Friday Mishmash - Late, You-Get-What-You-Pay-For Edition

...in other words, I'd complain more about Blogger being down for so long except that, you know, it's free and all, so what right do I really have to fuss?  Anyway, here's a belated, abbreviated post, because I'm now in Denton,  where we are gathering to watch Sam graduate from the University of North Texas tomorrow - yay!

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So speaking of blogging, I've been blogging for nearly three years now and there are still some things I don't understand.  For example, what is "reblogging" and why are people doing it?  I get Google alerts that so-and-so has reblogged  my blog - why?  When I've clicked on the link, it just shows a bunch of people reblogging - what does that mean?  It's not like when I link to another blogger while I'm writing about them - this is just a list.

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The first winner of the Gel-Bot never contacted me, so I had random.org redraw - the new winner is Kim!  I've already contacted her (see, this is why you need to leave an email when you enter these things) and she should be getting her new bottle soon - congratulations, Kim!

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My BIF Helen has had to listen to me whine and moan about my ankle for four months now and while I'm sure she's sick and tired of it, she has been nothing but supportive.  Look what I got in the mail from her yesterday:

A homeopathic remedy for bone trauma - you never know...these might be the magic cure-all pills I've been hoping for!  I took a dose (five tiny pills that you let dissolve in your mouth) - they taste like the candy medicine that used to come in the play doctor kits!  Wouldn't it be wonderful if they worked?  Fingers crossed!!!

Nosy Parker Paco had to see what the fuss was all about...

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Bought my first cherries of the season yesterday - at first I balked at the price, but you know what?  It's fruit.  I don't think twice about what I pay for frozen yogurt, so why do I when it comes to something as healthy as fruit?  I don't understand my logic sometimes. 

 It was a rainy day so I put the dish by the window for some natural light.  Oh, and this is just for show...I ate way more than 10 cherries!

Nosy Parker strikes again...

Paco was convinced that he was getting some cherries when I was done taking their picture - see the smile on his face?  Poor dog was denied - well, he got a cookie.  These babies were all mine!

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OK, that's it for today - hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I'll be back on Monday with some pictures of the graduate!

Wednesday Workout Update - Deep Thoughts Edition

I was all set to come here and write a quick post on the workouts (walking, swimming and yoga tomorrow) I've done since I returned home but yesterday I made a comment on Helen's post that got me thinking.  And then I got mad.  And then I did what helps me to see things clearly when I'm upset - I wrote.  And now I'm sharing it with you.

In her post, Helen wrote of her frustration at not fitting into last summer's bermuda shorts.  My comment was "I hear you on the clothes. And I wanna just slap myself."  Until I wrote those words, I honestly didn't think I was that mad at myself for putting on some pounds.  But I am, and here's why:

I truly did not appreciate how good I looked last summer.  Don't get me wrong - I was thrilled with fitting into the size 6 bermuda shorts, but did I focus on that?  No - I couldn't stop seeing my extra belly flab.  I'm sure this stems from always having in the back of my mind that I still weighed a lot for my height - my lowest low was 146 pounds, but obviously a lot was muscle, because that is the only way I could have fit into such small sizes.  WHY didn't I appreciate my body then?  I'll tell you why...decades of dieting. 

Never being done. 

Never hitting "goal" - whatever that was. 

Never having the inner strength to say "I like how I look and feel now" - never quite standing up for myself. 

I am so mad.  I just want to go back and say "You dope!  Enjoy what you've achieved!" and I know that I'm not showing self-love, but so what.  Sometimes I need a reality check.  And my reality is that I was obese for 20 years.  The very fact that I was able to lose so much weight was a freaking miracle.  And the fact that I couldn't let myself be done at 146 pounds - that I couldn't accept that I was at a healthy size for ME - oh, I am angry.

My mother is happiest with herself when she weighs in the low 120's.
My best friend is happiest with herself when she weighs in the low 130's.
I should have been happy with myself when I weighed in the mid 140's.

Three people, all about the same height.  All different body types.  All active, healthy people.  All who look freaking amazing at those weights.  And one who is dealing with 20/20 hindsight.

 Me, last summer, at my lowest weight, wearing the size 6 bermudas that don't fit at the moment.  Not seeing the belly flab that I couldn't stop focusing on, either.  Big, big sigh.

Unintentional Maintenance

So I've mentioned a time or three that my weight has climbed a bit since January - stopping running/stress eating made for approximately a 10 pound gain (not exactly sure since I wasn't weighing myself very often - just going by how my clothes fit).  And while I'm still not back to running (insert every swear word here over my frustration with this), I have been able to let go of a lot of the stress I was feeling lately (my mom's no chemo news last week was icing on the cake - and yes, I recognize the irony of that idiom, lol).

I went to California with the intent of getting back on track with my eating - I figured it would be pretty easy, since I was very successful with that on my visit last year.  Barbara and her family eat a really healthy diet...I would just join in and perhaps lose a few of these extra pounds in the process.  Except that it was a time of celebration, and oh, how we (the royal) love to do that with food.  Cookies, pies, tarts, See's candies - I confess that I had more days of having treats than not.  Dang, they were good.  And I enjoyed every bite.  But I was reminded of why I try to not get started on the sugar/white flour train, because it seems to trigger a craving that I want to have something sweet every day.  And quite frankly, I'd like to be in control of this - I'd like to choose when to have a treat, instead of being hit by a craving and acting on it.  But, I was on vacation, and I didn't stress over this - I just knew that I'd have to face the music when I got home.  Guess what?  I did not gain any weight.  I was really shocked when I got on the scale.  And I realized that if I could eat that amount of empty, sugary calories and maintain my weight, well, imagine what might happen if I actually tried to cut back a bit?!?

I'm not saying this is easy, any of it.  Weight loss, weight maintenance.  It takes constant thought and vigilance to make any changes.  But I have to say that for me, I can make it happen.  It IS within my power (even though it seems to go in super slo-mo) to lose weight.  So why don't I work harder at this?  For crying out loud, it's not like I have to be all super-strict with my eating, obviously, considering all I ate over the last few weeks and maintained.  I'm not exactly frustrated, and overall I'm in a pretty happy place...I just want to take my food choices down a notch (just one - we have too much celebrating and entertaining in the next few weeks and I'm not going to miss out on that...life is too short, you know?)...I'll eat the dessert.  But maybe I'll just have one serving this time.  See?  That wouldn't be too bad, right?  And yes, I am talking to myself here.

Friday Mishmash - Mashier Than Usual...

I flew home Wednesday evening, landing in Austin near midnight, and arriving home around 2:00 a.m.  Paco was very happy to see us - Jeff had been gone since Monday (don't worry, he stayed at Ginger's house while we were gone).  Needless to say, I'm a little sleep-deprived and goofy, so hopefully this post will make (some) sense.

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First thing I did when I got home:

That's right...it was 2:00 am, but my Big Sur ceramic got hung on my medal hanger!  The poor Seawall medal has been so lonely - about time it got a friend!

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Mom update:  She went to her oncologist on Wednesday, who, to all of our surprise, did not schedule her for chemo.  He said that they would only need to do chemo if the cancer returns.  So this is really nice - she does not have to deal with chemo, and can really just move on with life!  They will still do CT scans and bloodwork every three months to keep an eye on things, but for right now?  Things are looking great!  I can't tell you how pleased I am - we all are - to know this.  Thank you all for continuing to send the good thoughts her way and also for inquiring about how she has been doing - I don't think I can adequately convey just how much this means to me.

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Son update:  Our oldest son, Sam, who will be graduating college on May 14th, got (and accepted) a job offer!  We are very excited to see him start making his way through the work world.  After he accepted the job, he rented a really great apartment close to work - it's in a trendy area that has houses and apartments, restaurants, shops, parks, a couple of huge gyms, and looks very conducive to an active, social lifestyle.  Is it wrong that I want to move to a place like that?  Anyway, Sam has requested my help in shopping(!!!) for some furniture and things to make his new place a home - I can't wait to finally spend HIS money!  Needless to say, with graduation coming up, family (including my parents) coming out for that, and getting Sam set up and Max moved into a smaller apartment, my life is going to continue to be busy and hectic - but a FUN busy and hectic, I hope. :)

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Hey - don't forget to send me your Prom pictures - several of you have promised, but my inbox remains empty...scan those photos and send them to me, por favor!

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And now, some random photos from my recent trip:

We spotted this custom painted vintage VW bus in Capitola (click on the photo to see it better) - love how the seats are upholstered to match the paint job on the outside, and check it out - the artist even painted the van on the inside of the bus!  So clever.

Flowers from Easter Sunday - the orange beauties were in Sandi's backyard, while the pink were spotted on our walk.  Think I'll change my desktop wallpaper from the shot of Paco peeing in the background of the Pearl Izumi shoes to one of the pink flower shots.  Gorgeous!

 Like mother, like daughter - hula hooping during Barbara's birthday party!

We waited until after the Big Sur race for our annual pedicure - the calf massage was MUCH appreciated!

Purple toes for Barbara, blue for me!

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And now for a strange Fashion Friday.  I was helping Barbara clear out her closet - she's lost some weight and has stayed at her goal for a year now (awesome job Barbara!), so it was more than time to get rid of some clothes that were too big for her.  I looked at one shirt and remembered her wearing it in one of my "before" pictures - this was taken in April 2007, a year before I began my weight-loss journey.  I thought "hey, this shirt will fit ME now!" so of course I had to try it on.  Kind of surreal for me to see both pictures:

Left - April 2007.  Right - May 2011

Back in 2007 I could not have fathomed a day when I'd be able to fit into the shirt Barbara was wearing.  But amazing changes can happen - I am living proof of that!

Alright, have a great weekend, send me your prom pictures, and I'll see you back here on Monday!

Wednesday Workout Update - More on Big Sur

As promised, here's part two of our Big Sur adventure:

My autographed book :):):)

Jeff Galloway (of the run/walk method fame) is answering audience questions, while my friend Bart is getting ready to speak next.  I only heard a little of Jeff's talk, but like Bart, he was great at connecting with the audience.

Plate one of my salad bar dinner from the Chart House - I swear there is lettuce hiding somewhere under all those toppings!  Plate two was fresh fruit...plus there was a spoonful (or two) of Theresa's mud pie dessert that she very generously passed around the table - YUM.

More slumber party fun - Lynda, Barbara and I.

Matt in his spot - sitting next to a bigger flat-screen TV than I have in my house!  Did I mention that this was a really nice hotel?  They even handed out freshly-baked, warm chocolate chip cookies at the front desk when we checked in!  Barbara sure can pick the good places!

 
Waiting for the race to start - we were at about the halfway point on this hill (Rocky Point restaurant is at the bottom and that's where we congregated before the race).  People were upbeat and trying to stay warm - it was interesting to see the discarded jackets and gloves as we moved up the hill (and along the course) and I will admit I did a quick "shopping" scan to see if there was anything I wanted badly enough to carry for the next 10.6 miles.  There wasn't, but along the course, there were some nice things that runners had left behind.  I always figured it would be really crummy clothes from Goodwill, but there was some good stuff too!

Random gorgeous view as we walked...

We heard these drummers long before we saw them - they were amazing.  Watsonville Taiko drummers.

Matt took a video of the drummers with his iPhone, and then we fake ran for posterity.  The laughter you hear?  Is pretty much how the entire 10.6 miles went. He was also joking that the marathoners running toward us had contempt for us walkers, but as a runner, I know that is not the case.  A little jealousy, maybe, especially on the hills, but contempt?  Nah.

Another random gorgeous view - the day could not have been any prettier.  Matt is holding an empty GU packet - hey, they were handing them out and we each took one - did I mention we'd been up since 3:30 am?  We needed all the pep and energy we could get!

This was a "clean" race - you did not just randomly throw down your empty GU packets like you can in a lot of other races.  We held onto our trash until the next aid station, where there were trash cans.  Matt was feeling weighed down by his packet - poor guy, if he'd only not had to carry it so long, I'm sure his pace would have been much better! ;)

The sun finally rose and boy did it feel good!  Another RGV.

This shot cracks me up because it reminds me of posing little kids on a bench with a pretty backdrop.

I'd been seeing these gorgeous spiked flowers - both in deep blue and purple colors - all over the Santa Cruz area since my arrival, so I wanted to take a picture with them.  As I posed next to the purple flowers, I heard loud buzzing, turned, and saw that they were FULL of bees!  This is my "hurry and take the picture so I can get away" face!

We stopped to admire my future house...

 

Another RGV - see the private driveway on the left?  That led up to yet another beautiful house.  Could you imagine seeing these views everyday?!?

 
RGV - ahhhhhhhh.
 
The strawberry ladies - they do this every year, and I have to tell you that these were the best strawberries - really hit the spot!  This was just before mile 8.
 
I like seeing my shadow take a picture of the strawberry.

After we crossed the finish line and were handed our medals ceramics, we were herded through a giant food tent, where we could pick a box of snacks.  The set up was a great way to feed a lot of hungry racers with not a lot of congestion.

 

 The goods - a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt, which I love, and the medal!

Icing on the cake - I'd say that this is a sweet reminder of the weekend, but I know these memories will stay with me for a long time.

Big Sur 10.6 Miler Recap!

On Sunday I ran walked the 10.6 miler part of the Big Sur International Marathon in Big Sur, California, along with Barbara, her friend Lynda, and my friend Matt.  What a fun weekend!  Barbara and I drove down to Monterey late Saturday morning, where we checked into the Portola Hotel (a really gorgeous hotel - pretty luxe for this La Quinta frequenter), and then went to the race expo to pick up our bibs.  I was delighted to discover that our names were printed on our bibs!!!  This is the first time my name has been printed on my racing bib, and I was a total dork in how excited I got about it.

I seriously could not stop smiling when I saw MY NAME printed on my bib!

I knew that Bart Yasso, Chief Running Officer of Runner's World magazine, and author of one of the most entertaining and inspiring running books I've read, would be giving a seminar at 1:30, and Barbara was indulging my running geekiness by attending it with me.  Imagine my glee when I SAW Bart at the Runner's World booth - just standing there and chatting like a normal person!  Of course I had to go over and say hello, and then I had to buy another copy of his book so he could autograph it for me (I lent my copy to a friend, but I wouldn't have thought to bring it with me anyway).  Here's me and Bart:

 

 Perhaps some of Bart's running expertise will transfer over to me now that I've touched him???

We wandered around the expo - this was my first one, so it was an interesting experience.  I wasn't too tempted to buy many things there (other than the book), but when I came upon the Thorlo Experia booth and saw that they had purple socks, I had to get a pair - after all, our outfits were featuring purple and this was the final touch - yay Thorlo for finally adding purple to your color line!  We went to Bart's seminar, which was even more interesting than I had anticipated.  What a neat guy - he really loves running, and he really appreciates all kinds of runners.

Then we had a lovely dinner at the Chart House restaurant - the weather was gorgeous and the sea views were so pretty from the restaurant.

Barbara and Dave treated us for dinner - it was wonderful, thank you!

After dinner it was slumber party time - we bunked together and had a fun evening sharing stories.  Lots of laughter - the only hard part was ending it at a reasonable time so we could wake up at the insane hour of 3:30 a.m.

 

Seriously, we were laughing so hard that it's amazing we settled down for any sleep!

So the 3:30 a.m. alarms went off - we all somehow managed to get dressed and checked out of the hotel, and in our cars for the drive to the shopping center where we were to park and board the buses that would take us out to our race start.  The logistics of this race are incredibly complicated, considering it's on Highway 1, which is a two-lane (at best) coastal road.  We just rolled with everything - Barbara and I were in her car and somehow got separated from Matt and Lynda, who were in his car.  We jumped onto a bus (thank goodness for the heater - it was cold!) and figured that they would catch the next bus, which they did.  Quick picture of bleary-eyed Barbara and I on the bus for posterity:

Have mercy.  This was a rough morning!

About a 30 minute ride later, we were at the race start.  Matt and Lynda caught up to us - and the fun began.  I have so many pictures that I'll split this recap into two parts, with most of the scenic shots coming on Wednesday.  Barbara and Lynda walked at a faster pace so they were ahead of Matt and I for most of the race.  I was really grateful that Matt was fine with walking - we originally planned on running this race together, but then my ankle happened, and my plan got changed.  Lucky for me, he changed his plan, too. :)  OK, here goes part one - the race:

 At the start - it was cold!  We were trying to show our bibs with our names but some of us were more successful than others, lol.

 Matt and I decided to take a picture every time Ricky Bobby chimed a mile.  This was mile one - we were looking good, right?

 Mile two - still feeling good, plus the sun was finally starting to come up.

Mile three - these fun markers were for the marathon, which was an out-and-back this year due to part of the highway falling into the sea.  You can see the marathoners running in the opposite direction in the background of this picture.

 Mile four - and I believe we saw the actual Henry Gong, sponsor of the mile 18 marker, running back and forth in this area - and yes, he WAS wearing a bow tie!

 Mile five - we heard the sounds of the piano for at least a mile leading up to it.  What other race has a grand piano with a tuxedoed player on the course?  This was quite amazing!

 Mile six - more than halfway there.  We were beginning to get tired.  Legs were aching, feet were sore, my ankle was talking to me.  But the beauty of the course and our constant joking around kept us moving forward in good spirits.

 It finally warmed up enough for a photo op with Barbara in our coordinating outfits! 

 Mile seven - can you tell we were tired by the fact that we sat down for this photo?

 Mile eight - it was in a not-so-pretty area, plus we were tired of posing. 

 Mile nine - we realized we were nearing the end and got our posing mojo back!

 Mile ten!  Only .6 left to go!!!

 We finished!!!  With our medals, although we called them our "ceramics" since that's what they were made out of.  Woohoo, I finally have another medal to put on my medal hanger!

 Barbara and I - happy, tired, done.  What a crazyfun thing for her to choose to commemorate turning 50 - I'm so glad I was able to join her for the festivities!