Blue on Blue

I would love to post linkage...really I would.

But my digital died on Spring Break and is currently at the Cannon Cryogenics Lab in Illinois to see if a miracle is forthcoming.

In the meantime, I will leave you with this tantalizing clue.

Sporty and Honest, tone on tone......where would I be in Lisa's house???

Game on.

Fat as a Foil

HUH?

Let me elaborate.

For the past 6 years I have been gaining weight on the average of 5 pounds a year. And in chatting with Wen last night I shared that 6 years ago, something happened at my local grocery store that rocked my world.

I had my two babes with me. Bambam was 3, Thumper was barely 1.

I was in a checkout line. I had a brief casual conversation with a man behind me along the lines of "Yes, I like Boars Head better than store brand because there are no fillers" type of back and forth.

I wrote my check, gathered my bags and proceeded to my car, babes in tow.

I loaded my purchases in the trunk, strapped my babes in their car seats, turned to get in my car and

....there he was, at my CAR!!! The man behind me in line.

He tried to make conversation. But I was having none of it. My women's intuition kicked into high gear and I bolted. Slammed the locks down and peeled off.

Hello. I'm sorry. You don't follow a woman with two children to her car.

NOT normal.

That one event was certainly not the all encompassing reason for my weight gain.

But subconsciously, on a maternal level, it was MY catalyst.

My thought process?? I won't be attractive. I put my children at risk. This can't happen again.

The outcome?? I wrapped, clothed, sheathed, defended myself with a layer of fat. My fat as a foil, if you will.

BUT, my thought process was not perfect...go figure.

The weight gain made me tired and depressed and feeling sick. For a former athlete, feeling unhealthy was a red flag for me. I HATE feeling rundown and not having the energy to play or keep up with my kiddos.

Those who know me well and have seen me in action, know I am a big kid at heart, ie the first one down in the grass inspecting an inchworm or playing a game of freeze tag or singing nonsensical lyrics at the TOP of my lungs.

And when I would not, could not do this anymore....I took action.

I've slimmed down, people are noticing, complimenting...... and that....that scares me.

I don't want people to look at me, notice me, compliment me.

That one event, when the boys were young, shook me so hard, I don't know how to recover.

But I also know, if I can't work through this issue, all the good I am doing for my body now, will be fleeting.

I don't want fleeting.

I'd really like to dance with my boys at their weddings.

15 down

and 20 to go.

Pounds that is!

And I lost 3.5 last week, using the CORE WW program.

I am so proud of myself for getting this far, even though it has been excruciatingly slow. No really.... excruciating. This behavior modification thing is NOT for sissies.

Oddly enough, I'm learning so much more on this journey than I have in the past, especially in the past week.

Okay cause.... I know you're dying to glean my nuggets of wisdom (NOT!)here's what I've learned so far.

1) Eating whole, not processed fooods makes me feel better

Okay some of you may be rolling your eyes and mouthing a big "DUH" on this one, but it was truly a revelation for me. I wasn't hungry ALL the time. I wasn't cranky and bitchy. I was satisfied and happy and CALM!

2) A little bit of exercise goes a long way

Just 30 minutes a day on the treadmill down in my firm's health club at lunch time. And what did I get?

Stress relief - check
Time to clear my head - check
Some really amusing time with the BBC crew of Trading Rooms - check
Lost 3.5 punds - check and double check and an around the world and back SNAP!

3) I'm learning to recognize when I'm truly hungry and when I am just stress eating.

I never could get my brain around this with the FLEX program of WW. But with CORE the only way you monitor food intake, is to eat half your food, stop for 5 minutes and ask "Am I really still hungry?". There is no tracking, ie writing down every morsel of food that passes my lips. That approach just made me OBSESS about food. WOW, listening to your body.....what a RADICAL concept.

So to wrap up, especially for my dear friend Wen. Sometimes change is slow, sometimes it is radical, but yes it can happen.

St. Patty's Party

In 25 words or less

4 pounds each brisket and salmon
10 pounds of potatoes
3 cases of beer
12 good friends
Fire pit
No bail required
Rockin Good Time!

And now for the expanded version!

I worked like a dog getting our house put back together the day of the party since my good friends, Phil & Sharon were at my house to the wee hours Thursday night putting the finishing coats of paint on our family room.

I cooked the brisket overnight in the crockpot after they left. Got up at the crack of dawn and reloaded my family room with all furniture and accessories, although the books got pared down considerably thanks to Sharon and her keep/donate/toss exercise with me.

Went to Costco on my lunch hour and got all necessary party supplies. Sent hubby to the grocery for more ice and more beer and chairs from the clubhouse.

Squeezed in my billable hours for the day. (GO ME!)

The green velvet cake was wicked rich and good.

Sharon's challah was supposed to look like a shamrock, she even painted it with a green tinted egg wash, alas it looked like, well uhhhmmm.....think prop for "Boogie Nights"

Only the adults got it and that was bad enough. Poor Sharon never heard the end of it.

The boys forgot their water balloon launcher which was a good thing cause I didn't feel like bailing anyone out of the pokey for bombarding my girlfriends ex's house which is a mere 100 yards from mine.

Let's just say, by the time 5PM rolled around this colleen was ready to raise a pint!

It's Friday..It's March 17th!!!

Let the games begin....WOOT!

T Minus 10 minutes and counting until I have a house full of guests arriving to celebrate the land of my husband's ancestors. (He be the one wearin the green 365 a year, having the most gorgeous green eyes on the face of the planet THANK you veddy much!)

On tap

Killians Red
Guiness
Harp

(Lordy we're going to have to find beds for people tonight)

On the groaning board

Salmon and Brisket with a bourbon, mustard brown sugar glaze
Mixed organic Spring Salad Mix (LOVE COSTCO) w/ mandarin oranges and craisins
"Loaded" mashed Potatoes with horseradish and green onions
Whole wheat bread
Challah (LOVE you Sharon)
and
GREEN Velvet cake.....yes GREEN, not red, GREEN...HEH!
(Love you Amy)

Oh and we have a water ballon launcher....the kids (read..the adults) love it. Plenty of woods to launch into.

I'll post more tomorrow, if I don't have to make bail!

The luxury package

Ahhhhhh.....bliss!

I swear I said that every night while falling asleep on vacation, the being on vacation part helped tons, but what really sealed the deal were these uber comfy fluffy pillows and feather bed and duvet that comprised "the luxury bedding package" at our hotel. It was liking being wrapped in a cloud, only without the reality of gravity...heh!

And the shower...oh my the shower.....it was one of those rainfall shower heads....sighhhhhhhhhhhh!

The experience spoiled hubby too and on the road home I was given marching orders by the hubby to go out and buy new bedding and shower heads to recreate the experience.

I LOVE it when he TELLS me I HAVE to buy stuff....WOOT!

So working off a tip from a girlfriend I hit Overstock.com and for under $200 the bedding and shower fixtures of our dreams will be winging their way to us this week!

No more counting sheep for moi!

Scrapbook on the Road

Here is the cover...in all it's imperfect glory!

I enjoyed working on this album more than any to date because I created it in real time and was able to capture all the funny, crazy, quirky, maddening things that happened.

So much better than waiting for film to be developed and then another couple of months until I felt "inspired".

I'll post more over at Scrapgal..enjoy!

I have returned

from DC...after 11 hours on the road, with an hour long detour in Greenville for DH to meander down memory lane, my bottom is numb, my brain is numb...corollation...perhaps??

I have a bazillion loads of laundry to do, my digital camera broke and we lost our guidebook ALL on the second day...

BUT (and that's a big BUT...not to be confused with my keister which is slightly smaller from all that walking thank you VERY much)

I also have

an amazing scrapbook created on the road thanks to last minute instructions from Wen

5 disposable cameras

3 rolls of film from my SLR

a card full of digital before it went belly up

and a lifteime of memories.

I slept like a baby, didn't go online once, left behind the worries and fears of my day to day life.

In short....I had an acutal vacation.

The first in at least 6 years.

I highly recommend it.

In one day

In one day we leave for Spring Break and our trip to DC...WooHoo!!

In one day the forecast in DC went from mostly sunny all week

to mostly rainy...GACK!

So I'm packing for the worst and hoping for the best.

DC baby.....tomorrow we roll!