Slow progress...

It's me, Flo, though goodness knows I don't hardly know my name anymore! Like I predicted, Nellie's new job has kept her from having TIME to worry about much at all. Oh, she has worries, but not as much time to devote to them. That, my friends, is indeed a good thing!!!

Nellie's work schedule is Friday-Tuesday from 10-7. This allows her to see the kids in the morning for a bit. When school starts, it will allow her to avoid having to find morning daycare. Works out good for now. Ned is holding down his part of the bargain by tidying up after supper and staying awake (so the kids don't run wild).

It's been a bit of a financial crunch, starting a new job, because the way the pay periods fell, Nellie didn't get paid for 3 weeks. But after she gets paid next week again, then things should start to level off. Gas hit $4.02/gallon last week, so that's a big expense. The neighbor girls who are babysitting are settling into a routine (after some stern talking-to by Nellie after she found they were letting the kids watch too much TV). So things are settling in.

And even though she hasn't really been trying, Nellie has even LOST FIVE POUNDS! Can you believe that!?!?! I am surprised but glad for that. Like I suspected, not having food around and the ability to wander back to the kitchen all day long has helped.

As for the exercise, well she hasn't got to that yet. She had to get a note from her doctor saying she could participate at the fitness center. yeah. Whatever. LOL> So next week finally she shoudl get to do that on lunch hours on M, T & F. That's what I'm putting MY money on for the best chance to lose weight!

When she gets home at 8'ish at night, she's usually quite famished, but she's been trying to eat only smaller portions. That way she won't overeat, but still feel "full" by the time she goes to bed at 10. I know eating that late isn't ideal in terms of digestion, but I'm not sure what else to do. Her break at 5 p.m. or so is only 15 minutes and not really enough to heat or eat a decent meal. So, we'll have to work on that.

But I'm happy to report that I'm getting SOME progress here. I knew that if I just kept at it and kept working on her that she'd see my side of the story eventually! Ha!!!

...and anyone can be touched by Lady Fortune...

So says Carole King in Friday's Tie-Dye Nightmare. Life is a crap shoot, and for once Nellie has rolled a good one!

Not to say this fixes everything that's in chaos right now, but this might be the catalyst that I need to pull her sorry rump out of her worry cycle and get her to focus more on changing her health habits!

If you recall, 2 weeks ago, I wrote of some serious things that need to change for Nellie to snap out of this slump. Well, she's had good news at last!

Last week, Nellie was offered a good paying job with hours she likes and an excellent starting pay! Not to mention the bennies: health insurance cheaper than what her husband's employer offers with SO much better benefits! Dental insurance---something they've never had (so now she doesn't have to worry about how to pay for the kids' checkups!). Paid time off equalling 3 weeks in the first year! (unheard of for most employers). The list goes on & on!

This is an employer she's tried to get into for a few months now and so of course she's very excited. It's pulled her out of the dumps and back to normalcy. Whew! Just when I was thinking we were in for a major low point here!

Secondly, after having to submit 33 more additional pages of documentation to the agency who administers the federal disaster loans, she finally got the call stating that their request for an additional $5300 in loan funds has been approved. Now, $5300 might not sound like a big deal to you, but for Nellie it is. Even with her job starting next week, there is NO way she'd be able to make $5300 (after taxes, gas prices and daycare for the youngest 2) by early fall, which is the deadline set by Mother Nature. If they don't get this basement floor poured by fall and get the furnace reinstalled (and ductwork) then there's going to be major trouble. Winter can start showing its ugly head by late September hereabouts!

So there is relief of having that big worry off her plate (now comes the worry of getting the contractors here to do the work plus tons of work left for Nellie and Ned to do before winter). But not wondering "where's the money coming from?" is a huge plus.

Two of the biggest concerns of Nellie's life at the moment are in the process of being solved. Well at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel now!

And so now soon I'll be able to start working on her health. First off, just going to a job every day (and not sitting around having food to nibble all day) will help out. Just have to make sure she packs a healthy lunch... downtown is fulllll of yummy places to eat out & she'll have a 1-hour lunch again (drat those 1 hour lunch breaks!).

Second is exercise. Get this: Nellie's new employer has an on-site fitness center and they PAY their employee 3 hours per week to EXERCISE in it!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is phenomenal! ! ! So I'm whispering in Nellie's ear already that she needs to get into this habit early and be consistent about it. We haven't yet seen the facility or learned the details, but it's enticing for certain! And if she were to get a gym membership outside of work, they'll reimburse $20/month of it. Ellipticals and treadmills are tough on her left knee, so I'm hoping they'll have some nautilus-type equipment there.

Since Nellie learned the news of her job and the loan's status, I've been informally keeping track of her eating. Haven't yet seen a drastic decline in the inappropriate snacking department, but I hope that will come in time.

One thing that humors me to no end, however wicked it is of me to be humored, is the fact that Nellie has a pretty pathetic wardrobe for work. She has a very nice wardrobe that's 2 sizes too small. All these years, she could have been working out and just cutting back a bit at a time but noooooo, here she is ready to work and nothing to wear. It's her own darn fault. I don't have a lot of sympathy for her.

So hopefully the boring workwear will also prompt some changes here soon. In the meantime, it's black dress pants and the same rotation of several shirts. Tsk Tsk Nellie!