Sanity! I choose you!

So after yesterday's post, I did some heavy soul searching, and some cognitive thinking. I came to the conclusion that basically something had to give. My wife and I were too stressed out, and it was beginning to reach critical mass. So, like any scientific person I made a list of candidates for removal/modification.

Hers:
Student teaching
School
Housework
Diet
Moving

Mine:
Seeing wife dealing with hard time
Diet
Game frustration
Job
Randiness
Moving


I'll address my factors first. Some of these factors cannot be changed. My job for instance I can't just quit, and I really don't want to as things are on an upswing there. The mainly annoying factor is the Long Island Traffic, especially on Rainy foggy days where every single driver goes 2 miles an hour. This turns the 25-30 minute trip (that's if the roads are clear), turn into up to an hour and a half trek. I don't know what it is about sitting in traffic, but I've tried books on tape, music, everything, and it just wipes me out mentally every time. So much so, that when I get home, I really just want to lay down for 20 minutes to recoup my mental awareness, and usually to make the accompanying headache wain. I wonder if other people feel the same way?

So the job category is eliminated.

Game Frustration: I'm actually already been working on this, playing more games on Xbox live, and trying not to solely play Magic. While I love the game, the program's tendency to land screw or land flood with a frequency that defies traditional odds is ultimately very frustrating. While this is part of the game, and I accept it, I just think I should realize when the game is pissing me off and switch to another. This is what I'm going to try to do in the future.

Randiness: I actually think that this may be hormonal. Last night I noticed that my body hair, especially that on my chest had gotten thicker and MUCH darker. I confirmed this finding with my wife. So I might just be experiencing some weird surge in testosterone, which probably could also explain my short temper with my dog, and how things are getting to me more lately. If this continues I might have to have it looked at. In the meantime, I think returning to a daily regimen of "stress relief exercises" will solve the problem in the short term.

Diet: It's been going ok, I lost four pounds in 5 days, so it's something that definitely works for me. It's a little odd having celery instead of pretzels for snack in the afternoon, but I adjust ok. Honestly, once I move past the pains of wanting bread products, I'm kind of ok. So this isn't that big a stressor for me really.

Her factors:
This also links with my factor of seeing her have a hard time.

School and Student teaching: These 2 are the biggest stressors in my wife's life, and rightfully so. They are important, and she treats them as such. The good thing about these is that in 3 weeks time they no longer exist. Sure she goes full time work after that, but her job is not that demanding, and she's been there a while now, so she knows what she is doing and is comfortable.

Housework: This is generally her mom's doing, and is mainly just icing on the stress cake. The chores will get done when they get done.

Moving: The moving situation is a future problem that we get reminded of every now and then and flares up. Theres nothing we can do about it till after October-November, but I guess the waiting is the worst part of it all.

Diet: My wife, while having a few extra pounds is actually quite svelte, and is only about 10-15 pounds heavier then when I first met her. Honestly, not that bad for three years and everything we've been through. She looks fantastic, and honestly needs this diet far less then me. This is much more of a stressor for my wife then myself. Mainly because it involves her having to cook almost every night. . Now, while my wife cooks regularly to great success, the ability to have the option of a "pizza night" every now and then cannot be underestimated. Especially when dealing with upcoming finals. Also, not having her stress relieving cereal and/or ice cream does have a very noticable effect on her mood.



Proposed Solution: Postpone the diet for about a month, till school and stuff is over. I had come to this very decision on the way home, and to my surprise within 5 minutes of coming home last night I was getting hints that my wife had come to the same conclusion. She was so sweet about it too, trying to overexplain and justify her wanting carbs and sugars in her diet, and how it really affects her. Halfway through her either well-prepared or just naturally good rant, I stopped her, said I understood, and asked for some frigging iced tea (god i had missed that!). Then we calmly ordered a thin-crust green pepper pizza from Dominos, and had a wonderful evening.


Now, I'm not stopping the diet altogether mind you. I'm still having quiche or other low carbiness for breakfast and switching out my snacks for cucumber and celery sticks. Dinner however will have starches, and 1 serving size of desert will be had. I figure this is the best compromise that I can make at this point in time that will keep both me and my wife happy and slightly more healthy.

i suppose I could make up the excess calories with exercise, but that is a problem for me. While the leg lifts, and sits up my orthopedic recommended have fit in to our schedule without too much effort, getting an aerobic 30-40 minute workout is difficult to achieve in this day and age. I work 8-7:30 including travel time, and that travel time wipes me out. I am in no state to exercise once I come home. Waking up early is not an option, period end. I have the wii fit, but I find that the 2-3 minute activities, while fun do not provide an adequate work out unless I do the strength training. And while I have no problem doing them, I need to burn fat, not build muscle. This requires aerobic exercise, and in that aspect I find wii fit's selection to be lacking.

Anyone have any suggestions. Keep in mind the following:

I can't just "run". This has been tried and failed. My legs and lungs can't take it.
I can't "spin", my knees can't take it.
I would prefer the activity to be fun, and preferably with my wife or a buddy, since alone motivation to exercise is hard for me.
It's also still like 50 outside, not freezing, but not exactly resort weather.

Any suggestions?