Farewell, Clouds and Gloom.

At this time tomorrow I will be sitting down to dinner in warm, sunny Arizona.  All Michiganders love a little snow, but by this time of year we're all sick of it.  It will be nice to get away from the grey skies and all around gloomy atmosphere and soak up some rays.

I have decided that I'll also be taking a break from blogging.  My weight loss goals still are what they are, and I don't plan to slack.  With any luck I'll get a run in each morning while I'm there.  It will be nice to be able to run outside in the sunshine.

I got a good leg workout in this morning.  Our fight is late tomorrow, so I am going to work my arms at home in the morning before we fly out.  I have just enough gym equipment at home for a decent weight training session.  I also know that there are some good, short cardio workouts on On Demand that I can do afterwords.  I give you my word, I will be working out tomorrow morning.  I may have to in order to make weight.  If you've forgotten, tomorrow is March first and I am supposed to be at 167 pounds.

I will make a quick post tomorrow before leaving, even if it only means posting my weight.  I am a woman of my word, if nothing else.

Oops!

Yesterday was the first day that I haven't posted since starting this blog.  Yes, I know.  I said that I would do it every day.  Well, the day got away from me.

It wouldn't have called yesterday a great day for my diet.  I did fine during the day, but had three bottles of Guinness and a lot of naughty snacks at the card party that I went to last night.  I'm all for eating healthy, but I'm not going to be a "Debby Downer" and refuse to eat delicious food at a party.  No one likes a party pooper... or the bitch (excuse my language) that makes them feel guilty for what they're eating while they're trying to have a good time.

We had steak and eggs for dinner.  A very Atkins friendly meal, but not so low calorie.  I think it was a good day when considered as a whole.

I plan to get a good workout in tomorrow morning.  We're flying to Arizona on Tuesday to visit Chris' grandmother and I won't have access to the same exercise equipment.  I'm hoping to get a run in each morning that we are there.  I am really looking forward to four days of warm, sunny weather!

The Cupcake Station.

I'm sure that you're all aware that cupcakes are huge right now.  I've been to a multitude of events in the last year where the traditional layer or sheet cake had been replaced by cute little cupcakes.

The trend is so popular, that there are now bakeries solely devoted to making cupcakes.  There is one such bakery in Ann Arbor, Michigan called the Cupcake Station.  I've had their cupcakes several times now, and was presented with the opportunity again today at work.  They looked so delicious that I couldn't help myself.  I should learn at some point.  The flavors are very inventive and their appearance is very appealing.  In fact, the taste is pretty good too.  However, I've found that almost every time the cake is very dry.  If I want to indulge, do I want to spend those calories on a dry cupcake?

I've never actually gone to their shop and had a cupcake.  It's possible that the dryness is a result of sitting in some one's refrigerator all day.  Or, it's possible that I am just picky about my cake.

I finally got a chance to try weight lifting before cardio this morning. I think I like it.  I wasn't too worn out from my running or stair climbing to get a good lift in.

I'm so happy it's the weekend!  I'm off to play cards with some family and friends tomorrow night.  There will be treats and drinks.  Wish me luck!

The Kidney Walk.

I spent my alloted blogging time today writing the following memorial to my brother.  I am walking in the National Kidney Foundation's "Kidney Walk" later this year and was asked to share my story by the Kidney Walk's Facebook app...

Last October I lost my brother, Billy, to a 23 year battle with chronic kidney disease. He was 30-years-old. Our family first found out that his kidneys were failing when he was 7 years old. He was immediately put on dialysis.

It wasn't long and a transplant became available. Unfortunately, it didn't take. Later, my mother donated one of hers with the same result.

I remember the day that we got word that Billy would be getting another transplant. It was years later, when I was 8 and Billy was 11. My second grade teacher came out to the playground to get me. My parents picked Billy, Beth (my sister), and me up from school to give us the news. That is one of my happiest childhood memories.

The transplant was successful. That 60-year-old kidney served Billy well. Don't get me wrong, his life was not like yours or mine. What teenager wants to take a handful of pills every day and go to the doctor every few months? He couldn't be on any athletic teams and his body had been left pretty beat up from years of transplants, biopsies, and dialysis. You never would have known it from his attitude. He knew that life was a gift and was glad to have it.

Thirteen years later the kidney failed. Billy was 24 and suddenly found himself in need of 4 hours of dialysis every other day. It was a hard reality, but he refused to let it get him down. He was convinced that he was going to get another transplant if he was patient. I don't think the thought of death ever crossed his mind. He worked full time and would go to dialysis after work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. A few years later he even managed to start in an electrical apprentiship. He lived life like he had fifty more years ahead of him.

In spite of his already hectic schedule, Billy had a very active social life. He had more friends than I could ever hope for, which isn't surprising because he would have bent over backwards to help anyone that needed it. I will be forever amazed at the way that he lived his life, never knowing what day would be his last.

Typically death is somewhat predictable for someone that is under close medical observation like Billy. There are signs. In kidney patients, usually their heart starts to fail as well. In Billy's case, he died in his bed at home after spending an evening with his friends. According to the medical examiner, he suffered from cardiac sarcoidosis. There was no pain or struggling, his heart just stopped beating. He went from goofing around with his buddies to meeting Jesus in a matter of hours.

It was a shock to us all, because he was alive and well the last time any of us had seen him. I'm glad that he didn't spend his last hours in a hospital bed and in pain, but the shock of that news will probably never wear off. In fact, sometimes I feel like he's not gone at all.

Kidney disease finally claimed Billy. I wish I had done more with the NKF when he was alive. It's never too late to start though.

The Week is Flying, But the Days are So Slow.

Do you ever feel like the days just creep by, but the week itself is over in the blink of an eye?  I am feeling like that this week.  It's a pretty slow week at work, which makes for long days.  However, I just realized that tomorrow is Thursday already.

I finally made it to the gym this morning.  I have finally made it to the top of the waiting list for a locker rental, so I had to take some time to fill out the "lease" form.  By the time I was on the stair climber, I only had 15 minutes.  I made it a good 15 minutes though!

I am pretty stoked that starting on Monday, I'll be able to shed some weight from my gym bag.  I work in a very long building and it takes about five minutes to walk from the gym to my office.  That's a long walk when you're lugging forty pounds or so on one shoulder.  It's even longer when you're wearing heels.

I am pretty concerned about next Tuesday's weigh in.  I've gotten better about my eating habbits (aside from the 4-day cheesecake binge).  I'm working out harder and smarter.  Why is it that some of us have to starve ourselves just to reach a "healthy" weight?  Is it really healthy if I have to be miserable to get there and stay there?  I don't want to use some fad diet with results that don't last.  I don't want to spend ten hours a week in the gym.  I just want to be healthy and happy.

Glee.

I did not get to work out today.  It wasn't that I didn't want to, I just could not fit it in.  The drive in to the office took a while due to the snow.  When I got home we quickly ate leftovers for dinner and turned around to go run some errands.  I'm just now really sitting down for the first time, and my DVR has been nice enough to record 'Glee' for me.  I'm off to go watch it and relax.

Snow Day 2!?!

That's right, Chris and I both had to burn another personal day today.  Ten inches of snow fell in our town, and not much less at my office.  Just as we went out to shovel the driveway our neighbor got her car stuck backing out of hers.  We took that as evidence that we made the right choice to stay home.  Needless to say, shoveling was my workout for the day.

We had to shovel the driveway in two sections.  This snow was much heavier than the last dumping that we got.  By the time we were half done our backs needed a break.  After we'd been back at it for a half hour or so, a good Samaritan came by with a plow and finished the last tenth of it for us.  He said that he had seen us "busting ass" while he was working on the neighbor's driveway and felt bad for us.

Jet did not have a good night after his cat food binge.  He acted like he felt sick for most of the evening.  At about 2am, he started to whine and pace around the house.  That pretty much continued until 6am this morning.  That's the short version anyway.  At that point I got up, fed him, and let him out again.  After a day of dealing with terrible dog farts, he seems to be feeling better.  I'm crossing my fingers that he sleeps tonight like usual.

There are no confessions to make today.  I did a good job of keeping busy so that I didn't graze while I was at home.  We had homemade thin crust pizza topped with ham, mushrooms, and banana peppers for dinner.  It was quite tasty and filling.  I was surprised that is was so filling.

Snopacalypse 2?

Just when I thought that the hard part of winter might be over, we are experiencing another mass dumping of snow.  It's been snowing since about 2:30 this afternoon, and my best estimate is that we have 5-6 inches at this point.  It is still snowing, and the forecast says that there is some ice on the way too.  As much as I'd love another snow day, I really hope that I don't have to burn another personal day because of the snow.  We really need to get an all-wheel-drive vehicle.  The worst part is, my office is about a half-hour drive south of my house... and they aren't getting as much snow.  I'm going to look like a total pansy if I have to call in.

On the bright side, Chris and I were able to get out in the backyard and do some work before the snow arrived.  Jet's mess has been cleaned up, which should make spring yard clean up much easier.  That is, if spring ever gets here.

I did alright on the diet today, but I can't say the same for Jet.  He ripped open a bag of cat food and helped himself.  We aren't sure just how much he ate before Chris caught him, but it was enough that he didn't want his dinner.  I am not looking forward to the smells that will be coming from him later.

A Day with the Girls.

I spent the day with my Mom and my sister.  We went to visit my Grandma.  She has not been doing very well lately, but was in very good spirits today.  It's been a long time since I've seen her laugh so much.  I'm not sure that she knew what she was laughing about, but she was laughing.  She also told us that she was glad we came, and even hugged me back when we left.  I can't remember the last time she did that.  She's never really been one for hugs, but we always hug her anyway and I think that she secretly loves it.

After our visit, we drove to downtown Chelsea.  If you've never been there, it's a very cute little town.  There are quite a few little shops with crafty, artsy things in them that you might not find elsewhere.  I bought Chris a big, concrete Spartan "S" to put in the flower bed in front of our house this spring.  He'd been eyeing one for a long time in another store, and today I decided that he should have it.  I personally am not Michigan State alumni, but he is and he loves his Spartans.

I love spending the day with my Mom and my sister doing girly things.  Today was a sunny day and was perfect for it.

My lunch was less than stellar today.  I had a mesquite chicken wrap, which was probably not so bad.  However, it came with a side of nachos.  Aside from that, I did pretty well.  I definitely did a lot more walking than I do on a typical Saturday.  I also carried a thirty to forty pound concrete lawn ornament about two blocks to the car with no trouble.  It looks like the weight lifting is paying off.

Friday, Hooray!

I'm so very glad that it is the weekend.  This has been a long week.  I hit the stair climber 5 days this week, and did at least one (usually more) strength training exercise on 4 of those days.  Not to mention a slightly hectic work week.

A friend with a personal trainer let me in on a few "secret" weight loss tips today.  There was one tip of particular interest to me.  I've been using the stair climber before my strength training exercises.  According to the professional advice that she was given, I should be doing this in reverse.  I will be piloting that next week.  I am probably doing the right things in the right amounts, I just need to rethink the order.

I also was glad to hear that doing 30-60 minutes of cardio every day is not necessarily the way to go.  I am not a huge fan of cardio, because I find it boring.  It was said that strength training and interval training tend to yield the best results as far as weight loss and toning muscle.  One statement in particular drove it home for me, "Would you rather look like a marathon runner or a sprinter?  I would rather look like a sprinter."

I Win, Cheesecake!

I can proudly say that there is still almost half of a cheesecake in our refrigerator and I did not touch it today.  Hooray for me!

I've been very good today.  We had baked pork chops and pan-friend potatoes for dinner.  I fried the potatoes in a little olive oil.  I recently decided that this was no different than roasting them in olive oil; therefore, not so bad for me.  Please feel free to correct my logic if you know of some strange chemical reaction that happens in olive oil when you fry it as opposed to roasting it.

I has a Smart One for lunch today.  I've been eating them for lunch a lot because they are low calorie, they usually taste good, and they are so very convenient.  However, I was quite alarmed today when I happened to notice that the ingredient list in my Chicken Enchiladas Suiza meal took up one entire side panel of the box that it came in.  The type wasn't exactly large either.  I am having a really difficult time finding lunch options that are low calorie, not full of chemicals, tasty, and convenient.  I have had some luck in the past, but can't seem to stick with anything because I get sick of it after three or four days.  You may remember the tuna salad in a tomato idea... Well, the thought of eating tuna salad is actually nauseating at this point.  I'd rather eat nothing.

I'm working out 5 days a week and staying away from bad foods (for the most part), but I seem to be on a plateau. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help aside from the predictable, "Stop eating cheesecake every day"?

Quickie.

I was good today.  Stair climber.  Ab workout.  Good food.

Exception: more cheesecake.  It's almost gone, I swear.

This Tuesday Feels Like Monday.

Today was one of those days where I would have screamed out in frustration if it wouldn't make my co-workers think that I'm even more weird than they were already thinking.  I'm a very honest and open person and I find it extremely frustrating that other people see that as naivete.  I'm young compared to many of the people in my office.  I hope that I still feel like I can be open and honest with everyone 15 years from now.  Life is too short to be constantly looking for ulterior motives.

Do you ever feel like a row of cubicles in an office is just like a row of lockers in a high school?  Today I felt like a nerd that was stuffed into her cubicle by a bully.  I just come home and vent to Chris.  He understands me, even if I can be neurotic at times.

My workout was good this morning.  I did 10 minutes on the stair climber and then worked my arms.  I've decided to get on the stair climber for at least 10 minutes a day, and more if I have the time.  Rather than lifting on Tuesday and Thursday, I am going to move my ab workout to Wednesday and my back workout to Friday.  That way I'm getting some cardio and some weights every day of the week (aside from Monday, which will be all cardio).  The extra cardio should help with weight loss, but I know that strength training is necessary as well.

I ate well, but fell victim to the cheesecake.  That was my only cheat today.  I actually only ate about 750 calories before dinner today.  I think I did okay, even with the little slice of cheesecake.

Quick Update.

I have to make this quick because 'Chuck' is starting...

I was very good on this Valentine's Day, aside from the tiny slice of cheesecake.  There is still a lot of it left, but I plan on leaving it for Chris.  If he is having some and I feel tempted, I'll have a Skinny Cow treat.  They are surprisingly good for low fat ice cream.

The scale is not budging.  I hit the stair climber again today and plan to continue using it at least three days a week, if not more.  It kicks my butt and I need it!

Delicious.

Daddy's Birthday Dinner.

After an eventful and very productive morning, Chris and I headed out to my parents' house for the afternoon.  As I mentioned yesterday, I was supposed to make my Dad his birthday dinner at our house and he found out that he had to work today.  We decided to move the party, and all worked out great.

I stayed true to my mission until dinner.  I made "Upside-Down Shepherd's Pie."  It's become a favorite in our household, and I had not made it for my Dad yet.  He said that he enjoyed it, although I think that I could make him fried earthworms and he would still say that he enjoyed it.

Shepherd's Pie in general is not a figure-friendly dish.  This version is no different.  I did well the rest of the day though, so I don't feel terrible about it.

My Dad really enjoyed the assortment of sundae toppings that a bought and made him for his birthday.  He loves his ice cream, and has some pretty much every day.  I love it almost as much.  Like father like daughter.

Early Valentine's Day.

As planned, I spent most of the day cleaning and cooking.  My house is spotless, aside from a few rooms that need vacuumed.  Chris has promised to do that tomorrow.  I love a clean house.

Chris and I went to dinner for Valentine's Day tonight.  We went to an Italian restaurant nearby.  I wouldn't say that the food I ate there was healthy, but I did not overeat.  In fact, I think I have enough of the "Wild Mushroom Penne" that I ordered leftover to have it two more times.  That's not necessarily a good thing, but it does mean that I had a small win tonight.

I was supposed to make dinner for my Dad's birthday tomorrow, but he called today and said that something came up and he has to work.  We live about an hour away from one another, so it isn't as easy as just moving the start time.  I suggested that maybe Chris and I would drive out to his house and I'll make dinner there so that it is ready when he gets home.  My Mom will be home and we'll have a chance to chat.  I have to call her tomorrow and see if that is feasible.  I hope so.  I haven't seen them in a few weeks and it would be nice to catch up.  Also, I love cooking for my family.

A Friday with My Sweetheart.

Chris and I took the day off today.  We'll call it a mental health day.  We did get some errands done, but for the most part we just went out and about and enjoyed each other's company.  We slept in, went to the Secretary of State (so much fun), did some light shopping, went out to lunch, and went to see 'True Grit'.  It was a delightful day.

We might have considered taking Monday, Valentine's Day, off instead.  There are a couple of issues with that.  First, I'm not supposed to take Mondays off if at all possible.  Also, there's some reason that a Friday off is just so much more refreshing.  It's like you're shortening the work week, not delaying it.

I did skip the gym today, but made up for it by being very good on the diet front.  By my best mental calculation, I've consumed about 1200 calories total today and I've already eaten dinner.  The best part is, at no point was I overly hungry.

There isn't a lot of the agenda tomorrow other than some cooking and cleaning around the house.  There is definitely enough to keep me going all day, but it isn't grueling work.  In fact, I kind of enjoy it once I get my butt off of the couch and get moving.

Stuffed.

We had nachos for dinner.  I used chicken and black beans instead of the beef and refried beans that I would normally use.  I made a cheese sauce with some skim milk and 2% milk Mexican cheese.  The consistency wasn't great, but it tasted good.  Also, I used pico de gallo instead of salsa and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  The only cheat would be the chips, and even those were whole grain.  It was no Nachos Bell Grande, but it was pretty tasty.  (I also know that the chicken was really chicken and that there was not 770 calories and 42 grams of fat in my version.  That's a comfort.)

I just ate more than I should have.  I am stuffed.  However, aside from overeating at dinner I had a very good day.  I've been trying to keep track of my food intake in my planner each day.  On most days I know within twenty calories what my intake was for the day.  I usually stop keeping track at dinner time, but I'm not looking for an exact number.  I just want to know whether I am being realistic or not when I say that I was "good" on a particular day.  If I've done well up until dinner, I know what I need to do to keep from falling off the deep end.

Chris and I both took the day off of work tomorrow.  Why?  No reason.  We just wanted to spend the day together.  I'm sure we'll get a few errands done, but maybe not.

So Many Stairs.

The treadmills were all occupied this morning, so I got on the stair climber instead.  I wanted to make sure that I got a good workout, so I set it to the "Aerobic Training" course on level 7.  Oh my Lord.  It kicked my butt, but I may need to do it more often.  I struggled, but I lasted the whole 25 minutes. 100 floors!

I did very well food-wise today.  I had a tiny piece of a king cake that arrived in our office from the company's Louisiana location.  It was only a couple of bites.  For dinner, we had some light salads and some plain chicken wings with BBQ dipping sauce (takeout of course).  They were very tasty and since they weren't fried, they weren't too unhealthy.

I realized this evening that I could go the rest of my life without eating another salad and be perfectly happy.  That may not be the case if every salad was a chef or Cobb salad, but if that were true then salads would be on the list of things that I should avoid anyway.  As I forced down the salad that I'd made for dinner, I wished that I could just push it aside and have ten more wings instead.  I didn't do that, because it would be a waste and it would not be very healthy.

I Never Learn...

I should be banned from using crushed red pepper, because I always overdo it.  Chris couldn't even finish his dinner tonight because the spices gave him a stomach ache.  I finished mine, but it was a smaller bowl and I gave in and had some bread with it.

What is it that was so spicy, you ask?  Pepper steak.  It isn't like the pepper steak that you eat in a Chinese restaurant.  It is a ground beef, mushroom soup, and green pepper concoction that my brother-in-law introduced me to.  It is "Asian influenced" because it is served over rice and usually has some soy sauce in it or on it.  I load it up with black pepper and red pepper flakes because I like a little kick, but usually my kick ends up being more like a fiery explosion.  You would think that I would learn to have some restraint.

Yes, I know that 80/20 ground beef and canned mushroom soup are not the healthiest choices.  While I may have no restraint when it comes to seasoning my cooking, I did exercise some restraint in my portioning.  You can eat anything you want if you eat it in the right portions.  That is something that I still struggle with.

I don't really have anything more to report.  Lets be honest, I'm doing pretty well with the exercising.  It's the food that is my downfall.  Fortunately, today I did not fall down.

When Do Puppies Turn Into Dogs?

My dog, who is about one year old I believe, has started an ever-deepening hole in the backyard.  You turn your back for one second and mayhem ensues.  He does so well for such a long time and then you find a mess.  When will he stop getting in trouble and start acting like a grown up dog?

That has nothing to do with healthy eating or fitness, I know.  I can't say that there is really anything worth reporting today.  I ate good food and had a good workout this morning.

Super Bowl BBQ.

I slow cooked BBQ short ribs all afternoon for our Super Bowl feast.  If you've ever tried to cook them, then you know that they might be the fattiest cut of beef that you can get.  There might be more fat than meat on them.

I cooked them for four and a half hours at 250 degrees, wrapped and tented in aluminum foil so that they would stay moist.  When we finally ate them, the meat was falling off of the bone and was super moist and delicious.  Never mind the entire cereal bowl of fat and bones that we had on the table when we were finished.  Hey, at least that didn't end up in my body.

I also made some corn, cornbread, and mashed potatoes.  I made the potatoes with two tablespoons of light butter and some skim milk, so they were not nearly as unhealthy as they could have been.  If you want to know a completely sinful way to make your mashed potatoes, tune in next Sunday.

All in all, I think I did very well today.  We have some light hors devours to have later around half-time, but it's nothing that is going to ruin me.

I have to be really good this week so that I can enjoy some upside-down shepherd's pie and a Guinness next Sunday for my Dad's birthday.  Oh, and of course some cake and ice cream too.  Not to mention the fact that Valentine's Day is next week and I promised Chris one of those Chocolate Explosion Cheesecakes that I mentioned yesterday.  My goodness, so far I'm not doing any better in February, am I?

Well, the Baking Cupboard is Decluttered...

I was very good today... until about twenty minutes ago.

Both Chris and I were craving chocolate cake.  There weren't really any sweets in the house, so we were faced with a choice.  Do we get in the car and go to the store, or do we just go without dessert this evening?  I looked in our cupboards and decided that we could compromise.  I had one square of Baker's chocolate and two cups of confectioner's sugar.  I knew I could do something with that.

I got out my double boiler and started melting a stick of butter.  Yes, a whole stick of butter.  Once it was melted down I put in the Baker's chocolate and two heaping teaspoons each of dark chocolate cocoa powder and hot chocolate mix.  I stirred constantly until everything was melted down and combined, then added some milk in and gave it a whisk.  At this point, it resembled the most delicious hot chocolate I'd ever seen or smelled.  However, I decided that drinking chocolate butter was completely over the edge.

I took it off of the heat and started stirring in confectioner's sugar.  It wasn't until I emptied the bag that I realized there might be a problem.  It had not thickened to the frosting-like consistency that I was hoping for.  I added a little flour to thicken it and that helped, but not much.

We had some Keebler cookie 100-calorie packs, so I emptied one each into two bowls and then poured some of the ganache (as I am now referring to it) onto the cookies.  I sprinkled some unsalted almonds on the top of each, you know, to make it more healthy.

Chris finished his bowl, but I had to stop halfway through due to sugar overload.  There was still a lot of chocolate left, so I poured in almonds and dried cherries that I had in the cupboard and mixed it all together.  I poured it out onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment and put it in our chest freezer to harden.  At least my little experiment will yield some candy, right?

Sometime tomorrow I'll get it out and cut it into bite-sized pieces, bag it, and refreeze it.  I can save it for next Sunday when my family comes over for my father's birthday dinner.  If I'm lucky, I'll be able to send some home with them too.

What started this intense need for chocolate?  A re-run episode of Paula Deen's Best Dishes at 10:30 this morning.  She made Chocolate Explosion Cheesecake, and Chris and I both thought about it all day.  By the way, this all could have been avoided if Mother Nature didn't decide that we needed more snow today.  We were supposed to go to a birthday party, and we probably would have been there all evening and had a modest cupcake if the road conditions had cooperated.

Oh yes... I forgot to mention one of my downfalls.  I love to cook and I especially love to bake.  If I could go back and do it all over again, I probably would have gone to culinary school.

I Can Run!?!

I ran at 6.0 mph for 20 minutes out of my 25 minute workout this morning!  I kept an eye on the odometer and I hit the 2 mile mark at about 21 minutes.  I'm totally geeked!

You have to understand that I've never been an athlete.  I didn't play any recreational sports growing up.  I grew up on a farm.  We had a roadside produce stand and someone had to be there to man it.  My parents paid my brother, sister, and I a very good allowance to help plant, weed, and harvest the produce.  Obviously, this taught us all a thing or two about hard work and its payoffs... but it did not groom me to be an athlete.

Aside from one year of sitting on the bench at our JV volleyball games, I didn't play any sports in school.  I spent most of high school getting basically no exercise.  I think the only time I exercised was when I had to help put hay in the barn at home.  Trust me, that's heavy cardio for someone that never does anything else.

A friend convinced me to join Curves right after graduation.  Within a year I'd lost about forty pounds and was feeling great.  I've never gone back. It's been sporadic at times, but fitness has been a part of my life ever since.  I've only been running on and off for the last six months, so you can understand my excitement over today's awesome run.

I've put back on 25 of those 40 pounds.  Make that 21.6.  If I work really hard that number will be 17 by the end of this month.

The Jumbo Jet Deal.

Not only did I have pizza for dinner, I had deep dish pizza for dinner.  We had a coupon for pizza, wings, and bread from Jet's and Chris had been craving pizza for quite some time.  I indulged him... and myself.  Who am I kidding, right?

Although deep dish pizza is definitely cheating, I do feel pretty proud of the fact that I could only manage to pack two pieces of bread, two slices of pizza, and four boneless wings into my belly.  That is probably somewhere around what a normal person eats, and only twice as much as I should eat.  As I've mentioned before, I've been known to put away a lot of pizza.  I'll take this as proof that my stomach is shrinking, which is a very good thing.

Aside from the pizza it was an all around good day.  There were no other cheats and I had a very good leg workout at the gym this morning.  Also, I weighed myself and I am down just shy of four pounds for the weight-loss challenge.  That's just about where I should be at this point, since there are six weeks left.

Snow Day.

Both of our offices were open today, but Chris and I decided that we should stay home.  There was only about six inches of snow when we woke up, but that is still too much for a Cavalier.  Our street didn't get plowed until about 4:30 this afternoon, and it was done by a private citizen with a pick-up truck who only made one pass.  By that point I think there was about eleven inches of snow on the ground.

Since the gym and the office are in the same building, I obviously didn't make it there either.  However, Chris and I spent about an hour shoveling snow off of the driveway.  We didn't take any breaks and were working at a decent pace.  There was just so much of it and the further we went the heavier it felt.

When we finished shoveling, I brought Jet outside and we played in the snow for a while.  I could tell that he was having more fun than he's had in a long time.  Maybe this weekend I'll get out there with him again.

I did pretty well on the diet today.  However, I am fortunate that there weren't really any sweets in the house because I was having some big chocolate cravings.  I also had to battle the urge to eat out of boredom, but was successful at finding other things to occupy my mind.

Drumroll Please...

I missed my goal by six-tenths of a pound.  So close!  That just means that I have to lose 4.6 pounds in February.

I think it's possible.  While I think I am doing the right thing in the gym, I could definitely improve my eating habits.  For instance, we had boxed scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner tonight.  The first few bites tasted good, but after that I felt like I was eating salt by the spoonful.

I don't feel like I'm eating too much, but the scale is saying otherwise.  Eating healthy alone may not get me there... I may also have to cut back a little bit.  With a weight loss challenge deadline just 7 weeks away, and a partner that I don't want to disappoint, that may be the only solution.  However, I'm aware that eating a super low-calorie diet is not healthy in the long run.

I am pretty sure that going to the gym will be out of the question tomorrow.  I'll have to get my exercise helping Chris shovel the driveway.  If the weather man is right, there will be plenty of shoveling to do.