Hi Dad! I hope that you are enjoying your new device!! I am thinking of you this morning so I thought I would put up a quick blog post. I hope you were able to get it working on your new toy, whatever it is.
I'm counting hours now! It's 103 hours until I pick Jackie up from the airport! I am delighted that my deployment here at the Bernerhof is wrapping up. It's been tough turning over the reins to the new innkeepers. Their priorities and our priorities are so different. That was bound to be the case, but I still cringe when I see something I don't like that never would have happened had Carla and I been running the inn. Case in point is the dishes. Carla and I always made washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen top priority. In our opinion, there were a few reasons for making keeping the kitchen clean a priority, perhaps the most important one being that neither of us can stand dirty dishes in the sink. But, there are a couple of other really important reasons for keeping the kitchen clean. First, anyone can walk in the kitchen at any time. To see last night's dishes on the counters in the morning just is not cool. Second, you are always prepping your next meal. You need those dishes and the counter space to do that. But, with our new innkeepers, I am consistently walking into the kitchen hours after (and sometimes the next morning after) the last event in the kitchen and the kitchen is still a mess from the previous meal. Saturday, I finished the breakfast dishes at 2PM, after running errands. I shouldn't have, but I did. This morning, upon seeing the cooking class mess from yesterday afternoon still strewn about, I got my coffee and went back upstairs. Jeremiah did tell me how much fun they had snowshoeing with their dog last night. Our priorities are just different.
It appears as if they may be more effective at sales and marketing. They are selling tons of gift certificates, which is great. With each gift certificate they put together a nice little packet to send out, which is a nice touch. That seems to be an effective way to sell more gift certificates. It's a fact that you can't do it all and it appears to be true that you will focus first on what you enjoy and what you think is most important. For Carla and I, we focused on the food, taking care of our guest's immediate needs, and keeping the inn clean and well organized, including the kitchen. When that was done we worked on marketing and sales, the books, and the myriad of other things that needed to be done. Who's to say what is the best way? I just know it's difficult for me to still be here and see it being done differently. I am glad that the hours are ticking down.
I have a damn cold that won't go away. Carla and Scamp had the same cold an it last a couple of weeks, so I don't have any expectations that this cold will be gone before Jack gets here. I just hope with rest, zinc, and vitamin C I will start feeling a bit better pretty soon.
I am putting together a recipe book for the new innkeepers, per Dick's request. I have had a few other people ask for a copy (I guess that is a compliment!) so that's what I am working on today. I hope to have it done in a few hours, and then I will start closing out November books. Those are my last two projects before I call this gig a wrap and I move home and one step towards my next goal, buying my own inn!!
Have a great day!! I'm going to give it my best shot, in spite of this cold!
Monday, December 18, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
11/26/17: Carla's Last Big Weekend at the Bernerhof!
Carla's last day here at the Bernerhof Inn is November 30, so this is her last big weekend. She is working breakfast this morning with the new innkeepers so I get the morning off. After she helps them cook breakfast for 24 people, she'll train Lisseth (and me) on how to make chocolate covered strawberries and how to make a dozen rose flower arrangement, then that will be pretty much it for her. We only have 3 couples spending the night tonight, so I will do breakfast on my own and then for the rest of the week we are empty. EMPTY! EMPTY!!!!! I cannot remember the last night that we didn't have any guests in the house. It was probably May. I am off on Monday and Tuesday, so Carla will be covering the phones, checking emails, etc., but she will be spending most of her time moving out of her room. Since I am working this evening and tomorrow morning, and we will be empty after that through the 30th, her last guest related activities will be complete after breakfast today. She's pretty dang excited about that. I am not nearly as excited about her departure as she is, but I am glad that we decided to make Nov. 30th her last day. There is already tension developing with J&L, which I think is unavoidable as they want to do things their way and we keep doing things our way. There is no reason both Carla and I need to work those last three weeks. We're actually looking forward to spending more play time together, since when I am off she won't be working. It will be kind of ironic that in the 3 weeks that we don't live together in NH we will spend more leisure time together than we did in the 11 1/2 months that we lived together. We have not had the same day off since we started on December 19th. I think we've managed to go out to eat together twice since we started. It's definitely a good thing that we made this decision.
I'll spend my two days off this week going through the inn and the kitchen collecting all of my stuff, boxing it up, and taking it to storage. Any essential items in the kitchen that were mine we will replace, but I want to get all of my stuff out of there before they take over. It will be a lot more awkward once they start. I'll also make a final pass through my room, taking the last of my stuff to storage that is not essential for my last 3 weeks. By the time J&L move in, the only things of mine that will be in the inn are the few things in my room and the kitchen that it would be uncomfortable to live without. Moving out on the 21st & 22nd won't take very long. The only things left will be my computer and clothes.
I've been doing much better with my food over the last couple of days. I feel TONS better. I've stopped ODing on sugar. All of a sudden I just don't need it anymore. I think it is all related to the fact that I know I am going to see Jack in 26 days. I know I won't lose a lot of weight before he gets here, but I sure can feel better. I feel a sense of relief. Even though I know this last few weeks will be challenging, after the 30th, running the inn will no longer be our responsibility. J&L are taking over, Carla is moving out, and I am staying here to finish training them. I get to take a huge step back and focus on writing the operations manual, getting the books ready to close out for the year, etc. I'm ready for that.
Don't get me wrong, as much as I am ready for this gig to end, I have no regrets with regard to spending this last year here. I have learned a vast amount of incredibly important things about myself and about inn-keeping. I got to spend a year with my daughter and a lot of what I learned about inn-keeping I learned from her. Jack and I do still plan on buying our own inn, but there are so many mistakes I will not make because of this experience. I have no regrets at all. I am looking forward to what comes next with confidence that we are going in the right direction.
I hope you have a great day. I know my today will be better than my yesterday because I am one day closer to being with Jackie!!
I'll spend my two days off this week going through the inn and the kitchen collecting all of my stuff, boxing it up, and taking it to storage. Any essential items in the kitchen that were mine we will replace, but I want to get all of my stuff out of there before they take over. It will be a lot more awkward once they start. I'll also make a final pass through my room, taking the last of my stuff to storage that is not essential for my last 3 weeks. By the time J&L move in, the only things of mine that will be in the inn are the few things in my room and the kitchen that it would be uncomfortable to live without. Moving out on the 21st & 22nd won't take very long. The only things left will be my computer and clothes.
I've been doing much better with my food over the last couple of days. I feel TONS better. I've stopped ODing on sugar. All of a sudden I just don't need it anymore. I think it is all related to the fact that I know I am going to see Jack in 26 days. I know I won't lose a lot of weight before he gets here, but I sure can feel better. I feel a sense of relief. Even though I know this last few weeks will be challenging, after the 30th, running the inn will no longer be our responsibility. J&L are taking over, Carla is moving out, and I am staying here to finish training them. I get to take a huge step back and focus on writing the operations manual, getting the books ready to close out for the year, etc. I'm ready for that.
Don't get me wrong, as much as I am ready for this gig to end, I have no regrets with regard to spending this last year here. I have learned a vast amount of incredibly important things about myself and about inn-keeping. I got to spend a year with my daughter and a lot of what I learned about inn-keeping I learned from her. Jack and I do still plan on buying our own inn, but there are so many mistakes I will not make because of this experience. I have no regrets at all. I am looking forward to what comes next with confidence that we are going in the right direction.
I hope you have a great day. I know my today will be better than my yesterday because I am one day closer to being with Jackie!!
Friday, November 24, 2017
11/24/17: Thanksgiving is done, 29 days to go
We cooked a family style Thanksgiving dinner for our guests yesterday. Four couples spent the night and 3 of them had dinner with us, so it was a small dinner, when it comes to Thanksgiving meals. We cooked for nine of us, all together. After preparing the meal we sat down and ate with our guests. It was a hectic day, but with help in the kitchen, we got it done. After dinner we cleaned the disaster area that used to be our kitchen and then played a couple of games. It was an OK way to spend the holiday, but I am anxious to get home so I can spend my holidays with my family!
Carla's last day at the Bernerhof will be on November 30th. That is only a week away. She'll be moving out on that day and Jeremiah and Lisseth will be moving in on the 1st. It is hard to believe that this is all happening, it seems like it is coming fast, now. As of the 1st, Dick and I have decided that J&L will be taking over, and I will be here to support and train them on anything they don't know yet. I'll also be writing the Bernerhof Operations manual and getting the books ready for year end. This weekend will be my and Carla's last weekend "In charge." Now, I will need to take charge of this poor body that I have abused so badly over the last 11 months. This shit gets real, today.
The count down continues. I am cooking dinner tonight and tomorrow night, so there are a couple of long days ahead of us. We will be very slow next week, as in three days with no guests in the inn and one day with one guest. Carla and I will use that time to finish packing, get Carla completely moved out, clean the apartment and get ready for J&L to move in. As of Dec 1, I won't have to get up for breakfast anymore, unless we have a full house or it's a day off for J&L. Yes, I will probably cover for them for a couple days a week until I leave. But, in general, work will be almost easy this last few weeks, except for the weekends, when I will have to cook dinner.
We are looking for a weekend chef to replace me. Haven't found anyone yet. That could end up being a problem. We'll step up the search.
It's time to start my day. Have a good one!
Carla's last day at the Bernerhof will be on November 30th. That is only a week away. She'll be moving out on that day and Jeremiah and Lisseth will be moving in on the 1st. It is hard to believe that this is all happening, it seems like it is coming fast, now. As of the 1st, Dick and I have decided that J&L will be taking over, and I will be here to support and train them on anything they don't know yet. I'll also be writing the Bernerhof Operations manual and getting the books ready for year end. This weekend will be my and Carla's last weekend "In charge." Now, I will need to take charge of this poor body that I have abused so badly over the last 11 months. This shit gets real, today.
The count down continues. I am cooking dinner tonight and tomorrow night, so there are a couple of long days ahead of us. We will be very slow next week, as in three days with no guests in the inn and one day with one guest. Carla and I will use that time to finish packing, get Carla completely moved out, clean the apartment and get ready for J&L to move in. As of Dec 1, I won't have to get up for breakfast anymore, unless we have a full house or it's a day off for J&L. Yes, I will probably cover for them for a couple days a week until I leave. But, in general, work will be almost easy this last few weeks, except for the weekends, when I will have to cook dinner.
We are looking for a weekend chef to replace me. Haven't found anyone yet. That could end up being a problem. We'll step up the search.
It's time to start my day. Have a good one!
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
11/21/17: 31 days and counting!
It's incredible how fast the days are blazing by!! I pick up the moving truck in 30 days, pick Jack up from the airport in 31 days, and we start driving home in 32 days. I am ready, so so ready, to be headed home with my husband. This month will fly by, there is no doubt about that, but it can't fly by fast enough for me.
I have finished my Christmas shopping for all the family to which I need to mail the packages, they got sent out via FedEx yesterday. That was an accomplishment. I still need to find my special gift for Jackie and shop for Carla, but those packages don't need to be mailed so I have a little more time. I have 95% of my stuff packed and moved to the storage unit, including my weight room equipment. The weather has potential to get very nasty between now and the 22nd, in fact we've already had a fair share of snow and ice, so my plan is to get everything but the essentials in storage so that we can just back the truck up to the storage unit and load it. That way if weather is nasty that day or if there is snow and ice on the steps, it won't slow us down. I've brought my lawn furniture in and set it up in the spare room where my weight equipment was so that it won't be covered in a foot of snow on moving day. All in all, I'm feeling well prepared for my move home.
Carla's last day at the Inn will be November 30th, she is moving out on that day and J&L are moving into her room, so we'll be roommates. That should be interesting. As of the 1st, this will no longer be our inn, it will be their inn, and I will be here to back them up and continue training them. The transition is emotionally more difficult than I thought it would be, but we are muddling our way through it. By the time I leave they will be fully trained and I will be more than ready to get out of their way.
Today is a day off, but I just finished meeting with Dick to go over the transition plan. He seems satisfied with the way everything is shaping up. We have a plan for closing out the books for the year, so that's good. Now I need to drop a few more boxes off to storage and go shopping for Jackie's Christmas present.
Have a great day!!
I have finished my Christmas shopping for all the family to which I need to mail the packages, they got sent out via FedEx yesterday. That was an accomplishment. I still need to find my special gift for Jackie and shop for Carla, but those packages don't need to be mailed so I have a little more time. I have 95% of my stuff packed and moved to the storage unit, including my weight room equipment. The weather has potential to get very nasty between now and the 22nd, in fact we've already had a fair share of snow and ice, so my plan is to get everything but the essentials in storage so that we can just back the truck up to the storage unit and load it. That way if weather is nasty that day or if there is snow and ice on the steps, it won't slow us down. I've brought my lawn furniture in and set it up in the spare room where my weight equipment was so that it won't be covered in a foot of snow on moving day. All in all, I'm feeling well prepared for my move home.
Carla's last day at the Inn will be November 30th, she is moving out on that day and J&L are moving into her room, so we'll be roommates. That should be interesting. As of the 1st, this will no longer be our inn, it will be their inn, and I will be here to back them up and continue training them. The transition is emotionally more difficult than I thought it would be, but we are muddling our way through it. By the time I leave they will be fully trained and I will be more than ready to get out of their way.
Today is a day off, but I just finished meeting with Dick to go over the transition plan. He seems satisfied with the way everything is shaping up. We have a plan for closing out the books for the year, so that's good. Now I need to drop a few more boxes off to storage and go shopping for Jackie's Christmas present.
Have a great day!!
Thursday, November 16, 2017
11/19/17: It Doesn't seem like I should be too busy to blog - or to take care of myself
Last week I had two days off in a row, which is the first time that has happened since May, when Andrew, Rebecca, and my grandchildren came to visit me. Today is my second day off in a row, making it two times in two weeks that I have actually had two days off in a row! Wow, this almost feels normal!! We should be slow enough and we should have enough help from here to the end of our contract to get two days off every week.
I am getting enough sleep, which is a huge plus, but that is about all I am doing right. The sugar addiction holds tight and I am still not exercising often enough. I will never give up, though. I miss Jack terribly and I know that has a lot to do with the sugar, I use it as a drug to substitute for the fact that Jack and I aren't together. It's not effective, I still miss him and I feel like crap. While I know this intellectually, the cravings are still strong. The closer I get to knowing I am going to go home, the stronger I feel, though, so each day I renew my commitment to care for myself properly. Perhaps, today, it will take. I feel like it will.
I have been busy with my days off. Last week I shopped and shopped and shopped. I have just a little bit of Christmas shopping left to do this morning and then I will spend the rest of the day wrapping presents, getting them ready to mail, and packing up my room. It'll be a busy day. I won't get it all done, but I should be able to make significant progress.
Yesterday I went to Brattleboro, VT, to meet with the consultants that will help us find our inn. I won't say I learned an incredible amount yesterday, but the meeting was useful in that they got to know me a lot better and they have a much better understanding of what we are looking for. I know this process can take up to a couple of years and I stressed to them that finding the right inn was much more important to us than finding an inn quickly. Maybe it will take a year. Maybe two. But we will find our inn one of these days.
In the meantime, on December 22nd, Jackie will be here and on the 23rd we will head west, back to Kansas City. I'll spend the next months getting the house ready to sell, getting myself in great shape, and finding an inn. I am looking forward to it.
While on the surface it seems as if this last 36 days at the Bernerhof Inn should be a cake walk, it is turning out that it is not. It is incredibly difficult to cede the reins to the incoming innkeepers and watch them start to change some of the things that we were proud of accomplishing. We are rapidly becoming unimportant in the scheme of things, yet I am still fighting battles (for physical improvements of the property) as if it really matters to me one way or another whether these things get done. I should just let it go and let Jeremiah and Lisseth worry about such things, but, instead, I keep beating my head against the wall. My efforts aren't completely in vane, every now and then I win a battle and we make a little progress on inn improvement, but it's a slow and tortuous process. Why can't I just let it go? Why do I get excited and peeved about the ridiculousness of it all? I do not know the answer to that question. If I could just let it go, I'd be much happier and less stressed. I'm going to work on that.
At my meeting yesterday with Inn Partners we talked about the importance of reinventing an inn periodically, about every 7 years or so. Heide talked about how important it was to always have an eye toward updating and refreshing and how 7 years was about how long you could go before needing to completely redecorate and update a room. This makes sense to me, as all of the Bernerhof redecorating was done in 2010, 7 years ago, and it is obvious that all of the rooms need an update. We've been fighting to replace bedspreads, carpets, and curtains since we arrived, with some minor success. I will certainly remember this lesson when we have our own place.
There is news of progress on the Jeremiah and Lisseth front. They have come to an agreement regarding the terms of their contract with Dick and have a meeting scheduled at 1:30 today to sign said contract. Also, at 8:30 this morning they will be here with Brenda, one of Dick's partners, to go through the rooms and hallways to asses the need for the carpet and comforter changes that we have been insisting need to take place. This means Dick is already handing control of these matters to J & L, which really is fine by me, though it does emphasis the fact that Carla and I are becoming redundant. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing for the next 36 days. Once J & L start full time on December 1, it wouldn't surprise if a lot of our time is spent painting rooms and doing other minor improvements. We shall see.
I'm ready to go home. I miss Jack. I want to sleep in my own bed. 36 more days, and he will be here.
Now I need to clean my room and get busy. I have a lot to do today, before my busy weekend gets underway.
Have a good one out there!
I am getting enough sleep, which is a huge plus, but that is about all I am doing right. The sugar addiction holds tight and I am still not exercising often enough. I will never give up, though. I miss Jack terribly and I know that has a lot to do with the sugar, I use it as a drug to substitute for the fact that Jack and I aren't together. It's not effective, I still miss him and I feel like crap. While I know this intellectually, the cravings are still strong. The closer I get to knowing I am going to go home, the stronger I feel, though, so each day I renew my commitment to care for myself properly. Perhaps, today, it will take. I feel like it will.
I have been busy with my days off. Last week I shopped and shopped and shopped. I have just a little bit of Christmas shopping left to do this morning and then I will spend the rest of the day wrapping presents, getting them ready to mail, and packing up my room. It'll be a busy day. I won't get it all done, but I should be able to make significant progress.
Yesterday I went to Brattleboro, VT, to meet with the consultants that will help us find our inn. I won't say I learned an incredible amount yesterday, but the meeting was useful in that they got to know me a lot better and they have a much better understanding of what we are looking for. I know this process can take up to a couple of years and I stressed to them that finding the right inn was much more important to us than finding an inn quickly. Maybe it will take a year. Maybe two. But we will find our inn one of these days.
In the meantime, on December 22nd, Jackie will be here and on the 23rd we will head west, back to Kansas City. I'll spend the next months getting the house ready to sell, getting myself in great shape, and finding an inn. I am looking forward to it.
While on the surface it seems as if this last 36 days at the Bernerhof Inn should be a cake walk, it is turning out that it is not. It is incredibly difficult to cede the reins to the incoming innkeepers and watch them start to change some of the things that we were proud of accomplishing. We are rapidly becoming unimportant in the scheme of things, yet I am still fighting battles (for physical improvements of the property) as if it really matters to me one way or another whether these things get done. I should just let it go and let Jeremiah and Lisseth worry about such things, but, instead, I keep beating my head against the wall. My efforts aren't completely in vane, every now and then I win a battle and we make a little progress on inn improvement, but it's a slow and tortuous process. Why can't I just let it go? Why do I get excited and peeved about the ridiculousness of it all? I do not know the answer to that question. If I could just let it go, I'd be much happier and less stressed. I'm going to work on that.
At my meeting yesterday with Inn Partners we talked about the importance of reinventing an inn periodically, about every 7 years or so. Heide talked about how important it was to always have an eye toward updating and refreshing and how 7 years was about how long you could go before needing to completely redecorate and update a room. This makes sense to me, as all of the Bernerhof redecorating was done in 2010, 7 years ago, and it is obvious that all of the rooms need an update. We've been fighting to replace bedspreads, carpets, and curtains since we arrived, with some minor success. I will certainly remember this lesson when we have our own place.
There is news of progress on the Jeremiah and Lisseth front. They have come to an agreement regarding the terms of their contract with Dick and have a meeting scheduled at 1:30 today to sign said contract. Also, at 8:30 this morning they will be here with Brenda, one of Dick's partners, to go through the rooms and hallways to asses the need for the carpet and comforter changes that we have been insisting need to take place. This means Dick is already handing control of these matters to J & L, which really is fine by me, though it does emphasis the fact that Carla and I are becoming redundant. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing for the next 36 days. Once J & L start full time on December 1, it wouldn't surprise if a lot of our time is spent painting rooms and doing other minor improvements. We shall see.
I'm ready to go home. I miss Jack. I want to sleep in my own bed. 36 more days, and he will be here.
Now I need to clean my room and get busy. I have a lot to do today, before my busy weekend gets underway.
Have a good one out there!
Saturday, November 4, 2017
11/4/17: Murder Mystery Weekend, It's a Family Affair
We are having a Murder Mystery Weekend and it's all one family. It is the 50th anniversary celebration for Mom and Dad and the 70th birthday celebration for Mom. It's a big ol' rowdy bunch and we went to bed before they did last night. It will be interesting to see the condition of the public areas in the morning. It was somewhat of a relief not to worry about how the guests were going to interact with one another, and not to worry about if anyone was going to make too much noise for the other guests, since it's all one group. I can't tell yet whether having a group here is going to make it easier or harder. I hope they don't choose to hang around the inn tomorrow, as we have a lot to do. We'll need to tell them at breakfast that we need the public spaces empty for a good period of time today.
I stayed on program yesterday. Carla baked an amazing looking and smelling cake and I really wanted to try it, but I didn't. I baked an amazing looking and smelling lasagna, and I didn't try that either. I made a delicious Casear salad. I ate that, without the croutons, of course.
I had an "ah ha" moment yesterday. I was looking for some recipes (I still haven't found them, by the way) and climbed up on the mop sink to look on a top shelf. It's about 2 feet of the ground, not high at all, but my knees have been sore enough that climbing on it in the very recent past was something I had to think about and do carefully. Yesterday, after only three days without sugar, I climbed up and hopped off of it without having to think about it. It's amazing how much better I feel after just a few days off of the junk. I need to remind myself of this hourly. My knees hurt when I eat sugar. Inflammation is the culprit in so many human ailments. Sugar causes inflammation. I need to just not eat that crap.
So, day four on program was a success. It's only 49 days until I head home to be with my husband. It's all good.
Until tomorrow!! Have a wonderful day!!
I stayed on program yesterday. Carla baked an amazing looking and smelling cake and I really wanted to try it, but I didn't. I baked an amazing looking and smelling lasagna, and I didn't try that either. I made a delicious Casear salad. I ate that, without the croutons, of course.
I had an "ah ha" moment yesterday. I was looking for some recipes (I still haven't found them, by the way) and climbed up on the mop sink to look on a top shelf. It's about 2 feet of the ground, not high at all, but my knees have been sore enough that climbing on it in the very recent past was something I had to think about and do carefully. Yesterday, after only three days without sugar, I climbed up and hopped off of it without having to think about it. It's amazing how much better I feel after just a few days off of the junk. I need to remind myself of this hourly. My knees hurt when I eat sugar. Inflammation is the culprit in so many human ailments. Sugar causes inflammation. I need to just not eat that crap.
So, day four on program was a success. It's only 49 days until I head home to be with my husband. It's all good.
Until tomorrow!! Have a wonderful day!!
Friday, November 3, 2017
11/3/17: Quick Update
I maintained my eating plan yesterday in spite of intense cravings for sweets and an ultra-nasty bought of crankiness. Everyone lived through the day, though, so no lasting damage.
I exercised outside in spite of the cold and the rain.
I will maintain my eating plan today but I doubt I will have time to exercise. It is a Murder Mystery weekend and those keep us hopping for the entire weekend. We will be looking forward to Sunday.
I got a new computer. This one is so much better than my last one I almost am glad the last one decided to crap out on me. The Staples tech department was able to salvage the data from my hard drive so I didn't lose anything. That crisis was averted.
By the simple virtue of going to bed and waking up this morning I got to cross another day off my calendar. 50 days left until we head home!
Have a good day.
I exercised outside in spite of the cold and the rain.
I will maintain my eating plan today but I doubt I will have time to exercise. It is a Murder Mystery weekend and those keep us hopping for the entire weekend. We will be looking forward to Sunday.
I got a new computer. This one is so much better than my last one I almost am glad the last one decided to crap out on me. The Staples tech department was able to salvage the data from my hard drive so I didn't lose anything. That crisis was averted.
By the simple virtue of going to bed and waking up this morning I got to cross another day off my calendar. 50 days left until we head home!
Have a good day.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
11/2/17: 40 Minute Walk Jog - in the Cold Rain!
I just want to say that in spite of the fact that it is cold and raining I went for a 40 minute walk/jog! I didn't have to report to work until 10:00AM so I spent the morning packing a couple of boxes and talking to Jackie on the phone. At 9:00AM I realized it was an hour until I had to go to work and this would be my last time to exercise today, so I get dressed and out I went!! I am proud of me for getting out there. Yes, it is becoming a habit, again. I am so glad that I have the time to actually take care of myself, and that I am using that time well.
11/2/17: My Computer Died!
Ugh. I woke up the night before last to an odd looking screen on my computer. It had one line on it: hard drive failure, F2 to run hard drive diagnostic. So I pushed F2 and the result was "there is no hard drive installed on this computer." Double ugh.
To make a long story short, I purchased a new computer at the only store in town where you can do such things, Staples, and left my old machine there hoping they can get the data off of my old hard drive. Triple Ugh. I didn't post yesterday because I didn't have a machine. This morning I'm posting from my phone so I'll keep this brief. Probably.
Jack will be here in 51 days and we will head home!! Wow. I'm ready to live with him again. I've missed him terribly!!! There is a lot about this gig that I enjoyed, enough to know that innkeeping as a lifestyle choice fits me, but there are so many little things that aggravate me that I feel like a short-timer everyday. One of the things that aggravates me the most is the half-assed approach to a lot of the repair work that's done by our handyman. I have little to no control over this, he's hired by the owner, not by me. But when he does something poorly I get upset, angry even. It just makes no sense to do something half-way. If things are done right the first time they don't need to be done over and over and over again. There was a prime example of this yesterday so I sent a photo of his work with a fairly harsh text to the owner of the inn. Dick is going to come by today to look at it. Maybe he'll insist on it being redone correctly. Maybe not. Either way I find myself thinking, "Thank God this won't be my problem very much longer!" That pretty much sums up the way I feel about this gig. I'm ready for this inn to be somebody else's problem.
In the meantime I have 51 days to undo as much damage as I can to this old reliable body of mine. Yesterday I survived day two on the Whole 30. Today I woke up with a screaming headache. That's evidence of how much I was poisoning myself with sugar. I worked out with Alexis yesterday. Exercising is becoming a habit again. I also had an appointment with a skilled masseuse to work on issues that I've been having with my left arm. It turns out that it's my arm and back and shoulder and neck. She did some amazing work yesterday and I'll see her several more times before I leave. I hope to have the problems pretty much solved by the time I head home. I'm getting plenty of sleep. I'm drinking lots of water. I'm not focusing on my weight as much as I'm focusing on healthy living. I want to feel great when Jack gets here. I want to be strong and rested. I am glad that I have the opportunity to start recuperating here and don't have to wait until I get home.
With the exception of this stupid headache, I feel much better today than I did just a few days ago. I'm going to keep with the diet and exercise and water and sleep. I hope to get outside for a walk/jog today, during a lull in the rain. We'll be busy this weekend because it's a murder mystery weekend, but it's just one weekend. Nothing like that last few months when it was busy non-stop. My recovery will continue!!
Have a great day!!
To make a long story short, I purchased a new computer at the only store in town where you can do such things, Staples, and left my old machine there hoping they can get the data off of my old hard drive. Triple Ugh. I didn't post yesterday because I didn't have a machine. This morning I'm posting from my phone so I'll keep this brief. Probably.
Jack will be here in 51 days and we will head home!! Wow. I'm ready to live with him again. I've missed him terribly!!! There is a lot about this gig that I enjoyed, enough to know that innkeeping as a lifestyle choice fits me, but there are so many little things that aggravate me that I feel like a short-timer everyday. One of the things that aggravates me the most is the half-assed approach to a lot of the repair work that's done by our handyman. I have little to no control over this, he's hired by the owner, not by me. But when he does something poorly I get upset, angry even. It just makes no sense to do something half-way. If things are done right the first time they don't need to be done over and over and over again. There was a prime example of this yesterday so I sent a photo of his work with a fairly harsh text to the owner of the inn. Dick is going to come by today to look at it. Maybe he'll insist on it being redone correctly. Maybe not. Either way I find myself thinking, "Thank God this won't be my problem very much longer!" That pretty much sums up the way I feel about this gig. I'm ready for this inn to be somebody else's problem.
In the meantime I have 51 days to undo as much damage as I can to this old reliable body of mine. Yesterday I survived day two on the Whole 30. Today I woke up with a screaming headache. That's evidence of how much I was poisoning myself with sugar. I worked out with Alexis yesterday. Exercising is becoming a habit again. I also had an appointment with a skilled masseuse to work on issues that I've been having with my left arm. It turns out that it's my arm and back and shoulder and neck. She did some amazing work yesterday and I'll see her several more times before I leave. I hope to have the problems pretty much solved by the time I head home. I'm getting plenty of sleep. I'm drinking lots of water. I'm not focusing on my weight as much as I'm focusing on healthy living. I want to feel great when Jack gets here. I want to be strong and rested. I am glad that I have the opportunity to start recuperating here and don't have to wait until I get home.
With the exception of this stupid headache, I feel much better today than I did just a few days ago. I'm going to keep with the diet and exercise and water and sleep. I hope to get outside for a walk/jog today, during a lull in the rain. We'll be busy this weekend because it's a murder mystery weekend, but it's just one weekend. Nothing like that last few months when it was busy non-stop. My recovery will continue!!
Have a great day!!
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
10/31/17: No Candy for Me This Halloween!!
We've had Halloween candy around the inn all month and I have eaten my fair share. It seems fitting, then, that on Halloween I call it quits.
I have already had my Whole 30 breakfast, today. I start each day strong, but my resolve weakens throughout the day. Today will be day one of Whole 30. All the way. No sugar, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no seed oils. I'm forgetting one of the no's, I'm sure, but what is more important is what I can eat, eggs, healthy meats, vegetables, fruit, clarified butter and olive oil for cooking. I will drink plenty of water. Oh, no alcohol.
Yesterday, I went for a 45 minute walk (to inspect the high water and damaged roads in the neighborhood) and I lifted weights for 30 minutes. My exercise routine is becoming a habit, again. That is a GOOD thing!! I am getting plenty of sleep. Also a GOOD thing!! Now I have to beat back the sugar demon. Once that is under control I will be well on my to feeling good again, physically and emotionally.
We have 53 days left and I want to make the most of them. We are slow this week, we only had 3 guests in house last night and we will only have 2 guests in house tonight, with no check ins. It is hard to describe what a relief it is to be slow, finally, after being so busy for so long. Tomorrow, FINALLY, I will have an entire day off. That will be my first day off since mid-September. Carla and I have been able to take afternoons off, but we have been too busy to be able to take entire days off, as we have both had to work breakfast everyday through this crazy busy season.
I have already fed my solo traveler breakfast and he has checked out. He wanted to eat at 7, breakfast usually starts at 8, but I could tell that he really wanted to make the most out of his day, so I said 7 was fine. It doesn't make much difference to me. With it this slow it is easy to prep for breakfast and I figured between his breakfast and my honeymooners' breakfast (probably close to 10) I could get a lot done; like put up a blog post!
After 10 months and 12 days at the Bernerhof Inn, I can say with confidence that I like being an innkeeper. It's easy to see why this is not the life for a lot of people. There are always people around, whether it is guests, vendors, housekeepers, or the handyman. If you need privacy in your life, if you don't like living in a fishbowl, don't be an innkeeper. The job requires a lot of management skills. Even if you don't have a lot of staff, you still have a lot of people that you depend on keep the machine running smoothly. There are dozens of people that touch this inn in some way during a typical month. All of them are important, so it is important to manage all of these relationships carefully. Jack and I are planning on purchasing a largish bed & breakfast, probably in the neighborhood of 12 - 16 rooms, if we can find one we like that we can afford. In that case we will have at least a couple of permanent staff members. Again, being a good manager is essential to an inns success. It's not all about cooking breakfast and cleaning rooms, though that is part of it. Being a successful innkeeper, for the long haul, requires a skillset that is very broad. Yes, you better know how to cook, because even if you are not the primary cook you will be cooking on slow days and on days when the primary cook is not available. Same with cleaning rooms. I plan on owning an inn that is big enough to support a housekeeping staff, but I need to be willing and able to clean rooms in a pinch. You need to be a good bookkeeper, a manager, a handyman, a florist, a baker, and a landscaper. Oh, and you need to be a good marketer (that is my weakest skill, at this point) You need to be a problem solver, because problems pop up all day long. I think all of this explains why I really do like being an innkeeper. I like that it requires a vast array of skills and disciplines. I like that I am constantly called on to solve problems. I like having people around.
That said, it is incredibly difficult to do this without my husband. I miss him terribly. I know not having him here has made it harder for me to take care of myself, so I drug myself with sugar and alcohol when I am feeling lonely and blue. When I daydream about having him by my side, doing this with me, as my partner, I realize how much I miss him and how that really is the missing piece. It's hard not to be anxious to get this step over with so I can get home, kiss my darling husband, and start looking for OUR inn.
The next 53 days are not about figuring out how to be an innkeeper or if I want to be an innkeeper. I have already figured that out. The next 53 days are going to be about getting as healthy as I can, getting as fit as I can, taking care of myself, training Jeremiah and Lisseth to take over, packing, and planning the next steps. I am shifting into the transition phase. We will not be busy, except on weekends. I will have time to take care of myself. I will be living with Jackie again, very soon. This gig is wrapping up. I want to feel fabulous on December 22nd when I pick Jack up from the airport. I want to be well rested when we start our journey home! I will take care of myself for these next 53 days. I can't undo all the damage in the weeks I have left, here, but I can make a lot of progress.
Exercise, diet, water, sleep. Avoid all sugar, wheat and alcohol. I got this.
Have a great day!!!!!!!!! I know I will!!!!!!!!
I have already had my Whole 30 breakfast, today. I start each day strong, but my resolve weakens throughout the day. Today will be day one of Whole 30. All the way. No sugar, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no seed oils. I'm forgetting one of the no's, I'm sure, but what is more important is what I can eat, eggs, healthy meats, vegetables, fruit, clarified butter and olive oil for cooking. I will drink plenty of water. Oh, no alcohol.
Yesterday, I went for a 45 minute walk (to inspect the high water and damaged roads in the neighborhood) and I lifted weights for 30 minutes. My exercise routine is becoming a habit, again. That is a GOOD thing!! I am getting plenty of sleep. Also a GOOD thing!! Now I have to beat back the sugar demon. Once that is under control I will be well on my to feeling good again, physically and emotionally.
We have 53 days left and I want to make the most of them. We are slow this week, we only had 3 guests in house last night and we will only have 2 guests in house tonight, with no check ins. It is hard to describe what a relief it is to be slow, finally, after being so busy for so long. Tomorrow, FINALLY, I will have an entire day off. That will be my first day off since mid-September. Carla and I have been able to take afternoons off, but we have been too busy to be able to take entire days off, as we have both had to work breakfast everyday through this crazy busy season.
I have already fed my solo traveler breakfast and he has checked out. He wanted to eat at 7, breakfast usually starts at 8, but I could tell that he really wanted to make the most out of his day, so I said 7 was fine. It doesn't make much difference to me. With it this slow it is easy to prep for breakfast and I figured between his breakfast and my honeymooners' breakfast (probably close to 10) I could get a lot done; like put up a blog post!
After 10 months and 12 days at the Bernerhof Inn, I can say with confidence that I like being an innkeeper. It's easy to see why this is not the life for a lot of people. There are always people around, whether it is guests, vendors, housekeepers, or the handyman. If you need privacy in your life, if you don't like living in a fishbowl, don't be an innkeeper. The job requires a lot of management skills. Even if you don't have a lot of staff, you still have a lot of people that you depend on keep the machine running smoothly. There are dozens of people that touch this inn in some way during a typical month. All of them are important, so it is important to manage all of these relationships carefully. Jack and I are planning on purchasing a largish bed & breakfast, probably in the neighborhood of 12 - 16 rooms, if we can find one we like that we can afford. In that case we will have at least a couple of permanent staff members. Again, being a good manager is essential to an inns success. It's not all about cooking breakfast and cleaning rooms, though that is part of it. Being a successful innkeeper, for the long haul, requires a skillset that is very broad. Yes, you better know how to cook, because even if you are not the primary cook you will be cooking on slow days and on days when the primary cook is not available. Same with cleaning rooms. I plan on owning an inn that is big enough to support a housekeeping staff, but I need to be willing and able to clean rooms in a pinch. You need to be a good bookkeeper, a manager, a handyman, a florist, a baker, and a landscaper. Oh, and you need to be a good marketer (that is my weakest skill, at this point) You need to be a problem solver, because problems pop up all day long. I think all of this explains why I really do like being an innkeeper. I like that it requires a vast array of skills and disciplines. I like that I am constantly called on to solve problems. I like having people around.
That said, it is incredibly difficult to do this without my husband. I miss him terribly. I know not having him here has made it harder for me to take care of myself, so I drug myself with sugar and alcohol when I am feeling lonely and blue. When I daydream about having him by my side, doing this with me, as my partner, I realize how much I miss him and how that really is the missing piece. It's hard not to be anxious to get this step over with so I can get home, kiss my darling husband, and start looking for OUR inn.
The next 53 days are not about figuring out how to be an innkeeper or if I want to be an innkeeper. I have already figured that out. The next 53 days are going to be about getting as healthy as I can, getting as fit as I can, taking care of myself, training Jeremiah and Lisseth to take over, packing, and planning the next steps. I am shifting into the transition phase. We will not be busy, except on weekends. I will have time to take care of myself. I will be living with Jackie again, very soon. This gig is wrapping up. I want to feel fabulous on December 22nd when I pick Jack up from the airport. I want to be well rested when we start our journey home! I will take care of myself for these next 53 days. I can't undo all the damage in the weeks I have left, here, but I can make a lot of progress.
Exercise, diet, water, sleep. Avoid all sugar, wheat and alcohol. I got this.
Have a great day!!!!!!!!! I know I will!!!!!!!!
Monday, October 30, 2017
10/30/17: Every Other Day Seems Like a Pattern
Here I am again, skipping a day for putting up a blog post. Perhaps that is becoming a pattern. My goal is still to post every day, but work seems to keep getting in the way.
My two days off this week turned into one full day off and two half days off. At least the half days off were back to back, as in Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. It's not quite the same, but at least it's time off. I didn't sleep well Saturday night so I spent most of my afternoon yesterday sleeping, I took a four hour nap!! I almost never nap, but as I was realizing I didn't have any energy to do anything productive it became clear that the most productive thing I could do was sleep. For now, I feel pretty much caught up on sleep and I believe, for the most part, I should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night for the rest of the time we are here.
My exercise habit is improving. I didn't exercise yesterday, but I will get a workout in today before I report to work at 1. I don't see anything preventing me from working out for about an hour a day at least 5 days a week. My goal is still 6, but 5 is not bad.
Food and alcohol are the remaining big difficulty for me. I've not been successful on the no flour/sugar/alcohol plan so far this week. When I decided to take a nap yesterday afternoon I also made the decision to make that nap the starting point for getting on my eating plan. So far, so good. I have been on plan since I woke up from my nap yesterday afternoon.
When Carla and I thought we would be here until June 30, 2018, I made plans to go home next week for a week. Plans to go home included shutting down rooms and not doing dinner here the weekend I was gone. After Dick decided to hire Jeremiah and Lisseth and we knew we would be going home on December 23rd, the need to get home to Kansas City for a week in November decreased dramatically. I miss Jackie terribly and I really do want to go home, but being gone for a week is pretty unreasonable at this point. I just checked to see what it would cost to change my plane tickets and shorten my trip to 3 days and the cost is $500. It's just not worth it, for that quick of a trip. This is why I usually book on Southwest Airlines. No change fees. Anyway, I'm not going to go home next week. Instead I am going to use the time to pack and to do some Christmas shopping for all of our grandchildren. We have a lot of great outlet stores in NH, with no sales tax, so it makes sense to get the shopping done while I'm here. Jack and I will just have to talk on the phone a lot!!
Unfortunately, I am on call this morning, until 10AM. Jeremiah was scheduled to work breakfast with Carla this morning but we are experiencing a severe storm and the roads were flooded and he could not get here for his shift. As I was typing the previous sentence Carla called up the stairs, "Mom, I could use your help!" She had three of our five couples sit down at the same time so I went down to assist her with table service, and now that's done. She has two more couples to feed before 10AM which she will be able to do on her own. I will wait until 10 to change clothes and begin working out, but I don't think I will have to go downstairs again this morning.
What's next?
Jackie will get here on December 22nd and we will pull out of town on December 23rd. It will take us three days to get home, so we are planning to be on the road Christmas day. I have no idea what inns will be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but I'll find something. We had already decided that for Christmas this year we would just do one sentimental gift, each; and stockings, of course! Wherever we are on Christmas morning is where we will exchange gifts and celebrate our Christmas.
I will spend the first couple of weeks back home in Kansas City closing our business books out for the year and getting our income taxes filed. I will also set up a strong exercise and food regimen for myself and Jackie (he has asked for my help when I get home, getting back into a solid program). Once the taxes are filed I have two projects to keep me busy, since I won't be working. I'll be focusing on getting the house ready to sell, which will include painting the entire interior of the house, packing away unessential items, boxing everything in the basement for transport once we are ready to move, and sorting through things for a massive spring yard sale. The second major project I will be working on is finding our inn. I am sure that between doing taxes; painting, organizing, and packing up the house; and inn shopping I will be plenty busy for at least the first half of the year. Once spring sets in I will be out in the yard trying to improve the lawn and clean up the gardens so that they are presentable for whenever we put the house on the market. The exterior of the house looks fabulous already, because of the huge project we did with the siding and windows a few years ago. That project alone makes the house the most well kept and presentable in the neighborhood. I don't think we will have any trouble at all selling our home, when the time comes.
We will be looking for an inn somewhere west of Denver. We are looking for an inn with between 8 and 16 bedrooms, at least a few acres of land, in a beautiful setting, less than an 8 hour drive away from at least two of the three cities that our children and grandchildren live in. Those cities are Idaho Springs, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, and Escondido, CA. Steve lives in Mexico and he and Carla are still mobile, as in they are not sure exactly where they are going to end up, so for now we are focusing on being close to the kids that seemed to be pretty settled. Carla plans on being with us at the inn, at least for the first few years, anyway, so we'll be super close to her!! With any luck we will end up in an area that appeals to her for a long time, but we won't know that until we find our place. If you happen to stay in an inn, or know of an inn, that meets the above criteria, let us know!! It doesn't have to be "officially" for sale, either. Keep your eyes and ears open!!
I'm excited, nervous, anxious, happy, and a host of other emotions regarding what is coming next. I am extremely glad that we decided to take this gig in NH, running the Bernerhof Inn. It has been a difficult and trying year, but we've learned so much that it was entirely worth it. I am ready to come home, though, as in today! Unfortunately we have 54 days left. It will go quickly, I am sure of that. We have a Murder Mystery Weekend coming up this weekend, a few cooking classes, and Thanksgiving to plan for. We will continue to train Jeremiah and Lisseth. We need to pack and plan our trip home. There is plenty to do to keep us busy. In addition, I need to exercise regularly, sleep a lot, and eat good food. We won't be too busy at the inn to accomplish all of these things.
I'm going to sign off now and check out our route home. Have a wonderful day!!
My two days off this week turned into one full day off and two half days off. At least the half days off were back to back, as in Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. It's not quite the same, but at least it's time off. I didn't sleep well Saturday night so I spent most of my afternoon yesterday sleeping, I took a four hour nap!! I almost never nap, but as I was realizing I didn't have any energy to do anything productive it became clear that the most productive thing I could do was sleep. For now, I feel pretty much caught up on sleep and I believe, for the most part, I should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night for the rest of the time we are here.
My exercise habit is improving. I didn't exercise yesterday, but I will get a workout in today before I report to work at 1. I don't see anything preventing me from working out for about an hour a day at least 5 days a week. My goal is still 6, but 5 is not bad.
Food and alcohol are the remaining big difficulty for me. I've not been successful on the no flour/sugar/alcohol plan so far this week. When I decided to take a nap yesterday afternoon I also made the decision to make that nap the starting point for getting on my eating plan. So far, so good. I have been on plan since I woke up from my nap yesterday afternoon.
When Carla and I thought we would be here until June 30, 2018, I made plans to go home next week for a week. Plans to go home included shutting down rooms and not doing dinner here the weekend I was gone. After Dick decided to hire Jeremiah and Lisseth and we knew we would be going home on December 23rd, the need to get home to Kansas City for a week in November decreased dramatically. I miss Jackie terribly and I really do want to go home, but being gone for a week is pretty unreasonable at this point. I just checked to see what it would cost to change my plane tickets and shorten my trip to 3 days and the cost is $500. It's just not worth it, for that quick of a trip. This is why I usually book on Southwest Airlines. No change fees. Anyway, I'm not going to go home next week. Instead I am going to use the time to pack and to do some Christmas shopping for all of our grandchildren. We have a lot of great outlet stores in NH, with no sales tax, so it makes sense to get the shopping done while I'm here. Jack and I will just have to talk on the phone a lot!!
Unfortunately, I am on call this morning, until 10AM. Jeremiah was scheduled to work breakfast with Carla this morning but we are experiencing a severe storm and the roads were flooded and he could not get here for his shift. As I was typing the previous sentence Carla called up the stairs, "Mom, I could use your help!" She had three of our five couples sit down at the same time so I went down to assist her with table service, and now that's done. She has two more couples to feed before 10AM which she will be able to do on her own. I will wait until 10 to change clothes and begin working out, but I don't think I will have to go downstairs again this morning.
What's next?
Jackie will get here on December 22nd and we will pull out of town on December 23rd. It will take us three days to get home, so we are planning to be on the road Christmas day. I have no idea what inns will be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but I'll find something. We had already decided that for Christmas this year we would just do one sentimental gift, each; and stockings, of course! Wherever we are on Christmas morning is where we will exchange gifts and celebrate our Christmas.
I will spend the first couple of weeks back home in Kansas City closing our business books out for the year and getting our income taxes filed. I will also set up a strong exercise and food regimen for myself and Jackie (he has asked for my help when I get home, getting back into a solid program). Once the taxes are filed I have two projects to keep me busy, since I won't be working. I'll be focusing on getting the house ready to sell, which will include painting the entire interior of the house, packing away unessential items, boxing everything in the basement for transport once we are ready to move, and sorting through things for a massive spring yard sale. The second major project I will be working on is finding our inn. I am sure that between doing taxes; painting, organizing, and packing up the house; and inn shopping I will be plenty busy for at least the first half of the year. Once spring sets in I will be out in the yard trying to improve the lawn and clean up the gardens so that they are presentable for whenever we put the house on the market. The exterior of the house looks fabulous already, because of the huge project we did with the siding and windows a few years ago. That project alone makes the house the most well kept and presentable in the neighborhood. I don't think we will have any trouble at all selling our home, when the time comes.
We will be looking for an inn somewhere west of Denver. We are looking for an inn with between 8 and 16 bedrooms, at least a few acres of land, in a beautiful setting, less than an 8 hour drive away from at least two of the three cities that our children and grandchildren live in. Those cities are Idaho Springs, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, and Escondido, CA. Steve lives in Mexico and he and Carla are still mobile, as in they are not sure exactly where they are going to end up, so for now we are focusing on being close to the kids that seemed to be pretty settled. Carla plans on being with us at the inn, at least for the first few years, anyway, so we'll be super close to her!! With any luck we will end up in an area that appeals to her for a long time, but we won't know that until we find our place. If you happen to stay in an inn, or know of an inn, that meets the above criteria, let us know!! It doesn't have to be "officially" for sale, either. Keep your eyes and ears open!!
I'm excited, nervous, anxious, happy, and a host of other emotions regarding what is coming next. I am extremely glad that we decided to take this gig in NH, running the Bernerhof Inn. It has been a difficult and trying year, but we've learned so much that it was entirely worth it. I am ready to come home, though, as in today! Unfortunately we have 54 days left. It will go quickly, I am sure of that. We have a Murder Mystery Weekend coming up this weekend, a few cooking classes, and Thanksgiving to plan for. We will continue to train Jeremiah and Lisseth. We need to pack and plan our trip home. There is plenty to do to keep us busy. In addition, I need to exercise regularly, sleep a lot, and eat good food. We won't be too busy at the inn to accomplish all of these things.
I'm going to sign off now and check out our route home. Have a wonderful day!!
Saturday, October 28, 2017
10/28/17: Post #2
I just got home from a 1 hour walk with a little bit of jogging thrown in. Paco wanted to run, so that motivated me to pick up the pace a little. Perhaps, when we have our in, we will have to get a big dog. He'll protect us and beg me to take him on runs. Seems like a great plan to me.
I'm starting to feel human again. I haven't had an entire day off for about 5 weeks, but this past week we've managed to give each other a few half days off. That makes a world of difference. I am looking forward to having two entire days off this week!!
Until later...
I'm starting to feel human again. I haven't had an entire day off for about 5 weeks, but this past week we've managed to give each other a few half days off. That makes a world of difference. I am looking forward to having two entire days off this week!!
Until later...
10/28/17: 56 Days and Counting
Ok, this isn't too bad. I said I would start blogging everyday again, the day before yesterday, and I just missed one day. I will probably never put up a blog post on Fridays, because I spend all day Friday cooking, first for breakfast and then prepping for our weekend dinner service. Fridays are long, hard days that start at about 6AM and end at 9PM or later.
As I mentioned in my previous post, we have started training our replacements, Jeremiah and Lisseth. They are a relatively young couple that have decided that they want to own their own inn one day. Very much like Carla and I, they have decided to take on the challenge of running the Bernerhof Inn in order to gain experience in the industry. They have a huge advantage over us in one important aspect, though, they have already decided that they want to settle down in this area and they are interested in, maybe, one day owning this property. I enjoy the enthusiasm that they are bringing to this adventure. The sheer joy that they are bringing to this will carry them a long way. So far, we have been focusing on meal service, training Lisseth how to cook breakfast for 24 people and training Jeremiah on the dining room duties. Jeremiah is working this weekend without Lisseth, since she is in Peru. We are not sold out this morning, so I am getting the morning off while Carla and Jeremiah do breakfast together. We have dinner service tonight, so I will start around noon and work until about 10 or so tonight. That will be a reasonable day!!
With Jeremiah and Lisseth coming up to speed on breakfast service and the mad rush of fall season being over, we are entering the last 2 months of our stay here with a fresh perspective. Carla and I should both be able to take 2 days in a row off every week, from now until we leave. Our work days should not be too difficult, for the most part, because we will be relatively slow during the week. Even if we are sold out on weekends, the next couple of months will be relatively easy. This will give us time to focus on our health and plan our departure from New Hampshire.
I set up an appointment with the consultants I will be working with on November 15th, in Brattleboro Vermont. The idea is that they will help us locate our new inn, including doing valuations, helping with the negotiations, helping us put together loan packets for the bank, etc. I am looking forward to the face-to-face meeting in November. I will be working primarily with Evan, the grandson (or great-nephew) of the founders of the consulting firm. I have high hopes that it will be a lot of fun to work with him.
We had three solid days of rain and the sun finally broke through yesterday. I knew the rain and wind would blow most of the leaves off the trees, so I went on a hike on Monday to experience fall in New Hampshire before the spectacular beauty was gone for the season. I am glad I did, as most of the trees are now bare.
I met with Alexis, my trainer, on Wednesday and worked out with her for about 40 minutes, then we did 20 minutes of stretching. On Thursday I lifted weights for about an hour. I am getting ready to for for a long walk/jog. That will be 4 days with exercise this week. I do believe that is a record, since becoming an innkeeper. My goal is to exercise 6 days a week until we leave. So far, so good.
I promised to take Paco, Jeremiah's golden retriever, on my walk, so I better get going. Talk to you soon.
Have a wonder day!!
As I mentioned in my previous post, we have started training our replacements, Jeremiah and Lisseth. They are a relatively young couple that have decided that they want to own their own inn one day. Very much like Carla and I, they have decided to take on the challenge of running the Bernerhof Inn in order to gain experience in the industry. They have a huge advantage over us in one important aspect, though, they have already decided that they want to settle down in this area and they are interested in, maybe, one day owning this property. I enjoy the enthusiasm that they are bringing to this adventure. The sheer joy that they are bringing to this will carry them a long way. So far, we have been focusing on meal service, training Lisseth how to cook breakfast for 24 people and training Jeremiah on the dining room duties. Jeremiah is working this weekend without Lisseth, since she is in Peru. We are not sold out this morning, so I am getting the morning off while Carla and Jeremiah do breakfast together. We have dinner service tonight, so I will start around noon and work until about 10 or so tonight. That will be a reasonable day!!
With Jeremiah and Lisseth coming up to speed on breakfast service and the mad rush of fall season being over, we are entering the last 2 months of our stay here with a fresh perspective. Carla and I should both be able to take 2 days in a row off every week, from now until we leave. Our work days should not be too difficult, for the most part, because we will be relatively slow during the week. Even if we are sold out on weekends, the next couple of months will be relatively easy. This will give us time to focus on our health and plan our departure from New Hampshire.
I set up an appointment with the consultants I will be working with on November 15th, in Brattleboro Vermont. The idea is that they will help us locate our new inn, including doing valuations, helping with the negotiations, helping us put together loan packets for the bank, etc. I am looking forward to the face-to-face meeting in November. I will be working primarily with Evan, the grandson (or great-nephew) of the founders of the consulting firm. I have high hopes that it will be a lot of fun to work with him.
We had three solid days of rain and the sun finally broke through yesterday. I knew the rain and wind would blow most of the leaves off the trees, so I went on a hike on Monday to experience fall in New Hampshire before the spectacular beauty was gone for the season. I am glad I did, as most of the trees are now bare.
I met with Alexis, my trainer, on Wednesday and worked out with her for about 40 minutes, then we did 20 minutes of stretching. On Thursday I lifted weights for about an hour. I am getting ready to for for a long walk/jog. That will be 4 days with exercise this week. I do believe that is a record, since becoming an innkeeper. My goal is to exercise 6 days a week until we leave. So far, so good.
I promised to take Paco, Jeremiah's golden retriever, on my walk, so I better get going. Talk to you soon.
Have a wonder day!!
Thursday, October 26, 2017
10/26/17: 58 days to go
There is big news to report. Our last day at the Bernerhof Inn Bed and Breakfast will be December 23, 2017. Yes, you read that right, I am going to be moving back home to Kansas City over the Christmas holiday.
How did this happen? Well, I'll tell you the Reader's Digest version for now.
Our contract to run the inn is a 1 year contract, set to expire on December 18. The owner of the inn believed he would get it sold before our contract expired, but that did not happen. We submitted a proposal to the owner to extend our contract for six months, which after much angst from the owner (it was an expensive proposal), he signed. Part of the proposal was that we would begin recruiting for our own replacements on January 1st. As fate would have it, within about a week of signing the proposal, a young man walked in the front door looking for an assistant manager position. I told him that we did not have any such positions available. After a moment's hesitation I told him that I didn't have any jobs for him, unless he wanted to run the place. He said, "As a matter of fact, I do." So we sat down on the spot, talked it through, and we decided that he should talk to the owner about taking over the inn with his wife. The rest, as they say, is history. We have been training Jeremiah and Lisseth for about 3 weeks, now, and will continue training them until December 23rd.
The timing was perfect because they were here to help us through the busiest month of the year, October. Carla and I have now worked for 4 weeks without a day off. Ugh. We've had at least one afternoon off each week, but that is about it because we were sold out solidly for over 4 weeks. This week has been relatively busy, too, but things really slow down after Halloween.
Lisseth had a two week vacation to Peru planned prior to starting at the Bernerhof, and Jeremiah had some time planned with his family and friends while she was gone, so this week and next Carla and I are on our own, except for some help from Jeremiah on the weekend. On November 10th Lisseth will be back from Peru, and we will start having them here 5 days a week, again, so that the training can resume in earnest.
So, Carla and I are counting down the days until the Bernerhof Inn shows up in our rear-view mirror. There is a lot to talk about. A lot has been learned and a lot of plans have been made and are being made. But before I get into what comes after the Bernerhof Inn, I need to talk about what I will do with myself for the next 58 days.
I will focus on my health. I have exercised three days this week. Monday I went on a hike and Wednesday and today I lifted weights. It's raining out, pretty steadily, so getting outside for cardio today was not particularly appealing. I will exercise every day. I am not committing to an exact number of minutes or an exact routine, but I will start working back up to an hour a day. I will improve my diet. No sugar, no wheat and no alcohol until I leave the Bernerhof. I will get enough sleep. 8 hours a night is my goal. I will drink enough water.
The month of October was brutal; too much work, not enough sleep, training new innkeepers; it all took its toll. The good news is that this week has been a little more laid back and starting next week, we won't be busy at all. We'll have to do fun things like paint and clean, etc., but it won't be non-stop, no-break action. For the rest of our stay here we should both be able to get two days off a week and I should have plenty of time to sleep and exercise.
Blogging helps. I am really going to try hard to maintain my blog over the next 8 weeks. If you read this, feel free to leave a comment and say hi. Or you can email me at bertabetta@hotmail.com. I can use all the encouragement I can get. I need to get in great shape before spring, because I'll be playing kickball again, come April.
All right, I gotta run for now. Thanks for listening and have an awesome day.
How did this happen? Well, I'll tell you the Reader's Digest version for now.
Our contract to run the inn is a 1 year contract, set to expire on December 18. The owner of the inn believed he would get it sold before our contract expired, but that did not happen. We submitted a proposal to the owner to extend our contract for six months, which after much angst from the owner (it was an expensive proposal), he signed. Part of the proposal was that we would begin recruiting for our own replacements on January 1st. As fate would have it, within about a week of signing the proposal, a young man walked in the front door looking for an assistant manager position. I told him that we did not have any such positions available. After a moment's hesitation I told him that I didn't have any jobs for him, unless he wanted to run the place. He said, "As a matter of fact, I do." So we sat down on the spot, talked it through, and we decided that he should talk to the owner about taking over the inn with his wife. The rest, as they say, is history. We have been training Jeremiah and Lisseth for about 3 weeks, now, and will continue training them until December 23rd.
The timing was perfect because they were here to help us through the busiest month of the year, October. Carla and I have now worked for 4 weeks without a day off. Ugh. We've had at least one afternoon off each week, but that is about it because we were sold out solidly for over 4 weeks. This week has been relatively busy, too, but things really slow down after Halloween.
Lisseth had a two week vacation to Peru planned prior to starting at the Bernerhof, and Jeremiah had some time planned with his family and friends while she was gone, so this week and next Carla and I are on our own, except for some help from Jeremiah on the weekend. On November 10th Lisseth will be back from Peru, and we will start having them here 5 days a week, again, so that the training can resume in earnest.
So, Carla and I are counting down the days until the Bernerhof Inn shows up in our rear-view mirror. There is a lot to talk about. A lot has been learned and a lot of plans have been made and are being made. But before I get into what comes after the Bernerhof Inn, I need to talk about what I will do with myself for the next 58 days.
I will focus on my health. I have exercised three days this week. Monday I went on a hike and Wednesday and today I lifted weights. It's raining out, pretty steadily, so getting outside for cardio today was not particularly appealing. I will exercise every day. I am not committing to an exact number of minutes or an exact routine, but I will start working back up to an hour a day. I will improve my diet. No sugar, no wheat and no alcohol until I leave the Bernerhof. I will get enough sleep. 8 hours a night is my goal. I will drink enough water.
The month of October was brutal; too much work, not enough sleep, training new innkeepers; it all took its toll. The good news is that this week has been a little more laid back and starting next week, we won't be busy at all. We'll have to do fun things like paint and clean, etc., but it won't be non-stop, no-break action. For the rest of our stay here we should both be able to get two days off a week and I should have plenty of time to sleep and exercise.
Blogging helps. I am really going to try hard to maintain my blog over the next 8 weeks. If you read this, feel free to leave a comment and say hi. Or you can email me at bertabetta@hotmail.com. I can use all the encouragement I can get. I need to get in great shape before spring, because I'll be playing kickball again, come April.
All right, I gotta run for now. Thanks for listening and have an awesome day.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
7/9/17: Here We Go Again
Rule number 1: Don't spend all day baking cookies. That path paves the way to destruction.
It's an odd day that we do more than bake off a sheet pan of cookies at a time, but when that odd day happened, it completely derailed me. I thought I got back on track, but I didn't. Therefore, I am starting over, again. Even though I am starting over, again, I promise you that I am not giving up. And never giving up is a promise I can keep.
Yesterday I went on a beautiful five mile hike. It gave me a lot of time to think about what is important to me and what I want out of life. One of the things that is important to me is to spend more time in beautiful places! My health is important to me. It's important to me to be strong. Being close to people I love and that love me is important to me. Being connected to my community is important to me. Of course, my darling husband, Jackie Deane, is important to me. My children and grandchildren are incredibly important to me. My deepest desire is to live my life in such a way that taking care of all of these things that are important to me is my lifestyle, not things that I do when I find the time.
Here are some pictures of my hike:
New Hampshire is a beautiful place. There is no doubt about that. But I am too far from my family, I would like to find a place closer to our children and grand children. In the meantime, if you have the means, you should come out for a visit and go for a hike (or two or three). If you have never been to New Hampshire, you don't know what you're missing!
By the way, I got up early and lifted weight for about 40 minutes this morning. I am weak, much weaker than I was 6 months ago, but I will get strong again. It's never too late to get strong.
Have a beautiful day today!
It's an odd day that we do more than bake off a sheet pan of cookies at a time, but when that odd day happened, it completely derailed me. I thought I got back on track, but I didn't. Therefore, I am starting over, again. Even though I am starting over, again, I promise you that I am not giving up. And never giving up is a promise I can keep.
Yesterday I went on a beautiful five mile hike. It gave me a lot of time to think about what is important to me and what I want out of life. One of the things that is important to me is to spend more time in beautiful places! My health is important to me. It's important to me to be strong. Being close to people I love and that love me is important to me. Being connected to my community is important to me. Of course, my darling husband, Jackie Deane, is important to me. My children and grandchildren are incredibly important to me. My deepest desire is to live my life in such a way that taking care of all of these things that are important to me is my lifestyle, not things that I do when I find the time.
Here are some pictures of my hike:
 |
| Marsh |
 |
| Beaver pond through the trees |
 |
| Reflections |
 |
| Butterflies! I took a picture of one, then another flew in, then another, and another! |
 |
| The Zealand falls. |
 |
| The top of the falls, the hike's destination. |
New Hampshire is a beautiful place. There is no doubt about that. But I am too far from my family, I would like to find a place closer to our children and grand children. In the meantime, if you have the means, you should come out for a visit and go for a hike (or two or three). If you have never been to New Hampshire, you don't know what you're missing!
By the way, I got up early and lifted weight for about 40 minutes this morning. I am weak, much weaker than I was 6 months ago, but I will get strong again. It's never too late to get strong.
Have a beautiful day today!
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
7/4/17: Don't Give Up On Me!!
I know I haven't posted anything in a few days. We had a busy run up to the Fourth of July Holiday and I haven't had time to post. I don't really have much time right now to chat, but I wanted to take a second to say hi.
I also have to confess to falling off the wagon on Sunday. I spent about 4 hours, between check-ins and other interruptions, baking and rolling cookies. I did ok for a while, but after a couple of hours of baking several different types of cookies and having them laid out all over the kitchen, particularly after a really long weekend, my resolve melted and ate several cookies. The good news is that I got back on program by Sunday evening, and I was 100% on program yesterday and so far today. I didn't let my slide on Sunday afternoon lead me into the addiction abyss.
There is more to talk about, but I need to go water the flowers and herbs. And do the books. And change light bulbs. And bake cookies for afternoon tea. And...and...and. You get the idea.
I'll have more time later today or tomorrow to chat a little more.
Have a great day!!!!
I also have to confess to falling off the wagon on Sunday. I spent about 4 hours, between check-ins and other interruptions, baking and rolling cookies. I did ok for a while, but after a couple of hours of baking several different types of cookies and having them laid out all over the kitchen, particularly after a really long weekend, my resolve melted and ate several cookies. The good news is that I got back on program by Sunday evening, and I was 100% on program yesterday and so far today. I didn't let my slide on Sunday afternoon lead me into the addiction abyss.
There is more to talk about, but I need to go water the flowers and herbs. And do the books. And change light bulbs. And bake cookies for afternoon tea. And...and...and. You get the idea.
I'll have more time later today or tomorrow to chat a little more.
Have a great day!!!!
Saturday, July 1, 2017
7/1/2017: It's a New Half Year!
Well that's over! Our first six months of innkeeping is in the bag. The learning curve was steep, but we never stopped climbing and here we are, more or less feeling like we know what we are doing. It's getting easier, as we get accustomed to the ebbs and flows of the days and weeks. We'll be busy this summer and busier than busy this fall, but we are confident that we have what it takes to work our way through this busy season.
There are two major things we have to do, now that we have gotten this far and decided that yes, indeed, we want to own our own inn. First, we have to figure out how and when we will wrap up our gig at this inn; second, we have to find our inn, the one that excites us.
Regarding the first point, we have a one year contract with Dick to run the Bernerhof. He has asked us to stay another six months because so far, he has not had anyone show any interest in buying the inn. Neither Carla nor I feel like we have anything personally or professionally to gain by working here another six months beyond December 31. To put it bluntly, we feel like we will be done. The flip side is that I wouldn't mind working another ski season. Now that we know what we are doing, I know if we work another ski season I will get a lot of opportunities to ski during the week. I want to learn how to cross country ski, too. I'm planning on starting my square dancing lessons in September, so I will have that activity to keep me busy through the winter, too. I don't want to work another six months here, but I can see the bright side, too. I don't want to be away from Jack for an extra six months. As the job gets more manageable, I miss him more and more. Carla doesn't want to waste any more time than we have to. She's ready to find the place where we're going to settle down and start establishing her home base. All of this doesn't mean we won't stay an extra six months, but it does mean we are going to have to put together a deal with Dick that makes sense for us financially to stay. Carla, Jack and I have a basic frame work that we've discussed, but I haven't put it in writing yet and we have not discussed it with Dick yet. I feel a little stressed by this whole thing, so the sooner we can get it done, the better. I'll start working on the proposal in earnest this week.
Regarding the second point, for the longest time we didn't have a firm idea of where we wanted to look for an inn. I kind of liked the idea of New England, we've been toying with the idea of the mountains of western Maryland, we've considered the Smokey Mountains, Colorado, and Washington state. Slowly but surely, as we think through this, we are narrowing our focus. I am letting New England fall out from my list. For some reason, I wanted to live up here and I am glad that we're here. I really like this town, I like the mountains, the people are awesome and snow season was actually a lot of fun. But I don't need to live here for the rest of my life. I'm still flirting a little bit with Western Maryland, but I think that is mostly because I have good memories of vacationing at Deep Creek Lake many, many years ago. After all, it was at Deep Creek Lake that I discovered I was pregnant with Carla. How could I not have good memories of that? I'm still slightly intrigued with Western Washington, but I don't feel a strong pull to be there. The area of the country that is pulling at me the strongest is Colorado, or maybe southern Utah. The biggest drawback of Colorado is that real estate is excessively expensive, so finding something reasonably priced and viable may be difficult. Also, forest fires are a concern. I don't think we should not worry about that. That said, Colorado keeps on tugging at me. I discussed this with Carla and Jack yesterday, and they are both more than OK with starting the search there. Carla spent three years in Colorado and misses it. As for Jack and me, one of the very important reasons that Colorado has appeal, is that it puts us very close to most of our kids and grandchildren, and it puts us a lot closer to our California kids. Quite frankly, New England feels a little isolating. It's far from all of our family. Washington state appeals to me mostly because I would like to live close to my dad, but living close to him means being far from everyone else. As I spend time here at the Bernerhof, far away from family, I am developing a healthier respect for the importance of being able to spend time with those that we love. This work is demanding and time consuming. Time off will be precious. I don't want to have to travel an entire day by air to see my grandchildren. I don't want them to only be able to afford to come see us once every few years. Owning and running an inn is something I want do to for the rest of my life, but I don't want to do it at the expense of not spending time with the rest of my family. Colorado makes sense. It's beautiful, people living in and visiting Colorado are outdoor oriented people, and it's a vacation destination. Yesterday, we made the decision to start focusing our search on Colorado and southern Utah. Wish us luck.
I did well yesterday with all four points of my plan. I walked for over an hour, I was 100% on program with food, I got over 8 hours of sleep, and I drank plenty of water. The scale is stuck. Ah well.
Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!
There are two major things we have to do, now that we have gotten this far and decided that yes, indeed, we want to own our own inn. First, we have to figure out how and when we will wrap up our gig at this inn; second, we have to find our inn, the one that excites us.
Regarding the first point, we have a one year contract with Dick to run the Bernerhof. He has asked us to stay another six months because so far, he has not had anyone show any interest in buying the inn. Neither Carla nor I feel like we have anything personally or professionally to gain by working here another six months beyond December 31. To put it bluntly, we feel like we will be done. The flip side is that I wouldn't mind working another ski season. Now that we know what we are doing, I know if we work another ski season I will get a lot of opportunities to ski during the week. I want to learn how to cross country ski, too. I'm planning on starting my square dancing lessons in September, so I will have that activity to keep me busy through the winter, too. I don't want to work another six months here, but I can see the bright side, too. I don't want to be away from Jack for an extra six months. As the job gets more manageable, I miss him more and more. Carla doesn't want to waste any more time than we have to. She's ready to find the place where we're going to settle down and start establishing her home base. All of this doesn't mean we won't stay an extra six months, but it does mean we are going to have to put together a deal with Dick that makes sense for us financially to stay. Carla, Jack and I have a basic frame work that we've discussed, but I haven't put it in writing yet and we have not discussed it with Dick yet. I feel a little stressed by this whole thing, so the sooner we can get it done, the better. I'll start working on the proposal in earnest this week.
Regarding the second point, for the longest time we didn't have a firm idea of where we wanted to look for an inn. I kind of liked the idea of New England, we've been toying with the idea of the mountains of western Maryland, we've considered the Smokey Mountains, Colorado, and Washington state. Slowly but surely, as we think through this, we are narrowing our focus. I am letting New England fall out from my list. For some reason, I wanted to live up here and I am glad that we're here. I really like this town, I like the mountains, the people are awesome and snow season was actually a lot of fun. But I don't need to live here for the rest of my life. I'm still flirting a little bit with Western Maryland, but I think that is mostly because I have good memories of vacationing at Deep Creek Lake many, many years ago. After all, it was at Deep Creek Lake that I discovered I was pregnant with Carla. How could I not have good memories of that? I'm still slightly intrigued with Western Washington, but I don't feel a strong pull to be there. The area of the country that is pulling at me the strongest is Colorado, or maybe southern Utah. The biggest drawback of Colorado is that real estate is excessively expensive, so finding something reasonably priced and viable may be difficult. Also, forest fires are a concern. I don't think we should not worry about that. That said, Colorado keeps on tugging at me. I discussed this with Carla and Jack yesterday, and they are both more than OK with starting the search there. Carla spent three years in Colorado and misses it. As for Jack and me, one of the very important reasons that Colorado has appeal, is that it puts us very close to most of our kids and grandchildren, and it puts us a lot closer to our California kids. Quite frankly, New England feels a little isolating. It's far from all of our family. Washington state appeals to me mostly because I would like to live close to my dad, but living close to him means being far from everyone else. As I spend time here at the Bernerhof, far away from family, I am developing a healthier respect for the importance of being able to spend time with those that we love. This work is demanding and time consuming. Time off will be precious. I don't want to have to travel an entire day by air to see my grandchildren. I don't want them to only be able to afford to come see us once every few years. Owning and running an inn is something I want do to for the rest of my life, but I don't want to do it at the expense of not spending time with the rest of my family. Colorado makes sense. It's beautiful, people living in and visiting Colorado are outdoor oriented people, and it's a vacation destination. Yesterday, we made the decision to start focusing our search on Colorado and southern Utah. Wish us luck.
I did well yesterday with all four points of my plan. I walked for over an hour, I was 100% on program with food, I got over 8 hours of sleep, and I drank plenty of water. The scale is stuck. Ah well.
Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!
Friday, June 30, 2017
6/30/17: Three Out of Four Ain't Bad
Yesterday I discussed 4 areas of self-care that I am going
to focus on: sleep, diet, water, and exercise.
I accomplished my daily goal in 3 of the areas. I was sugar, alcohol, and wheat free for the
11th day in a row; I got 7 hours and 5 minutes of sleep; and I drank
a lot more water (I was running to the bathroom all day!). I did not workout yesterday because it was
dinner prep day and I did not have time.
My work day started yesterday at 6:00AM and I was in the kitchen all day
until quitting time at about 9:30PM. I
am off today, so I will be able to exercise today.
My weight is stable.
I’d like to start losing weight as I really want to be between 150 and
160 pounds for the rest of my life. I feel
and look great at that weight. I believe
if I can consistently get 7 hours of sleep, drink enough water, stay off the
sugar, and don’t overeat everything else I will start losing weight. How can I not? This is a physically demanding job. I am going to maintain this plan for a couple
of weeks. If the weight doesn’t start to
come off I will have to be more disciplined, as in counting calories or
something like that. I’d rather not have
to add that much structure at this point, as I am already living a very
structured life, but if that is what it takes, that is what I will do.
It's a rainy day in New Hampshire. Instead of playing outside I think I will go
exploring. My plan is to get in the car
soon and head out into the countryside to see what I can see.
Carla and I have been the innkeepers at the Bernerhof for 6
months. We took over at 8PM on December 31st,
when the previous innkeeper took off for his next gig right up the hill. To say it has been a learning experience
would be an understatement. The most
important things we have learned are the big-picture things.
First, I like being an innkeeper. I like meeting new people
every day from all over the world. You never know who is going to walk in your
front door. 98% of our guests are
wonderful people. Every now and then we
get an Oscar the Grouch, but we have learned that if we keep on smiling and
keep on being kind and gentle, even the grouchiest grouch relents, smiles, and
concedes that they are, indeed, enjoying their stay at the Bernerhof. I like cooking for our guests, maintaining
the inn and the gardens, working with our staff and vendors, and in general,
running the show. I find the work interesting
and rewarding. I like getting great
reviews, but I still have a moment of panic whenever we get a new review and I
haven’t read it yet. We haven’t received
a bad review yet, but you never know when you might have ticked someone
off. Knock on wood, so far, so good.
Second, we’ve learned what we don’t want to do. We don’t want to have dinner service and we
don’t want to have a bar. While our
guests love our dinners and they really enjoy the bar area, it’s just too much
for us. Innkeeping is totally
manageable, with the exception of having to tend to the guests in the dining
room and bar in the evenings. The bar,
in particular, gives our guests a place to hang out and feel comfortable. They like to sit around and enjoy a cocktail
and each other’s company. There is
something about our little bar and den that makes our guests feel welcome and
comfortable. We will have to be creative
in our efforts to achieve that same sense of comfortable and relaxing space
without a bar, but I think we can do it.
We both want to wind down in the evenings, not wind up. Having dinner and bar service in the evenings
requires us to keep our energy up all day and into the night. It’s not healthy. It’s not manageable. We have a bar tender/server on weekend
nights, when we have dinner service, but that doesn’t relieve us of the duty
being on-point. It’s still our jobs to
ensure the guests’ happiness.
Third, we won’t buy and inn with existing dinner service and
then end dinner service. Guests expect
to come back to an inn and get what they had before. When they don’t get it, they are disappointed
and it increases the odds of a negative review.
Reviews are everything to the small inn.
We bend over backwards when we get a guest that has been here before and
make certain they leave happy. Things
have changed, mostly for the good, but in their eyes, somewhat for the
bad. We don’t let guests walk behind the
bar and get their own drinks, for example.
The previous innkeeper did. We
don’t serve German food. It’s been over
12 years since German food was served here, but guests still come back wanting
German food. If an inn has dinner
service now, we won’t buy it. We want nothing
to do with it and we don’t want to disappoint previous guests.
We need to be able to afford a housekeeper. When we started, we cleaned rooms if we weren’t
very busy and the harsh reality is that when you are in a guest room cleaning,
particularly when you are cleaning the tub, you can’t do anything else. You’re up to your elbows and knees in
cleansers and bleach and you’re totally focused on making sure everything looks
perfect. It is really disruptive to
answer the phone, meet with a vendor, take care of another guest’s needs, or
anything else. I want our inn to be big
enough that it can afford a housekeeper.
I’d rather spend a couple of hours every day figuring out how to keep
occupancy high enough to afford a housekeeper than clean rooms. If we do it right, a housekeeper will be the
only employee we need. The rest of our
help (repairs and maintenance that we can’t do on our own, snow removal, heavy
landscaping, etc.) will be hired as contractors on an as-needed basis.
We need to learn how to market and advertise
effectively. We have not gone to any of
the many seminars or chamber meetings that are available to us. It’s time that we started doing such things.
I guess that’s it for now.
I’ve got to run. I’m running out
of morning and I want to have a full day of exploring.
Have a wonderful day!
Thursday, June 29, 2017
6/29/17: Don't Panic! I'm Still Sugar Free!
I'm trying to put up a blog post every day because writing about my challenges with food keeps my thoughts linear and keeps me focused on my goal. Blogging gives my rational mind a stronger voice than my sugar addiction. It is a bad sign when I don't get a blog post up. It means that I don't have even a few minutes to pause and jot down a few thoughts; which means that my days have been crazy and I haven't been getting enough sleep. I didn't put up a post yesterday morning because I got less than 7 hours of sleep for 5 nights in a row and I was squeezing every moment of sleep into yesterday morning that I possibly could. The good news is that in spite of not having enough sleep, I have stayed on program. I am still sugar, wheat, and alcohol free!!
The bad news is that I have not lost any weight since I started weighing myself at the beginning of the week. I suspect the reason I am not losing weight is because I have not been getting enough sleep. It's all interrelated. I feel good, though. I feel so much better than I felt two weeks ago. I'm not bloated and puffy; I'm not beating myself up all the time for eating crap; I'm happier; my tummy is flatter. These are all good things!
Last night I had the afternoon off so I ran a few errands and then came home and went to bed. My bedtime call to Jackie was at 6:30 and I was lights out and eyes shut by 7:00. I was a little groggy when I woke up this morning at 5:00, but I had over 9 hours of sleep and I am now beginning to wake up. Tonight and Saturday nights are my late nights in the kitchen, but I have Friday off, so I should be able to get 8 hours of sleep tonight and tomorrow night. It'll be a short night of sleep for me on Saturday night, but if I can get three nights in a row of 8 hours of sleep, that should make a huge difference.
I am focusing on four areas of self-care. I am keeping it as simple as possible:
Diet: Be sugar, wheat and alcohol free. Don't overeat high calorie foods like nuts.
Sleep: Goal: 8 hours of sleep every night. Reality: Happy with at least 7 hours of sleep.
Exercise: Lift weights 2 to 3 times a week. Walk 2 to 3 times a week. Hike (or other outdoor fun) once a week.
Water: Drink plenty of water.
Here is the status update on all four of these areas:
My food intake has seemed impossible to control and it centers around sugar. Taste a muffin, "To see if it's good," and eat two, maybe three. Over-bake a tray of cookies and eat the ones that are too dark to serve. Get cravings late in the afternoon and grab handfuls of chocolate chips. Feel sorry for myself at the end of a hard day and bring a few beers to my room to relax and unwind. This is just a small sample of the ways I have allowed my addiction to control me over the last six months. When I am consuming sugar, the voice that urges me to eat more sugar is louder than any other voice in my head. As of this morning, I've been sugar free for 10 days and I feel much more in-control of my food. The sugar voice is small and not much of a bother. I have no desire to eat crap. When sugar is in front of me I can ignore it without feeling deprived or sorry for myself. I'm proud of myself for getting on top of this addiction, yet again. I am grateful for everyone's support in helping me do this. I'm not over-eating and I'm eating three decent meals a day with proteins, veggies and fruits. I feel good about this.
As you know, getting enough sleep is a constant challenge. For the most part, if a week is "normal," I should be able to get at least 7 hours of sleep, if not 8, 5 days a week. Last week was abnormal because our chef, Rene, had Friday and Saturday off. Dick, the owner of the Bernerhof, has been discussing dinner service with me and Carla. Right now, we offer dinner 3 nights a week because that is what is required to maintain our hotel liquor license. The hotel liquor license allows us to have on-premises liquor sales to anyone, even non-overnight-guests. Dick is going to appeal to the liquor commission to allow us to go to 2 nights a week. If he is unsuccessful in the appeal, we will exchange our license for a B&B license, which does not require food sales. The big difference in the two licenses is that the B&B license does not allow us to sell alcohol to non-overnight-guests. This is pretty restrictive and we'd like to avoid that. The Bernerhof has a long history in the valley and it's nice to be able to allow walk-ins to come in and have a glass of wine or a beer. We've been discussing the relative merits of the liquor license vs. the amount of extra work it is for Carla and I to have dinner service that third night a week, and have come to the conclusion that we'd be better off going to two, even if we have to shift to a B&B license. This is not going to happen immediately, but I am hoping by the end of June, we will only be serving dinner two nights a week.
Exercise: I am on my feet all day, almost every day, whether the day is a 12, 14, or 16 hour day. Once a week or so, I have a behind the desk day, where I sit for 3 or 4 hours. I average between 15,000 and 22,000 steps a day, as recorded by my Fitbit. When my diet sucks and I am not getting enough sleep, my body hurts pretty badly. This results in the inability to convince myself to exercise. Now that my food in-take is under control and as soon as I get close to 8 hours of sleep a night, my body will start healing itself over-night and my body won't hurt nearly as much. I know this is true because I remember how good it felt a few weeks ago when I had 4 nights in a row of 7 or more hours of sleep. Sleep and good food is critical to recovery. When I get both of those things, it will be easier to convince myself to lift weights and walk. I lifted weights yesterday. I won't get a chance to exercise today, it is dinner prep day, but tomorrow I have the day off and I will lift weights. On Saturday I will try to go for a 30 minute walk. On Sunday I will try to lift weights. That is as far out as I can plan at the moment.
Water: This shouldn't be difficult. I like water, I just haven't been drinking enough of it. I get distracted and don't think about it. I'll set a 60 minute timer on my watch and make sure I drink at least a cup of water every hour, starting with right now.
So that's it for now. This seems like a good plan.
Have a good day out there!! It's beautiful in New Hampshire, today. I hope you are having a beautiful day, too.
The bad news is that I have not lost any weight since I started weighing myself at the beginning of the week. I suspect the reason I am not losing weight is because I have not been getting enough sleep. It's all interrelated. I feel good, though. I feel so much better than I felt two weeks ago. I'm not bloated and puffy; I'm not beating myself up all the time for eating crap; I'm happier; my tummy is flatter. These are all good things!
Last night I had the afternoon off so I ran a few errands and then came home and went to bed. My bedtime call to Jackie was at 6:30 and I was lights out and eyes shut by 7:00. I was a little groggy when I woke up this morning at 5:00, but I had over 9 hours of sleep and I am now beginning to wake up. Tonight and Saturday nights are my late nights in the kitchen, but I have Friday off, so I should be able to get 8 hours of sleep tonight and tomorrow night. It'll be a short night of sleep for me on Saturday night, but if I can get three nights in a row of 8 hours of sleep, that should make a huge difference.
I am focusing on four areas of self-care. I am keeping it as simple as possible:
Diet: Be sugar, wheat and alcohol free. Don't overeat high calorie foods like nuts.
Sleep: Goal: 8 hours of sleep every night. Reality: Happy with at least 7 hours of sleep.
Exercise: Lift weights 2 to 3 times a week. Walk 2 to 3 times a week. Hike (or other outdoor fun) once a week.
Water: Drink plenty of water.
Here is the status update on all four of these areas:
My food intake has seemed impossible to control and it centers around sugar. Taste a muffin, "To see if it's good," and eat two, maybe three. Over-bake a tray of cookies and eat the ones that are too dark to serve. Get cravings late in the afternoon and grab handfuls of chocolate chips. Feel sorry for myself at the end of a hard day and bring a few beers to my room to relax and unwind. This is just a small sample of the ways I have allowed my addiction to control me over the last six months. When I am consuming sugar, the voice that urges me to eat more sugar is louder than any other voice in my head. As of this morning, I've been sugar free for 10 days and I feel much more in-control of my food. The sugar voice is small and not much of a bother. I have no desire to eat crap. When sugar is in front of me I can ignore it without feeling deprived or sorry for myself. I'm proud of myself for getting on top of this addiction, yet again. I am grateful for everyone's support in helping me do this. I'm not over-eating and I'm eating three decent meals a day with proteins, veggies and fruits. I feel good about this.
As you know, getting enough sleep is a constant challenge. For the most part, if a week is "normal," I should be able to get at least 7 hours of sleep, if not 8, 5 days a week. Last week was abnormal because our chef, Rene, had Friday and Saturday off. Dick, the owner of the Bernerhof, has been discussing dinner service with me and Carla. Right now, we offer dinner 3 nights a week because that is what is required to maintain our hotel liquor license. The hotel liquor license allows us to have on-premises liquor sales to anyone, even non-overnight-guests. Dick is going to appeal to the liquor commission to allow us to go to 2 nights a week. If he is unsuccessful in the appeal, we will exchange our license for a B&B license, which does not require food sales. The big difference in the two licenses is that the B&B license does not allow us to sell alcohol to non-overnight-guests. This is pretty restrictive and we'd like to avoid that. The Bernerhof has a long history in the valley and it's nice to be able to allow walk-ins to come in and have a glass of wine or a beer. We've been discussing the relative merits of the liquor license vs. the amount of extra work it is for Carla and I to have dinner service that third night a week, and have come to the conclusion that we'd be better off going to two, even if we have to shift to a B&B license. This is not going to happen immediately, but I am hoping by the end of June, we will only be serving dinner two nights a week.
Exercise: I am on my feet all day, almost every day, whether the day is a 12, 14, or 16 hour day. Once a week or so, I have a behind the desk day, where I sit for 3 or 4 hours. I average between 15,000 and 22,000 steps a day, as recorded by my Fitbit. When my diet sucks and I am not getting enough sleep, my body hurts pretty badly. This results in the inability to convince myself to exercise. Now that my food in-take is under control and as soon as I get close to 8 hours of sleep a night, my body will start healing itself over-night and my body won't hurt nearly as much. I know this is true because I remember how good it felt a few weeks ago when I had 4 nights in a row of 7 or more hours of sleep. Sleep and good food is critical to recovery. When I get both of those things, it will be easier to convince myself to lift weights and walk. I lifted weights yesterday. I won't get a chance to exercise today, it is dinner prep day, but tomorrow I have the day off and I will lift weights. On Saturday I will try to go for a 30 minute walk. On Sunday I will try to lift weights. That is as far out as I can plan at the moment.
Water: This shouldn't be difficult. I like water, I just haven't been drinking enough of it. I get distracted and don't think about it. I'll set a 60 minute timer on my watch and make sure I drink at least a cup of water every hour, starting with right now.
So that's it for now. This seems like a good plan.
Have a good day out there!! It's beautiful in New Hampshire, today. I hope you are having a beautiful day, too.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
6/27/16: Still Free!
Hip Hip Hooray, I am still sugar free! That's the good news. The bad news is that I am not getting enough sleep. We are both going to try to take a day and a half off this week, so Carla took off Sunday afternoon and Monday. Sunday wasn't too bad, I had a pretty low key afternoon and managed to get 7 hours of sleep. We only had 3 rooms booked Sunday night so Monday breakfast was easy. Last night we had 7 check-ins, though, and between prepping for breakfast for an almost-full house and waiting for the last check-in, I didn't get to call it a night until almost 10 o'clock. We both need to do breakfast this morning because we had so many rooms sold last night. Unfortunately, our regular schedule has me working the late shift this evening and we have a full house again tonight, so it will be tough squeezing in eight hours of sleep tonight, too. I will get tomorrow afternoon and Friday off, so after tonight I should start catching up on my sleep again.
I weighed myself, finally. The good news is that I don't weigh any more than I did two months ago. The bad news is that I don't weigh any less than I did two months ago. I am relieved that my stop-and-go efforts at least kept any more weight from creeping on, now I need to focus on weight loss.
It's time to make the donuts! See you tomorrow.
Have a great day!!
I weighed myself, finally. The good news is that I don't weigh any more than I did two months ago. The bad news is that I don't weigh any less than I did two months ago. I am relieved that my stop-and-go efforts at least kept any more weight from creeping on, now I need to focus on weight loss.
It's time to make the donuts! See you tomorrow.
Have a great day!!
Monday, June 26, 2017
6/26/17: One Week Sugar Free!
A week ago I put up a sob story of a post about how unhappy I was with myself for not being able to control my sugar addiction. My friends and family responded with heart warming support, compassion, and, yes, advice. Your love gave me the resolve I needed to do exactly what I knew I needed to do, kick sugar to the curb. I am now one week sugar, wheat and alcohol free.
Today, my overwhelming emotions are gratitude and relief as I feel loved, my clothes are just a tad looser, my tummy is flatter, I am sleeping better, and I am happier.
Thank you!
Now, it's time for me to go make breakfast.
Stay awesome! Have a wonderful day!
Today, my overwhelming emotions are gratitude and relief as I feel loved, my clothes are just a tad looser, my tummy is flatter, I am sleeping better, and I am happier.
Thank you!
Now, it's time for me to go make breakfast.
Stay awesome! Have a wonderful day!
Sunday, June 25, 2017
6/25/17 @ 3PM: The Weekend is Finally Over!
Around here, the weekend starts on Thursday morning because that is when we start prepping for our Thursday, Friday, and Saturday dinner service. The weekend ends on Sunday afternoon, after the last check-out and after all the breakfast clean-up is done. On Thursday, prepping for dinner is an all day affair, because everything on the menu is cooked from scratch by me and Carla. Lasagna with homemade Italian tomato sauce, Lazy Sunday Pot Roast, chimichurri chicken and steak kabobs, chipotle black bean burgers, rhubarb pie, and more are on the menu. Carla usually does our big grocery shopping trip on Wednesday, then we get up Thursday morning and cook breakfast for our guests. As we are cooking breakfast we get the pot roast going, then after breakfast we continue cooking until about 4 in the afternoon. At four we start checking in guests and one of us preps the pantry station (salads, cold entrees, and desserts) for dinner service. We have worked out a schedule that allows one of us to be off at 6PM each night. On some weekends I work late backing up the chef, ringing up tickets, and checking in guests on Thursday and Saturday (Carla covers Friday), and other weeks it's reversed. The person who stays up late on a dinner service night doesn't usually call it a night until 10:30 or so.
This week was an exception because our chef, Rene, couldn't work on Friday and Saturday nights. He's the head chef at a local resort that only serves breakfast, but they had a special function this weekend and required him to work. Has it happens, the back-up chef is me. So after a brief training session Thursday evening, I cooked dinner for our guests Friday and Saturday evening and Carla had to work the pantry station both nights. It made for a much longer and busier weekend than normal. Saturday night we had a full house, so we served 26 guests breakfast this morning. By the time we got all the breakfasts served, the kitchen and dining room cleaned up, and all the leftover food either cooked off for our dinners this week or frozen (and then all of those dishes washed), it was 3:00.
We have only three rooms sold tonight with 2 of those being stay-overs and one being a check-in; so this afternoon will be pretty mellow. Sunday afternoons usually are fairly relaxed as we decompress from the weekend.
With only 5 1/2 hours of sleep last night I am finding that I have more food cravings today. The muffins and the biscuits were mighty tempting as I was starting my prep work for breakfast. Carla cooked me a delicious omelet at about 7:15 and I ate that with some home fries, which helped a lot. I didn't eat my next meal until about 2:00 because we were so busy cleaning up and getting organized after the hectic weekend.
I am absolutely thrilled that I stayed on program all weekend!! I am a bit sleep deprived so my cravings are a bit more intense today, but I am feeling strong and know that I will make it through the day without going off program. The really exciting news is that I was able to go one hole smaller on my belt this morning. Progress!!
Have a great day, everyone! See you tomorrow.
This week was an exception because our chef, Rene, couldn't work on Friday and Saturday nights. He's the head chef at a local resort that only serves breakfast, but they had a special function this weekend and required him to work. Has it happens, the back-up chef is me. So after a brief training session Thursday evening, I cooked dinner for our guests Friday and Saturday evening and Carla had to work the pantry station both nights. It made for a much longer and busier weekend than normal. Saturday night we had a full house, so we served 26 guests breakfast this morning. By the time we got all the breakfasts served, the kitchen and dining room cleaned up, and all the leftover food either cooked off for our dinners this week or frozen (and then all of those dishes washed), it was 3:00.
We have only three rooms sold tonight with 2 of those being stay-overs and one being a check-in; so this afternoon will be pretty mellow. Sunday afternoons usually are fairly relaxed as we decompress from the weekend.
With only 5 1/2 hours of sleep last night I am finding that I have more food cravings today. The muffins and the biscuits were mighty tempting as I was starting my prep work for breakfast. Carla cooked me a delicious omelet at about 7:15 and I ate that with some home fries, which helped a lot. I didn't eat my next meal until about 2:00 because we were so busy cleaning up and getting organized after the hectic weekend.
I am absolutely thrilled that I stayed on program all weekend!! I am a bit sleep deprived so my cravings are a bit more intense today, but I am feeling strong and know that I will make it through the day without going off program. The really exciting news is that I was able to go one hole smaller on my belt this morning. Progress!!
Have a great day, everyone! See you tomorrow.
6/25/17: The Hardest Part of the Weekend is Over
I cooked and I didn't eat. Day 6 is done. I made it through Thursday and Friday and Saturday without going off program. The hardest part about today is operating on too little sleep. I got less than 6 hours of sleep last night, which was unavoidable. Once we get through breakfast, we have to feed 24 people, it will be a relatively easy day. I have plenty of leftover healthy food to get me through the week.
More later.
Have a great day.
More later.
Have a great day.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
6/24/17: Woo Hoo, I Did It!
What a day! It started at 6AM with breakfast prep and finally ended at 11PM with me on my feet all day! Our chef was off last night and will be off again tonight, so I covered for him and cooked dinner last night. Of course, last night was our busiest night in weeks! Now we have to do a lot of prep today because we went through a lot of food last night, and I have to cook dinner again tonight. I won't be up as late tonight because Carla and I agreed that I'd close Friday night and she'd close Saturday night. I am hoping to be out of the kitchen by 8:30 or 9:00 tonight.
Cooking dinner was a challenge. It was something I have not done before. Rene spent a little time together Thursday and I got instructions on how long everything cooked, at what temp, etc.. All of the recipes, except the crab cakes, were mine, so that made it a little easier, but I have never finished everything off on the line before. I proved last night that I can do it, but I also proved that I don't want to do it. It's just too much to do both breakfast and dinner and all of the prep in between. I know some innkeepers do it, but I think they are just nuts.
The good news, the really, really good news, is that I stayed on program yesterday!! It was not easy, I almost slipped a couple of times. The most treacherous moment was when I was plating up a strawberry rhubarb pie ala mode. I reached into the pie plate to grab a small chunk of the filling that had fallen in the pie, without even thinking about it. That chunk of pie was halfway to my mouth before I realized I couldn't eat it. For about 5 minutes I struggled, the ice cream looked so coo; and delicious, the brownies were sitting right there, begging to be eaten. I won the battle, though! I said, "No!" to pie, I said, "No!" to ice cream, and I said, "No!" to brownies. It is starting to get a little easier. I feel so much more confident now that I have made it through the first two days of the weekend without any sugar or wheat (or alcohol - no alcohol is a given, by the way, when I am sugar free, as sugar and alcohol are basically the same, except alcohol makes you tipsy). I didn't have bad cravings yesterday; there were temptations right in front of my face, but there were not any serious cravings.
I didn't do any exercise in addition to the 17 hours on my feet yesterday. There just wasn't time. We'll see if I can squeeze in a little exercise today.
That's all I have time for. No real insights, I know, just a touch base, today. I didn't get my full eight hours of sleep and I need to get in the shower and do it again. Here is to day six and finishing the weekend at 100%
Talk to you tomorrow. Have a great day!!
Cooking dinner was a challenge. It was something I have not done before. Rene spent a little time together Thursday and I got instructions on how long everything cooked, at what temp, etc.. All of the recipes, except the crab cakes, were mine, so that made it a little easier, but I have never finished everything off on the line before. I proved last night that I can do it, but I also proved that I don't want to do it. It's just too much to do both breakfast and dinner and all of the prep in between. I know some innkeepers do it, but I think they are just nuts.
The good news, the really, really good news, is that I stayed on program yesterday!! It was not easy, I almost slipped a couple of times. The most treacherous moment was when I was plating up a strawberry rhubarb pie ala mode. I reached into the pie plate to grab a small chunk of the filling that had fallen in the pie, without even thinking about it. That chunk of pie was halfway to my mouth before I realized I couldn't eat it. For about 5 minutes I struggled, the ice cream looked so coo; and delicious, the brownies were sitting right there, begging to be eaten. I won the battle, though! I said, "No!" to pie, I said, "No!" to ice cream, and I said, "No!" to brownies. It is starting to get a little easier. I feel so much more confident now that I have made it through the first two days of the weekend without any sugar or wheat (or alcohol - no alcohol is a given, by the way, when I am sugar free, as sugar and alcohol are basically the same, except alcohol makes you tipsy). I didn't have bad cravings yesterday; there were temptations right in front of my face, but there were not any serious cravings.
I didn't do any exercise in addition to the 17 hours on my feet yesterday. There just wasn't time. We'll see if I can squeeze in a little exercise today.
That's all I have time for. No real insights, I know, just a touch base, today. I didn't get my full eight hours of sleep and I need to get in the shower and do it again. Here is to day six and finishing the weekend at 100%
Talk to you tomorrow. Have a great day!!
Friday, June 23, 2017
6/23/17: Weekends will be like this, no time to blog
I have to be downstairs to start prepping for breakfast in six minutes, therefore this will just be a quick update.
I stayed 100% on program yesterday (Thursday is our first night of dinner service, therefore our first weekend night of the week). This was the first Thursday I made it through 100% on program.
In addition to being on my feet for 14 hours yesterday, I went for a 30 minute walk.
I will stay on program today.
Have a great day, everyone!
I stayed 100% on program yesterday (Thursday is our first night of dinner service, therefore our first weekend night of the week). This was the first Thursday I made it through 100% on program.
In addition to being on my feet for 14 hours yesterday, I went for a 30 minute walk.
I will stay on program today.
Have a great day, everyone!
Thursday, June 22, 2017
6/22/17: Busy Day Today, no Time to Blog
Thursday is our busiest day of the week. As soon as breakfast service is done we need to start prepping for dinner, so I will not have time to put up a post today. That said, I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that I was 100% on plan yesterday. Day three is done, day four has begun. The next three days will test my resolve, but I am going to get through it with no sugar, no wheat and no alcohol.
Have a good one!!
Have a good one!!
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
6/21/17: Day Two is in the Books!
I have now been sugar and wheat free for over 48 hours! Hallaleuah! Can you hear the angels rejoicing?
This is a BIG DEAL. I know this is the second time this month I've made it through day two and started on day three with the conviction that this time is THE TIME that I am starting my program for real, but hey, if you don't keep getting up and brushing off your britches and trying again, you're never going to get good at anything. I have failed at many things, but failing has never stopped me from trying again. I have fallen off the wagon spectacularly a number of times. But I am never going to give up. I know that I have a lot of control over my health and well being and that it starts with food. I know that I am a sugar addict. I know I can live without sugar. In fact, I know that I live a much happier and more productive life without sugar. I also know there is one thing I can count on, and that is that I will restart my program exactly one more time than I fall off of my program. I am never giving up on my health and well being as my number one priority. I am never giving up on living a sugar free lifestyle. Sugar is poison to me. This I know. Small doses don't seem to be harmful to some people, just like small doses of alcohol don't seem to be harmful to some people. Unfortunately, small doses of sugar, for me, lead to larger doses, which lead to larger doses, yet. Then I am getting fat again, my body starts to hurt, I start beating myself up, and the downward spiral is in action.
Today is day three. I am halting the spiral. The spiral has to stop turning the wrong way before it can start turning the right way again. It is a kind of strong arm tactic, I know, but it has to be done.
This conversation reminds me of a book I read many, many years ago. I'm getting up there in years so I flinched when I realized it was almost 25 years ago that I read this particular book, but this book had a profound influence on the way I've lived my life since I read it. I know I've talked about it before, but such is the way of profound influencers, they keep coming up, over and over again.
The book is, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway," by Susan Jeffers. Her second, follow up, book isn't very good, but Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway was exactly the book I needed at the time that I read it. Back to the point I was trying to make. I have a picture of life in my head that formed when I was first reading Feel the Fear. Imagine drawing a spiral on a piece of paper. Now imagine you are a dot on that spiral and the spiral is turning. When a spiral turns, it either turns inwards, toward the center, like a whirlpool, or outwards, ever expanding. There is no static spiral. The spiral always turns.
The path of least resistance is for the spiral to turn inwards, as if there is a natural force working at decay. If we do nothing and just let life happen around us, our dot on the spiral gets closer and closer to the center. Our world gets smaller and darker. Life gets less interesting and less stimulating. Our options become fewer and bleaker. This option feels safe, because everyday you know what to expect, but everyday is not the same. Each day, your world collapses on itself, however minutely, until there is not much left. Your contact with other people is limited to your small trusted circle and you have fewer connections. Everyday your chances to interact with other people is slightly diminished from the day before, your opportunities to love and be loved by others grows smaller.
But we have the ability to turn the spiral the other way. We have the power to stop the downward spiral and reverse the spin. Now imagine the spiral is turning outwards, and you are a spot on that spiral. Everyday, your world gets a little bigger, you meet new people, new opportunities present themselves. There is so much more color and vitality to your life and to the people around you. There are so many more options to connect with others, to love and be loved in return. Your heart grows with every new day. But it's scary, when the spiral turns outwards, because everyday you are faced with a new challenge, something you have never dealt with before. Everyday you are forced to confront a fear of failure because you have to try something new. As you confront these fears and overcome them; as you fail and try again, you begin to realize that it's OK to be afraid, it's OK to fail, because failure is not permanent. You just try again. With each failure you get that much smarter, that much stronger, that much more resilient, and that much more confident that eventually, you will succeed.
I believe that the spiral is never static. It is always turning, either towards the dark and small center, or outwards toward a kaleidoscope of colorful options. I believe that it is important to always be working against the natural pull of the spiral towards the hole, and to constantly be pushing the boundaries, and keeping the spiral moving outwards. Don't get me wrong, this is work, hard work. The title of my blog, It's Not Downhill From Here, harkens from this theory. People have often heard me say, the road to the top is uphill. You can either walk up the hill and get a beautiful view or slide on your ass down the hill and be stuck in the shadows. It's easier to go downhill, but it is much more rewarding to make the effort and go up.
When I started this blog, five years ago, as I was turning 50, I made a conscious decision not to let myself slide into old age and decay. I made a conscious decision to truly enjoy the second half of my life, to get and stay healthy and fit, to continue taking risks, to continue working hard, throughout my life. It is my goal to live a long and prosperous life. Who know what 60, 70, 80, 90, or even 100 can bring if I keep the momentum going the right way.
Coming to New Hampshire with Carla was a big change, indeed. I have zero regrets. I've learned so much from this experience. My body has taken a beating as I have not gotten enough sleep and the stress broke down my resolve, however temporarily, to eat right and exercise often. But as I get a handle on the innkeeping life and I am more sure of myself, I am able to start focusing more and more on taking care of myself. I hope to spend more time talking about life as an innkeeper in future blog posts. For now, though, I am glad to remind myself of the spiral, and how important it is to keep pushing against the tide.
Have a great day!! If you have a favorite inspirational book, that has had a profound impact on your life, I'd love it if you'd share the title with me. I have a little time to read these days. ☺
This is a BIG DEAL. I know this is the second time this month I've made it through day two and started on day three with the conviction that this time is THE TIME that I am starting my program for real, but hey, if you don't keep getting up and brushing off your britches and trying again, you're never going to get good at anything. I have failed at many things, but failing has never stopped me from trying again. I have fallen off the wagon spectacularly a number of times. But I am never going to give up. I know that I have a lot of control over my health and well being and that it starts with food. I know that I am a sugar addict. I know I can live without sugar. In fact, I know that I live a much happier and more productive life without sugar. I also know there is one thing I can count on, and that is that I will restart my program exactly one more time than I fall off of my program. I am never giving up on my health and well being as my number one priority. I am never giving up on living a sugar free lifestyle. Sugar is poison to me. This I know. Small doses don't seem to be harmful to some people, just like small doses of alcohol don't seem to be harmful to some people. Unfortunately, small doses of sugar, for me, lead to larger doses, which lead to larger doses, yet. Then I am getting fat again, my body starts to hurt, I start beating myself up, and the downward spiral is in action.
Today is day three. I am halting the spiral. The spiral has to stop turning the wrong way before it can start turning the right way again. It is a kind of strong arm tactic, I know, but it has to be done.
This conversation reminds me of a book I read many, many years ago. I'm getting up there in years so I flinched when I realized it was almost 25 years ago that I read this particular book, but this book had a profound influence on the way I've lived my life since I read it. I know I've talked about it before, but such is the way of profound influencers, they keep coming up, over and over again.
The book is, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway," by Susan Jeffers. Her second, follow up, book isn't very good, but Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway was exactly the book I needed at the time that I read it. Back to the point I was trying to make. I have a picture of life in my head that formed when I was first reading Feel the Fear. Imagine drawing a spiral on a piece of paper. Now imagine you are a dot on that spiral and the spiral is turning. When a spiral turns, it either turns inwards, toward the center, like a whirlpool, or outwards, ever expanding. There is no static spiral. The spiral always turns.
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| I guess there is a reason why The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is my favorite Christmas Special |
But we have the ability to turn the spiral the other way. We have the power to stop the downward spiral and reverse the spin. Now imagine the spiral is turning outwards, and you are a spot on that spiral. Everyday, your world gets a little bigger, you meet new people, new opportunities present themselves. There is so much more color and vitality to your life and to the people around you. There are so many more options to connect with others, to love and be loved in return. Your heart grows with every new day. But it's scary, when the spiral turns outwards, because everyday you are faced with a new challenge, something you have never dealt with before. Everyday you are forced to confront a fear of failure because you have to try something new. As you confront these fears and overcome them; as you fail and try again, you begin to realize that it's OK to be afraid, it's OK to fail, because failure is not permanent. You just try again. With each failure you get that much smarter, that much stronger, that much more resilient, and that much more confident that eventually, you will succeed.
I believe that the spiral is never static. It is always turning, either towards the dark and small center, or outwards toward a kaleidoscope of colorful options. I believe that it is important to always be working against the natural pull of the spiral towards the hole, and to constantly be pushing the boundaries, and keeping the spiral moving outwards. Don't get me wrong, this is work, hard work. The title of my blog, It's Not Downhill From Here, harkens from this theory. People have often heard me say, the road to the top is uphill. You can either walk up the hill and get a beautiful view or slide on your ass down the hill and be stuck in the shadows. It's easier to go downhill, but it is much more rewarding to make the effort and go up.
When I started this blog, five years ago, as I was turning 50, I made a conscious decision not to let myself slide into old age and decay. I made a conscious decision to truly enjoy the second half of my life, to get and stay healthy and fit, to continue taking risks, to continue working hard, throughout my life. It is my goal to live a long and prosperous life. Who know what 60, 70, 80, 90, or even 100 can bring if I keep the momentum going the right way.
Coming to New Hampshire with Carla was a big change, indeed. I have zero regrets. I've learned so much from this experience. My body has taken a beating as I have not gotten enough sleep and the stress broke down my resolve, however temporarily, to eat right and exercise often. But as I get a handle on the innkeeping life and I am more sure of myself, I am able to start focusing more and more on taking care of myself. I hope to spend more time talking about life as an innkeeper in future blog posts. For now, though, I am glad to remind myself of the spiral, and how important it is to keep pushing against the tide.
Have a great day!! If you have a favorite inspirational book, that has had a profound impact on your life, I'd love it if you'd share the title with me. I have a little time to read these days. ☺
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
6/20/17: Day 1 Under my Belt. Promises Made. Love Abounds.
I made it through Day 1 100% on program. That is a start. This is the third or fourth time in a couple of months that I've made it through the first 24 hours, but we are attacking this thing one day at a time. Today will be day two.
Since I've been failing regularly at keeping the promises that I've been making to myself, yesterday I made a promise to Jackie. He is going to be here on July 12 for a 5 day visit (or is it 4? I don't have time to look up his itinerary right this second) and I promised him that I would stay 100% on program until he gets here. I am going to report to him every day.
A friend of mine is also trying to stay on her program. She reached out to me and asked if we could be program buddies. I think that is a great idea! She lives in KC, so we are going to text each other regularly with regard to how we are feeling, what we are eating, etc.
I had a long conversation with my daughter-in-law (she had time to chat because she has strep throat, poor darling), and she helped me isolate and put into words some of the emotional struggles that I am having right now.
I got words of encouragement on Facebook and through comments on my blog from friends that care and know that I have the strength to pull this off, and I also received advice on how to deal with the damn New England bugs!
My sister-in-law sent a long, thoughtful email that reinforced the conclusions I came to earlier in the day. She also expressed confidence that I would figure this out, just as I have worked through and figured out many other difficult things in my life.
I thank all of you the called, texted, replied to my comments on Facebook, or even sent me silent words of encouragement. The love from all of you is exactly what I needed to help me sort through my feelings and help me figure out how to overcome these obstacles.
Last night I only got 6.5 hours of sleep but that was not my fault. The stupid phone kept ringing. Sometimes people don't understand that a B&B does not have a front desk manned 24/7. Please, don't call a B&B at midnight to ask them a question about a room. It can wait until morning. Seriously.
Have a great day! I plan to.
Since I've been failing regularly at keeping the promises that I've been making to myself, yesterday I made a promise to Jackie. He is going to be here on July 12 for a 5 day visit (or is it 4? I don't have time to look up his itinerary right this second) and I promised him that I would stay 100% on program until he gets here. I am going to report to him every day.
A friend of mine is also trying to stay on her program. She reached out to me and asked if we could be program buddies. I think that is a great idea! She lives in KC, so we are going to text each other regularly with regard to how we are feeling, what we are eating, etc.
I had a long conversation with my daughter-in-law (she had time to chat because she has strep throat, poor darling), and she helped me isolate and put into words some of the emotional struggles that I am having right now.
I got words of encouragement on Facebook and through comments on my blog from friends that care and know that I have the strength to pull this off, and I also received advice on how to deal with the damn New England bugs!
My sister-in-law sent a long, thoughtful email that reinforced the conclusions I came to earlier in the day. She also expressed confidence that I would figure this out, just as I have worked through and figured out many other difficult things in my life.
I thank all of you the called, texted, replied to my comments on Facebook, or even sent me silent words of encouragement. The love from all of you is exactly what I needed to help me sort through my feelings and help me figure out how to overcome these obstacles.
Last night I only got 6.5 hours of sleep but that was not my fault. The stupid phone kept ringing. Sometimes people don't understand that a B&B does not have a front desk manned 24/7. Please, don't call a B&B at midnight to ask them a question about a room. It can wait until morning. Seriously.
Have a great day! I plan to.
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