starting August 1st...

Ode to Harry Potter

I am sure a million people will be lining up to see the final movie. I bought my tickets on July 5, just to be on the safe side. I will be in my seat at 12:05am when this final part of the journey begins.

So how did I fall for Harry Potter? It all started at BJ’s in Cortlandt Manor. They had the first three books in hardcover, and they were under $10 each. I had heard all the buzz, was in need of a new book and figured I would see what everyone else had already discovered.

I was hooked from the first chapter. Fast moving and very well written, I was through the three volumes in rapid time, and left to wait for the fourth volume and the movies which were in the pipeline.

Harry Potter book releases became an event. I would re-read the previous books so the story was fresh in my mind when the next volume arrived. Pre-ordered from Amazon, I would have the book in my hands by 10am and would read undisturbed till the last page. Heaven!

Each movie was well done, though as a huge fan of the books, I knew the pieces that were missing. I remember taking my very young son to see Goblet of Fire and he was terrified of the dragons. As he has gotten older, it has become his favorite of the group.

I was in Ohio for Order of the Phoenix. My only interruption was a conference call for a patient (yeah it was Saturday, but it was important) The mom asked, when we finished discussing her child, what page I had gotten to…I was nearly to 300 already…

But I was getting impatient waiting for the mail to arrive. I became the person who went shopping at midnight to pick up The Half Blood Prince.

When Snape did what he did, I sobbed. I felt betrayed. I always thought he would ultimately be the good guy Dumbledore said he was. The worst part of my grief? I could tell no one. I was the only one in my circle that had already finished the book. Because of course, it had only been released 14 hours earlier…

Waiting for The Deadly Hallows was bittersweet. The journey was ending. And while the book was very well done, with an Epilogue to please the fans, I was sad that the story ended.

And now, with the final movie out this Friday, the journey will be complete. This story of heros, of love, friendship and bravery will be complete. JK Rowlings has given the world a great gift. I will always be grateful.

And the "Biggest Loser" is....

It is now official:

>>> Joe G___ 7/14/2011 11:03 AM >>>

Collectively, 77 pounds were lost!! That is 1.96%!!

The starting weight was 3,938.60.
The ending weight was 3,861.60.

On average, each person lost 4.05 pounds.

And the "Losers" are......

Third:
S___ B___ (lost 4.42%)
(Prize - $35)

Second:
Geri Kelly (lost 5.80%) THAT IS ME!!!
(Prize - $75)

THE BIGGEST LOSER:
G___ H___(lost 10.76%)
(Prize - $230)


Round THREE starts Monday morning! We have 8 people who have confirmed so far!! The more people participating, the higher the prizes!! What could you do with a few hundred dollars????

At least $10 MUST be paid at the initial weigh-in.
Most people have commented that it was a lot easier paying the $20 up front....but it is your call.

Congratulations, not just to the losers, but to everyone who participated!

- Joe

So yes, I am paid into the next round, my second, and can't wait...

And did I mention I lost over 16lbs... How happy am I... Between that and Harry 12 hours from now, I can hardly contain myself...

Laughing out loud...

After Zumba Saturday morning, the Hohweiler girls came to spend the day- swimming and dinner at Applebee’s with Harry Potter on the small screen as a finale. We watched the first half of the Deadly Hallows again, to be ready for Thursday night/Friday morning. We all cried again over poor little Dobby. I know, I am a big baby.

After they headed home, I watched Kyle Busch win in Kentucky, while Jimmie came in 3rd. Apparently, I had the best seat in the house- no 5 hour traffic jam- my friends only got seated in time to see the last 75 laps. Then there were folks being turned away from the speedway even with tickets. No Parking…Can you say PISSED? I am amazed there wasn’t a riot.

Having been to Bristol- all I can say is the excuses given don’t wash. And they have lost some loyal fans, from the looks of the social media world. Denny Hamlin was funny though… “Good news bad news/ bad news is I’m prolly not gonna make the drivers meeting in 3 hrs because I’m in this traffic with everyone else … Good news, I’m starting in the back anyway.”

It is good to keep your sense of humor…

Speaking of sense of humor… My garbage disposal stopped working. I know, how many appliances does that make this year? I refuse to count anymore…

So since the dishwasher, which is on the same plug, is still working, I don’t think the power source is the problem.

Emphasis on THINK.

Having already consulted the two electrical geniuses I know, I am fairly certain I need a new unit.

So, even though I know he is on vacation (either New Mexico or Glacier Park), I left a message for Tony (my own version of Mike Holmes) to pencil me in when he gets back from wherever…

As a New Yorker, I can tell you, living with no garbage disposal is not a hardship to me- did without one my whole life till I moved here five years ago, and I am sure I could live out the rest of my days without one and do quite nicely.

However, my dishwasher is somehow interconnected and so, whatever the problem is, I am having dishwasher back-up in my sink. Thank God I have a REALLY deep kitchen sink. Yeah, Tony picked it out.

I was telling the girls that this year has been so bad, when Tony answers my calls, his first words are, “Girl, what’s broken now?”

He really needs a vacation.

And I am keeping my sense of humor…

Summer Update

Wow- July 8, 2011- Summer is really moving now… and so am I…

I got in a poker game, hosted two graduation parties, and have danced the nights away.

And I am learning every day. And not just the mandatory 24 hours of CEUs I did to renew my RN license, just saying.

In my “Made to Crave” journey, my buddy Eileen and I have shared our triumphs and our pitfalls…we are honest and open about the stress and challenges, keeping it real and keeping one another on track.

“The Biggest Loser” round ends next Monday with our final weigh-in. I am hoping to remain in the top three… I am so grateful to my office buddies, Karen, Donna, Carol and Kathleen, who cheer me on and help me stay on track. And I want to publicly thank Joe, the man behind the challenge, who does not judge and is always kind. Oh, and I am signing up for the next round that starts the first week of August.

I LOVE Zumba- it makes me sweat and makes my lungs burn- an amazing Saturday morning wake up call.

Salsa- two hours on Tuesday evening- is an all-over work-out and afterwards I ache…in a good way. What a wonderful way to move!

Swing is always a good time, I like the people and the classes. I just regret it is so far away…which means getting there when the weather is poor is not going to happen.

Belly-dancing is still hard- I feel totally uncoordinated and odd- hopefully I will improve in Session B.

Tai Chi is great relaxing motion. But I am considering switching to a second belly-dancing class in the same time slot… Still considering the options.

Oh- and Harry Potter comes out next week…Can I tell you how EXCITED I am…But more on that later.

Still working my way through The Fitting Room. It is a more difficult read than I thought it would be. Make that challenging. I am working through each chapter, and the issues brought to the surface... Work for sure.

So what have you been up to?

Fire

In July of 1977, we had a house fire. Ten at the time, I was just finished with 4th grade, and a girl in my grade, Helen, had a fire in her house that left her badly burned. She had not yet returned to school. Her sister, who was Ellen’s age, died in the fire because she hid under her bed. I didn’t sleep deeply in the months after Helen’s fire. I believe that is why I woke up the night our fire began.

I awoke to find a thin grey smoke filling the upper quarter of my bedroom at the top of the stairs. I went downstairs and found Mom asleep on the couch, and that she had fallen asleep with a cigarette burning, which had scorched the couch cushion. I woke mom up, and we moved the cushion against the wall by the top of the basement stairs, and Mom doused it with some water and asked me to turn on the fan in the kitchen window. Dad (who believes what he believes) had the fan pulling air out of the kitchen, rather than blowing in, because he felt that circulating the air was more cooling. In this case, it acted as an exhaust fan, and started to move the smoke out of the house.

Mom went back to sleep, on the other couch, and I went upstairs and back to bed.

I awoke again with a start, and now my room was filled to just above my bed with thick black smoke. Out the window, reflected in the siding of the neighbor’s house, I saw the huge orange flames in the room just below me. Even with the light on, it was like night. I moved to the side of Ellen’s bed, and tried to shake her awake. I was practically lifting her from the mattress and dropping her, I was so forceful. She did not wake up, so I ran to my father’s bedside and started to shake him and call to him that he had to wake up- he mumbled that what ever I wanted could wait till morning, and I screamed that this couldn’t wait till morning. And then he was awake enough to see we were in danger, told me to stay where I was, and raced out and down the stairs.

Now I could hear Ellen crying. After a short time, Dad was back, and scooped up Eddie, blankets and all, and brought him downstairs. He came back and took me to the top of the stairs and instructed me to go down the stairs and straight outside, to take a breath and to not stop, not look back, just go straight outside.

The smoke was hot and my lungs were burning with my breath held. It was disorienting to be unable to see anything through the smoke, and it was almost like the smoke was crushing in on me. Half-way down the stairs, I inhaled and felt myself choking on the foul filthy poisons filling the stairwell. I did not stop, and a moment later I was outside and able to breath. I stood in my pink baby-doll PJs by Eddie at the curbside and waited for the others.

Dad had Dee walk down, and carried out Ellen, and then went back inside to put out the fire. We still had not seen Mom.

The Hoerings were outside with us, and Linda went with Dee to pull the fire alarm. Mom emerged and we saw Dad as he stuck his head out the upstairs window, that he left open to let the smoke out. He was covered in soot. We all were. The firemen arrived, no lights, no siren, likely due to the high volume of false alarms at our box. They went in, Dad came out, got some O2, and declined going to the ER.

We children were all put into beds in the Hoering house and I fell into an exhausted sleep with no dreams.

When I woke up the next day, I was embarrassed to be in my baby dolls and so exposed, and slipped downstairs and out the backdoor, and slid into the kitchen of our house. The burnt smell was bad, but the blackened walls were awful. All the clothes in our closets smelled of smoke. The wall next to where the cushion burned was chopped open. The clean up was already underway.

Walls were washed, the laundry, bedding and curtains were cleaned, toys were cleaned or thrown away. Ellen’s beautiful doll in the green Spanish dress was one of the casualties. There was just no way to clean the delicate fabric.

After washing walls came painting them. Every room in the house was painted over the next four days. Dad replaced the wall that had been opened with axes by the firemen. The pressure was on… We were having Dad’s family over on the weekend and no sign of the fire could be left, or questions would be asked. So we washed and cleaned, from Tuesday to Saturday- and nobody knew. It was never discussed, it was like it never happened… but fire was something I now was truly afraid of- because I knew its power.