Stepping Back and Catching Up

For those who don't know me well let me tell you a little about myself.

I am a woman in my mid thirties who has the following going on in her life:

1. Mother of a teenage boy diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and recently, ASD (Asperger's). He has recently been accepted into a high school autism program which I am extremely thankful for.
2. I work full time as an Office Manager/Executive Assistant in a small Toronto accounting office. I have been here for 6 years.
3. I am taking courses online through Athabasca University to complete my Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Accounting. I am two courses away from having the courses required for the University Accounting Certificate and once that is complete I will tackle the University Advanced Accounting Certificate.
4. I am a student councilor for Athabasca University's Student Union. I sit on two of their committees, Finance and Media.
5. I have been married twice, divorced twice, and am currently in a common law relationship with a man who finally makes every day brighter. We have been together almost 7 years now, longer than either of my marriages lasted...
6. I used to be very thin, actually I was anorexic, but thanks to my recent PCOS diagnosis, my weight fluctuates up and down constantly. I probably haven't been under 150 pounds since I hit my thirties.
7. I love to start knitting and crocheting projects, but I rarely finish them.
8. I love to buy and read books, but I probably buy 10 books for every 1 I read.
9. My 20-something sister is currently living with me and also going to Athabasca University. She is doing it as a full time funded student however and working on her Bachelor of Management.
10. We have 3 cats, 2 dogs, and a guinea pig currently sharing our home with us.
11. I used to write, mostly horror, but I don't have much time to do that any more.
12. I read and review mostly YA books over on another blog.
13. I'm currently planning my first "real" vacation with my partner. I am pretty excited about this!
14. I was accepted to be a team member for the upcoming CMA Board Case Competition in Alberta.
15. I am sure there is more I am forgetting...but I think you get this gist of it...

So anyhow...the point of all that above rambling was just to get to the fact that I am a very busy person...it was seriously getting to the point where I wasn't sleeping or eating much anymore. It was just work work work (in some form or another).

So...I had a mini breakdown, and together with the other half decided some thing(s) had to go. Unfortunately the CMA Case was one of the first things to go. It required the most additional work at the time, and there is always the opportunity to try out for the team next year. Just letting that one thing slide out of my hands brought so much relief it wasn't even funny. I knew right away by the change in my stress levels that I had made the right decision. It still saddens me, but I know it was the right thing to do for me at this point in my life.

Since making that decision Sunday I immediately poured myself back into my studies to try to catch up to the point I should be at. I am currently enrolled in two courses, PHIL252 - Critical Thinking and ENGL305 - Literature for Children. I have to have Critical Thinking completed by the end of January. This means I have to focus focus focus!

Here is what my nights currently look like when working on Critical Thinking...

Regarding Literature for Children... I have started reading from the study guide, but not the actual novels yet...the pile of reading I will need to do is slightly intimidating...

So yeah...I better get on that...like pronto...

Everything Gwenny

Hello out there! Is anyone still reading this pretty much dead blog? I have been so busy over on my review site blog I almost forgot about this little corner of the web I owned.

OK, that's not entirely true...I knew it was still here...sitting...waiting...gathering dust and wondering why I had deserted it in it's hour of need...but I know why...let's be honest here...it's because I targeted this blog mostly at my personal health, diet and weight issues, and I wasn't seeing any progress...I was embarrassed ..I didn't want to come here anymore...

But here's the thing I just realized. I called this blog EVERYTHING Gwenny for a reason. It is supposed to incorporate ALL aspects of my life, not just the healthy/fit ones.

So that's what I am going to do. I am going to redirect this blog at ALL parts of my life, and if a healthy, diet, weight related post makes it in here and there, so be it...if not...so be it as well...

So what kind of posts can you look forward to now?

• school
• work
• crocheting
• knitting
• motherhood
• ASD (Asperger's)
• writing (maybe)
• relationships
• family

If you are interested in anything to do with reading and reviews feel free to visit my review blog, Rants~N~Scribbles.

So where to start? Let's start with crocheting! I have been doing a lot of crocheting and knitting lately!

If you are a crafty person as well and have a Ravelry account, feel free to add me.

One of the main projects I am working on right now is a bag crocheted from scraps to mag a yarn bag (or any kind of bag really).

I found the pattern on a blog I stumbled across, and fell in love with! Here is the link to the pattern.

I figured I had some balls of brightly coloured Red Heart Super Saver yarn lying around the house for this rainbow blanket I once started, and as usual never finished...so I decided to give it a use in this nifty crochet bag.

Here is a starting photo after the first few rounds had been completed. My family "lovingly" named it the rainbow beanie.

This image was take after I had completed all the increase rows for the bottom and started the sides of the bag.

It "should" resemble something similar to this once it is completed.

*Image courtesy of Lucy of Attic24 from Ravelry

It's Almost Time...

Remember this image? Well it's time to do something about it.

Monday is the day our family has chosen to reboot our healthy living lifestyle. With exams and holidays and birthdays, etc., we have kind of let it slide for the last few months...and it shows. I am back to my pre-surgery weight, and that's obviously not good.

So what's the plan? It's pretty simple. We are starting a 3 step plan to make sure I don't bonk out completely and fail when I head back to work Monday (which is also the start of our very busy tax season). We are going to start out Sunday night with a (dreaded) weigh-in and measurement check, and then it's on to step 1 Monday morning.
Step 1: 

Go back to our paleo lifestyle starting Monday, January 9th. When we started back in March of 2011 it worked wonders for the whole family, helping my lose weight and "curing" my PCOS symptoms. My husband lost weight, leaned out, and lost his shaky feeling he would get from not eating at times as well as some other health issues. My son's ADHD and ASD symptoms even decreased. It was amazing!

I found this cute little flowchart someone made about paleo eating and wanted to share it in preparation for next week. The only things we are allowing ourselves that is not paleo is coffee, and that's only for a few more  weeks.

Step 2:

I purchased a Groupon for Extreme Fitness that gives me a two month membership and two personal training sessions for $24. I figured this was a great way to test the waters and see if I was motivated enough to actually go to the gym and workout. The personal trainer option is nice but unnecessary since my husband is actually a personal trainer at Extreme Fitness, so he`s be working me out anyhow... apparently he has big plans for me... /cries. I plan on starting this January 16th, one week after starting the paleo lifestyle.

Step 3:

Give up coffee on Monday, January 23rd. This gives me one full week of paleo eating, plus one full week of exercising (hopefully) and paleo together, before shocking my body yet again and giving up coffee...this is going to be a toughie...

So that's the plan...let's see how everything goes!

See you Monday!