Success is Sweet!

I survived my first week of vacation!!!!

And what did I do on my first week of vacation?  I did this:

My shed!

Yes, I put up a rust-infested, dilapidated old shed!  Okay, it's not pretty, but the key word in that last sentence was "I" and (maybe a little help from mom).  This became my first WTF? project, in other words, WTF did I get myself into, project.

The shed in it's original location

A little background: I love my house.  It's my favorite all time place that we've ever lived, I love it that much.  But the yard is lacking, well, it looks like it has been napalmed.  It has some great trees and plants but it wasn't taken care of properly, probably since the husband of the previous owner passed away.  

About a month ago, I decided that it was crucial for us to have a nice cool spot to relax with a cold or hot beverage.  The only good shade tree, a nice big avocado tree, had this rusty old shed underneath it, rusty, albeit intact.  My inner thrifty person struggled with my chillaxin person- tear down a perfectly good shed for a place to sit and be lazy, hmmmm.  Late at night, in the wee hours of the morning, when I do my best thinking, I devised a plan. 

I would just simply move the shed to a more suitable locale in my yard, not the landfill.  In the wee hours of the morning it seemed really, really simple.  

I began by detaching it from it's base.  Except for trying not to get stung by scorpions, that part was easy.  According to my plan, I would simply lift the aluminum walls and roof to the new location.  That part of the plan turned out to be right out!  Who knew that aluminum could be so heavy?  During the light of day, I came up with a new plan.  Take it apart in sections and put it back up in sections.  For a few weeks the individual pieces of the shed were spread all over the napalmed yard-the walls, the roof and the frame.

Finally, S-Day came.  I dropped Javy off at school.  (I forgot to mention that I could only work on this project while Javy was at school.)  I came home and had another cup of coffee.  I couldn't procrastinate any longer.  I grabbed a few tools, mom followed behind me.  She threw out a few "You shoulds" and "I woulds".  I just stared blankly at the ground.  My mood was so foul and I came really close to scrapping the whole project, it really seemed impossible and worthless.  But something wouldn't let me stop.  That first day, we managed to get one side of the wall up and I promised mom that my attitude would be better.  

And I did, I kept going, whatever wouldn't let me stop, continuously gave me the inner strength to keep going.  I won't lie, a few tools were thrown across the yard and the neighbors probably heard one or two curse words.  But we got it done.  And I learned a lot about myself in the process.  First of all, not only am I physically stronger being 60 pounds lighter, but quite literally, mentally.  I really believe that one year ago, that shed would've been scrapped after the first five minutes of that project.  When I got stuck with one thing, I just told myself to keep moving until it was all done.  

Secondly, I was faced my weaknesses head on.  I never realized how inflexible I am, especially when it comes to stuff I don't really want to do.  The mental preparation that I put into things that I'm not whole-heartedly into is so immense that when I get side tracked, it throws me into a tailspin.  That's how it was working with mom, we'd start with one particular plan and then she'd throw in a "why don't we try this" and I would freak.  But once I realized it, I actually started listening to her and that's one of the reasons we finished by Wednesday.  

And this is what I learned:  Losing weight and getting stronger is not about looking pretty and fitting into smaller clothes.  For me, personally, it's about not running away from hard things.  

  

NORMALCY! A good thing?

Mr. Cool!

Well, my two week vacation started Sunday.  I've been home since Friday, but Friday/Saturday are my regular days off.  No work for four days and ten more to go.  I've got to say.....I'm exhausted.  The easy-going-Javy days seem to have gone away.  He seems to have become......(insert eery music) a normal 10 years old.

Let's take dinner tonight (I work the night shift, so I'm not normally around for dinner.  I cook it and leave it up to my mom to make sure Javy eats it.)  I cooked a lovely pot roast with homemade mashed potatoes and steamed cabbage, yummy!  Well, Javy, who appeared to be about to burst into tears at any moment, did not agree it was that lovely.  In fact, he acted as if it was tasteless.  He refused to pick up the fork to put it in his mouth so I poked the food into his mouth.  He let it hang there, even poking his lip out a few times.  I'll be honest, I was getting a little frustrated, until my mom offered, "Javy, do you want a peanut butter sandwich?"  He immediately perked up and gave out a little laugh, which in his world is an affirmation.  But I refused to relent after working so hard to create a five star meal.  Instead, I got out the good old Heinz ketchup and squeezed it all over the plate.  He ate every bite after that, freakin' stinkers.  

A meal fit for a Javy

Engrossed!

But wait there's more:  After dinner, his grandma had a television show that she wanted to watch.  Well, Javy who is an avid fan of Nick Jr. wasn't too agreeable about letting grandma watch her show.  He started whining and shrieking at the television- Sorry, Kyra Sedgewick, he doesn't like The Closer.  But, again, I refused to let him have his way and tried to distract him with other games.  It didn't really work.  So after The Closer, Yo Gabba Gabba came on the television, as if by magic.  His face cleared up and the laughter, dancing and singing began.  No more fussing!  

Javy using me as a recliner.  He watched Yo Gabba Gabba like this.
It's a 30 minute show.  Who needs pilates?

Leg Massages

To give Javy credit, he's actually still a pretty good guy and fun to hang out with.  Who else would swim with me for an hour at Salt Pond and jam out with me on the way to school and give me a leg massage.  And he does work hard.  He spent half the day at school and he walked to his bed this evening (with the help of a walker).  I may be exhausted at the end of my vacation, but I wouldn't give it up for nothin'!      

Vacation!