Reboot Boogaloo, September - open group

Walked 3.24 km today. It was sunny. Nice day. I had to take a few breaks...felt weak. need to do some nutritional investigation. perhaps. vivia, what if you just ...um changed your mind and said...sorry can't teach for you after all..haha... what could he do? nuthin' yo. i want to sleep but won't cuz it messes up my night sleep. oh well. half a mars bar treat today. that's progress i say. it used to be 2 mars bars a day. we've come a long way baby. more free verse to come. xoxo sj

Yeah, sj, I tried. . .but I have this whole "I said I'd do it (at first") so my sense of honor kicked in or some such and I said I'd do it this ONE time, but I think I was pretty clear that it was this one time. Here's hoping. :laugh:

Happy Friday, super-Pebbs!

MM, she is beautiful. I also love that once you stopped working on/worrying for the yard/landlady, that problem resolved. That is a good parable for me today, as I am carrying way too many worries. I found out through my Facebook student grapevine that my new boss is a notorious bully, and well aware that he is out of bounds. When I am on campus I will voice concerns to the GPD, even though she's a word I cannot say, because I am a lady.:laugh:


Goals of my day:

A blitz tidy before a student comes over
Teaching said student (she is a joy)
Working for three sessions with the gorilla in between
A meeting with an advisor

Maybe going out to hear some music tonight.

And that, as my good friend says, is enough for anybody.

Hand on the plow, finish the row, boogaloo.:flowerforyou:

Morning, super-pebbs,

Today I have pampering:

a mani-pedi, writing, and resting. I am in a bit of a depressive state coming off of my manic energy on the fieldwork. It was bound to happen, but I'm trying not to sink into it too deeply. I pencilled in last night as a "lick my wounds" and recover night, and today is "get back on it, sister" day. Tomorrow is a big jazz service at my husband's church, and a wedding to go to (whee. . .social times :ohwell: ) and then next week is pretty busy/stressful. I'm getting encouraged/pressured to get more involved with the union (and I really don't have the extra energy). Also, I'm thinking of hiring a research assistant (a v. smart, super-charged undergrad I taught last term reached out to me in an email. . .could be cool) to help organize a big data analysis for the diss. :noway: This feels very "official" and grown up in a weirdish way.

MM, I'm sure all the clothes are probably a "security blanket" factor, too. The climate change is going to be a shocker.
Mary, I'm jealous of the long bike ride. I really want to get down to the lakeshore and rent a bike before the cold really and truly sets in here. SJ, hows the walking going? I know you check it in on facebook, too. . .but I like all the newsy updates. . .MFP is my escape.:laugh:

WHERE MY OTHER PEBBS AT?

Balance between pamper and stress, boogaloo.:flowerforyou:

Quick check in before church.
I am reading the posts but I haven't had time to comment.

Not too much to say really. Kids are getting along well. Irina is doing great considering what she's been through. Stick her in the bathtub and you swear she turns into a fish. :laugh:
I ate too much yesterday. I would say the Russian diet is over. I need to be careful so I don't gain back the 7 pounds that I lost.
I have to get us ready for church. Praying for minimal tantrums this morning. :ohwell:

Too busy to post boogaloo.

Hey everyone. I feel super lazy today - I had to work some last night, and also this morning, and now I just keep napping! Hubby is back home from all his business trips, and we spent yesterday taking care of his car (dead battery), and today taking care of mine (inspection = new rotors, ouch). The weather is gorgeous, though, so as soon as the car is ready we'll probably go out for a lazy stroll around a neighborhood festival. All I've been doing this week is working and taking lots of vitamins (in both food and pill form), and cutting out most caffeine. Tomorrow I go back to the doctor and found out if any of it has helped! It feels like my thumb is healing - but I can tell it's very stiff.

Welcome home, MM (and Irina)! I'm glad the kids are doing well, and so happy to hear that your landlady situation has relaxed a bit.
V, when I read the post about you giving in to your boss and then crying through yoga, I knew exactly how you felt. (get out of my head ) I always take responsibility for things and then feel bad and blame myself when I realize I shouldn't have. On the one hand, there's power in taking ownership of my own life and decisions rather than blaming "the world" - but on the other hand, it's not right to put all the blame on myself when I find myself in a crappy situation. I'm glad you got some additional perspective on the bully so you're better prepared. You are still kicking all sorts of butt this year in your academic career, so focus on that - the research assistant might be a good idea!
Mary, way to go on the ride!
Sarah, I like the poems.

Beautiful Sunday, boogaloo. :flowerforyou:

V, sorry to hear about your new boss. I hope things get better for you.

Mary, they gave us a certificate of Christianity (meaning she was baptized in the Orthodox church in Russia), so I guess she has been to a church before, but I don't know how often she has gone. She did well, and sat on my lap the entire service, waving and smiling at everyone. However, afterward, when everyone was milling around and socializing, she became overwhelmed and started acting out. Key to my new daughter: do not overwhelm her because it does not become her.

CP, did you get to go on a stroll last night? How was it?

Sarah, remember that the number you see today is just that: a number. It does not reflect who you are or how far you've come. You have been doing a lot of walking so it may have gone up a little. I read somewhere that it takes at least 6 weeks for the body to get used to a new routine and for change to start. Hang in there. It will come!

Today we have tumbling class. Just for Alex. I hope to eventually enroll Irina, but not yet. She's too unruly. It's our first outing without DH so hopefully it will go smoothly. Alex has been awesome. I guess we prepared him well. He's been very patient with his new sister and does what he's told. He's just a good kid. He will have his days. I just hope it's not today. I am glad our first outing with Irina is a short one. She gets overwhelmed so easily right now. Tomorrow may be a little longer depending on how well she does today. Praying for patience and the right perspective as I deal with her. I sometimes "forget" that we've only had her for a week and everything is still so new. I need to keep that in mind. She has had no proper training in the orphanage about people's personal space and property. Or even going to the bathroom she has not been trained right. Now she's suffering from itching. It's awful to see how she's been allowed to do whatever she wants. Maybe I said this before but they did not discipline her. They distracted her from whatever naughty thing she was doing. That only encouraged her ADHD, not helped it. So we are having to undo and redirect.
I am very thankful she willingly takes naps! That means I should still be able to get some work outs in or spend some one on one time with Alex. That makes me happy. I may try to get a walk in today on the treadmill or something. And I need to get back to logging. I had two days of pigging out.

Patience and perseverance boogaloo.

SJ, in answer to the question of "when" the answer is "now". That being said, I completely understand how difficult it is to own that right. What Mary said is true. Here, no judgement.

MM, I think "overwhelmed does not become her" is my motto, too.:laugh:

Intentions of the day: to get a walk in, to go buy "project binders" (see above 'overwhelmed' comment) and hydrate.

Intentions of the larger picture: mini-vacations! This is the school year that I remember that I live inside of a body and treat it well. This means going outside and visiting the sky, self-care days (that manipedi did me a world of good. More like that) I've even decided to not do writing on the weekends. Mami needs her sanity. As far as scheduled workouts go, I've decided on Sunday Zumba, wednesday active beginner yoga, and thurs special people yoga. Other days will be wild card days for walking or gym when the winter comes, which will never happen, because I am in denial.

Huge intention filled novel, boogaloo.:flowerforyou:

Morning, pebbs:

Feeling super-productive, since I had to get up early and come up to campus. Picked up a letter of recommendation, which nearly made me cry, it was so glowing. (which is how I guess recommendation letters are supposed to be, right?) now I'm waiting for dude who wants to be my assistant and wasting a bit of time on the Internet. My huge organizational binge went pretty well yesterday, but I still feel sort of buried in books. Later today I'm going to see if I can tame that a bit. I got rid of three shelves of books earlier this year and the dissertation writing has filled them right back up.

Other than that, I've been hoofing it everywhere, so that's my walking of the day. I'm sort of saving up energy for the yoga class tomorrow morning which I'm excited/nervous about. Also, I didn't get paid for September, so, um, yay? My acupuncturist put this extra short take-home needle in my ear lobe (it looks like a weird bandaid) for stress. I think it's working, because I feel a little less manic/enraged. It's been a v. Stressful first few weeks of the semester between the jerk boss, no contract and now no money. I'm just in sort of "really?!" mode right now, so stressed I'm not even really reacting.

Second helping of really?!, boogaloo.:flowerforyou:

(I actually wrote most of this post yesterday, but got distracted and forgot to post it - in case you're wondering why most of the news feels a day old)

Good news! My x-ray yesterday showed progress! The knuckle side of the fracture is getting fuzzy and harder to see (though the other side is still pretty obvious). So, my doctor gave me permission to start taking off the splint some and moving my thumb a little bit. Go, thumb, go! :bigsmile: (Today it is actually feeling a little more swollen and hot, probably due to the extra movement. It is still VERY stiff and I can bend it probably less than half of the normal range. But it's good to be able to take the splint off and move my wrist and the rest of my hand, too.)
Other good news - I had to go back to the mechanic, because after I got my car back on Sunday it wasn't acting right. Fortunately, it was a quick fix - I was in and out in about 30 minutes. And since I was already working from home yesterday, it worked out great.
We did get out for a bit of a walk on Sunday - we went to the little town where we got married and walked around. Nothing long or strenuous, but it was nice. And I took a walk yesterday, too - it was nice and sunny, and I need my vitamin D!

SJ, all those things (walking, feeling stronger) *do* matter. That's why we focus on goal-setting here - not all the goals can or should be about weight. It's about improving ourselves, pushing ourselves - holding ourselves accountable for our actions, not just focusing on a number.

Of course, that being said... I haven't been setting a lot of goals lately. This week - get back to taking my walk breaks, keep up with the good nutrition, and... um, try and get some sleep! I am a terrible sleeper lately; I never go to bed early enough, and then I just lie there thinking about everything. :ohwell:

MM, I'm sure you're doing fine, and it will get better. :flowerforyou: Such enormous changes for everyone! This is the first week that Irina gets a chance to *start* understanding how things are in your home, in this country, and what the routine is - but I'm sure it will still be a while before she feels "settled". I can't even imagine - it's hard enough to be a child in a new situation, and only partly understand everything happening around you, but it must be especially tough with the language barrier. Has Alex learned any Russian?
Do you have any support groups for adoptive families that you are/can get involved with? Every child and family is unique, but I'm sure many of the challenges are similar.

Day by day, boogaloo.