Friday Mishmash

Thank you all for such lovely comments on my six year anniversary post.  You guys are the best, and I meant it when I said that you were a big part of why I managed to get to this point.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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I don't know if you heard, but there's a new sheriff in my town.  He's the complete package - tough, handsome, and highly protective of his people:

Sheriff Paco...

So handsome in his new bandana-print collar and K-9 sheriff's badge.  Posing so nicely for this picture - I'm sure the fact that I was holding a dog cookie just above the camera might have helped!

Lest you think all pictures of Paco are winners, this is most of what I get; he's moving toward the camera/cookie before I can get the perfect shot.

 Sheriff Paco, on high alert.

Paco has always taken his job to protect and serve very seriously, so when he needed a new collar and tag, this was the perfect fit for him.  Now he can "officially" keep away the UPS and Fedex men, along with the mailman, trashman, meter reader...oh, he's a busy, busy sheriff!

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Did anyone catch The Simpsons episode where they were all in Lego form?  I've always loved Legos - my brother had them when we were kids, my kids had them, and I have several minifigs myself.  Naturally I had to get a few of The Simpsons characters - it's a grab bag, so you don't know what you're getting, but I was pretty pleased with these:

Krusty the Clown, Homer (with remote and mmm, donut), and Bart with his skateboard!

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My former running buddy Erica recently moved to San Francisco and, except for their unseasonably warm weather this week, has been freezing.  She requested some knitted hats from me, and I've had the best time with this - making things that you know someone wants and needs is really fun!  So far I've knitted her an earwarmer headband:

The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage in Spectrum colorway - leftovers from a hat that I'd made.  Pattern is called Ear Warmer, of course!

No other reason to include this shot other than the simple fact that I was having a really good hair day...

And a Sugarpine Rasta hat, using the two colors she liked, plus I added a pompom, because she liked that as well:

The yarn is all Malabrigo Rasta, in Lettuce and Arco Iris colorways.  Each time I knit this hat, the newest one becomes my favorite - but I am really loving the two-toned look of this one!

Is it wrong that I like this outtake so much?  I think it really shows off the hat, despite the fact that my photographer didn't wait for me to settle it on my head before he started shooting:

Arco Iris (the main body) is a hard colorway to buy - many times I've seen it look muddy, so whenever I see it in person and it looks this pretty, with all of the colors so clear and bright, I buy it.  Oh how I love this yarn!!!

I'm also working on a Sarah Jessica Parker hat in turquoise for Erica - I should have it finished later today and can get these in the mail.  What a fun knitting week I've had!

Have a great weekend!

SIX YEARS!!!

Exactly six years ago today, I started my diet, and this blog.  Yes, I am the weirdo who started a diet on a Wednesday...but now that I have some perspective, I think that may have been one of the reasons I ended up having success with losing weight and keeping it off.  I didn't wait for the traditional Monday, I didn't overplan, I didn't prepare a whole lot for the diet, and I certainly didn't start exercising right away - really, I pretty much jumped in with both feet and just went for it.

Somehow, this time it worked.  Maybe by not holding myself to the time-honored dieting standards, I was able to muddle into something that made sense for my body...and my mind - I can't discount that, as dieting is a huge mental process along with the physical part of restricting food/changing what and how you eat.

I haven't weighed myself in over two years, which is another unconventional thing that someone who is trying to maintain a big weight loss usually doesn't do - but it works for me.  I haven't hyperfocused on my food; nothing is off limits, but I choose not to eat certain things, too.  I definitely have had my ups and downs when it comes to keeping the weight off, but all in all, I've done the best job of it in my life, and I'm pretty pleased that I'm able to write a post like this, six years after I wrote this one.  I set out to make a major change by losing weight and becoming a healthier person, and I actually did it.

If I could, I'd go around giving every one of you a ::high five:: because truly, having the interaction with my readers has been a tremendous asset with keeping me going, both in the early months and now.  Once the bloom of new weight loss wears off, it can be a slog to keep doing what needs to be done, day after day, week after week, month after month - but this is exactly what it takes to not slide back to my old overweight self.  You guys are the best, and I thank you for showing up so often.

Just for fun, I did my six year picture wearing the same clothes as my four year picture - I couldn't go on the lawn, though, as it poured rain the night before and the grass was waterlogged:

 May 2014, six years of weight loss/maintenance!

May 2012 - May 2014...

2014 Run For Remembrance 5K Recap!

 

On Saturday, Amy, Jeff and I, along with about 300 others, participated in the second annual Run For Remembrance 5K.  This race was held last year shortly after a local fire left two firefighters dead and two others severely burned.  I was glad to see the race continuing this year, but appalled at the start time - 5:00 pm.  In May.  It's pretty warm here by May, so for that reason, I decided not to run the race.  But then, about 10 days before the race, the organizers posted on their Facebook page that they were up to 100 entries - yikes.  Last year, they had well over 1,000 entries.  So Amy, Jeff and I decided to sign up and walk it - we may be soft-hearted, but we're not crazy.

We got to the race a little early and ran into Dan from the running store - got to give him a big hug and check in with how he was doing...a bit surreal to be at a race benefiting firefighters just two days after a fire had impacted our friends so much.  We also saw his wife, Janine, and chatted with her a bit.  She was actually planning on running the race!  But, she's a fast runner, and her theory was that the faster she ran, the sooner she'd get out of the sun.  Good point - but we were still going to walk, especially since we'd already run three miles that morning - yes, on top of our one mile walking warm up, plus the three mile run, we were adding another three miles.  Which didn't seem like a big deal - after all, it's just walking, right?

Well, it was walking, sure - but walking on blacktop, with the sun both beating down and reflecting back up at us.  Even though I had sunscreen on, I could feel my legs burning.  And walking takes more time than running, so we were out there for about 55 minutes - yes, we were messing around taking pictures and we took a little detour to show Jeff one thing that the course wasn't going by this year, but still...if they hold this race at this time again next year, all they'll be getting from me is a donation. 

Here's some pictures from our 88-degree 5K walk:

Crowds beforehand - quite a difference from the previous year.

Jeff and I pre-race - my running buddy Jenny was one of the race photographers, so she had us pose at the backdrop.  Naturally after she took our picture with her fancy camera and gigantic zoom lens, I handed her my iPhone for this shot.  I'm sure there's no difference, haha!

The race is held at the Brayton Fire Training Field, where firefighters from all over come to train.  This was one building that they use - it's weird to see many buildings with scorch marks on them, but they really do light them on fire so the firefighters can practice extinguishing them.

 

No particular reason for including this picture other than showing you Amy's swagger walk.

Amy and I climbed on the rubble of the Disaster City sign for this picture.

Callous Jeff and Amy taking a cursory glance at the school bus disaster, not even going over to help!

Where else can you take a picture near "Rubble Pile 1" but at Disaster City?

This is where we veered off the course a bit - last year we ran by the "collapsed parking garage" but didn't this year, so we had to show Jeff.  See the car there?  Firefighters train for so many different scenarios.  I'm just glad they are willing to go rescue people when disasters happen.

Train derailment.  Again, Jeff and Amy don't seem all that concerned.  I worry about them...

Afterward - we were hot, sweaty and thirsty!  They had ice-cold bottles of Gatorade waiting for us and I swear, it was the best Gatorade I've ever had.

They also had fresh strawberries after the race - I felt like my body was as red as the strawberry, but I guess it really wasn't.  Very nice post-race treat, especially in that heat!

Part-way through the race, we were behind a group of people, and I realized that one was a survivor from the fire last year - he was still wearing compression sleeves on his arms, and his hand were missing some fingers.  Yes, we were experiencing discomfort during that race, but it was only for a short time and we knew that it would be over soon - it was nothing compared to what this firefighter, and the other survivor, have had to deal with for the last year, and will continue to deal with.  It sure brought everything into  perspective very quickly for me. 

Friday Mishmash

I'll get the upsetting news out of the way first:  our running store had a fire yesterday morning.  Thankfully Mike and Dan (the owners) got out OK - I can't imagine how scary that must have been!  According to Facebook reports, there was a lot of smoke and water damage (the automatic sprinklers kicked in really quick), and they will be closed for a bit while everything gets sorted out.  I hate that this happened - in the just under two years that the store has been here, they've made a huge, positive impact on our community.  I was there the first day they opened (heck, I was in the store while it was still being built) and it's been such a nice place, sort of like a "Cheers" bar, to me.  I know they'll be back, but ugh, what a mess they're facing.

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Onto happier news.  Last week Amy's daughter attended our USAFit coaches meeting (btw I've looked up the rules regarding the apostrophe with that one and still am not sure what is correct); she kept herself busy coloring pictures, and afterward, presented me with this:

A knitted mitten (in a very fancy design, I might add) and a ball of yarn - I love it!

Speaking of knitting, I was finally able to change colors on my mohair scarf.  I'm knitting with one strand of a pretty turquoise, and one strand of a bright green.  I've had some issues with the mohair sticking to itself, tangling, and getting in my eyes and mouth, so this will probably be the last project I knit with mohair for quite a while.  But there's no denying the absolute softness, and I know I'll love it once I'm finished:

It looks better in person; I took these pictures on a very cloudy, rainy day, so the light wasn't great.

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Paco sleeps very happily in his crate most nights, so if he's crying/whining, I figure something's wrong - either he has to go to the bathroom, or he's barfed.  Last weekend in the middle of the night he was crying so Jeff got up with him (I was not pretending to be asleep, I swear I really was sleeping)(that time, anyway).  Paco bolted to the back door, Jeff let him out, and very quickly realized that he was chasing an animal in the backyard - I guess he heard it from his crate?  At that point I did wake up to hear Jeff trying to get him back inside, because it was an armadillo that Paco was going after!  Yes, I live in Texas, but we don't have armadillos in our yard that often.  Still, they are mean creatures with very sharp teeth, and I know Paco would lose if he got too close to one.  The next night?  Paco woke up and was whining again!  I think he just wanted another chance to find the dang armadillo.  And speaking of armadillos, a strange tradition here in Texas is that many people have a red velvet-flavored, armadillo-shaped, groom's cake at wedding receptions, like this:

 

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Sometimes they're dead, like this:

 

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The other weird thing (I know, like this isn't weird enough) is that the cake inside is usually red velvet, which is another phenomenon that I never experienced until I moved to Texas.  The first time I had a piece of red velvet cake was within the first few months of living here - someone brought a red velvet sheet cake to a Christmas party.  I was all, "oooh, sounds so luxurious!" but what it is, is a cocoa-flavored cake that has about half a bottle of red food coloring in it.  Bizarre.

And this is where my mind goes when Paco chases an armadillo.  All roads lead to food. 

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Workout Update

I'm getting a little grumpy about my body.  Why?  Because my hamstring is starting to squawk again.  And seriously, if that bugger cannot handle me running a tiny bit faster than I have been, well...Cranky Shelley is going to come out in full force.  I'm telling you, it's ridiculous!  The most I've run at one time is three miles.  THREE MILES.  The only thing slightly different I've done is to increase my overall pace a little - it's picked up by about one minute per mile - but I'm still doing 1:1 intervals.  And lest anyone thing I'm speeding along, I'm not - well, for me I am, but I'm averaging 13:30/mile.  So what the hell, hamstring??  You are being so dumb.

Aside from that hamstring business, running has been really fun.  Jenny and I decided that Thursdays are our "push it" days, where we run hard; Tuesdays, we pretty much talk the entire time we're running, so obviously we're taking it easy.  Doing the walking warm up before each run has helped tremendously with not having my Achilles/heel/ankle scream at me for the first mile of the run; I'm so sold on this that I'm trying to figure out how to encourage our USAFit peeps to arrive early and get a nice walking warm up in.  I have until July to come up with a plan...any suggestions?

On Saturday, Jeff ran with Andi and I.  Amy and Julia were off doing a trail run (trail might be a bit of a stretch, but it was off-road, through a pecan farm); five others from our group were either ahead of us or behind us as we all ran.  Beautiful weather, nice cool morning, and low humidity - just a lovely day to be outside, running with my friends.  I will never be a speedster, I will never have the means nor the body to run a half in all 50 states, I will never win my age group - but none of that is important to me.  What I love is the camaraderie and friendship that comes with running, and I'm so grateful that I get to experience that on a regular basis.  Now, if my hamstring would just continue to cooperate, that would be peachy.

AIM: Is Vanity Fair?

Our topic for this month is vanity.  Does it play a role in weight maintenance?  For most of us, it certainly was a factor in weight loss...after all, I'm pretty sure none of us felt like we were looking our best when we were at our peak weight.  And I certainly liked seeing myself looking better and better as the weight came off - shopping for clothes was much more enjoyable, I wore complete outfits, including accessories, and I grew my hair longer.  It was fun, and I really liked what I saw in the mirror - yes, some might call it vain, but I would say it was more of an appreciation for the new me.

So, now that the newness has worn off, is vanity still an issue when it comes to weight maintenance?  Heck yes!  I have definitely slacked off somewhat in the area of clothing - partly because I no longer work and don't have as many opportunities to dress nicely (Jeff is gone a lot and Paco loves me no matter what I wear), but I still enjoy dressing - well, not exactly up, but at least nicely - when I leave the house.  Pretty much the only time you'll find me looking less-than put together is if I'm running errands (or eating breakfast) after a run...and even then, I can guarantee that my socks, shirt and headband will be coordinated. 

Reading this, some of you may be thinking "who cares, really?" - and I get that.  I know that no one is judging me because of what I'm wearing.  But I feel good about myself when I'm pulled together, and feeling good about myself makes me tend toward taking better care in all areas - food choices, exercise, sleep habits - which in turn helps me maintain this healthy way of living.  And that's what it's all about!

AIM: Adventures in Maintenance is Lynn, Lori, Debby, Shelley, and Cammy, former weight-loss bloggers who now write about life in maintenance. We formed AIM to work together to turn up the volume on the issues facing people in weight maintenance. We publish a post on the same topic on the first Monday of each month. Let us know if there is a topic you'd like us to address - here's the link to our Ask Us (almost) Anything form - click here and ask away!

Friday Mishmash

I made a pillow this week - and I was in shock when I finished, because holy crap, it actually came out the way I envisioned it!  I am not skilled, nor experienced, when it comes to sewing...I know just enough to know that there IS a way to do something, but I don't know what that way is.  So, I thought and thought, and discussed what I wanted to do with my mom, Debby and Barbara, looked at several tutorials online, thought some more, and finally just started doing it - and color me surprised when it came together!  This was my inspiration piece, and where I got the download of the free anchor pattern:

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And this is my version:

 Front

Back

Side - I was able to get the stripes to match up!

Close up of the zigzag around the anchor.

Originally I was going to topstitch the anchor (after fusing it to the fabric) like in the inspiration piece, but made a last-minute change.  It was a little challenging going around the curved areas, but I had some moral support:

Stopped to let my racing pulse rest (it was nerve-wracking doing this part!) and Paco was immediately up and making sure everything was OK.

 Part way through the zigzagging. 

To say that I'm pleased with this would be an understatement.  I even managed to do the red edge trim, which I talked myself out of many times over the course of this coming together.  Quite happy I went for it as I think it really finishes the look of the pillow.  Sewing is still very outside of my comfort zone, but I still have two more that I want to make to complete this set (it's for the guest bed in my son's NC place), so I'll be continuing on with this confidence-building endeavor.

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Thanks to my friend Stephanie and her top-loading washer, I was able to felt the bowls I knitted!  I love how they came out - the flower bowls were a new pattern and I'm going to play with yarn colors and weights a bit more, but overall, not bad for a first attempt:

Paco took time to stop and smell the flowers...

The round bowls - I love.  They just make me happy:

I thought it was only appropriate to use one to hold some of my knitting supplies.

Artsy shots:

 

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I promise this isn't completely turning into a craft blog, but hey, that's what the mishmash is all about - random things I've doing, or find entertaining, or (of course) pictures of Paco.  Speaking of that dog, he's a mess.  Last week he was playing in the front yard with his buddy Ginger...Jeff was doing yard work, and Ginger's human sister was watching them.  Well, Ginger decided (as she is wont to do) to take off, and Paco went with her!  Normally he hesitates when they reach the end of our street - I think he likes us so much that he really is torn about leaving - but this time, he followed her.  He got several hundred feet away before Jeff saw what was happening and called him home.  Ginger is a running fool and her people had to get in their car to go catch her - she's super fast.

Here's Paco posing by a new plant we put in recently:

See Mom?  I be gud.  You take all da picturs you want.  Not going anywhere.

Here's my pretty pink calla lillies that we also planted - I don't have a lot of hope that they'll survive the summer, but the plant was super cheap, so I threw caution to the wind and tried one:

These are the second set of blooms - maybe it will surprise me and last.  I go outside and encourage it every couple of days...hey, you never know!

Have a great weekend!