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!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
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.
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