Thursday, November 10, 2016

Progress

16.          Pass my Series 66

This is in full swing right now. I have a little less than three weeks to go until my test and to be honest, I'm not feeling very confident. There are a lot of questions that don't apply to my job and that honestly most people in my profession would have no need to know. Why do I need to know about Canadian Broker-Dealers? Oh well, I will keep plugging along. Right now I'm scoring right around 70% on my practice tests and the passing score is 75%, so I want to be in the 85%-90% range in the next two weeks. I feel like this has been much more difficult than my Series 7. Probably because I have more responsibilities at work and a kid now. From some of the posts I've seen of others that have taken the test, their jobs let them basically just study for the test full time. I'm working basically 48-50 hours a week while taking care of my toddler (as a "single" parent 2 or 3 days a week, might I add) and studying. It sucks. It is somewhat of a first world problem, at least I have a job and a supportive husband when he's home, but still.

32.          Get Loki more training – whether private or a public obedience class

This is coming along, although we are doing the training ourselves. We have finally found a good combination to get him to stop pulling on his leash and acting like an asshole at least part of the time.

36.          Come up with a regular date night plan

We are planning to say no to most/any wedding invitations next year, unless they are for close friends. The plan is to go out for dinner once a month by ourselves. We went to Pascal's Chophouse in Easton a few weeks ago and it was amazing! We are going to Cancun next month and I cannot wait to relax. I'm going to miss my kiddo, but it will be nice to get away.

66.          Go one week without eating anything sweet or using sugar

My sugar-free week went great! I am trying to adhere to not adding any extra sugar and am trying to stay away from sweets, although it's difficult at times. I stopped using flavored creamer in my coffee, which has helped reduce my daily carb intake and not start that vicious cycle of wanting more and more carbs. I also lost 2.5 pounds that week! In the past month, I have had one or two divine vanilla lattes and did flavored creamer once. Now it seems like a decadent treat instead of the norm and I appreciate those rare delicious opportunities!

64.          Commit to using Lose It regularly for at least 3 months (currently 108 day streak)

I did it! I don't know that I'll always use it, but research has shown that keeping a food diary helps most people be successful at losing weight and also keeping the weight off. Once I am happy with where I land weight-wise, I think I will still do my best to keep a food journal, even if I'm not logging in something like Lose It. My weight has been up and down and fluctuated somewhat over the past three months, but I am down about five pounds from three months ago. It's not drastic, but I need to keep in mind that what I am focused on is healthier habits and changing my eating habits FOR LIFE. I've lost ten pounds since April and I will have ten more pounds to go until I'm considered within a "normal" BMI.  

81.          Help Jay design & assemble outdoor fire pit area

This is in the works. We are hoping to at least have the fire pit constructed sometime this month. We would like to have a patio area around the fire pit with pavers or bricks, but to save on expenses will probably have the area lined with pavers and filled in with gravel for now. Next spring or summer we will likely build a deck.


Next up:
12.          Participate in a Lady Caroline’s Players Production - maybe! Auditions will be held in either late November or early December
13.          Read at least three non-fiction books (not Kindle or audiobook) during 101 list - I'm hoping to tackle one of these on vacation next month
 31.          Take Markface to at least three sessions of swimming lessons during list - I need to take care of this so that we have another session or two completed before we travel to OZ so that Mark is more confident in the water

49.          Attend a murder mystery dinner theatre - See #12 - I might even be a participant in the show