Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels

Lately, every day is the same internal pep talk. I tell myself- Tomorrow I am going to eat healthy, exercise, etc. I certainly believe I'm going to make a valiant effort that day to make all the right choices, but inevitably, I end up back at square one. In previous relationships, it was easier. There was a system that had been in place pretty much from the start which included lots of time at the gym and also plenty of following that up with good eating. There were cheat days, yes, but not every day, and certainly not every meal. Times have changed.  Although I am much happier now, my "happiness" also manifests itself physically.  I'm wearing the evidence. So, I've decided to try my hand at food prepping -- getting a lot of the sous chef chores out of the way for the week-- cutting, steaming, baking, and making all of the mess at once.  If there are healthy options on hand, I'm excited to eat them, especially if I went through all of the trouble to prep them in the first place. Since I've fallen so hard off the nutrition wagon, I'm truly determined to get back on again.  

With list in hand, I headed to Publix to restock our fridge. I loaded up with items from the produce section: spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, bananas, strawberries. I also grabbed a rotisserie chicken. I know it's probably not the best choice, but I was able to portion the chicken out so that we would have some quick "go to" chicken for meals tomorrow.   The broccoli and spaghetti squash has been steamed.  I sliced and diced the strawberries and oven roasted some sprouts.  As for dinner, I am making flank stead that is rolled with spinach, cheese, mushrooms and onions.  If I'm feeling like recreating this morning's mess, I may steam the cauliflower and cut up some apple.  It  feels like more work than it's worth.  

Regardless, I hope the prep work not only keeps me motivated to eat right, but it also encourages me to stick with cardio this week. I haven't worked out since Friday, and I keep on making excuses for everything -- papers to grade, books to read, mortgage paperwork to submit.  However, once ONE thing falls in place, usually the others are lining up to follow suit. Yes, I will say it ....."nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," and as awful as that sounds, it sure is the truth. 

Rent, Lease, or Buying the Gimmick

Lender approval letter in hand, we set forth on our househunt adventure in the suburban landscape we call home.  There are so many parameters to keep in mind.  Must have a pool.  Must have at least 4 bedrooms.  Must have a separate office space somehow detached or in it's own portion of the house that does not readily disturb the family, or more accurately, does not disturb the West Coast time zone worker bee that is furiously crafting through the night.  Must have a large lot.  Must be within a 15 mile radius from ex-husband.  Must.... well, you get the idea.

We received our letter on Friday, and by the evening, I was tired of the lender attempting to hook me up with some realtor that he was interviewing on our behalf. We had already missed out on a lakeside home that I was dying to see from the inside and was now under contract.  I took matters into my own hands and called the first well-seasoned one on the roster.  His name is Dan.  He answered his phone and listened intently to my very under-rehearsed: "Uh, hi.... I am looking for a realtor who is interesting in helping us buy a house and I noticed you uh, help buyers as well as sellers."  After sending him our wishlist, along with a few possible addresses for him to magically "gain access," we crossed our fingers hoping he might actually call back.

As luck would have it (as it statistically does happen) the first house we saw was the one we wanted.  Lucky Realtor Dan is more like it.  He didn't have to do much more than answer his phone for this sale. This lovely 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom house touts a separate office space with a private entrance, and it is exactly what we need.  Of course, there are many hoops to jump through, and from what I understand, these hoops may create varying other challenges that are more like flaming hoops over major cliffs, or hoops that, as I jump through them, might send me to another dimension on the hunt for some lost piece of paperwork that will keep me from getting the house.

That same weekend, we eagerly put an offer on this beauty.  Not too high. Not too low-bally. And with very little squabbling, it ended up being "just right."

 Of course, we then moved into the stage of gathering documentation for our lender.  I have learned through this experience to not trust that when this mortgage guy says he's available day or night and truly understands that "here's my personal phone number" still means he has no intention to answer... even when I'm calling with a quick but frantic question.  I can't bring myself to type some of the nicknames we've now tagged him with.  One final snippet came through today, and we were so excited to resubmit the entire list of conditionals to underwriting.
1:30pm: I scanned the doc & sent to lender.
1:45: I emailed the lender.
3:30: I called the lender.
5:00: I texted the lender.
No response.

Having a closing date tentatively set for the end of the month and no final answer on our loan makes for a very frantic last half of March.  Crossing fingers that it all works out.