Don’t Tickleme Blog

I sit here trying to decide what to do.  I have not been able to keep up this blog like I’d planned.  Job, my other podcasting and life interests have been taking priority.  The result is how to keep up with Motivated Women Podcast and The Badgercast Podcast with this blog and my other choices in life. I will be revising the Motivated Women Podcast website to include this portion of my life.  So from now on you can find me at www.motivatedwomen.net or www.motivatedwomenpodcast.com

Well the end of the year is about a week away.  So much has transpired since my last post.  So many changes are going to come about over the next few weeks.

On December 15th I went to work thinking everything was status quo.  By 4:30 that afternoon I was sitting in a parking lot in my car thinking what do I do now.  I was told I was being termintated at 4:10 by the “new” Boss.  2 weeks before, in the second wave of restructuring, my Boss was fired.  On that day my Boss’ boss resigned.  So 10 days before Christmas I found myself in a postion I never thought would happen, jobless.

I called a friend and she came and took me to dinner.  We sat and tried to make sense of everything happening.  She left me saying, “You are going to come out of this in a better situation than you can believe now.”  She has helped me stay positive.  Well, PG has helped too. 

This last week I have started a job search and have been surprised by the changes that have occurred in the workforce in 12 years.  Interviews are different and much of the scut work is done online now.  Well thus far I’ve stayed positive.  People are calling me to consider a job with them.  That really does boost one’s ego.  Unfortunately these ofers are all out of state.  For the present I do not want to relocate.  There are promising leads around here.  Crossing my fingers that in the next few weeks I get this all worked out.

Hope that the Holiday Season finds you well and that you’re able to spend some quality time with friends and family. 

Julie

It’s the week before Thanksgiving.  I’m sitting down and organizing things for the upcoming Holiday Season and have realized I have forgotten about this blog.  Things have happened and I have kept up with those goals I set in January.

The recap is that I have lost 45 pounds since March.  Walking consistently and watching what I eat are the base of that goal.  Everything else that contributed to that was the support I have gotten and continue to get from friends, family and the podcasting community.  The support I have given myself is that Motivated Women Podcast was started with the help of Chrystal.  She may be known to you from the podcast: The Life of Spaguy’s Wife.  We are having fun with this podcast.  Seven episodes are out already.  The focus of this podcast is continuing the motivation and inspiration for us in our weight loss goals.  Talking about the pitfalls of busy home life in this quest to be healthier we support each other and ideally give the listeners some support too. 

One of the other goals I had was to become more financially stable.  I have made much progress there.  As of October we no longer have a car payment.  WooHoo!  It’s an awesome feeling. 

The kids and Philosophyguy are learning to do more on their own.  Still hard letting go of some control but we are making progress here too.  I do not put laundry away anymore.  Parents do the laundry (for now) and most of the folding.  Kids have to take their folded clothing to their rooms and put it away.  Newest hurdle will be to teach the older two how to clean a bathroom. 

With Badgercast and Motivated Women I am kept busy.  Helps to keep me from sitting and just eating.  The YMCA is also helping here.  The first part of the year I was going 2 times a week.  During the summer I wasn’t there at all.  Instead I was out with the kids.  Swimming, walking or biking.  Now with Winter settling in the plan is to be at the Y 3-4 times a week.  I tried to get out and walk the dogs but just can not tolerated below 35 degrees.

Well, I have run off enough here.  The goal I have set now is to update this blog monthly.  There will links to the blog on both the podcasts.  I will be revamping the look too and adding other helpful links.

Enjoy the time with family and friends over this upcoming Holiday Season.  Remember to take time for yourself also. 

Julie

Boy it’s been a while since I’ve had time to sit down and do something with this blog.  Work has been extremely busy and I’ve been getting back into the swing of things for ME.

I’m making a good dent with my goal to pay-off bills due to overtime pay from work.  I started walking 3-4 times a week. (about 3 miles total)  I started my weight loss “program” and have done quite well.  As of yesterday I’m down 2 whole clothing sizes and 20 pounds.

I haven’t gotten here all by myself.  Absolute Amy of the Redboy Podcast and Chrystal from the Life of Spaguys Wife Podcast have been part of my support system.  We are currently trying to get a new podcast together for women.  We’ve named it: Motivated Women Podcast.  Hopefully we’ll have the bugs worked out and a first episode out within the next few weeks.

Well that’s all for the current update.  I’ll post more information on the new podcast as we get it together.  Also Philosophyguy and I have renamed our couplecast to Badgercast.  PG will continue the Philosophyguy Show and Podsafe Comedy Countdown.

Go out and enjoy Spring…. take a walk, go out and look at the tulips… Well you know what to do

The end of another year has passed and we enter a new one.  We’ve all been here before, the time to reevaluate where we’ve been and where we really want to be.  This year my goals are still very much the same as years before but I’m adding one more thing.  I’m making the goals more public.  I’m going to look for or ask for support in attaining my goals.  No one can stand alone.  So in 2008 I’m going to try to attain the following:

Loose the weight I don’t want to lug around anymore

Make it legal as to what happens to the children if something happens to me and PG

Loose the debt… pay off stuff and continue to decline using credit

As you reevaluate yourself now at the beginning of 2008 I wish you all the best in attaining your goals.

Today I benefitted from a guardian angel.  My car died during morning rush hour in the middle of an intersection.  No one was injured.  Thanks to a good samaritan who towed the car out of traffic.  A special thanks to the Sherrif’s department deputy who went above and beyond and took Josh to school then dropped me off at home.

In spending the day at home and catching up on email and podcast and xmas presents I came across this email.  I am sharing it all with you because it’s useful and it’s out of the norm.  Here it is, maybe you can be someone’s Christmas Angel.

Who is on your shopping list?   What do they like to do that you would

be

willing to do with them?   Instead of giving them some THING they don’t

need or want, give them the priceless gift of your time in the form of a fun outing that just might become a cherished holiday memory for both of you.  Create a simple gift certificate with the recipient’s name, your name, the suggested activity and a blank space for the date.  Schedule and commit to the date when the gift is presented.

It’s been several weeks since I’ve been able to get here on the Blog.  Life does get in the way sometimes.  I’m like everyone else these days, feeling like a rubberband.  Getting pulled in every direction.  Thanksgiving, School stuff, Work and Christmas all looming over our shoulders.  Add into all that trying to keep up relationships with all our family and friends.

Here in the Donttickleme household we’re doing O.K.  Our oldest rebroke his arm just before Halloween and still remains in a cast.  He’s learning alot about patience now.  Our other two are doing well.  All three are slowing learning about responsibilty with the changes Mom has made in the household.  Unloading the dishwasher, learning to sort clothes, folding and putting away clothes etc…  is being met with resistance on all fronts.  I never thought I’d be like my mother, but it’s happened.  Giving up control is HARD.  Things are getting done, but not always the way I want them.  That doesn’t mean they’re done wrong and that’s hard to accept.

I sit here and think about the changes I have to make too as I teach the kids more and more about responsibility.  Together we as a family need to decide on minimal standards, and need to accept that all of us will do a task differently than the other four.  We all are being reminded that this takes trust, respect, patience and (yes) time.

With Thanksgiving only three days away I sit here and pause to think about how things really are going.  Yes, most things are good and there are things that are not so good.  Those not so good things aren’t the end of the world though.  J’s broken arm is a PITA, but it’s healing and he will still have use of the arm afterward.  Work has it’s low points, but so do all other jobs.   This weekend my job didn’t seem so bad when my patient and her daughter took the time to say thankyou.  Most people don’t think to say it when they leave to go home or leave the ED to get to their hospital room.  I was surprised, but in the end it made me remember why I chose to become a Nurse. 

There’s one person who gets the credit for helping me be the best I can be.  This person has been my best friend for over 20 years and knows both the good and the bad.  If I need to talk, just be held or need a devil’s advocate he’s there.  I am blessed and thankful to have Philosophyguy as my friend and husband.  He’s been there for me through the good and bad.  He’s given me three wonderful children.  Most of all he’s still with me after 17 years.  Without his love and support I wouldn’t have the gifts I have today.  Also, I wouldn’t be reminded to take stock every once in a while without him.

I hope you all will take time out this week and think about your gifts.  Then remember to thank those who helped make it happen.  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

I may be a Mom but I have a life too.  The kids are always asking for this or that, work is asking to be on call or to change your schedule because of this or that, the Husband is asking for this or saying he cannot get to it, your friends are…… Does all this sound familiar.  I’m becoming overwhelmed some days with what gets put on my plate.  Usually I just roll with it and get it done.  Lately though I’ve just put off what isn’t the most pressing.  I need to stop.  I’m putting my foot down with the kids and actually telling them that “Mom needs her space too”.

I talk about responsibility to my kids and to my patients at work.  It’s time I take responsibility for me.  That means if certain things don’t get done around the house so be it.  I’ve decided that making time for interests I’ve given up on are more important.  So, I sit here and try to think how I’m going to do this.  I hear myself talking to my patients. Set aside a certain time of day for you, write a list of stuff you want to do, keep your goals short and sweet and reward your self when you accomplish so many items/goals.  I could go on and on.  Point being, I need to listen to myself. 

My goal for this blog is some introspection for me and some fun along the way.  Hopefully you the reader can take some good points away and use them in your life.

To PG and the kids I say “becoming more independent is good for you, but more important is that Mom feel good about herself first and that will make things better in the end.”  We’ll see how the kids respond when they’re taught/shown/told to do more around the house.  I cannot wait to see how they can clean the bathrooms

Thankyou to PhilosophyGuy, my hubbie, for putting this together for me!

Now I have to decide how and what I want to do with this.  Right now I have all kinds of Mom stuff running through my head.  PG and I have a son who needs to put on a significant amount of weight.  Now I get to become a dietician in addition to all the other hats I wear.  I feel quite lucky that the Internet is available to all of us.  There is a vast amount of information out there.  Now I just need to weed through it and figure out what works in our household.  The Internet already is a daily thing to me with podcasts, music, chats and twitter.  I’m looking forward to these next challenges that are before me.  I hope you, the reader, can benefit from what will come from this blog.  I’m going to roll with it and have lots of fun.