Good Morning, Leanies!
So here it is...the big mondo reply post I've been promising for far too long...
Maria: I'm sure you will get through the family visit with flying colors. The flight change is another story. That first one better be early! 3 weeks with no boss will be horrible and great. At least the office will be relaxed, right?
AFM: I am feeling so amazing right now, that I'm sticking to the clean eating. I ran 10 miles yesterday, and just could have kept on going forever. In fact, I took the dog for a 1.5 mile walk, ran 10, went to zumba for an hour and then, walked the dog again. I am down to the lowest weight I have been in forever.
Tandy -- I hope you still have this feeling, or you can get it back, how wonderful! And your lowest weight in forever is also pretty awesome! You are the Energizer Bunny!
Calf raises I can do! NO problem with them, though I already have huge calves......too big for most boots!
So it's not just me...I think I would fall over if I found boots that fit which didn't have a wide shaft!
Just a quick shout-out to Maria about the Hershey half-marathon......I believe sign-up begins 5/1. You can go to the website and there is lots of information. John and I are planing to do it. I understand that part of the fee goes to a private event party at the Hershey theme park. Sounds like fun.
Also, John and I are signed up for Providence, R.I. just in case I didn't mention it before.
We will definitely see you in Providence! It's become clear that to do Hershey would cause a big strain on ds, so I think we may have to punt and pick up another race over Labor Day instead, before he starts school. Here's where having that empty nest is a plus for you guys!
Maria Our neighbors had to put their 9 year old shepherd down yesterday. We learned Friday that he had lymphoma and the vet had estimated 4 months. Apparently not. We're all heartbroken. They had 2 shepherds, and lost the other one within a couple of months of our losing Mystic, so we've been through a lot together. I'm glad to hear about healthy furry friends!
for those anniversaries. Some years they seem so much worse than others. And I'm so glad you commented on the cracker chips - I saw a coupon for them and wondered if they were any good. I thought I remembered something you hadn't liked, and couldn't remember what it was!
I'm so sorry for your neighbors
You are absolutely right, some years hit me worse than others, and I'm not even sure why, I just really miss my mom sometimes. How did you like the cracker chips? I still think the Popchips are better, but the cracker chips are not bad.
Maria: Harrison is going to the middle school tomorrow for his half day preview. Fun times! I'm so excited but nervous for him for next year.
Improv must be so much fun. Is Ben really enjoying it?
Ben loves Improv, and I thought he did well in his first show. What did Harrison think of the middle school? When I was home recently I found my old junior high is now a middle school -- and I wouldn't even go there if I lived in the same house, they've built one that's closer. Apparently they have kids coming out the wazoo in St. Louis County.
Going out dancing tonight. Can't wait. We haven't been in forever. I am not looking forward to tomorrow though. I have to take Harrison for a 50 minute run tomorrow
and, I have the neighborhood Easter egg hunt in my back yard. I mowed yesterday, but now, I need to go pick up dog poo, and then, I get to set up and run the whole thing. I'm not good with little tiny kids.
As Harrison ages, I lose more and more patience with the little ones. What can I say? I'm the parent of a tween, and that takes a whole different level of patience.
How was the Easter Egg hunt? And the dancing?! Parenting a tween -- can I just say it only gets worse when they become teenagers?!
Jeanne and
Jackie seem relatively happy with theirs, so I'm really hoping young adults are much more fun to have around
Hi All,
It has been a slow week for me. Work has been crazy, home life has been, well, rocky, so there hasn't been much time for running. Add in my sore leg and we are still limping along slowly. I am happy to say that I have done better at not turning to comfort food. I am down another 2 pounds this week, which makes a total of 31.6 (yes, I am taking the .6
) this year. I am pretty excited about that. I have another 6 pounds before my BMI says I am officially "normal".
How's it goin',
Manda? That is awesome you are so close to a normal BMI! I think I'm still trying to go from obese to overweight, but I'll get there
As we're all finding out, weight loss is a SLOW process. Just hang in there, keep posting, and we'll all get there together.
I've discovered that while giving up tea and coffee for Lent, I'm seriously short on caffeine. Recently I've had a Mountain Dew in the afternoon a couple of times, and found that when I get home I have an amazing burst of energy. Who needs energy drinks? Apparently when you're not getting it anywhere, just one soft drink can do scary things to your body and mind! But I've been really productive - cleaned out a flower bed that hasn't been used in several years and have it ready to plant.
That Mountain Dew will knock you! When I was in St. Louis, all they had to drink in the house was soda or whole milk...and they had Diet Mountain Dew, so that's what I drank Saturday afternoon. Whew! I'm not used to that kick, and it was something. My WW leader brought up at our meeting that safe weight loss is .5 -2.0 lbs per week -- so if you lose 2 lbs in a month, you should consider yourself doing well. Sobering, isn't it....
I'm very nervous about the race. Mostly because everyone I know will be following me online on race day and I know I'm not properly trained so I'm going to be disappointed with my time. I'm trying to convince myself to just be happy to be there and to enjoy the run and the crowds, but I find it hard not to run for time.
Maria: Thanks for meeting up with me today. You definitely look thinner now than when we met up last summer. Have a safe trip this weekend. I'll keep an eye out for you along the course just in case...
Cindy -- I am so glad we got to see you for a few minutes at the Expo! You looked awesome, and I think your time was nothing shabby!
I hope you enjoyed the run and the crowds. These were the largest crowds Dennis had ever run in, and he said it was amazing.
I just want to share that it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to keep up with the challenge when your power is out. We got caught in the vicious line of storms that hit NC yesterday, and our power went out around 4:00.
Jackie -- So sorry to hear about the devastation, and glad you were safe, even though you were without power and water, which is pretty darn difficult.
Yes, it might be due to only having one child. I'm just really bad at breaking up fights and working on diplomacy and little ones really need that.
Yeah, this is also not my strongsuit. I bet
Jeanne can do it with her eyes closed, though!
I am at home with my feet up on the couch. We bought Chinese food for dinner while still in Boston so no cooking tonight. I enjoyed the race for the most part. I did start faster than I wanted to. I had hoped to run 10 mm but instead I was closer to 9.5. I managed that pace pace thru 16 miles then began to slow down. I had to incorporate a few walking breaks during the last 6 miles. I tried to keep them to a minimum, but sometimes my legs were just hurting so much I had to. I finished in 4:30:50 so Im happy enough with that. I wouldnt have minded being 50 seconds faster, but I just didnt have it in me today. The weather was a bit warm for me since we havent had much warm weather yet this year. At least there was a tail wind which was very helpful.
I am so glad you were happy with your race! And you certainly deserved Chinese food! Are you back to running yet? Dennis is giving himself another week. He's doing the Run to Remember at the end of May, so he'll start training for that next month.
It is not fun when your city is all over the national news. I purposely haven't driven around to see the devastation first-hand, since I experienced after hurricane Fran what it's like when people drive through your neighborhood just to stare at you. But the stories are unbelievable. I feel almost guilty complaining about having to throw away half the stuff in my fridge, when there are thousands of people trying to find their homes. My running buddy and I walked on Sunday in a park that was nowhere near any of the affected areas, and there was insulation absolutely everywhere.
But tonight I went BACK to the grocery store and re-bought the same things I'd bought on Friday, and washed the shelves in the fridge while it was empty! Might as well take advantage of the opportunity to clean while I can...
I think you made the best of an awful situation! I don't blame you for not seeking it out, I'm sure you are getting more media coverage than you want to see
Maria: Has the Hershey race opened for registration yet? The last I heard it was May 1st. I must go check the website again. Any difference between the 2 Hershey hotels? I'll go wherever everybody else is going, just tell me. Ummmm, I can smell the chocolate now. One of my children actually works for Hershey, although not at the main location. You'd think the little twerp would bring home some freebies once in a while, but NO!
The race opens May 1st, but you can secure the hotel package (including race registration) at any time. I'm kind of bummed because I really wanted to do this race, and I even had dh on board, and then reality hit. Ben would be miserable for most of the weekend, and he'd have to go to school on Monday. Plus, we don't know what commitments and homework he will have, so we really can't plan to be out of town for the entire weekend.
And unfortunately, they've now updated the news - that poor family has now lost four children. There was a 6 month old who had been in critical condition, but didn't make it. I think there are 2 siblings and 2 cousins, but still...
On the flip side, although it's tragic, I had to laugh just now when they interviewed a farmer who said he actually saw his pigs fly.
You need some comments like the pigs flying to make it bearable.
Thanks for all the FB bday wishes. I had a great day despite having to work. My legs are still very sore, but improving.
Sorry I missed it, belated
!
My happiness is now measured in how much exercise I get. Love it! Fall registration is today. I'm nervous. I really need to get into a specific anatomy & physiology class, and the rest of my schedule hinges on it. So, we'll see. I start calling in 25 minutes!
I love that quote -- I need to get there, measuring my happiness by exercise, awesometastic! How did the registration go?
Maria - The whole Tink thing is ridiculously hot. I just don't care. I can't believe they made such a big deal out of it. And I really, really, don't like Tink, so even if the race were free, I wouldn't do it! As for OLTL, at least you get almost a year to watch. As an AMC viewer, I only have 5 months until it's over.
(Actually, I've been halfway watching OLTL too, so I'll probably switch to that until it ends. The bummer is that we usually watch AMC during lunch at work, and we just can't wait until 2:00 to eat!) Stupid ABC. And I'm with you completely on TOM screwing up the week. I can always count on 3-4 days of migraines during the week, so any plans that I make can be derailed at a moment's notice if the headache decides to intervene. Take it slowly this weekend - one thing at a time, and I guarantee you'll be back on track in no time!
I saw a tiny little spoiler on AMC -- Dixie will be back before the end. I am sorry they gave AMC such a short time to wind things up. I actually think it might be better to just wrap them up and go, less painful than drawing it out and seeing characters just disappear as the actors contracts expire...The Tink thing seems really out of proportion to me, too. I could see me doing it one year, but not when I'm already pretty committed to either doing the WDW Half or Princess. Still not sure which one...I'd love to talk Dennis into both, but I have a feeling it is not in our financial plan
Happy Easter ladies! Does everyone have big plans? We are having a VERY small family meal at around noon, and then, Frank and I will be taking my parents to dinner theatre tonight. I don't know why we scheduled this for Easter, but oh well. Harrison is so excited because he's staying here at home without us. I will be a wreck though.
See, now going to the theater sounds like a fun way to spend Easter! We all enjoyed our baskets, then went to church. I was disappointed in the sermon, it kind of jumped around and wasn't very inspiring. We had breakfast as our big Easter meal, since we have such trouble agreeing on a main dish. We had a sausage/cheese/bisquick casserole and pancakes. I counted every bite
We enjoyed the Celtics game and relaxed, it was a very pleasant day.
I did not track points this week -- I think I will just give you a final weight for the end of the Challenge, and hope it's lower than when I started
I have put some things in place to get me going properly again. I am counting every point, and tracking religiously. I'm also eating my WW activity points, and using the Weekly points. I had a gain 2 weeks in a row, so I am determined to put an end to that. I made a workout schedule through the middle of July. When my last one ran out, I just stopped moving. No more of that!
Let me give a quick shoutout to
Debra, Vicky, and who else am I missing? Kim?! I think there's someone else, too, Sorry!
So, I ran Friday, Saturday, Monday and today. Tomorrow I have myself doing 2 quick miles, I'm going to have to run after work so we shall see how that goes...but, I'll be at work by 7 (dh has a really early meeting to set up), so I should get a couple hours of office laps in
Maria
I don't have FB, so I never know these things. You have had a very eventful week. 
!
Walked once at the water stop, but pretty much ran non-stop for 2 miles straight, which still confounds me since I haven't run more than 3 or 4 minutes at the time in MONTHS. Finished in 34:43, so I'm feeling kinda like Harrison at the moment! 
