Coffee and a chat

Good morning! It's been forever, I know, and I've missed you, but so very much has been going on and I am still trying to work on this schedule - figure out when to do all of the things I need to do. Here is a view of my schedule on a normal day:
4:20AM: Wake up, get dressed for boot camp, fill water bottle (sometimes I am moving quickly and I fill the dishwasher or something.)
4:40AM-6:15AM: boot camp (plus commute time)
6:15-6:45: make lunch, pack stuff, start a load of laundry, maybe start dinner in the crockpot (all while son is using the shower)
6:45-7:10: shower, get ready for work
7:10-7:30: breakfast, glorious coffee
7:30-8:30: commute time
8:30-5: work
5-6: commute time
6-7: make dinner, eat dinner, sometimes get girl to softball, or another activity
And here is where we have the problem. Generally at least 3 evenings a week we have some activity or another (and some are for me - book club, yoga, Relay meeting, etc.) Sometimes we don't and I'll take time to clean something, or do some work for my client, or something, but by 8:30 I am so wiped, and I can be dead to the world by 9PM. Trust me, I realize I actually have a significant amount of time in the evening I could be productive, more so than a lot of people. And now that the boy is driving, he can run errands, and I don't have to take him anywhere, as long as there is a car available. The point is not that I have less time, just that I'm having trouble adjusting to what I have. It was funny, I was talking to a friend the other day about scheduling, and how when I was home with the kids I rarely got anything done. My house was no cleaner, and I would love to take a whole day off, by myself, and just knock out the whole house. Then I remember what I did when I was home - I often would take the whole morning over at A's and play with the nieces and drink coffee. Which was glorious, but accounts for the fact that I got nothing more done then than I do now :) When the kids were little, I liked taking them places like the zoo. I could spend hours at the zoo. I can still spend hours at the zoo. I kind of want to go right now.

Yummy. I do enjoy my coffee.

Ok, let's move on. Weight loss efforts are going pretty well. When I think about posting here, the updates are generally boot camp related. It's funny, I used to make fun of some of my friends for being so "Melody-obsessed" as I called them (the boot camp is called Melody's Boot Camp and Lifestyle Fitness,) and now I am a total Melody-evangelist. The instructors get me to do things I never think I can do. I'm stronger, I have more energy, and I haven't had a panic attack in months. I've also lost weight, of course, but it's funny how secondary that feels. It's not, though, since I really would like to put less stress on my body, so I joined the latest "6-Week Challenge." No pop (again, I did drink some over the past month, although not nearly what I was drinking, and I never keep it in the house anymore), no fast food, move everyday, 5 servings of veggies everyday, etc. The pop really does make a huge difference, and yesterday I didn't get my veggies in, only fruit, and I felt exhausted and gross all day. It's really amazing what a difference I feel in my body depending upon what foods I eat.

That was an awkward sentence.

I haven't had as much time to read lately, which is sad, but I certainly don't give it up completely. Right now I'm reading "Joy for Beginners" by Erica Bauermeister, and it is delightful. A nice complement to all the "serious literature" I have been reading.
Yikes, it's already 7AM! I have about 105 things to do before 9AM, so I had better get a move on. It's been a pleasure, as always - talk to you soon.