Feeling New

(I'm sure you're all wondering what the heck the title is about. Hang on, you'll find out soon enough)


So, I haven't updated in a while. In fact, quite a while. I just haven't felt like I've had anything worthwhile to say, honestly. Life hasn't seemed exciting and, I must admit, I've been in a bit of a funk. Life has just seemed, well, rather dull lately.  Work, school, eat, sleep. Over and over and over and over again.  


But.


I have exciting things (well, I think they're exciting at least) to talk about.


A few weeks ago (almost 4 now), I decided I wanted to switch birth controls. The appeal of going for three months without the dreaded she-who-will-not-be-named-time was great, I must admit. I did a lot of research as well, though, because I'm not a fan of screwing around with my hormones anymore than necessary. What I discovered was that it is healthier for you, better for your body, and has no more severe side effects than any other birth control. So I decided to take the plunge and I switched to Seasonique. 


Oh guys, if there are any reading this, you might want to just skip over the next paragraph if you're squeamy about girlish times of the month talk. Just know switching birth control has made me feel better and healthier than I've felt in a while. 


And let me tell you, I noticed differences in about three days off of the Patch and on Seasonique. My body felt better, I've lost weight (I'll go into that more later), I have no moodswings besides the normal frustrations, my skin is softer, I have no more migraines. I'm not bloated and things are firming up that I didn't expect to. Seriously. Hubby is noticing. Overall, I feel amazing. My body feels like it's evened out, so to speak. And the funny thing is I never realized how much the Patch had been messing with me until I got off of it. I just thought I needed to "power through the bad days" because it's birth control, so of course it'll cause weird things. Boy was I wrong. 


Which leads me into the weight loss. 


I've been on a "diet" of sorts for the past four-five weeks. I decided that I was giving up carbs (breads and pastas), sugars (mostly candy and soda), and most dairy products. Which left me with eating lots of protein, fruits, veggies, and yogurt. Now, I do cheat. Sometimes. (C'mon, garlic bread?) But the point is more that I'm concentrating on not eating them as regularly as I have been, especially for snacks and lunchtimes at work. Which means I've been eating yogurt for breakfast and a hardboiled egg with veggies for lunch, usually. Or some yummy chicken with garlic and veggies. That sort of thing.  


Now, to clarify, I have done some dieting off and on since the beginning of the summer, but haven't ever really found anything that worked long term for me. I'd lose some, then I'd stop and gain it back. 


But, that yo-yo dieting included, I have lost a good 18 pounds. I'm still curvy (obviously), and I still have a bit of a belly because, well, I've come to grips that I probably will always have a belly bump of some sort. But that's not the point. The point is I've lost 18 pounds, 10 of which in the last 4-5 weeks.


Mix that with the new birthcontrol, and I really do feel new. My body doesn't feel weighted down anymore because of all the evil trans-fats and carb heavy food I was eating. I feel healthy. I feel wonderful.  


And I seriously do blame Seasonique and the change in diet. 


I haven't felt this good in years. And people are noticing (not just Hubby, either!). It's wonderful. 


Oh, and this past week we got to see our best friend and her hubby from up north for a visit. Which was lovely. We got to reconnect. Though I miss her terribly (we both do). So skype dates it is! 


Also, I got my hair cut. It's awesome. I look like Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim (without the bubblegum pink....my boss would have a cow if I showed up for work with it that color. Sad panda). 


All that to say. I'm feeling better than I have in a long while. It's awesome. 


So that's my update for now. I'll get better at updating daily instead of bi-weekly. 


P.s. Ok. Thunderstorms and pouring rain....in October. Last week it was 115. What. The. Hell. 0_0 

The tower's built of spit and spite, without a sound, without a sight. The biter bit, the bitter bite. (It's better to be out at night.)

So...as you can tell from the title, I'm on a Neil Gaiman binge. Well, not really. I just got a new book of his, Fragile Things. It's his collection of short stories and some poetry. Very good. The title is from a short about Vampires. I found it intriguing that it's basically a cycle that never finishes. Specifically: The biter bit, the bitter bite. And around and around it goes... Intriguing.

Anyway.

I/We had a very interesting odd weekend. First off, because Hubby's great-uncle passed away and we headed up to the funeral on Saturday. It was a lovely ceremony with family on a cliff overlooking the ocean with the waves crashing in the background. At the end, all the grandkids threw flowers into the ocean. Hubby read a speech from his dad who couldn't make it out, and everyone loved it. All in all, it was very lovely and dear, a good remembrance service. Then we drove home and got back about 8-9pm.

Sunday, of course, was Valentine's Day. Hubby and I were amazed and delighted to realize this was our fourth Valentine's together-1 dating, 1 engaged, 2 married. We both could hardly believe it's been that long, but come December, we'll have been together for four years and counting. So very wonderful.

So Sunday, we didn't have plans. We wanted a relaxing Valentine's Day, nothing stressful. Hubby had taken me out to dinner last week early on as our V-Day dinner. I was wanting to do something on Sunday but couldn't figure out what. We slept in, relaxed, and then Hubby got up and "ordered" me to stay in bed and in comfy PJs while he went out to run errands. When he got home, he made me walk out with my eyes closed and then gave me my gifts. The first were these gorgeous orchid plants he got me, instead of a bouquet of flowers, because he wanted them to last as long as possible, and these can keep growing and blooming for a long while (so long as I keep taking care of them. Hehe). Then he told me he was going to make us dinner, and we were going to curl up on the couch watching fun movies and just have a relaxing night. It was a lovely Valentine's Day. I have the best husband around, and I am one lucky,lucky girl.

To my delight, I discovered on Friday that I had the day off Monday because of President's Day! I was a bit worried I'd still have to get up early to go in to work with Hubby because of the whole one car thing and I had a class at 6pm. However, Hubby's boss let him off at 4:30 which meant I was able to sleep in till noon (Haven't done that in a LONG time!), take a shower, relax, read, organize the house a bit, and do wifey things. It was gloriously relaxing. I didn't have to worry about anything, got some laundry done and some dishes (thank God for washer/dryer and dishwasher! It's amazing!). I also discovered that our lovely little Condo is amazingly peaceful and quiet during the day, and bright with sunlight when you have the doors and windows all open! I spent a good two hours curled up in a recliner just reading and enjoying the sounds from outside that didn't involve sirens or yelling. Hehe. I honestly can't wait till I can stay at home and only work Part-Time. I don't know exactly when that will happen, but man, am I looking forward to it!

Well, I have set a goal. My hubby is taking me and a friend on an "Epic Date" (his name for it) in April. Which means, I would like to get in better shape before then. So...I have decided to start swimming in the mornings, and doing the P90X with my hubby (we start next week!), and also cut down on my food intake. By which I mean, except for one meal, only fruits and veggies for the rest. I want to tone up and lose this stomach. I fully admit I've been a bit lax when it comes to working out, but with my hubby getting up at 6AM every other day to go running, and starting the P90X, I figured I should too. Might try some Yoga too ;) Goal: Lose weight, but overall, be in better shape, and lost the stomach. Whatever that means and however that works out. The nice one is Tues/Thurs I'm on campus about an hour before my class, so I can easily do a quick half hour at the gym and get to class. So, here's hoping it works! I knew taking 2 PE classes this semester was a good idea!

Oh, btw. I'm getting a new addition to my body, face really. Glasses! I went and got an eye exam (I totally forgot the air-puff they do to my eyes, I must have jumped a foot!), and got glasses. They are cute, if I do say so myself. They'll be coming in about 2 weeks. Hopefully it'll help my headaches go away, especially with trying to see the powerpoint and reading the board at school (and also driving), because so far, I keep getting major migraines. Meh. Hooray for a job that causes eye strain. But hey, at least it's a job.

Alrighty, I think that's all caught up now. I have work to do, somewhat, and signs to practice.

Ta!

P.s. Here's hoping I get some other additions to my body soon too. XD