What a Week!

My house was listed Sunday. I had a showing Sunday afternoon and a full-price offer Monday morning. I had a showing Tuesday afternoon and a full-price offer Tuesday afternoon! I accepted the offer from Tuesday. Now comes the fun part. The person was supposedly pre-approved but my agent is still waiting for confirmation of that. Once this is confirmed an inspection will have to be done within 7 days and then an appraisal.  In the mean time I have a showing tonight! Keeping the house clean and picked up and worrying about the dog being home when the house is being shown is much more nerve wracking then I imagined.  The other issue is the appraisal. Houses are selling like crazy in my area but the appraisals haven't caught up to the market so I worry....

In other news. I am down 5 pounds and chopped off my hair!

Moving Right Along

Wow I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted!

 The house is going on the market tonight.  From what I have heard from realtor's houses are selling but the appraisals have not caught up to the market. I could get an offer soon but the house may not appraise so it's all up in the air.  The basement is cleaned out along with my closets, office and bedrooms. The moving company came last night to give me an estimate and by no fault of my own my work knows I plan on leaving. That in itself if a long story. Everything is on track so now I just need to get rid of the house!

Moving by myself is scary. I moved about 10 times in as many years but always had Bob as support. We thought nothing of just up and moving. Now I worry if I am making the right decisions. Well, the decisions are made so I guess I need to just get on with it.

I am considering giving my Bitsy cat to a good home. She is 12 and I worry about the trauma of moving, in a car, for 2 days, staying in a strange place (my sisters) with 2 dogs and then moving again when I get an apartment.  I am open to suggestions.

Wish me luck! I think I may need it for this crazy journey!

Updates

I have been riding my bike at least 3 times a week around my neighborhood. There is a lot of traffic so it's not easy but I try to go early in the morning on the weekend and later at night during the week. I don't enjoy it for exercise as much as walking but with my crazy foot I can't walk for exercise right now.  I also work out doing strength training for an hour a week and just bought new yoga and pilates dvds. I feel like I am getting in shape but....

...this would have been week 5 of the diet but I quit.  I was super careful about what I ate; measuring everything, exercising and only eating what I supposed to for over four weeks. I only lost a total of 4 lbs and that was during the carb-free portion of the program. I can't  live like this. It is not sustainable for me so I am modifying what I eat and still taking care to only eat "healthy" carbs.  I did blow it big time this week but I will stick to my new plan and let you know how it goes.

I am on track to put my house up for sale the second week in July. My sis is flying in next week to help me tackle a few of the bigger things that I need help with (can anyone say BASEMENT) and then I will call the realtor after 4th of July.  If all goes as planned I am hoping to move in September. I hope the house sells for a reasonable amount in a short time period but not too fast! I am not THAT ready! The biggest problem is my Invisalign braces. I was supposed to be done with them at the end of the month but my teeth are not cooperating. I now have until November!  It's a long story but the orthodontist and I worked it out a plan for after I move.

For those of you with father's or who are father's, enjoy your day!

Oh, the spellcheck button has disappeared! crud...

The Bike Story

Last year I decided bike riding would be easier on my foot then walking for exercise so I bought this lovely toy. It's an Electra Townie. The basket and streamers just seemed right some how (and were not included).  I love her! This year when I brought her out of the basement her tires were a little low so I figured I would load her in the trunk and go get air. Mind you, I have never had to do this before; up to this point I had an air compressor and a husband.  Sold one, lost the other.

It was a struggle but I finally got her in the trunk with the front tire hanging out. I had bungie cord tie down thingies to hold the trunk closed but my car doesn't have any place to tie them down. I looked all over, no latch, nothing!  I didn't think it was legal to ride around with my trunk open, looking for a gas station with an air pump, so back the bike went into the garage. You may not realize this but  there aren't many gas stations with air pumps left in my area!

I was wracking my blonde brain for two days for some way to get those tires some air. I called my mom and told her the story and she says, " walk it across the street to Belle Tire. I am sure they can put air in your tires!" DUH!

In other news, I didn't lose a single pound this week and I don't want to talk about it!

Hanging in there! Week three of the "lifestyle" change.

Finishing up week three of the diet from hell...or as my sister loves to remind me, my new lifestyle. The first two weeks were very hard. No sugar and no carbs means no life. Cutting sugar was the hardest thing I have done in a long time. It was like when I quit smoking but I almost think it was more difficult. I didn't want to smoke any more. I really want sugar!  This week I added back on carb and one serving of fruit. I feel better!  The total weight loss for the first two weeks was 4 lbs. If I can lose one lb a week from here on out I will hit my goal in ...oh....5 years!ha ha  If I actually do lose one pound a week I will hit my goal in August.

I spent the rainy Memorial Day at a barbeque with old friends. A few years ago  it was all adults and now there were a bunch of little munchkins running around. We ate great food, drank good wine and had a wonderful time.

If the promised rain shows up tomorrow I plan on working inside the house. I have spent the last few weekends outside planting and digging and weeding.  If I ever expect to sell my house I think I need to tackle the dark hole that is my basement.

Have a great weekend!

This week

It's been a busy week. Bitsy, my cat, has been throwing up for a few weeks. So far it has been $300 at the vet to figure it out. She is 12 years old and has always been small but she only weighs 6 lbs right now. We are trying various things to get her to stop but while the amount and frequency has gotten better, she is still throwing up.

My mom was supposed to have gallbladder surgery today but the surgery schedule got messed up and now she isn't having it until next Thursday. Poor thing was already to have the surgery and now has to psyche herself up again next week.  Next week works better for me but I already moved my schedule for this week around. Now I move it back and adjust next week because, hey, it's all about me!

So the diet from hell.... I have 4 more days of Phase 1 (no sugar, no carbs).  I am not sure it's working. I have not cheated..well I did have a few Hersey's kisses... but I have been eating veggies and meat and cheese and eggs in various ways for 10 days. I thought no sugar no wheat, carbs whatever was supposed to make you feel good. Not so much.  I will weigh myself Sunday and  can start adding "healthy" carbs back in to my diet Monday.  The other thing is not eating sugar and carbs is supposed to "cure" you of the cravings. Again, not so much. I would kill for a Starbucks Chai!

 I am off for a four day weekend with no plans!  I am going to try to go see Iron Man and I do have gardening to do but I like being able to just do whatever I want and go with the flow for four days.

Have a safe and Happy Memorial Day!

No looking back.

I started a diet today. First time ever. Over the past 18 months I gained five pounds which is understandable since I was going through some tough crap but add that to the five or so extra pounds I was already carrying and I was feeling a bit voluptuous. I knew I was getting heavier but my clothes still fit so hey, whatever....until I saw this picture!  Where the hell did that padding around the middle come from?  

The South Beach diet has three phases that all seemed reasonable to me. Phase 1 consists of two weeks of no carbs; just protein and veggies with no sugar at all. This phase is to help get over the cravings. Phase 2 is adding foods back and Phase 3 is maintenance. I thought about Weight Watchers but all that keeping track of everything little thing would make me crazy.

Phase 1 is going to be difficult for me because I always like something sweet after I eat. Even if it's only one piece of chocolate or one cookie, eating without sweets will be tough.

I had to seriously prepare myself for this. I made lists, bought cookbooks, threw out food and asked the pizza neighbor to stop bringing me pizza every week. I eased up on the sugar in my morning tea and...sigh....gave up my crack...er...um....Starbucks.  I am as ready as I will ever be.

So that's it. I have a 10 pound goal.  I am back to gym starting Wednesday and I will post my progress here every week.  Wish me luck!