A Work at Home Mom’s Blog

I need to get rid of some extra weight. Desperately. I’m not interested in squeezing into the clothes I wore in high school- I’ve long since gotten rid of all of those but my prom dresses (and have tried to sell them). I just want to feel better and be healthier. I don’t want to end up with diabetes a few years down the road or anything.

Trouble is, I’m just not motivated enough. I can’t seem to make myself eat healthier foods and exercise. I keep thinking that maybe trying some weight loss pills to get a jump start on things would help, but that’s just not me. It was at one time, but I’ve become a cantankerous old hippie and don’t like to use chemical concoctions without good reason. But then there are the all-natural kinds.

Still, there are a couple of issues. One is cost. My budget is very tight, and getting tighter now that Hubbs and I don’t have health insurance. And then there’s the fact that the last time I took diet pills, I lost some weight, plateaued, and then gained most of it back as soon as I quit taking them. And I refuse to stay on them for an extended period of time.

I’m not ruling diet pills out. I’m just being my usual neurotic self and overthinking things I guess. One of these days maybe I’ll break down and give them a chance.

I remember when I was a kid, and I was always asking questions. Not just simple questions, but questions about how things worked and why things were the way they were. On more than one occasion, my mother informed me that she was not a walking encyclopedia.

You know what they say about payback. Pumpkin has turned out to be quite the inquisitive little booger. I can answer some of the questions she asks with ease and in detail. But sometimes I think that when I do, I’m shooting myself in the foot. Because when she asks something I don’t know the answer to, she says something like, “Well you should know. You’re so smart!” Kinda makes me feel good and not-so-good at the same time.

Some of her questions are stuff I learned in school, like basic science and such. Others are things that I learned in school and have long-since forgotten. And then there are those questions that make me feel old and behind the times because I don’t know the answer, like “What’s the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray?” or “What is Atro Phex?” Oh, and let’s not forget those meaning-of-life type questions that don’t have any concrete answers.

As much as it drives me nuts sometimes, I’m glad she asks lots of questions. It lets me know that she’s interested in learning, and that’s a good thing.

The other day, the UPS man showed up at my door with a package. I had ordered a pair of jeans, but it wasn’t large enough to be that. Puzzled, I opened it up. What did I find? A hardcover copy of Peter Walsh’s new book: Enough Already!: Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You!

As I suspected, it had something to do with the Peter Walsh/OfficeMax webcast I took part in a few weeks ago. But it was so fitting that I, with my oh-so-cluttered brain, would get that particular book. I haven’t finished it yet, but so far there are pages that could easily have been written about me personally.

All that I’ve read up to this point has been quite eye-opening and helpful. I’ll be posting a full review when I finish the book.

The past couple of days I’ve had a non-stop case of the munchies. I try to fight it, but so far it hasn’t been working. Normally I wouldn’t even consider taking appetite suppressants, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

Maybe it has something to do with this sinus infection I’ve got. It has made me feel rather yucky, so maybe it’s a comfort food thing. Or maybe it’s that awesome homemade chili that my friend sent home with me. Whatever it is, it’s driving me nuts.

At least spring is finally starting to show itself a little. With the weather warming up, maybe I can go for a walk when the fridge starts calling my name. That will keep me out of the kitchen and get me moving. I’ve gotta drop some of these extra pounds, because (A) I know my health will eventually suffer if I don’t, and (B) I can’t afford a whole new wardrobe.

I am a big proponent of not envying others. But that’s easier said than done. This is especially true when it comes to my family. My brother and sister are both doing pretty well for themselves. The economy is affecting them just like it is everyone else, but they were better off than me to start with, and they still are. I’m happy for them, but I can’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy when they’re off enjoying Caribbean cruises and redecorating their homes while I’m barely scraping by.

It kind of helps to know that they envy me a little bit too. Both have been asking a lot of questions about my writing lately, wanting to know how they could get into it. Like me, they’re attracted to the idea of making money while working from home on their own schedule. I must admit that it is a pretty sweet deal. It would be even sweeter if I could get my head on straight and concentrate like I once did so that I could make more money, but I have faith that it will happen.

They’ve asked for advice on getting started with something like I do, and I’ve given them some ideas. I’m not at all selfish when it comes to that, whether it’s them or someone who is scraping by like me. I’d love to see them get started working from home and be successful. Maybe it would even help motivate me to do better. Jealousy is not always a bad thing, you know.

I was worried that we might not get to go camping this year. But maybe we will after all. Hubby seems to think that the guy whose land we camped on the past couple of years may let us do so again this year, even though he has the land up for sale. We’ll see how that goes. But if it doesn’t work out, there’s another friend of his who said we could camp on his land.

I had thought about going to a campground if necessary. There are plenty of RV parks and campgrounds around here. I’d just rather take an RV or travel trailer to them than a tent, and for now a tent is all we’ve got. Besides, if we can camp out somewhere for free, I’d much prefer to do so.

I hope we get to camp out at least once this summer. Getting away from modern conveniences for a while leaves me feeling refreshed and energized. And I can certainly use that.

Yesterday my family was invited to a cookout. Not being ones to turn down free food, and knowing that our hosts were great cooks (the world’s best diet pills couldn’t turn me away), we accepted.

We knew it was supposed to be a little cooler than the previous couple of days and possibly rain, but that didn’t stop us. Spring in the mountains is notoriously unpredictable, and we kept telling ourselves the weatherman was wrong. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.

When we got there, it was sprinkling just a little, but it quit. We eagerly set up horseshoe pegs and started throwing. For the first couple of games, no more precipitation fell. But then it started.

I played one game while it was sprinkling, then I quit. Not so much because of the rain, because I don’t really mind being out in a light rain as long as it’s not too cold, but I was concerned about my wrist aching like it did the last time I played horseshoes. I even stood out and watched them play, despite getting slightly soaked.

Hubby, his aunt and our hosts played another game, and by the time they were done, the yard was a muddy mess. It had begun to rain fairly steadily, and they finally decided to wrap up and put the stuff away. But not before their hands were covered in mud!

They had begun cooking around the time we started with the horseshoes, and they continued to do so. Too bad they didn’t have a covered porch! But they were sports about it, and dinner turned out great. We played some cards afterward, and then we headed home.

I’m always giving people who don’t have enough sense to get in out of the rain a hard time. But I guess I don’t have much room to talk, huh?

I’ve been hearing those two words way too much lately. That’s right, frost and snow. Sorry to have such filth on my blog, but I just have to vent about this.

This morning, the Hubmeister looked out the window and informed me that there was a thick layer of the f word out there. I knew it was supposed to get chilly last night, but not that cold! I just hope it spares my little purple flowers and the apple tree. The apple tree has barely sprouted leaves, and the purple flowers are just starting to pop up in the yard. They’ll be gone when Hubby decides to mow, but I was hoping to enjoy them until then.

The weather forecast is calling for a chance of the s word this coming Tuesday. It’s not unusual to have that stuff in April around here, but I’d rather not. But since when does the weather do what I want it to?

At least the weekend is looking to be decent. Sun today and tomorrow, and chance of rain but still warm on Sunday. I’ve definitely got to get out and enjoy it. No sitting in front of the computer searching for diet pill reviews this weekend. I’m gonna put on some sunscreen and bask in the warm glow of the sun!

I do a lot of searching online. A whole, whole, whole lot of searching. So when I learned that there’s a search engine that rewards you for searching, I was interested. And, cynical person that I am, I was also a bit suspicious.

The search engine in question is Swagbucks. And the premise is simple. You sign up with them, you use them to do your regular online searches, and you earn points that you can redeem for all sorts of goodies. Gift certificates, electronics, clothing, and more. Sound too good to be true? Those were my thoughts exactly.

I’m no stranger to such incentive programs, but I haven’t used them in a really long time. That’s because I found out that more than a few of them (dare I say a majority?) were nothing more than ploys to put spyware and adware on users’ computers. I try to do scans for such garbage on a regular basis, and some of them threw up red flags. I thought maybe the software was just being paranoid, but after some thorough online searching, I found that there was usually cause for concern.

So before even considering Swagbucks, I searched for information about it online. It says on the Swagbucks website that they don’t do that sort of thing, but I needed further confirmation. So I searched for second opinions, and the consensus was that they do not put any junk on your computer.

So I downloaded the extension for Firefox, and now Swagbucks is my default search engine. They get results from Google and Ask.com, and so far I’ve been finding what I look for consistently. And I’ve won a few Swagbucks doing so.

If you ever search online, why not give them a try? You can also earn points by doing things other than searching, such as referring new members, shopping online and more. Just follow this link, complete a quick registration form, and you’re on your way!

Pumpkin is on Spring Break from school this week. I wish I got a spring break. Well, for all intents and purposes, I guess I’m kind of taking one.

It’s hard to get anything done with the kiddo at home. She’s pretty good about letting me work considering her age, but even when she’s entertaining herself I find myself getting distracted. I do a fine job of getting distracted when I’m home alone, so as you might imagine, I haven’t been getting much done this week.

I’ve all but given up on my ADD meds. I had high hopes, but they have little to no effect now that I’ve been on them a while. I thought maybe just popping one when I needed it the most might be the answer, but it’s gotten to the point that taking a break from them doesn’t even help. At best, taking them helps me stay awake all day. At worst, I’m my usual, perpetually spacey, dozy self.

At any rate, I’ve got to get my butt back on track. I think doing something outdoors with Pumpkin might help clear my head and put me in better spirits, but so far that has been impossible. It rained the first two days of her break, and today it’s too chilly to play outdoors. Maybe the next couple of days will be better. I hope so, because we could both use a fun and relaxing outing.