Scheduling exercise

Since we moved back to NY and have started new jobs, our schedules are MUCH different than they used to be. A typical day in my life while living in Rhode Island looked like this:
5:55 (I have a weird thing about setting alarms for random times) -  First alarm & snooze
6:00 - Second alarm & snooze
6:05 - Third alarm and re-set alarm time to 6:20
6:20 - Jump out of bed because damnit, now I don't have enough time to get ready
6:20-6:30 - Shower
6:30-6:45 - Simultaneously do my makeup, brush (and not dry) my hair because I don't have time to style it, and yell into the bedroom for my husband to wake up and feed Pollyanna (dog) and Ming (cat)
6:45 - Throw on my clothes and yell at my husband (this time from the bedroom) to wake up
6:50 - Run downstairs, pour a cup of coffee in a to-go mug, and put an english muffin into the toaster
6:55 - Wake up my husband (successfully) and listen to him moan as he walks down the stairs and feeds our pets. Also, put on my shoes, take the english muffin out of the toaster, grab my purse and lunch (a frozen meal), and put on my coat
7:00 - Yell goodbye and walk out the door while listening to the starting music of the Today Show and wishing that I could watch even just the first few minutes
7:00-8:00 - Drive. Listen to not-that-great morning radio shows (three of them) that I switch between and/or a book on CD. Try to eat my english muffin without getting crumbs all over myself
8:00-5:00 - Work
5:00-5:15 - Get ready to leave and wait around the office for my co-workers to get ready to leave, too, because there was an unspoken "everyone must leave together" rule that, in theory, is really nice when you do not have an hour or more to drive home in rush hour
5:15-6:30 - Drive. Listen to a book on CD. Feel pangs of hunger because it's obviously dinner time. Curse the horrible MA/RI drivers AND the immense traffic
6:30 - Walk through the door to my husband who either a) made a lovely dinner that is just about ready to eat, or b) had a really long day at work and did not make dinner, which means that we cook dinner together
7:30 - Eat dinner while watching TV
8:00 - Clean up the kitchen and/or take Polly for a walk (on nice days when it's still light out and not raining/snowing)
8:30-9/9:30 - Watch TV
9/9:30 - Bedtime

SIGH........
As much as I wanted to fit exercise into my schedule, I did not feel that I could. If I wanted to exercise, it would happen A) 5:30am (GAG) or B) before dinner when I was really hungry and had just finished driving over an hour and was cranky (GAG) or C) at 7:30/8pm when I had just finished dinner and then would have cramps for trying to exercise after I had just eaten (GAG). To say the least, I hated D) all of the above.

NOW, life looks a lot more like THIS:
6:30 - First alarm and snooze
6:35 - Second alarm and Sean wakes up to get in the shower
7:00 - Sean wakes me up
7:00-7:30 - Shower and STYLE MY HAIR (!) because I have time
7:30 - Pour myself coffee, toast an english muffin, and put on my makeup while watching the Today Show (yipee!) and eating breakfast/drinking coffee
7:50 - Make my lunch and gather the things I need to bring with me to work
8:00 - Leave the apartment and drive 5 minutes down the road to drop off Sean at work
8:10-8:30 - Drive from Sean's work to mine
8:30-4:30 - Work
4:30-4:50ish - Leave work and pick up Sean
5:00 - HOME
5:00-6:00 - Cook a nice dinner with Sean, usually while talking about our day and occasionally  often drinking wine
6:00 - Eat dinner
6:30 - Clean up
7:00-9:00 - Watch TV
9:00-10:00 - Read before bed

Some days, even now, are crazier than others, but let's just say that my life now allows me time to exercise. I could, for example, exercise at 6:30am (which seems a heck of a lot more reasonable than 5:30). Or at 5:00 when I get home. Or after dinner at 7:30/8, when it's been long enough that I do not get a horrible cramp.

The GOOD news is that there is clearly time to exercise, but the bad news is that I have no more excuses NOT to. So I joined a gym that ONLY has exercise classes and I have so far taken Zumba (which seemed like a lot of fun and didn't feel much like a workout), SUPER Strength (which was BRUTAL from beginning to end) and Turbo Kick (which was hard work but fun and engaging at the same time) - ALL THREE OF WHICH caused me IMMENSE pain the next day. I was SHOCKED when I woke up the morning after Zumba and felt so much pain, since it didn't feel like I was working that hard at the time. But, I must say, it feels GOOD to know that you actually did something to your body and that it is changing as a result.

I also purchased a 3-month subscription to Weight Watchers online, so I am really hoping that the combination of my schedule, my exercise, my healthier eating, and my HAPPINESS will result in some positive changes on the scale. Only time will tell!