ok, so it's july 3rd & not the 4th. but this is a different kind of Independence day for me, that just so happens to fall around the Independence day of our country. for me, today is the day that i can FINALLY dump TFF's (The Former Fiance) cell phone off my verizon plan. we broke up in december, coincidentally just about two weeks after he lost the damn phone. but because i had put him on my account as a second phone, i still had another six months left of his plan before i could give his phone number an adios & fare-thee-well from my cell phone plan. which, yes, did totally suck. & then, because he had lost the damn phone, i had the account on hold for 30days so no one could find the a fore mentioned damn phone & charge calls to guam on my account. which pushed the date from june 3rd, to july 3rd, for me to be able to call verizon & get the number dropped once & for all.
this comes right on the heels of me getting my new digs. oh-yeah.
it's interesting. a year ago i was still planning a wedding for this upcoming saturday (7-7-7). it's funny in that every time someone hears that i WAS engaged & i called off the wedding they say how sorry they are & give me this pity look like "oh, i feel so uncomfortable, you poor girl!" but i always respond with "please, don't feel bad, i'm SO much happier now" & it's not in anyway a lie or bravado, i am really, honestly, TRULY so much happier now that i've called off the wedding & broken things off completely with TFF. i do wish he would still pay me back some of the SEVERAL thousand dollars he owes me, but if i never get it, well, it's his bad karma for eff-ing me over, not mine. & he's the one that looks like an a-hole.
but enough of that BS from the past. it's almost like a new year for me, a rebirth of sorts. i'm in a fresh place with lots of possibilities spread before me. i'm losing weight again. dev & i are being each other's long distance accountabilibuddies, & then i have jenn here as my local accountabilibuddy to kick my butt, make me go to the gym, & keep me from indulging too much in the many potlucks here at work. i feel like i've been able to shed some of the things from the past that were weighing me down. i feel like i'll be able to write again.
i feel like i'm shedding my old life, a skin that was suffocating me in other people's problems, issues, guilt, responsibility, & obligations. i was born in 1977, the year of the snake on the chinese zodiac:
The Year Of The Snake
People born in the Year of the Snake are deep. They say little and possess great wisdom. They never have to worry about money; they are financially fortunate. Snake people are often quite vain, selfish, and a bit stingy. Yet they have tremendous sympathy for others and try to help those less fortunate. Snake people tend to overdo, since they have doubts about other people's judgment and prefer to rely on themselves. They are determined in whatever they do and hate to fail. Although calm on the surface, they are intense and passionate. Snake people are usually good-looking and sometimes have marital problems because they are fickle. They are most compatible with the Ox and Rooster.
& it seems very fitting to me that, like a snake, i am shedding the skin of my old life, to emerge, changed, grown, & ready to continue on to my next adventure.
it's been a long strange trip thus far. & for people that have known me since the summer of burning man, it probably all seems very circular. i came back from my desert odyssey with much the same out look that i have now. uber motivated & very hopeful for my future. sure that not only were great things ahead, but that i would be doing great things. granted, i did lose almost three years of my life in this little detour that i took. but i learned a lot about myself, had a few lessons reinforced, & i feel like i've come out the other side an even stronger person. i'm more motivated now than i was right after burning man. i am more convinced than ever that i truly hold my destiny in my own hot little hands. & i'm more than ever convinced of what sinead said about me october of 2004, "She's brilliant, funny, a loyal friend, a rock in difficult times, and a wonderful woman who is becoming a force :-)" it's the last part that i was mostly thinking of. & i like that idea, of being a force. reminds me of a tempest.
so i'm a tempest. cool. i like it.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
home sweet apartment
for those of you that i don't talk to very often, i got a new apartment. yippee & congrats to me! *happy dance* my apartment is in st. paul, with a beautiful view of the mississippi river & two wicked cool roommates. ok, i've known my roommates for all of two weeks tomorrow, but still, thus far they're wicked cool : )
i have the majority of my stuff moved in & i've actually started staying there. & it's good. to be honest, it's still a little bit surreal. i did have a place with my sister for a while, & when i moved back with my parents two years ago it was just supposed to be for a month or two, six months maximum. fast forward two years & i was still living there & it just wasn't where i wanted, or needed to be.
yes, i do realize, at 30 i should've been out on my own with my own apartment for a long time. but things with my family are complicated. & it wasn't even always necessarily that i didn't want a place of my own, at times it was because i really felt like my parents NEEDED me to be there with them, if that makes any sense at all.
& my mom took it a lot better than my dad. my mom has known for some time that i was wanting to get my own place, like for, oh, the last year & three quarters, basically just a few months after i moved back in 2005. but my dad has always wanted me & my siblings to live with him forever. he just has this thing about wanting to keep his family close so he can protect us. it's very sweet actually.
but i'm there & very happy about it. the view is spectacular, & the river walk is literally outside my door. this is a very good thing.
i have the majority of my stuff moved in & i've actually started staying there. & it's good. to be honest, it's still a little bit surreal. i did have a place with my sister for a while, & when i moved back with my parents two years ago it was just supposed to be for a month or two, six months maximum. fast forward two years & i was still living there & it just wasn't where i wanted, or needed to be.
yes, i do realize, at 30 i should've been out on my own with my own apartment for a long time. but things with my family are complicated. & it wasn't even always necessarily that i didn't want a place of my own, at times it was because i really felt like my parents NEEDED me to be there with them, if that makes any sense at all.
& my mom took it a lot better than my dad. my mom has known for some time that i was wanting to get my own place, like for, oh, the last year & three quarters, basically just a few months after i moved back in 2005. but my dad has always wanted me & my siblings to live with him forever. he just has this thing about wanting to keep his family close so he can protect us. it's very sweet actually.
but i'm there & very happy about it. the view is spectacular, & the river walk is literally outside my door. this is a very good thing.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
someday, someday
so, i'm not normally one to forward emails. as all of my friends can attest to. i don't believe that a swarm of killer bees will descend upon my house & give me the plague if i don't send every chain letter to my closest fifty email friends. this one, i did forward. to a couple of people that i thought could really benefit from it.
& i ran across it again today when going through my email. i have no clue who wrote it, or when, but i'm posting it here because i think it's important for me to remember. & for everyone to remember.
A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: "This", he said "isn't any ordinary package." He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.
"She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on and was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it." He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing's he was taking to the funeral house.
His wife had just died.
He turned to me and said,"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion."
I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family and less at work.
I understand that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day.
I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning. This nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.
It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.
I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet, letters that I wanted to write.. "One of these days".
I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my brother and sisters, son and daughters, not enough times at least, how much I love them.
Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives.
And on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day.
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably, there's someone you care about.
If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it "One of these days" , remember that "One day" is far away... or may never come.
It holds useful messages for the soul.
~ANONYMOUS
& i ran across it again today when going through my email. i have no clue who wrote it, or when, but i'm posting it here because i think it's important for me to remember. & for everyone to remember.
A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: "This", he said "isn't any ordinary package." He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.
"She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on and was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it." He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing's he was taking to the funeral house.
His wife had just died.
He turned to me and said,"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion."
I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family and less at work.
I understand that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day.
I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning. This nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.
It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.
I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet, letters that I wanted to write.. "One of these days".
I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my brother and sisters, son and daughters, not enough times at least, how much I love them.
Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives.
And on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day.
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably, there's someone you care about.
If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it "One of these days" , remember that "One day" is far away... or may never come.
It holds useful messages for the soul.
~ANONYMOUS
Sunday, June 17, 2007
the twin theory: minnesota beckah vs cali beckah
i've known this for a while, but reallly have two distinct sides to my personality. this is something that i just vocalized for the first time to whitney on thursday though. ok, well, vocalized & actually processed what i was saying, on thursday. i have minnesota beckah, and cali beckah. the person that i am when i'm in minnesota is very different from the person i am when i'm in cali. it isn't even necessarily that it has to do with real life versus vacation. there is a small element, i'm sure, to the fact that when i'm in cali it ISN'T my normal life, my normal routine, or all of the normal things that i have weighing me down. but it's much more than that. when i'm in cali i feel like i'm given the freedom to be whoever i want to be, without judgement.
don't get me wrong, i love my friends & family VERY very much. it's not that i don't love them at all. but when i'm in minnesota i feel this oppressive judgement no matter what i seem to do. i will throw a disclaimer in here that it is not ALL of my family & friends make me feel that way, but enough of them do that it is a very mentally & emotionally unhealthy atmosphere for me.
if i was left to my own devices i would be much more of a hippie than i currently am; i'd live my life in a more bohemian way. what i mean by that is that i enjoy surrounding myself by artists, writers, musicians. by people who don't necessarily subscribe to the middle class middle of the road lifestyle that seems to be surrounding me lately. not that there's anything wrong with that, if that's the kind of person that you are. for me, it's not who i am. & i almost can't breathe when i imagine my life taking that kind of a path.
& i'm afraid. afraid that if i stay in minnesota, & keep doing the same things i'm doing, day after day, that all of a sudden another ten, fifteen years, will pass & i won't have anything that i'm proud of to show for that passage of time. right now i'm very ashamed & embarrassed about the way that my life has gone thus far. i know that i've learned a lot through the things that i've done, but it's still frustrating.
nearly three years ago, i did something that changed my life. something that was so scary, so foreign, & so completely out there for anyone in my family, but it made an incredible change in me. i went to burning man. this is something that i talk about a lot, but in a way, i don't talk about at all. the thing about burning man is, you can't ever really adequately explain it to someone that's never been there. you can do your best, show them pictures, send them website links, but it's no substitute at all for the actual experience of burning man. it's also kind of like vegas in that there's a code about burning man, in a way, what happens on the playa stays on the playa. it's an odd dichotomy, to say the least.
but i was scared out of my mind to go. really kind of fearful i'd die. but, something amazing happened. not only did i NOT die in the nevada desert. but i actually THRIVED as a person. it was like plucking me up out of minnesota, shaking that midwestern shame off me & plopping me down in the desert was the absolute best thing that could have happened to me in my life. i came back focused & loving my life. trying to just make the most of every single minute. i was so in awe of everything! & then, well. i'm not going to dwell on what happened then.
it'll suffice to say that instead of wasting seven years of my life learning a lesson, i did it in two. so my learning curve is getting better. but i won't dwell on the past.
& so now. now. NOW i need to take a look at my future,figure out what i want, how i'm going to get it & then go after it. that's all there is to it. really. i also need to figure out how to reconcile the twins. i'm not happy as minnesota beckah. but i think she has good qualities that i wouldn't want to totally abandon. somehow i'm going to need to combine the two & reconcile this to one happy medium.
don't get me wrong, i love my friends & family VERY very much. it's not that i don't love them at all. but when i'm in minnesota i feel this oppressive judgement no matter what i seem to do. i will throw a disclaimer in here that it is not ALL of my family & friends make me feel that way, but enough of them do that it is a very mentally & emotionally unhealthy atmosphere for me.
if i was left to my own devices i would be much more of a hippie than i currently am; i'd live my life in a more bohemian way. what i mean by that is that i enjoy surrounding myself by artists, writers, musicians. by people who don't necessarily subscribe to the middle class middle of the road lifestyle that seems to be surrounding me lately. not that there's anything wrong with that, if that's the kind of person that you are. for me, it's not who i am. & i almost can't breathe when i imagine my life taking that kind of a path.
& i'm afraid. afraid that if i stay in minnesota, & keep doing the same things i'm doing, day after day, that all of a sudden another ten, fifteen years, will pass & i won't have anything that i'm proud of to show for that passage of time. right now i'm very ashamed & embarrassed about the way that my life has gone thus far. i know that i've learned a lot through the things that i've done, but it's still frustrating.
nearly three years ago, i did something that changed my life. something that was so scary, so foreign, & so completely out there for anyone in my family, but it made an incredible change in me. i went to burning man. this is something that i talk about a lot, but in a way, i don't talk about at all. the thing about burning man is, you can't ever really adequately explain it to someone that's never been there. you can do your best, show them pictures, send them website links, but it's no substitute at all for the actual experience of burning man. it's also kind of like vegas in that there's a code about burning man, in a way, what happens on the playa stays on the playa. it's an odd dichotomy, to say the least.
but i was scared out of my mind to go. really kind of fearful i'd die. but, something amazing happened. not only did i NOT die in the nevada desert. but i actually THRIVED as a person. it was like plucking me up out of minnesota, shaking that midwestern shame off me & plopping me down in the desert was the absolute best thing that could have happened to me in my life. i came back focused & loving my life. trying to just make the most of every single minute. i was so in awe of everything! & then, well. i'm not going to dwell on what happened then.
it'll suffice to say that instead of wasting seven years of my life learning a lesson, i did it in two. so my learning curve is getting better. but i won't dwell on the past.
& so now. now. NOW i need to take a look at my future,figure out what i want, how i'm going to get it & then go after it. that's all there is to it. really. i also need to figure out how to reconcile the twins. i'm not happy as minnesota beckah. but i think she has good qualities that i wouldn't want to totally abandon. somehow i'm going to need to combine the two & reconcile this to one happy medium.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
my sister: the prophet
the morning after my 30th birthday & i'm still alive & kicking. but in just a wee bit of pain. i had thought my sister was kind of being a smart ass telling me not to do anything stupid, as it turns out, i think she was being prophetic.
yesterday dev was a total sweetheart & loaned me his convertible for my birthday. all i can say about that car is: O-MY-GOD i'm in love! it's this zippy little nisson in a deep metallic blue. & goddamn that little fucker is fast! a girl could get in trouble driving a car like that every day. but, then again, i also definitely see myself owning a nice little sports car like that myself one day. something like my saturn with just a few more ponies under the hood *winks*
now, even though i am a quarter indian, for some reason those genes have receded from my skin & left nothing but the whitiest of the white to control my skin tone: german, polish & norwegian. yeah, i know, i have no hope. i'm a pretty white white girl. & that's something that somehow i completely forget when i got into dev's car yesterday & made the 60 mile drive north from campbell to pleasant hill. i was basically just in the car with the top down for an hour. which, should be no big thang, right? uh, well, not quite.
& here's the saddest part of the entire thing. when i was getting ready to leave dev's apartment i thought that i should put a little sun screen on my arms & face, but then i got distracted & thought "well, it'll just be an hour, i should be fine." *shakes my head* not a good idea. a really not good idea. i showed up at final sin to get my tattoo & my shoulders were pretty pink. which was fine for the left one because i've had that tat for a year & it's healed up. but for my right one, the place of my new tattoo, the sunburn was not such a great thing. & this tattoo took the longest of all three, i was in the chair for 6 hours. getting tattooed on top of a sun burn. jesus bobby. i'll be completly honest, it was the most painful of the three. even today the burned areas sting a little bit, but aren't too bad. but my tat is more than a bit sore.
tasha didn't say anything about the burn having a negative effect on my tattoo. she's a really talented artist & i know that if she would have thought it wasn't a good idea for me to get the tattoo she would have told me. because if my tattoo doesn't turn out well it also reflects negatively on her. well, not exactly, but if it doesn't turn out well it's not good advertising, if that makes any sense. so far my fairie is looking pretty good. a little scabbed over, oozing just a bit, but my other two did the same thing.
but, i will say that i have learned a very valuable lesson, in that i need to slather myself in sunscreen any time i'm going to be out in the sun at all. not like anyone actually ENJOYS a sunburn, but i really really REALLY hate it. hopefully it'll start healing very quickly so then i'll just have to worry about the mild discomfort of a new tattoo. the slight pulling & itching. it will be about a month or so before it, my tattoo, starts healing enough for me to be able to tell if there's going to be any issues with the design due to the burn.
ok, so yeah, i know what stupid is
PS: i missed noting the one year anniversary of my blog, but this is the 200th post. so thanks for being with me & here's to a long future. CHEERS! *glass clink*
yesterday dev was a total sweetheart & loaned me his convertible for my birthday. all i can say about that car is: O-MY-GOD i'm in love! it's this zippy little nisson in a deep metallic blue. & goddamn that little fucker is fast! a girl could get in trouble driving a car like that every day. but, then again, i also definitely see myself owning a nice little sports car like that myself one day. something like my saturn with just a few more ponies under the hood *winks*
now, even though i am a quarter indian, for some reason those genes have receded from my skin & left nothing but the whitiest of the white to control my skin tone: german, polish & norwegian. yeah, i know, i have no hope. i'm a pretty white white girl. & that's something that somehow i completely forget when i got into dev's car yesterday & made the 60 mile drive north from campbell to pleasant hill. i was basically just in the car with the top down for an hour. which, should be no big thang, right? uh, well, not quite.
& here's the saddest part of the entire thing. when i was getting ready to leave dev's apartment i thought that i should put a little sun screen on my arms & face, but then i got distracted & thought "well, it'll just be an hour, i should be fine." *shakes my head* not a good idea. a really not good idea. i showed up at final sin to get my tattoo & my shoulders were pretty pink. which was fine for the left one because i've had that tat for a year & it's healed up. but for my right one, the place of my new tattoo, the sunburn was not such a great thing. & this tattoo took the longest of all three, i was in the chair for 6 hours. getting tattooed on top of a sun burn. jesus bobby. i'll be completly honest, it was the most painful of the three. even today the burned areas sting a little bit, but aren't too bad. but my tat is more than a bit sore.
tasha didn't say anything about the burn having a negative effect on my tattoo. she's a really talented artist & i know that if she would have thought it wasn't a good idea for me to get the tattoo she would have told me. because if my tattoo doesn't turn out well it also reflects negatively on her. well, not exactly, but if it doesn't turn out well it's not good advertising, if that makes any sense. so far my fairie is looking pretty good. a little scabbed over, oozing just a bit, but my other two did the same thing.
but, i will say that i have learned a very valuable lesson, in that i need to slather myself in sunscreen any time i'm going to be out in the sun at all. not like anyone actually ENJOYS a sunburn, but i really really REALLY hate it. hopefully it'll start healing very quickly so then i'll just have to worry about the mild discomfort of a new tattoo. the slight pulling & itching. it will be about a month or so before it, my tattoo, starts healing enough for me to be able to tell if there's going to be any issues with the design due to the burn.
ok, so yeah, i know what stupid is
PS: i missed noting the one year anniversary of my blog, but this is the 200th post. so thanks for being with me & here's to a long future. CHEERS! *glass clink*
Friday, June 15, 2007
don't do anything stupid
those were the words of wisdom my sister gave me when i said good-bye to her tuesday night after she came over for our pre-birthday/pre-father's day dinner at my parents house. & at first i just gave her a hug, laughed, told her i loved her & no i wouldn't do anything stupid.
then, about 12 hrs later, as a i was leaving for work wednesday morning i thought "hey, HEY, what does she mean by don't do anything stupid? it's my 30th birthday & i'm going to cali, what the HE-ELL can she mean by THAT?!" & i'll be totally honest, i'm still not sure exactly what she means by that because, well, every one's definition of stupid is different.
i am definitely a little bit different than the rest of my family. i'm the one with the tattoos & the piercings. i'm the "whimsical" one who has the big ideas & grand plans & wants more than just middle class middle of the road mediocrity. i won't say that i'm exactly the black sheep. because they don't ostracize me for being different. they don't mock me (well, most of the time) & they don't shun me. so i definitely don't have the whole black sheep syndrome going on here. it's more like, i'm that blonde chick in the original adams family. a little bit different, but still one of the gang. except she was the "normal" one & the family were the "freaks" in main stream society & it's just flip-flopped.
NOW, if by stupid my sister meant getting tattooed again. then yes, i am being stupid. it's just after ten am here in cali & i'll be leaving my friend dev's apartment in about an hour to head up to pleasant hill to final sin body modification to get my third tattoo from the wonderfully talented tasha. for those of you who have been IN-THE-KNOW on my tat so far, the design has been switched up a little bit, but it's WICKED awesome & very perfect for me. i'll get some pics posted on my blog once i get home to minnesota. i forgot my camera chord at home so i can't upload my pics. which is a bit of a bummer, but i'll get over it because it's still at home & i can still get the pics loaded once i'm back there on monday.
& then, well, tonight i'm going to a party here in cali. i'll say more about it tomorrow. for now i'm not saying much of anything except, well, it should be an interesting time to say the least. i have my mini skirt & my fishnets. i'll have a brand-new tattoo & things'll be grande.
one final note: 30 years ago today, at just after 7pm CST in the small town of linton north dakota, i was born on a muggy june night, the umbilical chord wrapped around my little neck, & that's what started it all gang.
then, about 12 hrs later, as a i was leaving for work wednesday morning i thought "hey, HEY, what does she mean by don't do anything stupid? it's my 30th birthday & i'm going to cali, what the HE-ELL can she mean by THAT?!" & i'll be totally honest, i'm still not sure exactly what she means by that because, well, every one's definition of stupid is different.
i am definitely a little bit different than the rest of my family. i'm the one with the tattoos & the piercings. i'm the "whimsical" one who has the big ideas & grand plans & wants more than just middle class middle of the road mediocrity. i won't say that i'm exactly the black sheep. because they don't ostracize me for being different. they don't mock me (well, most of the time) & they don't shun me. so i definitely don't have the whole black sheep syndrome going on here. it's more like, i'm that blonde chick in the original adams family. a little bit different, but still one of the gang. except she was the "normal" one & the family were the "freaks" in main stream society & it's just flip-flopped.
NOW, if by stupid my sister meant getting tattooed again. then yes, i am being stupid. it's just after ten am here in cali & i'll be leaving my friend dev's apartment in about an hour to head up to pleasant hill to final sin body modification to get my third tattoo from the wonderfully talented tasha. for those of you who have been IN-THE-KNOW on my tat so far, the design has been switched up a little bit, but it's WICKED awesome & very perfect for me. i'll get some pics posted on my blog once i get home to minnesota. i forgot my camera chord at home so i can't upload my pics. which is a bit of a bummer, but i'll get over it because it's still at home & i can still get the pics loaded once i'm back there on monday.
& then, well, tonight i'm going to a party here in cali. i'll say more about it tomorrow. for now i'm not saying much of anything except, well, it should be an interesting time to say the least. i have my mini skirt & my fishnets. i'll have a brand-new tattoo & things'll be grande.
one final note: 30 years ago today, at just after 7pm CST in the small town of linton north dakota, i was born on a muggy june night, the umbilical chord wrapped around my little neck, & that's what started it all gang.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
j-boys & addicts need not apply
my 30th birthday is just three days away & it has me in a contemplative mood. well, contemplative when i'm not ready to throw a first class hissy fit that is, more about said hissy later on. & one thing that i've been saying for a while, but realized is really really true, is that there are some people that are just plain poison to me. they're like kryptonite to superman, a sports car to james dean, mcdonald's to president clinton, speedball to river phoenix, & so on. the people i'm talking about are j-boys & addicts.
the addicts part is pretty self explanatory, but let me expound on the j-boys part. simply put, j-boys are any male who's name starts with the letter j. once again, pretty simple. for some reason i seem to attract both of these, most often combined into one person. & it winds up being a very bad thing for me.
like my friend sinead says: "beckah, you have the broken arrow syndrome. you want to fix all the broken arrows out there, and you just can't." & even though she been saying this to me, oh, about three years now, ever since we met basically, i think it's finally sinking in. yeah, i know, i'm a slow learner at times. & it's not that i didn't KNOW what she said, or ignored it completely. i agree with her wholeheartedly that i do exactly that. i try to fix people, fix their problems. i don't know, maybe i feel like if i can help someone else out & fix THEM it'll fix whatever happens to be wrong in my life. & that's a problem.
i know that i personally have an addictive personality. anyone who has been in my life through one of my video game fits (super mario, star fox, & WoW to name a few) knows that when i get hooked on something i like it's a scary scene. i am working on funneling that energy into a good addiction, like healthy eating & exercise. & i'm sorta kinda getting there. but two addicts together is not at all good. i have a bad feeling about that one.
& the j-boys. *sighs* what can i say about them? for me, they're just straight up poison. there's nothing else i can say to that. i am planning on getting a past life regression done later this summer, some time this year at the absolute outside. & i'm kind of wondering if there is something in one of my past lives. or, i don't know. there is SOMETHING in me that keeps attracting these guys that are no good for me!
& FOR THE RECORD: i am not one of those chicks who blames all of her problems on men. because, i take full responsibility for the fact that i get myself into these relationships. i allow myself to be taken advantage of men, um, well, men is over stating, BOYS that don't seem to want to grow up & be responsible adults. instead they'd rather suck the life, soul, & light out of someone who is dumb enough to care about them. & even though that does sound bitter, i think that all of my real life friends would agree that my previous statement is very true.
so, to sum up: if you're a boy & your name starts with j, i'm not interested. same is true if you are a current or former, drug addict or alcoholic, cause i can't deal with that shit.
like my friend sinead says: "beckah, you have the broken arrow syndrome. you want to fix all the broken arrows out there, and you just can't." & even though she been saying this to me, oh, about three years now, ever since we met basically, i think it's finally sinking in. yeah, i know, i'm a slow learner at times. & it's not that i didn't KNOW what she said, or ignored it completely. i agree with her wholeheartedly that i do exactly that. i try to fix people, fix their problems. i don't know, maybe i feel like if i can help someone else out & fix THEM it'll fix whatever happens to be wrong in my life. & that's a problem.
i know that i personally have an addictive personality. anyone who has been in my life through one of my video game fits (super mario, star fox, & WoW to name a few) knows that when i get hooked on something i like it's a scary scene. i am working on funneling that energy into a good addiction, like healthy eating & exercise. & i'm sorta kinda getting there. but two addicts together is not at all good. i have a bad feeling about that one.
& the j-boys. *sighs* what can i say about them? for me, they're just straight up poison. there's nothing else i can say to that. i am planning on getting a past life regression done later this summer, some time this year at the absolute outside. & i'm kind of wondering if there is something in one of my past lives. or, i don't know. there is SOMETHING in me that keeps attracting these guys that are no good for me!
& FOR THE RECORD: i am not one of those chicks who blames all of her problems on men. because, i take full responsibility for the fact that i get myself into these relationships. i allow myself to be taken advantage of men, um, well, men is over stating, BOYS that don't seem to want to grow up & be responsible adults. instead they'd rather suck the life, soul, & light out of someone who is dumb enough to care about them. & even though that does sound bitter, i think that all of my real life friends would agree that my previous statement is very true.
so, to sum up: if you're a boy & your name starts with j, i'm not interested. same is true if you are a current or former, drug addict or alcoholic, cause i can't deal with that shit.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
you really can't take me anywhere
week before last, thursday to be exact, jenn & i had hit the Y to try to get back into the tuesday/thursday girl swing of things. which basically means actually going to the gym four or more days a week, eating healthy, & lifting weights. ya know, the TTG* way of life. our gym return was less than triumphant. we did some upper body stuff, some time on the ellipticals & then we were done. so over the Y for the night. this was post the mean boys at the gym, but we were still trying.
i was getting ready to drive jenn home & offered her some crack, er, mcdonald's ice cream. we have developed this VERY bad habbit of going to mcdonald's for one of their ice cream cones. per jenn they are about 150 calories per cone if made according to the corporate specifications. & now it's almost kind of like pavlov's dogs: i leave the Y & i want a mcdonald's ice cream. i can even tell you how much two cones cost, with tax, at the plymouth mickey d's. $2.13.
but me & my crack, er, cone habit, are not the point of the story. the point is the absurd things that happen when i'm allowed to go out in public. so jenn wanted to get a salad when we went to mcdonald's because she didn't have anything to eat at home, er, nothing that was semi healthy. which, depending on the dressing one chooses, the mcdonald's salads are not terribly bad for human consumption.
so we roll through the drive through & order two ice cream cones & a salad, their new south western salad or whatever it's called. so we get to the drive through window, & we're in my saturn so we're riding pretty low to the ground. the guy hands us jenn's salad, then the two cones & goes away. jenn checks the salad & they gave her whatever the dressing is that matches up with that salad, & it had about a billion calories in the package. & she wanted a low fat dressing. so she & i both turn to our left & stare up into the drive through window. & we sit. & we stare. finally the guy turns around, looks startled, & then comes over to the window.
"uh, can i help you?" the mcdonald's dude asked.
"yeah, do you have any light or low fat dressing?" i asked while taking a lick of my ice cream cone.
"yeah we have a balsamic vinaigrette and, uh, yeah, that's it," obviously confused & disjointed.
"can we have the vinaigrette?" i flashed my dimples.
"one minute." he disappeared momentarily, the drive through window snapping shut.
as soon as his back was turned and the window shut, jenn pipes up, "yes, yes i did just order ice cream & i'm asking for light dressing with my salad."
if my life were a movie jenn would have actually said her comment to the drive through dude, as it was, she just said it to me, but it was still pretty hilarious none the less.
*tuesday/thursday girl AKA TTG is my own creation, don't swipe it or i'll beat you severely with wet spaghetti noodles. & trust me, if anyone knows how to inflict pain with pasta it's a fat girl
i was getting ready to drive jenn home & offered her some crack, er, mcdonald's ice cream. we have developed this VERY bad habbit of going to mcdonald's for one of their ice cream cones. per jenn they are about 150 calories per cone if made according to the corporate specifications. & now it's almost kind of like pavlov's dogs: i leave the Y & i want a mcdonald's ice cream. i can even tell you how much two cones cost, with tax, at the plymouth mickey d's. $2.13.
but me & my crack, er, cone habit, are not the point of the story. the point is the absurd things that happen when i'm allowed to go out in public. so jenn wanted to get a salad when we went to mcdonald's because she didn't have anything to eat at home, er, nothing that was semi healthy. which, depending on the dressing one chooses, the mcdonald's salads are not terribly bad for human consumption.
so we roll through the drive through & order two ice cream cones & a salad, their new south western salad or whatever it's called. so we get to the drive through window, & we're in my saturn so we're riding pretty low to the ground. the guy hands us jenn's salad, then the two cones & goes away. jenn checks the salad & they gave her whatever the dressing is that matches up with that salad, & it had about a billion calories in the package. & she wanted a low fat dressing. so she & i both turn to our left & stare up into the drive through window. & we sit. & we stare. finally the guy turns around, looks startled, & then comes over to the window.
"uh, can i help you?" the mcdonald's dude asked.
"yeah, do you have any light or low fat dressing?" i asked while taking a lick of my ice cream cone.
"yeah we have a balsamic vinaigrette and, uh, yeah, that's it," obviously confused & disjointed.
"can we have the vinaigrette?" i flashed my dimples.
"one minute." he disappeared momentarily, the drive through window snapping shut.
as soon as his back was turned and the window shut, jenn pipes up, "yes, yes i did just order ice cream & i'm asking for light dressing with my salad."
if my life were a movie jenn would have actually said her comment to the drive through dude, as it was, she just said it to me, but it was still pretty hilarious none the less.
*tuesday/thursday girl AKA TTG is my own creation, don't swipe it or i'll beat you severely with wet spaghetti noodles. & trust me, if anyone knows how to inflict pain with pasta it's a fat girl
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
life, the universe, & all that fun jazz
it's not news to anyone who has been around me lately that my life has been full of events, emergencies, & basically one emotionally draining bizarre event after another. yeah, i know, wake up & smell the espresso, that's life. & yeah, it is life. & i need to learn how to balance all that bullshit with my writing. because i've been a major slacker when it comes to my writing. not only my blog, but everything else too.
just so we're all reading the same book here. this is a short sum-up of recent events:
~april 9th my dad had rotator cuff surgery (so he's now off of work for 6 months & driving every one crazy)
~april 28th my grandma died in arizona
~may 12th last day of class & final paper due (i had to beg an extension to turn it in on monday the 14th)
~may 12th tina's baby shower, which i was hosting
~may 12th becky's bachelorette, which i was hosting
~may 18th grandma's funeral
~may 18th marty & becky's wedding
~may 18th tina's grandma died
~today tina's grandma's funeral
there's been lots of other little stuff in there & lots of inner drama, but that's the main listing of the external events that have been on my list of challenging items.
in the midst of all the trauma/drama i have been doing a lot of thinking, mostly over thinking, but some plain ol regular thinking too. & i've come to two pretty important conclusions. one of which i'm ept sure that i've mentioned on here, the other which i'm ept sure i haven't mentioned on here.
so the first conclusion is that no matter how completely insane my life gets i need to keep writing & keep working on that dream. because it's not going to happen on my own. & one thing i've noticed is that the times when my life is the most insane, when tons of outside shits keeps intruding, that is the time when i should be writing the most. not because writing is therapeutic, because my "therapeutic" writing sucks ass most of the time. but because i need to learn to write all the time, no matter what is happening in my life. & i have totally said that before. i know that i have. but life is one big long lesson. & some times you have to fail the tests a couple times before the lesson sticks.
the second conclusion is a lot harder to verbalize. it has to do more with my spirit. just like i've been neglecting my writing, i've been neglecting my spirit. & i think the two are most definitely related. back when i was eighteen i came to a realization, that i needed to follow a different path. i feel the best when i do lots of meditation, when i'm at peace with myself and the world around me. i really believe that i need to be in tune with nature. this is what i've been neglecting. i've been SO concerned with making sure that i'm not disappointing anyone, letting anyone down, or in any other fashion fucking up that i've been neglecting that internal maintenance on my soul. if that makes any sense at all. when i was really at peace with myself i was doing lots of meditation, inner soul searching, & just spirit maintenance. basically i've been letting my spirituality lapse. there's not really a better way to say that. but i may go into it deeper in a later blog.
& that's basically what i need to do i need to write more & regain my spirituality.
nuff said.
just so we're all reading the same book here. this is a short sum-up of recent events:
~april 9th my dad had rotator cuff surgery (so he's now off of work for 6 months & driving every one crazy)
~april 28th my grandma died in arizona
~may 12th last day of class & final paper due (i had to beg an extension to turn it in on monday the 14th)
~may 12th tina's baby shower, which i was hosting
~may 12th becky's bachelorette, which i was hosting
~may 18th grandma's funeral
~may 18th marty & becky's wedding
~may 18th tina's grandma died
~today tina's grandma's funeral
there's been lots of other little stuff in there & lots of inner drama, but that's the main listing of the external events that have been on my list of challenging items.
in the midst of all the trauma/drama i have been doing a lot of thinking, mostly over thinking, but some plain ol regular thinking too. & i've come to two pretty important conclusions. one of which i'm ept sure that i've mentioned on here, the other which i'm ept sure i haven't mentioned on here.
so the first conclusion is that no matter how completely insane my life gets i need to keep writing & keep working on that dream. because it's not going to happen on my own. & one thing i've noticed is that the times when my life is the most insane, when tons of outside shits keeps intruding, that is the time when i should be writing the most. not because writing is therapeutic, because my "therapeutic" writing sucks ass most of the time. but because i need to learn to write all the time, no matter what is happening in my life. & i have totally said that before. i know that i have. but life is one big long lesson. & some times you have to fail the tests a couple times before the lesson sticks.
the second conclusion is a lot harder to verbalize. it has to do more with my spirit. just like i've been neglecting my writing, i've been neglecting my spirit. & i think the two are most definitely related. back when i was eighteen i came to a realization, that i needed to follow a different path. i feel the best when i do lots of meditation, when i'm at peace with myself and the world around me. i really believe that i need to be in tune with nature. this is what i've been neglecting. i've been SO concerned with making sure that i'm not disappointing anyone, letting anyone down, or in any other fashion fucking up that i've been neglecting that internal maintenance on my soul. if that makes any sense at all. when i was really at peace with myself i was doing lots of meditation, inner soul searching, & just spirit maintenance. basically i've been letting my spirituality lapse. there's not really a better way to say that. but i may go into it deeper in a later blog.
& that's basically what i need to do i need to write more & regain my spirituality.
nuff said.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
boys are pushy & mean
***warning, for the record, i am TOTALLY NOT, one of those women who's had some a-hole boyfriends & now hates all men, but the boys i'm talking about are: pushy & mean***
last night at the ridgedale Y there was a mildly triumphant return of the tuesday/thursday girls. basically jenn & i have been MIA from the Y for the past three weeks. with good reason i might add. i've been busy finishing class, planning a baby shower, planning a bachelorette, attending a funeral & a wedding & just in general being a busy busy (little) bee.
& jenn has been wicked busy too. i'll be honest, i've been pretty me-centric lately so i can't even say exactly what she's been busy with, but i'm sure that it is very important stuff that needed her immediate attention.
so with just eleven days left of may, & both of us needing to get to the Y at least 8 days to get our discount for the month's membership, we slunk into the Y last night. & for the record, while i'm loving the new work hours, getting to work at 7:30 am & getting the hell out of dodge at 4pm, the Y is not so wondrous a place at that time.
by the time we both got changed & then made our emergency stop by best buy for new headphones, the Y was pretty hopping. we each managed to score an elliptical, but not really near the other one. so while i was set up for an hour long cardio session jenn was done & wiping down her machine after a thirty minute workout & a three minute cool down. & maybe she would've just stayed on her elliptical for another half hour if she would've known what was to happen next.
((yeah, we're getting to the pushy mean boys))
as you'll all recall, jenn & i have been getting into weight lifting this year, mainly due to our (former) trainer, riley. with riley gone to a new Y for full time benefits, jenn & i are on our own with the weight lifting. which, is actually something that isn't SO bad. except for, it was a very hostile environment at the Y last night.
so i strut, or, as close as i can come to strutting since my legs are all jello-y weak & my face is cherry red & i'm sweating head to toe, carrying my pink weight lifting bible & pink water bottle into the weight lifting area. talk about being uncomfortable, the boys obviously didn't want a fat girl there, much less one dragging her friend along with her. they kind of gave off this vibe like they didn't want me touching their equipment. er, yeah, the weight lifting stuff. that's what i meant.
the ridgedale Y actually has a fairly large weight lifting area, at least three or four benches set up for bar bells & then at least three other benches for use with dumbbells. so plenty of room. except, the boys didn't want to share. they were hovering over equipment they weren't using because, well, they didn't want to share. finally jenn & i spotted a free bench. someone had left plates still on it, but that was fine, we're strong chicas & we can de-plate & replace a barbell. except...
WHILE jenn was removing a plate from the left side this skinny-ass boy in a pair of scruffy looking hospital green scrub pants came up & put a plate on the right side & basically glared us down.
& that's when we left the Y.
it's not like we were looking for a hand out or anything. but we wanted one bench, to share, to lift some weights. & the mean boys wouldn't let us play. the bastards.
last night at the ridgedale Y there was a mildly triumphant return of the tuesday/thursday girls. basically jenn & i have been MIA from the Y for the past three weeks. with good reason i might add. i've been busy finishing class, planning a baby shower, planning a bachelorette, attending a funeral & a wedding & just in general being a busy busy (little) bee.
& jenn has been wicked busy too. i'll be honest, i've been pretty me-centric lately so i can't even say exactly what she's been busy with, but i'm sure that it is very important stuff that needed her immediate attention.
so with just eleven days left of may, & both of us needing to get to the Y at least 8 days to get our discount for the month's membership, we slunk into the Y last night. & for the record, while i'm loving the new work hours, getting to work at 7:30 am & getting the hell out of dodge at 4pm, the Y is not so wondrous a place at that time.
by the time we both got changed & then made our emergency stop by best buy for new headphones, the Y was pretty hopping. we each managed to score an elliptical, but not really near the other one. so while i was set up for an hour long cardio session jenn was done & wiping down her machine after a thirty minute workout & a three minute cool down. & maybe she would've just stayed on her elliptical for another half hour if she would've known what was to happen next.
((yeah, we're getting to the pushy mean boys))
as you'll all recall, jenn & i have been getting into weight lifting this year, mainly due to our (former) trainer, riley. with riley gone to a new Y for full time benefits, jenn & i are on our own with the weight lifting. which, is actually something that isn't SO bad. except for, it was a very hostile environment at the Y last night.
so i strut, or, as close as i can come to strutting since my legs are all jello-y weak & my face is cherry red & i'm sweating head to toe, carrying my pink weight lifting bible & pink water bottle into the weight lifting area. talk about being uncomfortable, the boys obviously didn't want a fat girl there, much less one dragging her friend along with her. they kind of gave off this vibe like they didn't want me touching their equipment. er, yeah, the weight lifting stuff. that's what i meant.
the ridgedale Y actually has a fairly large weight lifting area, at least three or four benches set up for bar bells & then at least three other benches for use with dumbbells. so plenty of room. except, the boys didn't want to share. they were hovering over equipment they weren't using because, well, they didn't want to share. finally jenn & i spotted a free bench. someone had left plates still on it, but that was fine, we're strong chicas & we can de-plate & replace a barbell. except...
WHILE jenn was removing a plate from the left side this skinny-ass boy in a pair of scruffy looking hospital green scrub pants came up & put a plate on the right side & basically glared us down.
& that's when we left the Y.
it's not like we were looking for a hand out or anything. but we wanted one bench, to share, to lift some weights. & the mean boys wouldn't let us play. the bastards.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
cause of death: philanthropy
this is a few days late, but to be honest, i haven't really had the energy to even attempt a blog until today. on sunday jenn & i walked eight miles to raise money for the march of dimes, an organization that does research to find the causes of premature birth & assist parents of preemies. & with both tina & sinead "in the family way" it seemed like a pretty dang good cause. walking for babies & all that jazz.
now, as naive as this may sound, when i set off on this great adventure i kind of had no clue exactly how long eight miles would really be. yes, you may hum eminem if you must. i knew intellectually, but i didn't really take into account how that distance would feel to my body. i've been working out pretty hard with jenn & then training with riley. not necessarily recently, but semi recently. & i am so much stronger now than i was even back in december. & i do have more endurance & stamina. but, not so much for a long distance walk.
i will give a piece of free advice to anyone out there planning to do a charity walk of any kind: in your preparation, actually walk. i know it may seem kind of obvious & silly, but yours truly sorta forgot this little detail. & my advice would be walk for your training. yeah, i know that is something that you would THINK is obvious, but for some reason it never really blipped across my radar. i was hitting the weight training hard with riley, pushing myself with that. doing interval training on the elliptical & the gazelle-ish machine, but no walks. i mean, not like i dragged myself everywhere, of course i did the normal day to day walking, but no increase in my walking. & while being able to leg press 240lbs is a great accomplishment, that doesn't help in a long walk as much as you would think.
yeah.
the way the walk was set up we went half way around lake of the isles, & that's where the two paths diverged. jenn-jenn & i could've continued going around lake of the isles for the five mile walk (which is a pretty healthy distance) or veer off to the right, down a path under a bridge & go around lake calhoun & then finish going around lake of the isles which was the eight mile path (also known as jesus-bobby-i-want-to-die) by the time we got to the fork in the road, so to speak, i was one hurting unit. like i said previously, i really wasn't in shape for this. (ya, i know round is a shape, but i wasn't able to roll around the lakes.)
my back had started hurting within about ten minutes of the walk due to the three liters of water in my camel back along with the snacks that i packed (cause a fat girl can't take a walk without food, duh. jesus bobby) & then there were the hills. omg. i did NOT sign up for hills. at least, i don't think i did. & so in addition to the pain in my back my shins were killing me also. & i was sweating like a pig. & i had lost my sunglasses clips & didn't have any contacts, so i was doing all this in the bright sun with no protective eye wear. the only thing i did have going for me is that my pale self was covered in a nice think lacquer of spf 60+, basically the strongest sunscreen i could find.
while i'm sure she was hurting too, jenn didn't really say much about hurting or being in pain. &, to brag just a tad, even though i was in pain, i didn't bitch much at all. & when jenn looked at me & asked if i was sure if i was ok i told her that "yup, i'll be fine." i knew that complaining wouldn't help me one bit. even if i wanted to whine like a three year old.
so when we got to the point where we had to make a decision between short loop (5mile) & long loop (8mile) jenn left the decision up to me. & i really with all my heart & aching back wanted to slide in with the main pack & finish off the five mile. but then again i had promised the people who sponsored me, my friends, riley, & most of all myself, that i would do the eight mile course. so i pondered this rather quickly while using the porta-potty at the park. i weighed the pros & cons while trying to balance & not touch anything at all in the portable outhouse . it's rather difficult while trying to think & not fall flat on my face or breathe in too deeply. but i did it & came to the conclusion that while everyone else, even miss jenn, would understand if i slunk out of the plastic bathroom & just went around lake of the isles, i would be disappointed in myself if i didn't finish the whole eight mile trek.
& we carried on.
i won't pretend that this is any kind of hollywood ending. i didn't catch a second wind & wind up jogging my way back to the starting camp with a huge smile on my face. i dragged my feet. by the end i was actually literally dragging my feet, shuffling along the sidewalk because i had lost most of the feeling in my legs, which was good because i wasn't able to feel the blisters forming on my feet. i was severely tempted at one point to call for help. the conversation went something like this:
"i want to call an ambulance!"
"no, you're not calling an ambulance, keep walking," jenn said over her shoulder, about ten feet in front of me.
we then heard a siren & my ears perked up like a cat hearing a can of tasty feast open.
"no, that's not your ambulance, keep walking."
right after that the bus pulled up. no, not an ambulance, but a real actual school bus. they had a shuttle service to drive people back who couldn't finish the walk. they saw jenn & i & pulled over asking if we wanted a ride.
once again i had an inner dilemma, sorta like the porta-potty soul searching except i wasn't bare-assed & trying to pretend i was somewhere else. the driver opened the door & asked jenn & i if we wanted a ride. & jenn didn't say anything, she just looked at me leaving me, once again, to decide. & while i really wanted to drag myself up those steps & flop onto the sticky-hot vinyl seat for the bumpy ride back, i found myself saying "no thank you, we'll walk."
i think i was delirious from pain. & we did actually finish the walk. all on our own. both standing up right. i wasn't walking well when i got home sunday night after the walk. & have only regained the ability to walk somewhat normally as of wednesday afternoon, but it was worth it. i am proud of what i accomplished.
& it was fun too. jenn cracks me up. & besides that, walking around lake calhoun is a great way to people watch! & it's not true: they do come out during the day *grins*
the two best lines of the day were also both provided by miss jenn toward the end of our walk:
(as we're nearing the starting area) i wonder if they have a beer garden?
(sitting in my car post walk eating lunch) it must have been hard to be jesus {pause}cause he walked a lot. . . .think any body gave him a sandwich after?
now, as naive as this may sound, when i set off on this great adventure i kind of had no clue exactly how long eight miles would really be. yes, you may hum eminem if you must. i knew intellectually, but i didn't really take into account how that distance would feel to my body. i've been working out pretty hard with jenn & then training with riley. not necessarily recently, but semi recently. & i am so much stronger now than i was even back in december. & i do have more endurance & stamina. but, not so much for a long distance walk.
i will give a piece of free advice to anyone out there planning to do a charity walk of any kind: in your preparation, actually walk. i know it may seem kind of obvious & silly, but yours truly sorta forgot this little detail. & my advice would be walk for your training. yeah, i know that is something that you would THINK is obvious, but for some reason it never really blipped across my radar. i was hitting the weight training hard with riley, pushing myself with that. doing interval training on the elliptical & the gazelle-ish machine, but no walks. i mean, not like i dragged myself everywhere, of course i did the normal day to day walking, but no increase in my walking. & while being able to leg press 240lbs is a great accomplishment, that doesn't help in a long walk as much as you would think.
yeah.
the way the walk was set up we went half way around lake of the isles, & that's where the two paths diverged. jenn-jenn & i could've continued going around lake of the isles for the five mile walk (which is a pretty healthy distance) or veer off to the right, down a path under a bridge & go around lake calhoun & then finish going around lake of the isles which was the eight mile path (also known as jesus-bobby-i-want-to-die) by the time we got to the fork in the road, so to speak, i was one hurting unit. like i said previously, i really wasn't in shape for this. (ya, i know round is a shape, but i wasn't able to roll around the lakes.)
my back had started hurting within about ten minutes of the walk due to the three liters of water in my camel back along with the snacks that i packed (cause a fat girl can't take a walk without food, duh. jesus bobby) & then there were the hills. omg. i did NOT sign up for hills. at least, i don't think i did. & so in addition to the pain in my back my shins were killing me also. & i was sweating like a pig. & i had lost my sunglasses clips & didn't have any contacts, so i was doing all this in the bright sun with no protective eye wear. the only thing i did have going for me is that my pale self was covered in a nice think lacquer of spf 60+, basically the strongest sunscreen i could find.
while i'm sure she was hurting too, jenn didn't really say much about hurting or being in pain. &, to brag just a tad, even though i was in pain, i didn't bitch much at all. & when jenn looked at me & asked if i was sure if i was ok i told her that "yup, i'll be fine." i knew that complaining wouldn't help me one bit. even if i wanted to whine like a three year old.
so when we got to the point where we had to make a decision between short loop (5mile) & long loop (8mile) jenn left the decision up to me. & i really with all my heart & aching back wanted to slide in with the main pack & finish off the five mile. but then again i had promised the people who sponsored me, my friends, riley, & most of all myself, that i would do the eight mile course. so i pondered this rather quickly while using the porta-potty at the park. i weighed the pros & cons while trying to balance & not touch anything at all in the portable outhouse . it's rather difficult while trying to think & not fall flat on my face or breathe in too deeply. but i did it & came to the conclusion that while everyone else, even miss jenn, would understand if i slunk out of the plastic bathroom & just went around lake of the isles, i would be disappointed in myself if i didn't finish the whole eight mile trek.
& we carried on.
i won't pretend that this is any kind of hollywood ending. i didn't catch a second wind & wind up jogging my way back to the starting camp with a huge smile on my face. i dragged my feet. by the end i was actually literally dragging my feet, shuffling along the sidewalk because i had lost most of the feeling in my legs, which was good because i wasn't able to feel the blisters forming on my feet. i was severely tempted at one point to call for help. the conversation went something like this:
"i want to call an ambulance!"
"no, you're not calling an ambulance, keep walking," jenn said over her shoulder, about ten feet in front of me.
we then heard a siren & my ears perked up like a cat hearing a can of tasty feast open.
"no, that's not your ambulance, keep walking."
right after that the bus pulled up. no, not an ambulance, but a real actual school bus. they had a shuttle service to drive people back who couldn't finish the walk. they saw jenn & i & pulled over asking if we wanted a ride.
once again i had an inner dilemma, sorta like the porta-potty soul searching except i wasn't bare-assed & trying to pretend i was somewhere else. the driver opened the door & asked jenn & i if we wanted a ride. & jenn didn't say anything, she just looked at me leaving me, once again, to decide. & while i really wanted to drag myself up those steps & flop onto the sticky-hot vinyl seat for the bumpy ride back, i found myself saying "no thank you, we'll walk."
i think i was delirious from pain. & we did actually finish the walk. all on our own. both standing up right. i wasn't walking well when i got home sunday night after the walk. & have only regained the ability to walk somewhat normally as of wednesday afternoon, but it was worth it. i am proud of what i accomplished.
& it was fun too. jenn cracks me up. & besides that, walking around lake calhoun is a great way to people watch! & it's not true: they do come out during the day *grins*
the two best lines of the day were also both provided by miss jenn toward the end of our walk:
(as we're nearing the starting area) i wonder if they have a beer garden?
(sitting in my car post walk eating lunch) it must have been hard to be jesus {pause}
weight update
so i weighed myself in on monday as per the usual, & then just cause i'm obsessively like that i've been weighing myself every morning. now my goal was to get through the 240's in april. on monday, the last possible day in april my weight was 250. d'oh! couldn't even make it into the 240's in april. yeah, i did take a profanity break monday before i came to work. i also threw a fairly nice little tantrum hoping to hop off a half pound or so...no such luck.
BUT then i weighed myself this morning & ta-da, 249.2. yeah, i did a happy dance. then hopped on the scale again, & the happy dance didn't make a difference, but STILL in the 240's! & this is on my heavy scale...to be honest my light scale has been saying the 240's since monday, but i haven't been "official" on that scale yet.
so let me put up my tickety-ticker(& seriously, how cool is that? just a little over halfway through to my goal) :
BUT then i weighed myself this morning & ta-da, 249.2. yeah, i did a happy dance. then hopped on the scale again, & the happy dance didn't make a difference, but STILL in the 240's! & this is on my heavy scale...to be honest my light scale has been saying the 240's since monday, but i haven't been "official" on that scale yet.
so let me put up my tickety-ticker(& seriously, how cool is that? just a little over halfway through to my goal) :
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
it's all about the shoes, baby
i feel rather tall today. & skinny. ok, relatively skinny. & i give credit to my shoes.
most days i wear my doc marten boots. have i mentioned i /heart my new boots? if i haven't, here's the declaration. & while they are hella cute, they're flat & don't give my short self much of a boost. today though, we had to dress up, more than usual, at work because we had some "big wigs" coming through today. so no cute boots :(
instead i wore a pair of my mudd dress shoes. a little bit of a heel. black. kinda funky & definitely cute in their own right.
my legs are still killing me from my second to the last riley workout yesterday. & my pecs are twinging from the upper body miss jenn & i did monday. & my abs are screaming at me too about the ab workout i did. but at least i feel tall.
most days i wear my doc marten boots. have i mentioned i /heart my new boots? if i haven't, here's the declaration. & while they are hella cute, they're flat & don't give my short self much of a boost. today though, we had to dress up, more than usual, at work because we had some "big wigs" coming through today. so no cute boots :(
instead i wore a pair of my mudd dress shoes. a little bit of a heel. black. kinda funky & definitely cute in their own right.
my legs are still killing me from my second to the last riley workout yesterday. & my pecs are twinging from the upper body miss jenn & i did monday. & my abs are screaming at me too about the ab workout i did. but at least i feel tall.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
it's like a bad 80's movie
i was going to name this blog "say goodbye to hollywood" but that wasn't quite right. & then i thought about just "say goodbye" but i think i did that one. so instead, i'll pull on the collective memories of 80's movie complete with perms, leg warmers, teased hair, t-top trans-ams, inspirational song tracks, & a montage. yeah, gotta have a montage.
last week jenn & i got some semi devastating news: riley got a new job. i mean, ok yeah for him, if he really thinks he needs to work full time & get benefits. but it means he'll be moving to another Y. & at first it appeared that perhaps he'd be able to continue to train jenn & myself, but alas, he only has a couple of weeks that he's allowed to do that, & then, if we want to continue to train with him we'll need to make the trek up 169 from minnetonka to coon rapids during rush hour traffic. yeah. right. about that. not gonna happen.
while i /heart riley as a trainer, i just don't have the dedecation to him to travel that highway to hell. for anyone who doesn't live in minnesota & is not familiar with 169 i'll explain. 169 is basically hell on earth in general, but especially from the hours of 3pm to 7pm monday through friday. which leaves me trainer-less.
*tear*
i'm now a gym orphan. well, ok, jenn & i are now gym orphans. we just started to get our balance in this whole weight training thing & our options are: a) find a new trainer or b) try to go it alone. both are unequivocally scary for their own reasons. after about three months with riley i feel like we finally found our stride. he knows us, he gets our jokes. ok, he doesn't ALWAYS get our jokes, but about 96% of the time he's right there with us & he isn't even uncomfortable when i make fat girl jokes.
like today when he was stretching out jenn & i's lower legs he said "you girls have some loose hammies"
& i said "mmm...ham, i'm hungry."
& jenn shot in with "never doubt a fat girl to bring ham into the equation."
so i'm not super excited about the thought of having to break in a new trainer. i mean, it's taken us the majority of the past three months to properly break in riley. so that leaves option b, going this alone. & while jenn & i have both had success in the past with losing weight on our own, but then again, neither of us is a size 0 skeleton wannabe. i'm still too fat to be a plus size model. at least according to twiggy & tyra.
there are definite bonuses to going it alone, the first being we'd each be saving $70 bucks a week, which means i could use that to put in my savings, or pay extra on bills, that would be an extra $280 a month i'd have to do something else with! & let's face it, i'm still kinda a broke ass hoe cause i'm working two jobs & going to school & still trying to live that big dream, so 280 is a whole lotta scratch for me. in a way i can't believe i've been shelling that out & not even cringing, must be because we pay each week.
i am still pretty worried though that i'm going to *twump* fall flat on my face & fail. again. my friend dev suggested that jenn & i make a pact that if one of us punks out on gym time then they owe the other one 20 bucks, which i think is a great idea. i'm not sure yet how miss jenn feels & if we'll be doing that or not. but it's an idea. i have all kinds of "incentives" set up for myself, but it's still hard to keep motivated day after day when i'm not losing a freaking thing.
i have been in the 250's since february, bouncing all over the freaking 250's, but not able to break through down into the 240's. can i get a mother fucker? mother fucker.
maybe with jenn as my co-trainer i can break through. i hope. i really really hope. cause this blows monkey balls. seriously.
last week jenn & i got some semi devastating news: riley got a new job. i mean, ok yeah for him, if he really thinks he needs to work full time & get benefits. but it means he'll be moving to another Y. & at first it appeared that perhaps he'd be able to continue to train jenn & myself, but alas, he only has a couple of weeks that he's allowed to do that, & then, if we want to continue to train with him we'll need to make the trek up 169 from minnetonka to coon rapids during rush hour traffic. yeah. right. about that. not gonna happen.
while i /heart riley as a trainer, i just don't have the dedecation to him to travel that highway to hell. for anyone who doesn't live in minnesota & is not familiar with 169 i'll explain. 169 is basically hell on earth in general, but especially from the hours of 3pm to 7pm monday through friday. which leaves me trainer-less.
*tear*
i'm now a gym orphan. well, ok, jenn & i are now gym orphans. we just started to get our balance in this whole weight training thing & our options are: a) find a new trainer or b) try to go it alone. both are unequivocally scary for their own reasons. after about three months with riley i feel like we finally found our stride. he knows us, he gets our jokes. ok, he doesn't ALWAYS get our jokes, but about 96% of the time he's right there with us & he isn't even uncomfortable when i make fat girl jokes.
like today when he was stretching out jenn & i's lower legs he said "you girls have some loose hammies"
& i said "mmm...ham, i'm hungry."
& jenn shot in with "never doubt a fat girl to bring ham into the equation."
so i'm not super excited about the thought of having to break in a new trainer. i mean, it's taken us the majority of the past three months to properly break in riley. so that leaves option b, going this alone. & while jenn & i have both had success in the past with losing weight on our own, but then again, neither of us is a size 0 skeleton wannabe. i'm still too fat to be a plus size model. at least according to twiggy & tyra.
there are definite bonuses to going it alone, the first being we'd each be saving $70 bucks a week, which means i could use that to put in my savings, or pay extra on bills, that would be an extra $280 a month i'd have to do something else with! & let's face it, i'm still kinda a broke ass hoe cause i'm working two jobs & going to school & still trying to live that big dream, so 280 is a whole lotta scratch for me. in a way i can't believe i've been shelling that out & not even cringing, must be because we pay each week.
i am still pretty worried though that i'm going to *twump* fall flat on my face & fail. again. my friend dev suggested that jenn & i make a pact that if one of us punks out on gym time then they owe the other one 20 bucks, which i think is a great idea. i'm not sure yet how miss jenn feels & if we'll be doing that or not. but it's an idea. i have all kinds of "incentives" set up for myself, but it's still hard to keep motivated day after day when i'm not losing a freaking thing.
i have been in the 250's since february, bouncing all over the freaking 250's, but not able to break through down into the 240's. can i get a mother fucker? mother fucker.
maybe with jenn as my co-trainer i can break through. i hope. i really really hope. cause this blows monkey balls. seriously.
weigh in
so, i forgot to post my weigh in last week, but i did indeed weigh in, last week i was at 251.8, this week i'm at 250.8, so, yea me, down another pound! still kind of far from my birthday goal *sad panda* but i still have 7 weeks & i'd need to lose at least 22lbs to be safely at my goal for my birthday. yeah, that breaks down to more than three pounds a week. *GULP* yeah, i really don't see that happening.
to be honest, not even sure how i COULD manage that in a healthy way at this point, because "they" say that you should only lose two pounds a week. but i'll keep trying. besides, evidently all the weight lifting is supposed to be adding muscle, which weighs more than fat, but will eventually help me burn more fat faster. maybe if i start actually weight training 4-6 days a week? it's a thought. that & lots of cardio, baby. & then eating healthy & laying off the crap food. we'll see how that works.
*pondering* then again, i still have birthday boots to fit my fat ass calves into. & remarkably, both the pairs of high boots are pretty dang close to fitting me, i just need to hit the weights more & get those calves toned. as opposed to getting those calves tanned....that'd be if they were leather, moo. :) yeah, it was a cheesy joke.
to be honest, not even sure how i COULD manage that in a healthy way at this point, because "they" say that you should only lose two pounds a week. but i'll keep trying. besides, evidently all the weight lifting is supposed to be adding muscle, which weighs more than fat, but will eventually help me burn more fat faster. maybe if i start actually weight training 4-6 days a week? it's a thought. that & lots of cardio, baby. & then eating healthy & laying off the crap food. we'll see how that works.
*pondering* then again, i still have birthday boots to fit my fat ass calves into. & remarkably, both the pairs of high boots are pretty dang close to fitting me, i just need to hit the weights more & get those calves toned. as opposed to getting those calves tanned....that'd be if they were leather, moo. :) yeah, it was a cheesy joke.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
checking in: goals 2007
so, it's almost a third of the way through 2007. let's see how i'm doing on my goals that i set out in january:
fitness
~work out an average of 4 days/week for 60+min/day
~be able to do 10 real push ups~run for five minutes without dying
~by year's end be able to do firm videos without dying
~increase flexibility (for use in "fun" category)
well....i have not been doing the work out thing, at all, i've been averaging two days a week simply because i've been doing training with riley. ok, maybe three days on occasion, so i need to bump that up. i am getting stronger, but still no where near doing a single real push up, & i can run for about 45 seconds before i beg to die & slow down to a walk. as for the flexible, i've done pilates maybe twice this year...but my squats are getting deeper when i'm training my legs, so i may be increasing my flexibility a wee bit.
summary on fitness: meh, ok, needs improvement
finance
~pay off at least two of my credit cards
~put money into my savings with every check
i don't have any of my credit cards paid off, but i am getting pretty close on one & making extra payments on others, so i'll re-evaulate this at the end of june when i'm half through the year, but i'm pretty hopeful i can get two paid off by years end. i think i've missed one, possibly two times, of transferring money into my savings. but otherwise doing pretty well.
summary on finance: doing pretty dang good
future
~finish my novel
~finish revising my poetry book
~submit to at least 5 publications this year
hrm, future, yeah, about that. i haven't really worked on my novel. i've written one new poem & haven't touched my poetry manuscript since 2006.
summary on future: failing miserably, thus far
fun
~get my 3rd tattoo
~party like it's 1999 for my 30th
~enjoy the last of my 20's & the start of my 30's
~end the year with ZERO regrets
as for fun, well, i haven't been sitting around moping or anything. i got my nose pierced. i have my appointment for my birthday tattoo. i'm getting my ears pierced again before i go to cali. & just in general trying not to sweat the small things.
summary on fun: meh, doing alright, i guess
focus
~work up to meditating 5 times a week by years end
haven't really meditated at all. but i've pulled out my "hippie" books & have done some reading & made friends with some like minded people. i've also recently learned about focusing my chi, so on the path. well, ok, i can SEE the path.
summary on focus: needs work
fitness
~work out an average of 4 days/week for 60+min/day
~be able to do 10 real push ups~run for five minutes without dying
~by year's end be able to do firm videos without dying
~increase flexibility (for use in "fun" category)
well....i have not been doing the work out thing, at all, i've been averaging two days a week simply because i've been doing training with riley. ok, maybe three days on occasion, so i need to bump that up. i am getting stronger, but still no where near doing a single real push up, & i can run for about 45 seconds before i beg to die & slow down to a walk. as for the flexible, i've done pilates maybe twice this year...but my squats are getting deeper when i'm training my legs, so i may be increasing my flexibility a wee bit.
summary on fitness: meh, ok, needs improvement
finance
~pay off at least two of my credit cards
~put money into my savings with every check
i don't have any of my credit cards paid off, but i am getting pretty close on one & making extra payments on others, so i'll re-evaulate this at the end of june when i'm half through the year, but i'm pretty hopeful i can get two paid off by years end. i think i've missed one, possibly two times, of transferring money into my savings. but otherwise doing pretty well.
summary on finance: doing pretty dang good
future
~finish my novel
~finish revising my poetry book
~submit to at least 5 publications this year
hrm, future, yeah, about that. i haven't really worked on my novel. i've written one new poem & haven't touched my poetry manuscript since 2006.
summary on future: failing miserably, thus far
fun
~get my 3rd tattoo
~party like it's 1999 for my 30th
~enjoy the last of my 20's & the start of my 30's
~end the year with ZERO regrets
as for fun, well, i haven't been sitting around moping or anything. i got my nose pierced. i have my appointment for my birthday tattoo. i'm getting my ears pierced again before i go to cali. & just in general trying not to sweat the small things.
summary on fun: meh, doing alright, i guess
focus
~work up to meditating 5 times a week by years end
haven't really meditated at all. but i've pulled out my "hippie" books & have done some reading & made friends with some like minded people. i've also recently learned about focusing my chi, so on the path. well, ok, i can SEE the path.
summary on focus: needs work
Friday, April 13, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
if the 40's are the new 20's. . .
. . .then, may i ask, what the hell are the 30's? are they the new teen years? should i be having my rebellious stage right now? complete with black make-up, black clothes, a pessimistic world view & tragic bad poetry? wait, um, yeah, i already did that when i really was 15. that is one phase i really don't want to relive. at all.
so seriously, what are the 30's? i'm having a bit of an existential crisis here. it seems like my friends are polarizing. they're either married/engaged/deeply steeped in coupledom or single & partying & doing the whole puke n rally phase of their lives. not that either of those is a bad thing, perse, but i'm not sure where i fit in anymore.
don't get me wrong, i love all my friends dearly, a couple i & i'm so happy for her, i couldn't be more excited if it was me that was about three months shy of motherhood, but in the quiet times i think too much about what all of it means. i love her, & her hubby frank, both dearly. but in the last three-ish years since she's gotten married we spend less time together. she has committments to her family, & his, & there's some days that i feel like there's no room left for me. & in my selfish moments, which, i've already established, is most of 2007, i wonder what my friendship with tina is going to be like post baby.
once again, i love her dearly, i'm closer to her than nearly any other person on planet earth, there's just one exception. i love her like a sister, her little boy will be my nephew. but i'm not at that same life place that she's at right now. i'm still single with no change to that in the near future (& i'm UBER happy about that!) & no clue when i'll have kids. just seems a little bit like that small fissue in our lives is turning more into a crevice. not that i want that to happen at all. she's family to me, but it feels like something i can't help.
but, at the same time, i seem to be re-entering my early twenties. which is an exciting thing for me because my first time through wasn't so grand. i basically wasted my twenties on bad relationships. or, relationships that were bad for me. i learned a lot from each one, but sometimes the most vaulable thing any of us have is our time, & i gave too much of it away to people who just weren't worthy of it. yeah, it's egotistical. but it's dead on accurate & true.
& my friends on the other end of the spectrum? there's nothing wrong with them either. i'm glad that i still know people who are single, people that i have a major life status in common with. & yet.
& yet.
i still have trouble reconciling the entire thing. fifteen years ago, hell, even ten or twelve years ago, i thought i would be at such a different place as i stood on the edge of my thirties. i thought i'd be a published writer. i really thought i'd be living my dream. instead, i'm not. i'm working two jobs, still, going to school, still, & dreaming, still.
i am realizing now, that i was not nearly selfish enough in the past, well, lifetime. & i think i'm starting to come to the conclusion that if i really do have to pick between a relationship/family life or leading the bohemiun writer's dream that i've had since i could dream, that i'll take the latter.
so seriously, what are the 30's? i'm having a bit of an existential crisis here. it seems like my friends are polarizing. they're either married/engaged/deeply steeped in coupledom or single & partying & doing the whole puke n rally phase of their lives. not that either of those is a bad thing, perse, but i'm not sure where i fit in anymore.
don't get me wrong, i love all my friends dearly, a couple i & i'm so happy for her, i couldn't be more excited if it was me that was about three months shy of motherhood, but in the quiet times i think too much about what all of it means. i love her, & her hubby frank, both dearly. but in the last three-ish years since she's gotten married we spend less time together. she has committments to her family, & his, & there's some days that i feel like there's no room left for me. & in my selfish moments, which, i've already established, is most of 2007, i wonder what my friendship with tina is going to be like post baby.
once again, i love her dearly, i'm closer to her than nearly any other person on planet earth, there's just one exception. i love her like a sister, her little boy will be my nephew. but i'm not at that same life place that she's at right now. i'm still single with no change to that in the near future (& i'm UBER happy about that!) & no clue when i'll have kids. just seems a little bit like that small fissue in our lives is turning more into a crevice. not that i want that to happen at all. she's family to me, but it feels like something i can't help.
but, at the same time, i seem to be re-entering my early twenties. which is an exciting thing for me because my first time through wasn't so grand. i basically wasted my twenties on bad relationships. or, relationships that were bad for me. i learned a lot from each one, but sometimes the most vaulable thing any of us have is our time, & i gave too much of it away to people who just weren't worthy of it. yeah, it's egotistical. but it's dead on accurate & true.
& my friends on the other end of the spectrum? there's nothing wrong with them either. i'm glad that i still know people who are single, people that i have a major life status in common with. & yet.
& yet.
i still have trouble reconciling the entire thing. fifteen years ago, hell, even ten or twelve years ago, i thought i would be at such a different place as i stood on the edge of my thirties. i thought i'd be a published writer. i really thought i'd be living my dream. instead, i'm not. i'm working two jobs, still, going to school, still, & dreaming, still.
i am realizing now, that i was not nearly selfish enough in the past, well, lifetime. & i think i'm starting to come to the conclusion that if i really do have to pick between a relationship/family life or leading the bohemiun writer's dream that i've had since i could dream, that i'll take the latter.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
1st weigh in, post competition
yeah, so back up again this week, 1.4 lbs from last week. i seem to be bouncing around the low 250's & it's getting quite annoying. i am happy that i'm at 254.4 instead of in the 270's, or higher, but still, it's getting frustrating. & to be honest, it's getting hard for me to keep hopeful & keep up my motivation when working really hard & watching every single freakin little thing that goes into my mouth doesn't seem to help a damn bit.
&, despite the fact that i pay a hella lot of money to go to training with riley, it's not even enough lately to keep me going into the gym & putting in all that effort when the results i'm seeing are minimal to non existent. boo.
&, despite the fact that i pay a hella lot of money to go to training with riley, it's not even enough lately to keep me going into the gym & putting in all that effort when the results i'm seeing are minimal to non existent. boo.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
the end: week twelve
so, the competition has officially ended, & i hate to saying it blog readers: but i did not win. yeah, i know, i'm a very sad panda :( but don't worry, i'm not having a three some tonight with ben & jerry, i'll be hitting the gym with miss jenn for our second workout of the day.
i am disappointed in myself that i wasn't able to win this thing. i know that i really COULD HAVE if i would have taken it seriously hard core from the beginning. but, as it is, a good lesson was learned for me, & i still lost 17.4 lbs since the start of the whole thing in january, & that in itself is a big win for me. so go me, almost twenty pounds lost. i should be able to make my goal of 229 by the big 30!
i am disappointed in myself that i wasn't able to win this thing. i know that i really COULD HAVE if i would have taken it seriously hard core from the beginning. but, as it is, a good lesson was learned for me, & i still lost 17.4 lbs since the start of the whole thing in january, & that in itself is a big win for me. so go me, almost twenty pounds lost. i should be able to make my goal of 229 by the big 30!
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