Been Busy

It’s been a while since my last post.  What a busy summer.  There is this mythical concept of summer, a vestige of childhood, that it is a time that is slower, easier.  How misleading.  I always end up working twice as hard in the summer;  of course, teaching four composition sections is not helping. 

 

Tired

What a week . . . it was a long week for me here.  I spent Monday – Thursday grading papers.  I also had to review the manuscript of our department’s customized composition text and get that back to the publisher.  I spent today working on the dissertation, and I actually had a pretty good day with that.  I think I have twenty-five pages done on this chapter;  I should squeeze out another fifteen or so before this chapter is done.  Then I can turn it over to my colleague for his comments;  he is a crack editor.  Then, I will submit it to my director, hopefully toward the end of August.  I swear I’ll be glad when that is done. 

I did manage to work out this week.  I lifted three days and did some cardio on Monday and today.  The weights, surprisingly, felt good.  I am no where near where I used to be, but it feels good to be pushing my body again.  My diet has been really bad;  I guess I have not gotten serious enough/disgusted enough yet.  The way for me to lose weight is steady exercise and weight watchers;  I am about the same weight I was when I began weight watchers several years ago and was successful.  To be honest, I have not gotten on the scale for more than a week.  I have not been brave enough.

In the morning, I will get up early and treadmill.  Then I will drive to Tennessee and join everyone at my mom’s house.  Two of the kids are doing a swim meet in Chattanooga, and my nephew Benjamin is being Christened Sunday. 

I posted an announcement to my online students stating that I would not be online until Monday.  Imagine that!   

One Week: Two Pounds

I’m at 221.5.  I lost two pounds this week.   

I am surprised at this weight, considering the way I gorged myself last night on low-grade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger mix.  Crap if I did not eat the whole thing.  The reason, though, is that I had not eaten all day song sans two pieces of dry toast in the morning.   I exercised a few times this week, too, but I can do better, and after yesterday’s lapse, I feel better today and have my focus back.

Today I have had the following:

2 pieces of dry wheat toast and coffee for breaksfast
1 cheese sandwich, red grapes, and raisens for lunch

I am going to work out in the morning real hard — some cardio and strength training.  I am going to need to do better and stay with it to get to 219.5 next week. 

On a different front, it appears I have a fungus attacking my “lawn” in the front yard.  Large dry brown spots surrounded by green spots.  At first, I unabashedly turned my wrath on the often misunderstood and maligned grub.  But I swung by the Co-Op today on the way to the office and got steered toward some product that should help combat the plague.  I will take pictures before and after.  I am not holding my breath; it always seems that a “bag of this” is always twenty dollars and “guaranteed” to be what you nedd to get the job done. 

I worked a little on my next chapter of my dissertation today, and I think I am going to be off to a good start.  I sent my director an e-mail last night announcing that the focus of this chapter was going to shift a little.  I have not heard anything back from him yet, but he should be okay with it.