Warning: Long Journal Entry Ahead!I've been so busy this past week I've really missed all of you! I'm back now!Well, I had started a journal entry before, but my browser decided I was doing too many things and froze on me...so let me try and tackle this again.
This week I was packing to leave and trying to get some last minute things down before I left. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights I had geocaching meetings that I wanted to go to so I could say goodbye to friends, so those were nice. Greg and I had also reached our 1000th find (which I mentioned in a previous entry) and a tradition that has gotten started in our state is for people to give that geocacher a "golden" ammo can. Ammo cans are a typical geocache in our area, so they paint them with gold spray paint and put great things inside that either are good to have while caching (bug spray, bandaids, etc.) or things that mean something to you! So we got one at each meeting (different areas that we attend/hold meetings in). It was a nice farewell. I cried the most about leaving on Wednesday evening because I didn't want to leave my dogs, Leroy (black) and Tallulah (white & orange). Greg will come and see me and some friends and family will probably end up coming out as well. But I told Greg it was hard to leave the dogs, especially Tallulah because she's really attached to me - even sleeps under the covers! I've heard that animals understand more than we humans think they can so I sat down with them in the backyard before I left and spent time with each and talked to them about me going and that I was going on a really long "car ride" but that I'd be back and loved them and Greg would take care of them. Still hard to leave though!
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I left Hartsville, SC to drive to Charleston, SC about midday on Thursday and visited with my grandparents and my cousin came to say bye. My mom and I went to the Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood concert that night, which was good (well, like you can go wrong with Keith Urban), but the bass and volume were way too high, so you couldn't hear them sometimes. I didn't get that much sleep Thursday night because I was just anxious to get on the road and nervous. I left Charleston, SC at 9am Friday and drove 700 miles to Paducah, KY where I stopped for the night. Then got up and ready, ate breakfast at the hotel and got on the way, about 9:30 or 10. Both days I stopped occasionally for a cache, I think I needed those breaks! And I finally arrived in Fort Scott, KS at 7pm Saturday!
The apartment I am in is above a dentist office right in downtown and the administrative assistant that also works at Fort Scott lives in the apartment across the hall. The apartment is pretty old, but it's big, but needs some things repaired. Not much furniture, just what the Fort could provide me (oh, in case there is any confusion I am going to work at Fort Scott Nat. Historic Site, but the town is ALSO called Fort Scott). It's big, and has what I think are called railroad style rooms...where you have to walk through a bedroom to get to another instead of just off of a hall. So it's got 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and an enclosed porch area that has the dryer and then a door that leads to the roof of the building and a small deck out there that you could grill on.
Today I was pretty tired. Yesterday after I got here Sharon helped me unload my car and I ended up unpacking all of those and putting things away last night. I went to the Dollar General today and then to Wal-Mart to get groceries and other items I'll need. I also went by the Fort to pick up my uniform, work schedule and training schedule. I work tomorrow 8-5 and then the rest of the week 7-4. That's a lot earlier that I'm used too, but I'm excited about getting a set wake up time and setting a workout schedule for myself!
Although I was traveling I still ate really well, which can be hard to do. I enjoy McDonald's yogurt parfaits (does anyone know what kind of yogurt they use?) and I had Outback Friday night for dinner, just steamed veggies and a baked potato b/c they were out of sweet ones. :( I also had Subway and healthy snacks I'd packed for the road.
For the weigh in yesterday I had a 1 pound loss (yay!) and then stepped on the scale today and had a drop of .6 from that! I brought out my Weight Watches booklet from when you weigh in weekly they write your current weight and your gain or loss and how much total you've lost. I have that on the fridge since I am basically doing that again, but on my own this time as a motivation tool to show me I CAN do this because I did it before - there's proof!
I've been taking those iron pills and they haven't made me sick or constipated, so I'm glad about that. I'm going to see if I can notice a change in being less tired and different things with my body.
No exercise yet, but I'm going to go do some in a minute after I finish this up. I think that's about it, but it feels like I'm forgetting something. Here's some pictures I took of places I stopped on the way out here!
Forgot to mention earlier that my goal is to lose all my weight and get back in shape by the time I go back home. I'd love to lose between 25 and 30 pounds...wish me luck!
(my internet here is slow, so check back for the pics I'm waiting for them to load on myspace)
Alaina
Here's a picture near a cache in Tennesse.
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The Mississippi River!
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Just the side of the road.
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Stopped at this park to do a cache and just liked that it was Mark Twain.
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This is the lake at Pinewoods Lake Rec. Area
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Lol, I just had to take a picture of this sign...
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Finally made it!!
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Don't have pictures of my apartment loaded yet.