Had a wonderful time at Strength and Stretch today. It focuses and centers me. I didn't use enough weight for the weight portion because I didn't know what she was going to do. Next time I will get 10#, 12#, and 15# weights and see which ones I need as the class goes on.
I've gotten some good things for breakfast. First I found an instant oatmeal without preservatives (took me about 5 minutes of standing in the breakfast aisle to find one). Then I got eggs and hard boiled them. I use just the white and have that with a packet of oatmeal. I've been pretty good about eating the past few days. The only thing that sticks out is the Indian buffet Wednesday, when I ate a little more than I should have. But I had a small dinner that evening and I haven't snacked at night.
Tomorrow I will ride the bike or do elliptical. It's getting too cold out to run. Yesterday I took a long walk and it was pretty brisk. Today is really pretty, though, my favorite kind of fall day. Cool and bright.
The first read through of Drag is happening Sunday night--Halloween. I'm excited about it. I wonder who Jeff has gotten to play all the parts. We've run into some problems with people not being able to do it because they're involved in other shows. We have a talented group of actors, and it's not a surprise they're in high demand.
Fire is turning out the be really good. I talked to Mom about the voice question and she said the author's voice comes through--the translator should have nothing to do with it. It's still really spooky, though. I'm avoiding reading it too much. Tomorrow I want to take a bubble bath and read it, though.
I'm going to see "The Farnsworth Invention" tonight and I'm leaving in a bit, so--
Hanging up now...
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Weighed in at 150.6 today. A nice weight, but I want more! I'm hoping for just plain 150 next week. I probably really *do* weigh 150, because I'm not getting weighed right after I get up before I've eaten anything. I'm not stepping on my own scale any more--it broke and I just didn't get it replaced. So I'm back to weighing myself a couple times a week, although the only number that really "counts" is the MAC weight.
Haven't had any more whiffs from the stinky smoker. I don't know if it was a false alarm, a visitor, or if they're just going outside or something. I hope it was a false alarm. There was definitely a stale smell though. Not sure what it was from if not smoke.
I am not going to listen to my Christian radio station any more. A commercial came on for a Halloween play Mount Hope is going to do (Mount Hope does Christmas and Easter plays and has a big budget). This "play" is designed to scare the bejeezus out of kids. The announcer says something like, "This is the season for things that go bump in the night....Come to Mount Hope and see there are absolutes: right and wrong, black and white, and ultimately, Heaven and Hell!" I can just see some poor kid traumatized by his church's portrayal of Satan. These are the same people that think trick-or-treating is a sin. They don't have a problem with putting the fear of God into kids by taking them to a "show" as scary as The Blair Witch Project. I didn't know whether to laugh or be livid. Some of both, I guess. No more 88.1! Smile FM indeed.
ANYway...J.D. has my pictures on a DVD for me. I'll hopefully be able to pick it up tomorrow or the next day. There are over 600 images! I knew we took a lot of pictures but I had no idea it was that many. No wonder I was so tired when I got home. That's a lot of smiling!
Worked with Remya yesterday. She has come so far. We did two vocab lessons and I gave her lots of homework: Write sentences for both sets of words, finish a set of exercises we didn't get to, and take a test that covers the first 6 lessons we have done. She may not be able to do the last section of the test because it is rather complicated, so I told her we could do it together next week if she can't understand it.
I went to a lunch with a friend Monday. He is a great guy. He's over 80 years old but he's in amazing shape. He weighs only 2 lbs. more than I do! We talked about ideal weights and I said I'd like to be 145. He was skeptical about this. He thinks I could weigh less. I said 135 was my "magic number"--it's what I weighed when I graduated high school. He thinks I could be 135 again. I don't know about that. My body has changed since I was in high school--I have a lot more muscle. To be 135 I would have to lose 15 lbs. I've already lost 16 but that was from 166. It's harder to lose when your body gets closer to what it "should" be. But then again, what is "should"? If I eat REALLY clean and work out hard, is it possible to be 135? It's amazing to think about. Let's think about this in five-pound increments. I'm now just over 150, and I'm aiming for 145. I weighed 140 all the way through college up to 1997 (when I ballooned up to 190 because of terrible eating habits and no exercise.) I've come down from that back to 140 in 2002, so I know I can be 140 again. So let's say I can be at 145 by January and 140 by April. Maybe, just maybe, I can be at 135 by next summer. It depends on eating and exercising. I've changed the way I do cardio lately--made it more intense and varied. I want to keep doing the classes and working with Stephanie. NO fast food, NO soda, NO coffee drinks. And very little eating out where I don't know what I'm getting. I find myself planning my day of meals more. Today I had a protein shake for breakfast, Indian buffet with Stephanie for lunch, apple and peanut butter for a snack, and I'm going to have blackeye peas, rice, and greens for dinner (after talking with my sister today, I feel a little Southern fried). I need a better cereal--the one I have now is full of sugar, even though it looks healthy. I used to eat a lot of Kashi but I don't find it tastes very good. I think I'm going to start eating more oatmeal and maybe egg whites. I can hard boil eggs and just scoop the yolk out--I've done this before.
Everyone has the right to look the way they want to look. I'm not being superficial when I say this. I'm talking about everyone from the kid who dyes her hair blue to the competitive bodybuilder (sans steroids, of course), from the guy who grows his hair long to the woman who gets Lasik. And I choose to be a blue eyed, brown haired, fit-looking 40 year old. (I need a new profile picture. That picture was taken a few years ago when I was blonde and weighed about 160.)If you are overweight, you have the ability--and I would say the duty to yourself--to change that. Stephanie talked today about how she would totally support a sin tax on stuff like chips and soda. It would never go over, of course, but I think it's a great idea. We are such an unhealthy nation! Think of the lines at the McDonald's drive through. I saw the choices for lunch at Okemos High School, and they had cake and chips and a pop machine around every corner. I was brought up by healthy parents who made healthy food choices for us. Candy was an Easter and Halloween thing. We ate wheat bread and I don't think I ever saw whole milk at our house. (Always 2 %.) And there was lots and lots of fruit. You can see the reflection of my upbringing in the food I have in my kitchen. Almonds, beans, and dried cranberries in the pantry; wheat bread, apples, 2 % cheese and skim milk in the fridge; no crackers, chips, cookies, or soda.
....So maybe 135 is in my grasp. Both Mom and Margaret are at their optimal weight. Why don't I join them?
Hanging up now...
Haven't had any more whiffs from the stinky smoker. I don't know if it was a false alarm, a visitor, or if they're just going outside or something. I hope it was a false alarm. There was definitely a stale smell though. Not sure what it was from if not smoke.
I am not going to listen to my Christian radio station any more. A commercial came on for a Halloween play Mount Hope is going to do (Mount Hope does Christmas and Easter plays and has a big budget). This "play" is designed to scare the bejeezus out of kids. The announcer says something like, "This is the season for things that go bump in the night....Come to Mount Hope and see there are absolutes: right and wrong, black and white, and ultimately, Heaven and Hell!" I can just see some poor kid traumatized by his church's portrayal of Satan. These are the same people that think trick-or-treating is a sin. They don't have a problem with putting the fear of God into kids by taking them to a "show" as scary as The Blair Witch Project. I didn't know whether to laugh or be livid. Some of both, I guess. No more 88.1! Smile FM indeed.
ANYway...J.D. has my pictures on a DVD for me. I'll hopefully be able to pick it up tomorrow or the next day. There are over 600 images! I knew we took a lot of pictures but I had no idea it was that many. No wonder I was so tired when I got home. That's a lot of smiling!
Worked with Remya yesterday. She has come so far. We did two vocab lessons and I gave her lots of homework: Write sentences for both sets of words, finish a set of exercises we didn't get to, and take a test that covers the first 6 lessons we have done. She may not be able to do the last section of the test because it is rather complicated, so I told her we could do it together next week if she can't understand it.
I went to a lunch with a friend Monday. He is a great guy. He's over 80 years old but he's in amazing shape. He weighs only 2 lbs. more than I do! We talked about ideal weights and I said I'd like to be 145. He was skeptical about this. He thinks I could weigh less. I said 135 was my "magic number"--it's what I weighed when I graduated high school. He thinks I could be 135 again. I don't know about that. My body has changed since I was in high school--I have a lot more muscle. To be 135 I would have to lose 15 lbs. I've already lost 16 but that was from 166. It's harder to lose when your body gets closer to what it "should" be. But then again, what is "should"? If I eat REALLY clean and work out hard, is it possible to be 135? It's amazing to think about. Let's think about this in five-pound increments. I'm now just over 150, and I'm aiming for 145. I weighed 140 all the way through college up to 1997 (when I ballooned up to 190 because of terrible eating habits and no exercise.) I've come down from that back to 140 in 2002, so I know I can be 140 again. So let's say I can be at 145 by January and 140 by April. Maybe, just maybe, I can be at 135 by next summer. It depends on eating and exercising. I've changed the way I do cardio lately--made it more intense and varied. I want to keep doing the classes and working with Stephanie. NO fast food, NO soda, NO coffee drinks. And very little eating out where I don't know what I'm getting. I find myself planning my day of meals more. Today I had a protein shake for breakfast, Indian buffet with Stephanie for lunch, apple and peanut butter for a snack, and I'm going to have blackeye peas, rice, and greens for dinner (after talking with my sister today, I feel a little Southern fried). I need a better cereal--the one I have now is full of sugar, even though it looks healthy. I used to eat a lot of Kashi but I don't find it tastes very good. I think I'm going to start eating more oatmeal and maybe egg whites. I can hard boil eggs and just scoop the yolk out--I've done this before.
Everyone has the right to look the way they want to look. I'm not being superficial when I say this. I'm talking about everyone from the kid who dyes her hair blue to the competitive bodybuilder (sans steroids, of course), from the guy who grows his hair long to the woman who gets Lasik. And I choose to be a blue eyed, brown haired, fit-looking 40 year old. (I need a new profile picture. That picture was taken a few years ago when I was blonde and weighed about 160.)If you are overweight, you have the ability--and I would say the duty to yourself--to change that. Stephanie talked today about how she would totally support a sin tax on stuff like chips and soda. It would never go over, of course, but I think it's a great idea. We are such an unhealthy nation! Think of the lines at the McDonald's drive through. I saw the choices for lunch at Okemos High School, and they had cake and chips and a pop machine around every corner. I was brought up by healthy parents who made healthy food choices for us. Candy was an Easter and Halloween thing. We ate wheat bread and I don't think I ever saw whole milk at our house. (Always 2 %.) And there was lots and lots of fruit. You can see the reflection of my upbringing in the food I have in my kitchen. Almonds, beans, and dried cranberries in the pantry; wheat bread, apples, 2 % cheese and skim milk in the fridge; no crackers, chips, cookies, or soda.
....So maybe 135 is in my grasp. Both Mom and Margaret are at their optimal weight. Why don't I join them?
Hanging up now...
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Stink, Stank, Stunk!
I want to start this entry by saying I love where I live and my neighbors are great. I have only had one instance where I had to knock on a neighbor's door and ask them to be quiet (it sounded like they were running a circular saw at 3 in the morning). My neighbors are mostly young families with quiet kids. So it's hard for me to bring up a problem with a neighbor.
Here's the problem: The person above me smokes. When I came home from visiting Kalamazoo earlier today, the apartment smelled stale. I thought it might be the litter so I changed it, opened the sliding glass door to let the air come in through the screen door, and lit some candles. It smelled fresh for a while but it smelled stale again when I got back from working out. I finally recognized the stale smell of smoke.
Now, I have to confess something here. I used to smoke. I have smoked in apartments and houses before, and I understand that when you smoke, you aren't as aware of the smell. But now that I've quit I'm hypersensitive to it, and I think it stinks. It's just a stale smell. And even though they may be a floor away, the smell still seeps through.
What can I do about this? I can't knock on their door and ask them to quit like I asked the guys to stop making noise. But to me, there is a similarity. It's different when you live in a house and there aren't people close by. But when it's an apartment situation,where we're all living so close together, I wish there was another solution. It's hard for smokers right now because there aren't many places to smoke other than their own homes. I wish we could do something like having a building set aside for smokers. Then they wouldn't notice the smell and it wouldn't bother them if their apartment was stale.
Another concern I have is safety. A friend of mine was burned out of his apartment in a fire started by a cigarette. I have renters' insurance but it would still be devastating to lose everything--and I might lose Spot. That would be terrible.
So this is what's going through my head right now, as the stale smell wafts into my place. I hope I'm able to vanquish the smell by opening up to the breeze and using various air freshening products (I will look at finding incense I like too). For now I'm going to post this and go to bed, trying not to breathe too deep.
Hanging up now....
Here's the problem: The person above me smokes. When I came home from visiting Kalamazoo earlier today, the apartment smelled stale. I thought it might be the litter so I changed it, opened the sliding glass door to let the air come in through the screen door, and lit some candles. It smelled fresh for a while but it smelled stale again when I got back from working out. I finally recognized the stale smell of smoke.
Now, I have to confess something here. I used to smoke. I have smoked in apartments and houses before, and I understand that when you smoke, you aren't as aware of the smell. But now that I've quit I'm hypersensitive to it, and I think it stinks. It's just a stale smell. And even though they may be a floor away, the smell still seeps through.
What can I do about this? I can't knock on their door and ask them to quit like I asked the guys to stop making noise. But to me, there is a similarity. It's different when you live in a house and there aren't people close by. But when it's an apartment situation,where we're all living so close together, I wish there was another solution. It's hard for smokers right now because there aren't many places to smoke other than their own homes. I wish we could do something like having a building set aside for smokers. Then they wouldn't notice the smell and it wouldn't bother them if their apartment was stale.
Another concern I have is safety. A friend of mine was burned out of his apartment in a fire started by a cigarette. I have renters' insurance but it would still be devastating to lose everything--and I might lose Spot. That would be terrible.
So this is what's going through my head right now, as the stale smell wafts into my place. I hope I'm able to vanquish the smell by opening up to the breeze and using various air freshening products (I will look at finding incense I like too). For now I'm going to post this and go to bed, trying not to breathe too deep.
Hanging up now....
Sunday, October 17, 2010
And the fun continues...
My fortieth year is shaping up great so far. Thursday night, the 14th, I had a party at Buddies and a bunch of people came. Julie had taken me out to lunch earlier in the day and I told her I wanted to wear a tiara that night, but I didn't know where to get one. She said, "Go to Claire's in the mall." So I went and lo and behold, they had five or six to choose from! I got a nice sparkly one. I was so excited the whole day so it seemed to go s-l-o-w-l-y. Finally 9 rolled around and I headed out. There were a few of my friends there when I got there. More people joined us as the night went on and the joint filled up. Romeo referred to me as the "birthday princess". Adam sang a new song and Julie, a karaoke virgin, sang with Gordo and me. Right when we were getting ready to leave, at midnight, Tim got there. He had just gotten off work. He brought some nice presents for me. I had said in the invite I didn't want anyone to bring presents but he did anyway. It was sweet. He walked me out to my car and then went back in to enjoy his nachos.
Friday I went over to J.D. Small's to get my head shots done. He has done them before and I've been happy with them. We did outside and inside shots, color and black and white. It was quite something tramping around in the woods to our different locations. At one point I was leaning on a small tree that hung over a ravine and I could just see the tree breaking and tumbling me into the ravine. That would have made a good picture!
He will put them on a disc and I can choose which ones I want. Then he will make a couple hard copies. I realized I will be able to send out any pic I want from that disc to potential companies. One of the reasons I wanted to get them done is that there are a couple theaters around here that want head shots for auditions, and I haven't done them partly because I don't have a recent head shot. I would like to get into the film industry that is here as some of my friends have. The Republican candidate for governor wants to cut this industry out of Michigan. He thinks it's unnecessary, but he doesn't seem to understand how many people the industry employs and how good it is for Michigan. We need people coming here to see how wonderful Michigan and its people are.
I haven't gotten in the gym enough this week. I worked out with Stephanie Wednesday and walked on Thursday, but I didn't get in after that til today. I went hard on the elliptical. My heart rate stayed in the upper part of the cardiovascular range for most of the workout. Average hr was 140-something. Tomorrow is Interval and I will definitely be up for that.
I have to get email addresses to Tatanisha at Gateway for references. I got the personal reference to her, now I just have to do employers. I have to do this SOON though! I told her I could start right away so it is just up to me to get these in. It's hard b/c I mainly work for myself so I have to use my students as references. And most of them don't have a very good command of the language. They will do pretty well in emails, though, I think.
My friend Steve's birthday is just three days after mine so yesterday he had a party at his house. I got there first and got to meet his parents. He gave me the tour and showed me what I call his "nerd furniture". These are basically bookcases for a collector's figures and comics. The ones he showed me had glass shelves for figurines and pull-out drawers for storing comic books. One also had a shelf underneath the glass one where he had regular books. He let me hold one and it was very heavy--showing how much the shelf could hold. In short, they are very well made and he is trying to build a business. I would love to get one, but I don't have that much stuff. I really want one where I can display my graphic novels. I don't want them hidden away in a drawer, but displayed flat on newsstand shelves. So maybe I will commission something. :) Yeah, right, with what money?
Adam got there next and the three of us played croquet. I basically sucked. Steve won the first one but Adam caught on quick and won the second game. More people started to roll in around 5 or 6. I stayed until around 10 or 10:30. It was a good time.
Today I got up early (for me) and went to the gym and did laundry. I've still got the last load in. I've also been playing a lot of FB. A lot. I have been trying to read more but it's so easy to be passive and just flip through people's pictures or whatever. Right now I'm reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire." I've read Dragon Tattoo and now I'm on the second one. I think I like it better than the first. The theme of violence against women is back and it's still just as disturbing. I wonder how much of the writing can be attributed to the writer and how much to the translator. I mean, when you read a sentence, the words are not really the original writer's, are they? Or is the translator simply passing the words from one language to another, letting the author's voice be heard? I don't know the answer to this question. May be something to take up with another reader.
Today was "church day" again, and again I didn't go. I guess I don't consider myself a member of OCC anymore. I still get the newsletter and stupid letters asking for money. I just laugh at the money grubbing letters and throw them out. I haven't looked at the newsletters either; I just put them into the recycle box.
Some insights I've had into the Christian community...I listen to the local Christian radio station periodically and heard a song today that made me think. The lyric goes, "One day every tongue will confess you are God/One day every knee will bow/Still the greatest treasure belongs to those/Who gladly choose you now." Hmmm. Is it really true that those who accept Jesus NOW will be favored? Or is the writer saying the treasure is having Jesus in our lives NOW if we accept him? What exactly does "treasure" refer to?
Also, I watched a video for a Christian song a friend posted on FB a few nights ago. The video takes place aboard a crashing plane. The passengers decide to celebrate rather than die in fear, because they believe they are going to Heaven, which is the best place to be. The video had some really cool childlike animation of planes crashing, not in a scary way but in a sort of playful way. The last animated image was of the plane splashing into the sea, releasing all these circles (bubbles?) that rose into the sky past a smiling cloud.
Okay, so on the one hand this video shows us that death is nothing to fear because we have Heaven to look forward to. (The song is kind of catchy too.) But what is the real message? We should look forward to death? Death is more exciting than life? To me, this video came off as a little death-worshipping. I believe in making life beautiful, and whether or not there is an afterlife really doesn't matter. If there is one, and we have worked hard to make our lives the best we can, touching others and choosing to be happy, then we will be gladly accepted into that afterlife.
I don't know, mostly this video just made me feel weird. To me, there's nothing joyful about a plane crash. I don't think there were many people rejoicing on September 11.
And in other news...we have been having wonderful weather. Temps in the 60s, blue skies. Tomorrow it may be a little grubby at first but it's supposed to get nicer. So it may be yucky on my way to Interval but nice on the way back. I'd like these temperatures to stick around for a while. It's lovely to be able to take a walk outside and look at all the pretty colors. November will be here soon enough, with its bleak skies and brown trees. So we should have nice, blue, cool but not cold days until then.
Hanging up now...
Friday I went over to J.D. Small's to get my head shots done. He has done them before and I've been happy with them. We did outside and inside shots, color and black and white. It was quite something tramping around in the woods to our different locations. At one point I was leaning on a small tree that hung over a ravine and I could just see the tree breaking and tumbling me into the ravine. That would have made a good picture!
He will put them on a disc and I can choose which ones I want. Then he will make a couple hard copies. I realized I will be able to send out any pic I want from that disc to potential companies. One of the reasons I wanted to get them done is that there are a couple theaters around here that want head shots for auditions, and I haven't done them partly because I don't have a recent head shot. I would like to get into the film industry that is here as some of my friends have. The Republican candidate for governor wants to cut this industry out of Michigan. He thinks it's unnecessary, but he doesn't seem to understand how many people the industry employs and how good it is for Michigan. We need people coming here to see how wonderful Michigan and its people are.
I haven't gotten in the gym enough this week. I worked out with Stephanie Wednesday and walked on Thursday, but I didn't get in after that til today. I went hard on the elliptical. My heart rate stayed in the upper part of the cardiovascular range for most of the workout. Average hr was 140-something. Tomorrow is Interval and I will definitely be up for that.
I have to get email addresses to Tatanisha at Gateway for references. I got the personal reference to her, now I just have to do employers. I have to do this SOON though! I told her I could start right away so it is just up to me to get these in. It's hard b/c I mainly work for myself so I have to use my students as references. And most of them don't have a very good command of the language. They will do pretty well in emails, though, I think.
My friend Steve's birthday is just three days after mine so yesterday he had a party at his house. I got there first and got to meet his parents. He gave me the tour and showed me what I call his "nerd furniture". These are basically bookcases for a collector's figures and comics. The ones he showed me had glass shelves for figurines and pull-out drawers for storing comic books. One also had a shelf underneath the glass one where he had regular books. He let me hold one and it was very heavy--showing how much the shelf could hold. In short, they are very well made and he is trying to build a business. I would love to get one, but I don't have that much stuff. I really want one where I can display my graphic novels. I don't want them hidden away in a drawer, but displayed flat on newsstand shelves. So maybe I will commission something. :) Yeah, right, with what money?
Adam got there next and the three of us played croquet. I basically sucked. Steve won the first one but Adam caught on quick and won the second game. More people started to roll in around 5 or 6. I stayed until around 10 or 10:30. It was a good time.
Today I got up early (for me) and went to the gym and did laundry. I've still got the last load in. I've also been playing a lot of FB. A lot. I have been trying to read more but it's so easy to be passive and just flip through people's pictures or whatever. Right now I'm reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire." I've read Dragon Tattoo and now I'm on the second one. I think I like it better than the first. The theme of violence against women is back and it's still just as disturbing. I wonder how much of the writing can be attributed to the writer and how much to the translator. I mean, when you read a sentence, the words are not really the original writer's, are they? Or is the translator simply passing the words from one language to another, letting the author's voice be heard? I don't know the answer to this question. May be something to take up with another reader.
Today was "church day" again, and again I didn't go. I guess I don't consider myself a member of OCC anymore. I still get the newsletter and stupid letters asking for money. I just laugh at the money grubbing letters and throw them out. I haven't looked at the newsletters either; I just put them into the recycle box.
Some insights I've had into the Christian community...I listen to the local Christian radio station periodically and heard a song today that made me think. The lyric goes, "One day every tongue will confess you are God/One day every knee will bow/Still the greatest treasure belongs to those/Who gladly choose you now." Hmmm. Is it really true that those who accept Jesus NOW will be favored? Or is the writer saying the treasure is having Jesus in our lives NOW if we accept him? What exactly does "treasure" refer to?
Also, I watched a video for a Christian song a friend posted on FB a few nights ago. The video takes place aboard a crashing plane. The passengers decide to celebrate rather than die in fear, because they believe they are going to Heaven, which is the best place to be. The video had some really cool childlike animation of planes crashing, not in a scary way but in a sort of playful way. The last animated image was of the plane splashing into the sea, releasing all these circles (bubbles?) that rose into the sky past a smiling cloud.
Okay, so on the one hand this video shows us that death is nothing to fear because we have Heaven to look forward to. (The song is kind of catchy too.) But what is the real message? We should look forward to death? Death is more exciting than life? To me, this video came off as a little death-worshipping. I believe in making life beautiful, and whether or not there is an afterlife really doesn't matter. If there is one, and we have worked hard to make our lives the best we can, touching others and choosing to be happy, then we will be gladly accepted into that afterlife.
I don't know, mostly this video just made me feel weird. To me, there's nothing joyful about a plane crash. I don't think there were many people rejoicing on September 11.
And in other news...we have been having wonderful weather. Temps in the 60s, blue skies. Tomorrow it may be a little grubby at first but it's supposed to get nicer. So it may be yucky on my way to Interval but nice on the way back. I'd like these temperatures to stick around for a while. It's lovely to be able to take a walk outside and look at all the pretty colors. November will be here soon enough, with its bleak skies and brown trees. So we should have nice, blue, cool but not cold days until then.
Hanging up now...
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Today's the day!
Happy birthday to meeeee!!! It was a great day. First off I had an interview at Gateway. I may be working in a classroom with emotionally impaired kids helping them put their feelings about their difficult experiences on paper. It's a great way to combine my skill of writing with my drive to work with marginalized kids. I really feel good about the interview; I think I interview well. It will be a part-time job so I will be able to continue tutoring.
Then I went for a great workout with Stephanie. Turns out I have lost 3 pounds in the past week, from 154 to 151. That means I only have 2 pounds to lose to win the bet, which, if I keep this up, I can lose by next week. And then it's only 4 more pounds to 145! My fat % also went down, although my measurements stayed about the same. I really want to get my waist measurement down. Even when I read a number on the scale I like, I will still be working on my measurements. There's always something to work on. I don't say this in an obsessive or unhealthy way. It's just important to set goals and it's fun to reach them. I got two pairs of size 10 jeans for my birthday and that makes me feel great. I have gone from a 14 to a 10 in a year and I want to be an 8 by summer 2011. That's the size I'd like to be permanently. I've been getting a lot of support from friends and family on FB, and that helps a lot.
After my workout, I showered at the MAC. They have a really nice facility for that. There are private showers, and there is a wonderful coconut shampoo you can use. I used that and my own body wash. Then it was off to dinner with friends. It was Stephanie, her new man Jeff, Heidi, and Adam. Stephanie paid for my dinner, a surprise. I tried fried pickles for the first time. They were good! I also had a portabello mushroom wrap and sweet potato fries. The wrap wasn't that great, but the fries were good. And the company was fun. We all talked and got along even though we weren't necessarily a conventional group of friends (meaning, they all knew me but didn't know each other very well.)
So now I'm relaxing, collecting my thoughts in the last few minutes of the first day of my fortieth year. Everybody has said that I seem a lot younger. I feel young. I feel loved. I feel healthy. I feel strong. I feel good.
Then I went for a great workout with Stephanie. Turns out I have lost 3 pounds in the past week, from 154 to 151. That means I only have 2 pounds to lose to win the bet, which, if I keep this up, I can lose by next week. And then it's only 4 more pounds to 145! My fat % also went down, although my measurements stayed about the same. I really want to get my waist measurement down. Even when I read a number on the scale I like, I will still be working on my measurements. There's always something to work on. I don't say this in an obsessive or unhealthy way. It's just important to set goals and it's fun to reach them. I got two pairs of size 10 jeans for my birthday and that makes me feel great. I have gone from a 14 to a 10 in a year and I want to be an 8 by summer 2011. That's the size I'd like to be permanently. I've been getting a lot of support from friends and family on FB, and that helps a lot.
After my workout, I showered at the MAC. They have a really nice facility for that. There are private showers, and there is a wonderful coconut shampoo you can use. I used that and my own body wash. Then it was off to dinner with friends. It was Stephanie, her new man Jeff, Heidi, and Adam. Stephanie paid for my dinner, a surprise. I tried fried pickles for the first time. They were good! I also had a portabello mushroom wrap and sweet potato fries. The wrap wasn't that great, but the fries were good. And the company was fun. We all talked and got along even though we weren't necessarily a conventional group of friends (meaning, they all knew me but didn't know each other very well.)
So now I'm relaxing, collecting my thoughts in the last few minutes of the first day of my fortieth year. Everybody has said that I seem a lot younger. I feel young. I feel loved. I feel healthy. I feel strong. I feel good.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Ahhh...
Counting down...only three more days. Or is it two? I don't know whether to count the 13th or not. At any rate, I will be 40 on Wednesday. It feels pretty cool. I had a wonderful weekend. I did S & S before I left, which felt great. The class energizes and focuses me. I had an easy trip over, getting to K-zoo around 4. We got out on the lake around 5:30. Anita, my folks' neighbor, went with us. She's Bailey's mom. We caught a nice mess, but we joked about our high number of little fish caught. We agreed that I won the contest with a catch that was about two inches long!
Mom was still up when we got home so we got to talk for a while. I had gotten sushi for our dinner and we had that and chatted. Went to bed around 11 after having a nice relaxing bath in their Jacuzzi. Saturday Dad and I went to the Nature Center to watch some researchers band birds. We got to hold a few and we talked to the researchers about the project. I found it very interesting that one of them blew on the birds' feathers to part them so she could see how much fat the bird had. She then assigned the amount a number such as 0 or 3.
We got back to the condo around 2 and Mom got back from the bookstore at 2:30. She started the spaghetti sauce and we let it simmer while we watched the game. What a game! I rooted for the Spartans and loved it when MSU won. I went to both schools but I live in Spartan country, and I truly love MSU. We totally deserved to win the game--we played great. Mom, Dad and I started eating when halftime ended. I ate very carefully, eating one helping of everything. I took a kind of big piece of cheesecake but I felt I deserved it. I only have one birthday a year, after all! We joked because Mom put blue and yellow candles on the cake. She said, "Oh, isn't blue your favorite color? And isn't yellow your second favorite color?" Dad made the point that when you combine blue and yellow you get green. GO GREEN! They showed a guy at the game who wore a shirt that was half Michigan and half State. I want that shirt! I will check around and see if I can find it.
I've been reading a friend's blog about his struggles in the L.A. entertainment world. He has had a lot of disappointments. It made me think about my time in CA and how much I wanted to be in that business. I got a part in a show and was so excited about it, only to be called by the director two weeks before we opened to tell me he was recasting the part. It almost ended my love of performing, and it certainly took away my drive for quite a while. I got my tattoos thinking I was done with theater so it didn't matter how I looked. I didn't get back into theater until 2002, having gotten kicked out of the show in 1997. Five years I was out. I love it and never want to give it up. But the thought of going back to CA to try in L.A. or something is just not on the horizon for me. I want to make a theater life HERE, doing shows and maybe getting work in TV and in movies as some of my friends have. And I want my plays to be done. I would not have time to write if I ran around all the time doing auditions. I'm submitting Checking Out to contests around the country to see what happens. I'm starting with CTAM. Uncommon Good is a CTAM award winner and I think CO can be too.
Well, tomorrow is Interval. Time to finish the cheesecake and go to bed.
Hanging up now...
Mom was still up when we got home so we got to talk for a while. I had gotten sushi for our dinner and we had that and chatted. Went to bed around 11 after having a nice relaxing bath in their Jacuzzi. Saturday Dad and I went to the Nature Center to watch some researchers band birds. We got to hold a few and we talked to the researchers about the project. I found it very interesting that one of them blew on the birds' feathers to part them so she could see how much fat the bird had. She then assigned the amount a number such as 0 or 3.
We got back to the condo around 2 and Mom got back from the bookstore at 2:30. She started the spaghetti sauce and we let it simmer while we watched the game. What a game! I rooted for the Spartans and loved it when MSU won. I went to both schools but I live in Spartan country, and I truly love MSU. We totally deserved to win the game--we played great. Mom, Dad and I started eating when halftime ended. I ate very carefully, eating one helping of everything. I took a kind of big piece of cheesecake but I felt I deserved it. I only have one birthday a year, after all! We joked because Mom put blue and yellow candles on the cake. She said, "Oh, isn't blue your favorite color? And isn't yellow your second favorite color?" Dad made the point that when you combine blue and yellow you get green. GO GREEN! They showed a guy at the game who wore a shirt that was half Michigan and half State. I want that shirt! I will check around and see if I can find it.
I've been reading a friend's blog about his struggles in the L.A. entertainment world. He has had a lot of disappointments. It made me think about my time in CA and how much I wanted to be in that business. I got a part in a show and was so excited about it, only to be called by the director two weeks before we opened to tell me he was recasting the part. It almost ended my love of performing, and it certainly took away my drive for quite a while. I got my tattoos thinking I was done with theater so it didn't matter how I looked. I didn't get back into theater until 2002, having gotten kicked out of the show in 1997. Five years I was out. I love it and never want to give it up. But the thought of going back to CA to try in L.A. or something is just not on the horizon for me. I want to make a theater life HERE, doing shows and maybe getting work in TV and in movies as some of my friends have. And I want my plays to be done. I would not have time to write if I ran around all the time doing auditions. I'm submitting Checking Out to contests around the country to see what happens. I'm starting with CTAM. Uncommon Good is a CTAM award winner and I think CO can be too.
Well, tomorrow is Interval. Time to finish the cheesecake and go to bed.
Hanging up now...
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Much Ado about run run
I did the new course today. Walked quite a bit of it, and it took me an hour. I wish I could have run more, but at least I did it. And now I have a new goal: to run at least half of it in the next few weeks. I want to run more like twice a week again. I haven't been going for quite a while, and today is one of the dwindling number of nice days we have left.
I'm getting my head shots done next Friday...looking forward to that. Today I picked outfits consisting of two sweaters, my new corduroys, and a skirt. I can construct four outfits between those four pieces. We will be doing shots outside and in the studio. We will also most likely be doing full body shots as well as head shots, and using color as well as or instead of b/w. The last time we did it he just shot b/w head shots, but I have been seeing more color, full-body, and outside shots so I asked him if we could do that. He said that would be great. As the artistic director of my theater company said, "Just ask!"
Well, I just wanted to make a short entry before dinner. I don't know how much I'll be doing here this weekend, but when I come back I will have news of fish, game, and birthday dinner. See you Sunday!
Hanging up now...
I'm getting my head shots done next Friday...looking forward to that. Today I picked outfits consisting of two sweaters, my new corduroys, and a skirt. I can construct four outfits between those four pieces. We will be doing shots outside and in the studio. We will also most likely be doing full body shots as well as head shots, and using color as well as or instead of b/w. The last time we did it he just shot b/w head shots, but I have been seeing more color, full-body, and outside shots so I asked him if we could do that. He said that would be great. As the artistic director of my theater company said, "Just ask!"
Well, I just wanted to make a short entry before dinner. I don't know how much I'll be doing here this weekend, but when I come back I will have news of fish, game, and birthday dinner. See you Sunday!
Hanging up now...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Eeek! One Week!
So I'm only going to be 39 for one more week. It's pretty amazing. Like I've said before, I'm not really down about it. Kind of excited, actually. It's always fun to celebrate a birthday! There are about 12 people so far coming to my celebration at Buddies, and most everyone has said yes to my birthday dinner on the 13th. Part of me would like to have a loud rockin' dance party, but on the other hand, it's nice to be with just my best friends.
Weighed in at 154 today. Still a little high, still 9 pounds to go to reach my goal by November. When I first started to lose weight, I lost 9 pounds in 6 weeks. I have 4 weeks to lose 9 pounds; I don't think I'm going to make it. Well, it will happen eventually. I'm happy with the way I look, and that's more important than an arbitrary number on the scale. I'm down to a size 10 in pants so that is great. It's time to get some new jeans! That's one of the things I'll be scoring for my birthday.
Going home Friday to celebrate with the folks. Dad and I are going fishing Friday eve if it's not too cold. We have had great weather this week which will hopefully continue into this weekend. It's been pretty warm. So that would be good. Saturday we will watch the big UM-MSU game. It will be really exciting. The teams seem really equally matched. I'm kind of hoping MSU wins. Mom is rooting for UM, of course--she's a Michigan graduate. Dad graduated from Western so I don't think he cares either way. He'll just have to decide whether to side with his wife or his daughter. Could be tricky...
Mom is making me spaghetti and cheesecake. ONE helping of spaghetti and ONE piece of cheesecake, I think. I'd also like to walk with Mom Saturday. I did a fast walk today as well as working out with Stephanie. I have shaved down my time walking a mile. It used to take me 23-24 minutes, but now it takes me 20-21 minutes! Those few minutes off make me feel good. The faster the better. Burn, baby, burn!
And now on a more serious, less selfish note...I've been thinking about the rash of suicides lately. It's so hard to be a young person anyway, and to be growing up gay and surrounded by negative imagery of gays makes it umpteen times harder. Gays and straights have been responding to this crisis by speaking out, making videos, setting aside days of remembrance, pointing kids towards websites that can help them...but it feels like too little, too late. I remember reading (a long time ago) that one-third of teens that commit suicide are gay. Seems like that number has risen recently. You can call it bullying or hate crimes, but whatever it is, it has to stop. I was bullied as a teen, and it made my days pretty dark sometimes. But I got through it. And, to paraphrase a video addressing the issue, it has gotten better. I'm not confronted with hatred every day; as a matter of fact, I am surrounded by love and friendship. There may be people who don't like me or think I'm weird, but I really don't care. The world is a lot bigger than it was in high school.
So this birthday is exciting for me, because it affirms how far I've come and how good things are. I have a great life. Those bullies have faded into the background, and they have grown and changed too. Life goes on. It gets better.
Weighed in at 154 today. Still a little high, still 9 pounds to go to reach my goal by November. When I first started to lose weight, I lost 9 pounds in 6 weeks. I have 4 weeks to lose 9 pounds; I don't think I'm going to make it. Well, it will happen eventually. I'm happy with the way I look, and that's more important than an arbitrary number on the scale. I'm down to a size 10 in pants so that is great. It's time to get some new jeans! That's one of the things I'll be scoring for my birthday.
Going home Friday to celebrate with the folks. Dad and I are going fishing Friday eve if it's not too cold. We have had great weather this week which will hopefully continue into this weekend. It's been pretty warm. So that would be good. Saturday we will watch the big UM-MSU game. It will be really exciting. The teams seem really equally matched. I'm kind of hoping MSU wins. Mom is rooting for UM, of course--she's a Michigan graduate. Dad graduated from Western so I don't think he cares either way. He'll just have to decide whether to side with his wife or his daughter. Could be tricky...
Mom is making me spaghetti and cheesecake. ONE helping of spaghetti and ONE piece of cheesecake, I think. I'd also like to walk with Mom Saturday. I did a fast walk today as well as working out with Stephanie. I have shaved down my time walking a mile. It used to take me 23-24 minutes, but now it takes me 20-21 minutes! Those few minutes off make me feel good. The faster the better. Burn, baby, burn!
And now on a more serious, less selfish note...I've been thinking about the rash of suicides lately. It's so hard to be a young person anyway, and to be growing up gay and surrounded by negative imagery of gays makes it umpteen times harder. Gays and straights have been responding to this crisis by speaking out, making videos, setting aside days of remembrance, pointing kids towards websites that can help them...but it feels like too little, too late. I remember reading (a long time ago) that one-third of teens that commit suicide are gay. Seems like that number has risen recently. You can call it bullying or hate crimes, but whatever it is, it has to stop. I was bullied as a teen, and it made my days pretty dark sometimes. But I got through it. And, to paraphrase a video addressing the issue, it has gotten better. I'm not confronted with hatred every day; as a matter of fact, I am surrounded by love and friendship. There may be people who don't like me or think I'm weird, but I really don't care. The world is a lot bigger than it was in high school.
So this birthday is exciting for me, because it affirms how far I've come and how good things are. I have a great life. Those bullies have faded into the background, and they have grown and changed too. Life goes on. It gets better.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Today is the International Day of Prayer. I didn't go to church; not really different than any other Sunday for me. I went to the Capitol with some prayer group people a few years ago to celebrate it. There was a choir and some speakers, one of whom was a former Muslim who had converted. At one point he drew crosses on the Capitol doors and everyone cheered. Not me, though. Separation of church and state, anyone?
Tonight I will pray as I always do. That's my way of celebrating. I think it's an awesome thing that people all over the world are praying together, but how is that different from any other Sunday? I find it interesting that we have to set aside a certain day for it. I wonder why this is and how the tradition got started. I'll have to look it up! Next time I will be able to talk about it a little more.
Sunday is not going to be Step Sunday. They have canceled the class d/t low attendance. So today I ran and walked on the treadmill. I only ran for about 1/2 of it, which turned out to be a mile. I ran at a 10:52 minute mile. This worked out to about 300 cal/30 min, which is actually a little less than I can do on the elliptical. Plus if I walk it works out to more like 200 cals. So from now on I will be doing the elliptical with music. It's nice to know I can do something a little easier and still get the benefits I want!
My scale is broken. Good riddance! I'll try to weigh myself less often at the gym. Actually, I probably shouldn't weigh myself at all; I should go by the MAC scale every week. I hope to be about 153 this week. I've been eating really well and exercising hard. I'm going to Interval tomorrow, so for now I'll say--
Hanging up now...
Tonight I will pray as I always do. That's my way of celebrating. I think it's an awesome thing that people all over the world are praying together, but how is that different from any other Sunday? I find it interesting that we have to set aside a certain day for it. I wonder why this is and how the tradition got started. I'll have to look it up! Next time I will be able to talk about it a little more.
Sunday is not going to be Step Sunday. They have canceled the class d/t low attendance. So today I ran and walked on the treadmill. I only ran for about 1/2 of it, which turned out to be a mile. I ran at a 10:52 minute mile. This worked out to about 300 cal/30 min, which is actually a little less than I can do on the elliptical. Plus if I walk it works out to more like 200 cals. So from now on I will be doing the elliptical with music. It's nice to know I can do something a little easier and still get the benefits I want!
My scale is broken. Good riddance! I'll try to weigh myself less often at the gym. Actually, I probably shouldn't weigh myself at all; I should go by the MAC scale every week. I hope to be about 153 this week. I've been eating really well and exercising hard. I'm going to Interval tomorrow, so for now I'll say--
Hanging up now...
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Pure Michigan
T-minus 12 days. I'm not freaking out yet. My life is so much better than it was ten years ago: I'm not smoking, I'm fitter, I have a good group of friends and a job, and I feel like I know myself much better. Ten years ago I had just come to the Lansing area and I felt a little lost. I had come off an unpleasant five years in CA and was hoping to have a good life here. And I do.
Anyone else get choked up at the "Pure Michigan" ads? I do every time. The Lansing one especially. It's exciting to think "I live there!" A study has rated Lansing one of the top ten places for young professionals to live. It's a great town, and one that I am proud to say I live in. We have great restaurants, theaters, schools, markets, malls...just wonderful things.
Speaking of cities...I haven't visited New Francisco in a long time. I hope I do again. It's such a fun place. Dreams are a neat part of life. We spend a good part of our lives asleep, and we go interesting places in our dreams.
Ah, the geese are honking outside my window. It's fall. I love the change of seasons. I like each season in turn, but fall holds a special place in my heart. I want to see more trees turning. We have a few yellows and browns but it's time for some reds, oranges, and purples! I love when a tree is just starting to turn, when part of it's green and part of it's red. I have seen several of those on my runs.
I was going to run today but it's rainy and cold. I keep making excuses not to go, and my shoes have migrated under the bed. On the other hand, I want to use my gym membership well so it's good to be going there more. Today I'm going to do elliptical and tomorrow is Step Sunday, if they don't cancel it. If they do, I'll run on the treadmill or do weights. I am very happy to say I got to Strength and Stretch yesterday. It energized and focused me. We worked with stretchy bands to exercise our upper bodies. We also worked butt and abs. Then we did our yoga portion and some final stretches, ending with a minute or so of meditiation.
Last night Adam and I saw Fortinbras at Riverwalk. What a great show! We didn't have great seats, which dismayed me since I had called ahead. But we still enjoyed it. Every actor played their part with energy and humor. The director had made great choices, interpreting the script in the best way. The costumes--oh, the costumes! They added to the hilariousness of the show. The costumer paired high-tops and leather jackets with tights and codpieces (Fortinbras' monster codpiece was especially hilarious!). Evan P. played Fortinbras to the hilt. He is so talented! He's got great comic timing and the ability to play to the audience. A couple things went wrong for him but he rolled with it and even made one part--when he caught his sleeve on the armrest of his throne--a funny bit.
I went shopping yesterday at Kohl's to use a ten dollar off coupon. I LOVE that store! They have so many deals--for instance, they cut prices in half or more sometimes. I got a sweater and a pair of corduroys (very in right now) for less than *$20* with the coupon; without the deals it would have been $60! And even better? I got size *10* pants! The 12's were comfy but a little big so I tried the 10's. They fit with even a little breathing room!! One step closer to an 8.
My eyes are crying out for contacts and I need a shower, so--
Hanging up now...
Anyone else get choked up at the "Pure Michigan" ads? I do every time. The Lansing one especially. It's exciting to think "I live there!" A study has rated Lansing one of the top ten places for young professionals to live. It's a great town, and one that I am proud to say I live in. We have great restaurants, theaters, schools, markets, malls...just wonderful things.
Speaking of cities...I haven't visited New Francisco in a long time. I hope I do again. It's such a fun place. Dreams are a neat part of life. We spend a good part of our lives asleep, and we go interesting places in our dreams.
Ah, the geese are honking outside my window. It's fall. I love the change of seasons. I like each season in turn, but fall holds a special place in my heart. I want to see more trees turning. We have a few yellows and browns but it's time for some reds, oranges, and purples! I love when a tree is just starting to turn, when part of it's green and part of it's red. I have seen several of those on my runs.
I was going to run today but it's rainy and cold. I keep making excuses not to go, and my shoes have migrated under the bed. On the other hand, I want to use my gym membership well so it's good to be going there more. Today I'm going to do elliptical and tomorrow is Step Sunday, if they don't cancel it. If they do, I'll run on the treadmill or do weights. I am very happy to say I got to Strength and Stretch yesterday. It energized and focused me. We worked with stretchy bands to exercise our upper bodies. We also worked butt and abs. Then we did our yoga portion and some final stretches, ending with a minute or so of meditiation.
Last night Adam and I saw Fortinbras at Riverwalk. What a great show! We didn't have great seats, which dismayed me since I had called ahead. But we still enjoyed it. Every actor played their part with energy and humor. The director had made great choices, interpreting the script in the best way. The costumes--oh, the costumes! They added to the hilariousness of the show. The costumer paired high-tops and leather jackets with tights and codpieces (Fortinbras' monster codpiece was especially hilarious!). Evan P. played Fortinbras to the hilt. He is so talented! He's got great comic timing and the ability to play to the audience. A couple things went wrong for him but he rolled with it and even made one part--when he caught his sleeve on the armrest of his throne--a funny bit.
I went shopping yesterday at Kohl's to use a ten dollar off coupon. I LOVE that store! They have so many deals--for instance, they cut prices in half or more sometimes. I got a sweater and a pair of corduroys (very in right now) for less than *$20* with the coupon; without the deals it would have been $60! And even better? I got size *10* pants! The 12's were comfy but a little big so I tried the 10's. They fit with even a little breathing room!! One step closer to an 8.
My eyes are crying out for contacts and I need a shower, so--
Hanging up now...
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