“All of Life is a Constant Education.”

I was so glad to go to the parent orientation at Hannah’s school.  It also reminded me that I don’t miss the commute to get downtown!  I took the 6:58 a.m. train yesterday and it got me downtown by 8:05.  I am about 55 miles NW of the city, and I did that commute for about six months before finding a job in the suburbs.

They had a welcome breakfast at 8:30 – just coffee, donuts, bagels, etc.  The first hour was with both students and parents, then the students went on a tour and the parents stayed in Ganz Hall, which is beautiful.   Stained glass windows and dark wood everywhere.

One of the Ph.D. counselors talked to the parents about how to handle the transition of your child going to college.  She asked what we were feeling.  Some parents said “excited!”  Others said “overwhelmed.”  The one parent said “Jealous!”  The counselor stopped for a second and said something like “that’s a valid feeling, can you tell me a little bit more about it?”

Not kidding.  The woman said:  “I am jealous of the ocean views my daughter has from her dorm room.”  Um, pretty sure she is referring to Lake Michigan, while it looks big, it certainly is not the ocean!  I am just thankful her daughter is going to college though!

Here are some tips they gave us to manage this change in our lives:

• Pay attention to staying healthy
• acknowledge the milestone
• try to find an outlet for yourself, like take a pottery class or take up yoga
• seek support from others

I guess its harder for parents who have freshman, but Hannah is going in as a junior transfer student, and obviously moved out a couple months ago.  I think I am okay with managing this transition in my life!

We started in the old part of the building that faces Michigan avenue.  Look at the views from some of the study rooms!

Ha – I just noticed the Lollapalooza sign to the right!  Her tuition includes a U-Pass which gives her access to all the public transportation.  She takes the orange like to school, and it drops her off right by the school.  It’s not too far from the Sears Tower (sorry, I will always call it that!) too.

After the morning sessions, the parents and students met up in the cafeteria in the new Wabash building.  This one is really nice.  It has a new cafeteria, one whole floor has a top of the line fitness center and there are about 17 floors of dorm rooms.

I ended up having a roast beef sandwich and an apple.  They had philly cheese steaks, a pasta station and pork loin with mashed potatoes.

We met with her counselor just before we left to make sure we had everything done, which we do.    Classes start August 24 already!  On the way, I saw this sign on the wall, and I love the quote:

I seriously need to get my act back together in the weight loss front.  I was reading a book about weight training on the L yesterday, which I will talk about tomorrow, but I’ve come to the realization that I have to go back to counting calories and paying attention to what I eat.  I stepped on the scale today, and it was not pretty – so its time to get back into shape!

We went our separate ways and I walked the 1.5 miles back to the train station.  I passed by the Art Institute.

True story.  My freshman year of college I went to Southern Illinois – I had a field hockey scholarship, but they dropped the program after my freshman year.  So my twin sister and I went to our local community college.  One of the classes we took was called “fashion merchandising” and we went to the art institute for an all day field trip.

Except my sister and I decided it would be a better use of our time if we went to Bennigan’s for lunch and just went home afterwards!

My Mom told me that Target had opened in the old Carson Pierre Scott building – I love that they didn’t change the outside look at all, but it’s weird to walk in and it looks like any other Target!

I got home about 4:00 and had time to go get my eye brows threaded (ouch!) and go to the grocery store for a few things, like fruit and veggies!  I ended up making an alfredo for one:

Alfredo Sauce (one serving:  142 calories, 5 fat, 13  carbs, .2 fiber and 6.7 protein)

• 1/2 cup of fat free half and half
• 1 pat of butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup pasta water
• salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a pan.  Add the flour and make a paste.  Gradually add the half and half until its thick.  Spoon in just enough pasta water to get it to the right consistency to coat the pasta – I ended up using the 1/2 cup.  Remove from heat and add in cheese, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.

I cooked the broccoli in the microwave on fresh vegetable setting, and while my pasta cooked, I just Pam fried up some shrimp.  Then I just tossed everything together to coat the pasta.  So good!

So it’s August 1st.  I reset my Zero scale and will show my results at the end of the month.  It’s time to put up or shut up.  I’ll write my monthly goals in tomorrows post.

What are your goals for August?  Make it a great day!