Isn't that crazy? Hear me out. I had (what I thought was) an appointment today to get my wisdom teeth extracted. When I called to confirm the appointment I was informed the appointment was not for the extraction but a consultation. I have taken off work and built my schedule around getting my teeth extracted this weekend because I can't afford to have another block of 4 days to lay around the house high and in pain till quite literally next year. Check it: I am hosting the last hoo-rah next weekend, a Wig and Wine party. The following week I begin my CPA review which will last till July. Then we go on out Scandanavia trip and won't be back till late August. By then it is fiscal year end and audit season followed immediately by the holidays. It's crazy!
I was able to get an appointment for tomorrow with another dentist all the same so that's good. It actually turned out for the best because it gave me tonight to catch up on homework, posting, blogging, getting all my diet stats in the NS website, and just enjoy a quiet night at home. I am looking forward to having the weekend to play Little Big Planet. That's all I'm going to do. My laundry is done, my homework is mostly done, my work is done, I really have nothing to do but wallow. Awesome.
I am reading two books: Diet Girl and Why We Suck. Both are good books, very light reading. I can read it for hours straight or only a few pages at a time.
In other news, I am finally above water at work. Not just on top of it, above it. It feels nice to have the time to get to back burner projects. I'm excited to both move the company forward the next few months (on the accounting front) but also let the books coast while I focus on the CPA.
On the diet front I have lost about 8 pounds in the last 3 weeks. Dane has lost over 20 since mid-December. We have been very good a sticking to the diet, only cheating for one meal a week. We've also been hitting the gym 6 days a week for an hour and a half each day. It's not as bad as it sounds. We've gotten into a routine and I love it. I don't like waking up early but I have to admit it is kinda growing on me. It's really nice to have my workout done and over with and I've noticed other benefits like increased energy thorought the day and I sleep better at night. Waking up at 5:15 is not as hard as waking up at 8, as weird as that may seem. It must be because I'm in a different sleep cycle or something.
I enjoyed watching the inauguration the other day. What an amazing event to watch. To be there for. I love listening to Prez Obama talk - he's such a great speaker. I feel like he will bring this country around but I also understand that he is only one man and he's only as strong as the weakest link. It's really up to the people of this country to pull it together. We'll see. I'm hopeful, excited, and for the first time patriotic. I am PROUD to be an American.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Routine
For the last week I've been getting up at 5:30 am to get to the gym by 6:15 (w/ Dane or 6:30 on days he's in PDX). Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a morning person. I've been fired from more than one job for not being able to make it to work by 8 am and even now it is a struggle for me to get to work before 9:30 am. But I am committed to this goal of mine to lose weight and once I start Becker the only way I'll have time to workout is if I do it in the morning. So I wanted to get in to the habit of a morning routine before I start Becker so I can hit the ground running.
I can say, 9 days into it that the second week is definitely easier and every morning it seems easier and easier to get up. I have built in 15 min of "hate the world and talk myself out of the gym" time before I finally get up and go but I'm noticing that time is slowly just turning into "get ready for the day" time. I like my morning routine and every single day at 5:30 when I leave work it feels AWESOME knowing that I have already taken care of that. It's done. I like to laugh at my gym bag when I get in to my car at night. But I have noticed that I seem to be addicted to the gym. Just last week I could have slept in (cause I worked from home) and gone to the gym later but I preferred to stick to my 5:30 am routine. I ended up taking a nap later. It was great!
So that said, I am down about 5 pounds since last week. I have been working out for an hour and half, staying true to my diet, and tracking everything I've done and will do. I have also found tremendous support on the Nutrisystem website and they have a fantastic calorie tracking system that is user friendly, fun, and EASY! Dane is down about 16 pounds since December and he's doing great too. Well, as good as he can do on the NS diet. He's eating his vegetables and enjoys the convenience and ease the NS diet offers. He looks forward to eating pizza again.
Work is going well. I just got all the budgets ironed out and just need to journal a few things for December then button up the month and I'm done! At that point all my projects will be done. I won't have anything lingering in the que. My job will be all about maintaining. I do have a few project ideas that I will work on. Things I never thought I'd have the time for. This is so awesome I can't even begin to describe. This is right where I need to be now in order to focus on Becker. It's nice when things fall together.
I started my last class of UOP tonight. Wow. My last class. It hardly seems possible. I'll be working extra hard the next 3 weeks so that I can take the last 3 weeks off to begin Becker. HG was kind enough to agree to a schedule like this and it works well for her because she just had hand surgery. I'm happy to repay the debt I owe her and help out. I can't believe in 6 weeks I'll have my Master's degree! OMG - where did the time go?! Just yesterday I was starting out in school in Colorado. Well, I'm not done yet. I still have the roughest section of water to pass coming up. Wish me luck!
Dane and Dave are doing good. I adore having Dave at the house. We tell him he should just live with us. Life is peachy right now I guess. So far I'm loving 2009!
And next week - OBAMA'S IN THE HIZOUSE!!!
I can say, 9 days into it that the second week is definitely easier and every morning it seems easier and easier to get up. I have built in 15 min of "hate the world and talk myself out of the gym" time before I finally get up and go but I'm noticing that time is slowly just turning into "get ready for the day" time. I like my morning routine and every single day at 5:30 when I leave work it feels AWESOME knowing that I have already taken care of that. It's done. I like to laugh at my gym bag when I get in to my car at night. But I have noticed that I seem to be addicted to the gym. Just last week I could have slept in (cause I worked from home) and gone to the gym later but I preferred to stick to my 5:30 am routine. I ended up taking a nap later. It was great!
So that said, I am down about 5 pounds since last week. I have been working out for an hour and half, staying true to my diet, and tracking everything I've done and will do. I have also found tremendous support on the Nutrisystem website and they have a fantastic calorie tracking system that is user friendly, fun, and EASY! Dane is down about 16 pounds since December and he's doing great too. Well, as good as he can do on the NS diet. He's eating his vegetables and enjoys the convenience and ease the NS diet offers. He looks forward to eating pizza again.
Work is going well. I just got all the budgets ironed out and just need to journal a few things for December then button up the month and I'm done! At that point all my projects will be done. I won't have anything lingering in the que. My job will be all about maintaining. I do have a few project ideas that I will work on. Things I never thought I'd have the time for. This is so awesome I can't even begin to describe. This is right where I need to be now in order to focus on Becker. It's nice when things fall together.
I started my last class of UOP tonight. Wow. My last class. It hardly seems possible. I'll be working extra hard the next 3 weeks so that I can take the last 3 weeks off to begin Becker. HG was kind enough to agree to a schedule like this and it works well for her because she just had hand surgery. I'm happy to repay the debt I owe her and help out. I can't believe in 6 weeks I'll have my Master's degree! OMG - where did the time go?! Just yesterday I was starting out in school in Colorado. Well, I'm not done yet. I still have the roughest section of water to pass coming up. Wish me luck!
Dane and Dave are doing good. I adore having Dave at the house. We tell him he should just live with us. Life is peachy right now I guess. So far I'm loving 2009!
And next week - OBAMA'S IN THE HIZOUSE!!!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Get The Funk Out!
While I was getting ready this morning at the gym I paused to watch Obama address the nation about the economic crisis. His message was powerful, hopeful, and prepared us for a tough road ahead but also showed us the light at the end of the tunnel. It's been a long time since I've heard a President speak the way Obama does. Often when watching old time news reels of Kennedy and Roosevelt I marvel at how those President's addressed their nation. It was with authority but with a touch of humility. Perhaps that's not the best word. It's like they cared and working with the rest of America in the trenches to fix the problems and provide the best possible government.
The Bush Administration seems to be like a bunch of proud fools. Their attitude defensive and very indignant like they had every right to be there, earned and educated or not, and like the Presidency was some sort of award rather than a J-O-B. Ugh. How can our country rally behind a fool who speaks the way Bush does. No wonder we lost sight of what makes this country AWESOME. And I'm here to tell you, I think Obama is bringing sexy back. Not in the JT way, but he's going to motivate all of us to get America back where it needs to be - a strong, responsible country. We've become a nation where instant gratification and faking it trumps honest, hard work. Sounds like President Obama will restore our country to what it needs to be.
I noticed during his speech that many other ladies in the locker room were stopping what they were doing and gravitating towards the tv, unable to cast their glance away. It was like we were in the Obama Gravitational Pull. This is what I mean about the difference between Bush and Obama. Not only that, Obama asked us to put aside party differences and work together where it seemed the Bush Admin liked to pit the parties against each other which never solves anything, only creates more drama. No, Obama is here to change things and he's not going to let petty differences and personal agendas get in the way. For the first time, possibly ever, I really felt patriotic. It seems that Bush thinks that patriotism is bombing Muslim countries, racial profiling, shooting guns on vacation, wearing the flag all over, and keeping our troops overseas for world domination.
Today I saw different. Today I watched a man who I personally feels restores my faith in the government and this country that I am sooo, sooo, sooo proud to be a citizen too, Bush and all. So it is not with a heavy hand that I wave goodbye to the Bush Administration, in fact I'll even get the door so he can get the FUNK out!
The Bush Administration seems to be like a bunch of proud fools. Their attitude defensive and very indignant like they had every right to be there, earned and educated or not, and like the Presidency was some sort of award rather than a J-O-B. Ugh. How can our country rally behind a fool who speaks the way Bush does. No wonder we lost sight of what makes this country AWESOME. And I'm here to tell you, I think Obama is bringing sexy back. Not in the JT way, but he's going to motivate all of us to get America back where it needs to be - a strong, responsible country. We've become a nation where instant gratification and faking it trumps honest, hard work. Sounds like President Obama will restore our country to what it needs to be.
I noticed during his speech that many other ladies in the locker room were stopping what they were doing and gravitating towards the tv, unable to cast their glance away. It was like we were in the Obama Gravitational Pull. This is what I mean about the difference between Bush and Obama. Not only that, Obama asked us to put aside party differences and work together where it seemed the Bush Admin liked to pit the parties against each other which never solves anything, only creates more drama. No, Obama is here to change things and he's not going to let petty differences and personal agendas get in the way. For the first time, possibly ever, I really felt patriotic. It seems that Bush thinks that patriotism is bombing Muslim countries, racial profiling, shooting guns on vacation, wearing the flag all over, and keeping our troops overseas for world domination.
Today I saw different. Today I watched a man who I personally feels restores my faith in the government and this country that I am sooo, sooo, sooo proud to be a citizen too, Bush and all. So it is not with a heavy hand that I wave goodbye to the Bush Administration, in fact I'll even get the door so he can get the FUNK out!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
To the Fans!
Ha ha! Just kidding. But to anyone who might be reading this and noticed that I have updated, you may (or may not) be interested to know that I have posted not one, but FOUR (five if you include this one) new posts! Read to your heart's (dis)content!
Added Chapters Include:
Letter to my Future Self
2008 Reflections
Visualization Board
Fattie Fattie 2 by 4
Added Chapters Include:
Letter to my Future Self
2008 Reflections
Visualization Board
Fattie Fattie 2 by 4
Letter to my Future Self
Dear December 31, 2009 Crystal Ewers:
Hi - I hope this letter finds you well. Of course I wonder if you got your MBA, CPA, if you are still at Treehouse, if you lost all that weight you committed to, if you built your character at all, and if you enjoyed yourself on the Baltic Cruise.
Aside from that I'm interested in your personal relationships. Who do you consider your closest friends these days? How is Dane? Has he finally convinced you to play WOW? How are your parents? Your cats? What about Iza?
As usual I have more questions than stuff to say. I suppose if you want to see anything nostalgic, you'll just look it up yourself. Perhaps you will have some fancy scrapbook on your new Mac or something. Will you make a visualization board for 2010? What do you have in store for the new decade? For so long you've had your work/school/CPA goal to focus on. Now that all that is behind you, what are you looking forward to? Have you made arrangements for your big 30th birthday? Are you on to the next big thing? Painting, piano, PhD, law degree, or something else not even imaginable to me now?
I hope so. I am really looking forward to what we will be doing in the future. I also have no wish to berate you for your attitude or style. You are learning how to be you and how to live with you in the world around you in your own time and that's all anyone is doing. So what if you have passion and are quick to say things. There are those who never stand up for themselves or use their voice and they spend their whole lives pining over that. You have a voice and you know how to use it. And you are learning to use it well, which is all I can hope and work for. Stay the course, Lovely. You'll get there just fine.
Enjoy the moment,
Crystal Ewers
January 3, 2009
Hi - I hope this letter finds you well. Of course I wonder if you got your MBA, CPA, if you are still at Treehouse, if you lost all that weight you committed to, if you built your character at all, and if you enjoyed yourself on the Baltic Cruise.
Aside from that I'm interested in your personal relationships. Who do you consider your closest friends these days? How is Dane? Has he finally convinced you to play WOW? How are your parents? Your cats? What about Iza?
As usual I have more questions than stuff to say. I suppose if you want to see anything nostalgic, you'll just look it up yourself. Perhaps you will have some fancy scrapbook on your new Mac or something. Will you make a visualization board for 2010? What do you have in store for the new decade? For so long you've had your work/school/CPA goal to focus on. Now that all that is behind you, what are you looking forward to? Have you made arrangements for your big 30th birthday? Are you on to the next big thing? Painting, piano, PhD, law degree, or something else not even imaginable to me now?
I hope so. I am really looking forward to what we will be doing in the future. I also have no wish to berate you for your attitude or style. You are learning how to be you and how to live with you in the world around you in your own time and that's all anyone is doing. So what if you have passion and are quick to say things. There are those who never stand up for themselves or use their voice and they spend their whole lives pining over that. You have a voice and you know how to use it. And you are learning to use it well, which is all I can hope and work for. Stay the course, Lovely. You'll get there just fine.
Enjoy the moment,
Crystal Ewers
January 3, 2009
2008 Reflections
Top 5 2008 Moments
1. Egypt. Hands down.
2. CLEAN AUDIT – NO write ups, NO adjustments, NO other comments!!!
3. Buying my Mercedes Benz. Fantastic moment.
4. Forks trip with Dane in September.
5. All the trips I’ve made with friends this year: Tampa w/ Amy, San Diego with Jamie, my Colorado trip to see Sarah, Jamie, and Melanie, the trip I made in May to see my folks. All wonderful highlights of the 2008 reel.
6. Okay, I had to add this last moment – OBAMA!!!!
Bottom 5 2008 Moments
1. Damian almost drowning and my father's heart attack.
2. Watching Sarah get hurt so bad in my house and then the ongoing surgeries.
3. Work in January and having to tell Jim to back up off me.
4. Almost ruining my Benz over a spider. Twice.
5. Some unmentionables that I don’t want to share outwardly but I want to be accountable for. I know what they are and if years from now I forget and want to remember, all I have to recall is: rock bottom pumpkin mess.
Resolutions for 2009
1. Obtain CPA!
2. Lose 50 – 60 pounds.
3. Graduate.
4. Find my career path.
5. Remember past, be in the present, embrace the future.
6. Build character.
7. Rest, relax, rejuvenate.
What I'm looking forward to in 2009:
1. Baltic Cruise!
2. Being done with school and studying and finally having a life!
3. Our second anniversary.
4. Reaching all my goals.
2008 Reflections
Well as predicted in my 2007 Reflections and projections for the new year, 2008 was a relatively quiet year. In fact, I find it hard to believe I’m already typing memoirs. As I was reading 2007 it feels like events that happened in 07 just happened. I can’t believe it has been a year. None the less, it has been and though I didn’t quite stay true to all my resolutions for 2008 I have grown, solidified and even stabilized my life a bit. And the timing couldn’t be better what with what’s in store for 2009!
Egypt certainly was the highlight of the year, just as anticipated. I’ve already talked about the trip at length so no need to do it again, suffice it to say the trip lived up and exceeded the expectations. I have continued to grow in my career and position at Treehouse. What was fear in 2007 was confidence in 2008. Everything that I doubted myself on in 07 turned out to be everything that I excelled in 08. My roots have grown deep and I am thankful for the job I have and where I can go. Really, outside of work and school, this year was shaped by all the different trips I took. I honestly think there was a trip for almost every month. January – Tampa, April – Egypt, May – California, July – Colorado, August – Sun Lakes, September – Forks, October – San Diego and Leavenworth. Crazy! Finally this year was an amazing political year, even if the economy is going down south. The credit crisis, the home foreclosures, all the businesses needing bailouts, gas prices – it’s a pretty terrifying climate right now but I’m hopeful for the future. I don’t think Obama is the end all be all to all our problems but I have high hopes for him.
The worst parts of 2008 are probably better left untouched. The hurt and pain is over now and all the bottom moments that I listed for 2008 have happy endings so alls well that ends well, right? But perhaps a lesson can be learned there. Every single bottom moment turned out okay. Now I admit, there could have been so many ways the events could have turned sideways and I wouldn’t be typing this but the fact is things are okay. And the people involved will be okay. Sure, they have their struggles, who doesn’t? I’m sure Jim struggles everyday to deal with my mouth, but the point is we deal and we get by and life goes on and things even out.
I can’t imagine a better ending to 2008.
1. Egypt. Hands down.
2. CLEAN AUDIT – NO write ups, NO adjustments, NO other comments!!!
3. Buying my Mercedes Benz. Fantastic moment.
4. Forks trip with Dane in September.
5. All the trips I’ve made with friends this year: Tampa w/ Amy, San Diego with Jamie, my Colorado trip to see Sarah, Jamie, and Melanie, the trip I made in May to see my folks. All wonderful highlights of the 2008 reel.
6. Okay, I had to add this last moment – OBAMA!!!!
Bottom 5 2008 Moments
1. Damian almost drowning and my father's heart attack.
2. Watching Sarah get hurt so bad in my house and then the ongoing surgeries.
3. Work in January and having to tell Jim to back up off me.
4. Almost ruining my Benz over a spider. Twice.
5. Some unmentionables that I don’t want to share outwardly but I want to be accountable for. I know what they are and if years from now I forget and want to remember, all I have to recall is: rock bottom pumpkin mess.
Resolutions for 2009
1. Obtain CPA!
2. Lose 50 – 60 pounds.
3. Graduate.
4. Find my career path.
5. Remember past, be in the present, embrace the future.
6. Build character.
7. Rest, relax, rejuvenate.
What I'm looking forward to in 2009:
1. Baltic Cruise!
2. Being done with school and studying and finally having a life!
3. Our second anniversary.
4. Reaching all my goals.
2008 Reflections
Well as predicted in my 2007 Reflections and projections for the new year, 2008 was a relatively quiet year. In fact, I find it hard to believe I’m already typing memoirs. As I was reading 2007 it feels like events that happened in 07 just happened. I can’t believe it has been a year. None the less, it has been and though I didn’t quite stay true to all my resolutions for 2008 I have grown, solidified and even stabilized my life a bit. And the timing couldn’t be better what with what’s in store for 2009!
Egypt certainly was the highlight of the year, just as anticipated. I’ve already talked about the trip at length so no need to do it again, suffice it to say the trip lived up and exceeded the expectations. I have continued to grow in my career and position at Treehouse. What was fear in 2007 was confidence in 2008. Everything that I doubted myself on in 07 turned out to be everything that I excelled in 08. My roots have grown deep and I am thankful for the job I have and where I can go. Really, outside of work and school, this year was shaped by all the different trips I took. I honestly think there was a trip for almost every month. January – Tampa, April – Egypt, May – California, July – Colorado, August – Sun Lakes, September – Forks, October – San Diego and Leavenworth. Crazy! Finally this year was an amazing political year, even if the economy is going down south. The credit crisis, the home foreclosures, all the businesses needing bailouts, gas prices – it’s a pretty terrifying climate right now but I’m hopeful for the future. I don’t think Obama is the end all be all to all our problems but I have high hopes for him.
The worst parts of 2008 are probably better left untouched. The hurt and pain is over now and all the bottom moments that I listed for 2008 have happy endings so alls well that ends well, right? But perhaps a lesson can be learned there. Every single bottom moment turned out okay. Now I admit, there could have been so many ways the events could have turned sideways and I wouldn’t be typing this but the fact is things are okay. And the people involved will be okay. Sure, they have their struggles, who doesn’t? I’m sure Jim struggles everyday to deal with my mouth, but the point is we deal and we get by and life goes on and things even out.
I can’t imagine a better ending to 2008.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Visualization Board
Wow - so I had to fight with my Mac to get this picture on here but I did it! I love my new Mac, it's just hard getting used to it after all these years with PC. Anyway, not the point. The point here is to talk about what this board is and what it means to me.
2009 is undoubtably a big year for me for a variety of reasons all expressed above on my visualization board (VB) and explained below.
Upper left corner - My MBA
The ULC of the VB represents my graduation with a Master's Degree in Accounting. Years ago, starting in 2003 to be exact I started on the journey to get my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Accounting so that I could sit for the CPA exam. Here I am just 7 weeks from graduation. I will walk in June with the local campus which will be fun since I didn't walk for my Bachelor's graduation.
Lower left corner - Career Path
The LLC of my VB represents the choice(s) I have with my career. Suggested by my father and supported by my own meandering thoughts I have dedicated a portion of my VB to help me find a way for what I want to do with my career now that I (almost) have all the credentials I've worked so hard for. Should I stay with good ol' faithful Treehouse, which I love and am not interested in leaving, or should I embark on new challenges - ones that test the skills I've learned and earn me a paycheck worthy of my student loans? I'm not sure but it's definitely something I will be thinking about over the next 6 months.
Inside left side - My CPA
Ah, what I have been working for and what has me scared to death right now. My CPA. As you can see I have visualized a whole section for my CPA - what it means to me to have worked so hard for it, what it will mean to get it, what it will mean to have it, how it will look when I do have it (meaning visualizing my name with those initials), and a host of encouraging words to get me there.
Middle thought cloud - Character Building
Inside that little cloud I have included a quote that really sums up the next 6 months and some words that I want to work towards in regards to my attitude and overall character.
Middle stalk - The Three R's
Rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. I'm going to need to keep these 3 R's in mind as I am going crazy preparing for the CPA and all these other goals and afterward when life equalizes again.
Middle bottom - Foundation
I am thankful. That is the very foundation for my visualization.
Lower right corner - Past, Present and the Future
I am in the last year of my twenties and I want it to be a year of remembering what I've done this past decade (I've even included some pictures of some memories over the years - they are the tiny index pictures though, so I was limited to which ones I had available). I want to be fully present in the now this year and not get wrapped up in the end result. College flew by and now I want to feel every moment of the CPA and my other goals. I want to be in the Now. I also want to consider my future and what the next decade might have in store for me. Big possibility.
Inside right side - Physical Loveliness
I've really let myself go with my weight and after all I've done to shape my body I am really ashamed of myself. Not any more. This year I pledge to lose the pounds the old fashioned way - diet and exercise. This part of the board visualizes me in a smaller size. I have a lot of weight to lose and I'll need a daily reminder. At the same time, I want to learn to love myself for who I am - always, even if I am currently overweight. I want to celebrate my beauty. MY beauty, not Cosmo's or the Paris Hilton's of the world.
Upper right corner - Baltic Cruise
So in all this visualization, this is the funnest one to think about and fantasize on. For all the work, the school, the CPA, the clean audit, the weight loss, our 2nd wedding anniversary - EVERYTHING for all of those reasons and then just simply the reason: because, we are going on a 20 day cruise of Northern Europe. I've talked about this before and no doubt I'll create a separate blog when the time draws near but for now the URC of my VB is dedicated to this celebratory exploration.
So that's it. The VB hangs above my mirror in my "get pretty" area. I look at it everytime I look at myself in the mirror. So each day I will hold myself accountable for my actions and have to answer to myself if I fail at making my visualization a reality. I spent over 5 hours putting the VB together and I think about that when I look it. It will take that kind of focus and energy everyday to make these dreams come true. I also have the picture on my iPhone so I can think about it on the road if I so choose.
Well that's about all I can say about my board. Now it's up to me to keep this blog posted on my progress!
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