gallavant

Well, I just got back from the first meeting of the 9:01 club.  For those of you who don’t know what that is, the pool where I live is clothing optional after 9:00 -  Wow!  I feel fantastic.  Just laid back on my floatie and watched the stars & the moons of several of my friends.  Helps me to realize - it’s just a body - and mine works so I’m grateful.

Joined the Georgia Mountain volunteer fire department - they are interested in training first responders, especially females, to go out on their calls - I’m really enjoying it.  I’m learning basic first aid & CPR - then we get to learn hazmat - then actual fire fighting.  I’ve also enrolled in several BLS classes at work.  I think it will be a good challenge for me and a good way to give back to this community which has come to matter so much to me. Ernie, the man who owns the marina where I live, suggested that I join - he thinks I’d be good at it - and I suspect he’s probably right.  Even if I do totally choke & don’t have what it takes at least I will have gained some valuable skills - and sailing and being on the water those are skills that could very well come in handy. 

The scale’s still stuck - but I’m still working on it.  Pfft.

That’s the advice I give to other peope when they sink into the fat n’ugly place so today I took my own advice.  The scale is not going to tell me happy things when I get on it in the morning.  It’s monthly fluctuations combined with a less than perfect diet - I let the scale have too much control over my mood.  I stepped on this morning and it was up -  so I had one of those f**ck it I’ll just be fat moments  and I had a cheese burger and onion rings for dinner.  Then I skipped the gym.  Of course, that boosted my self esteem to, oh, gee, about gutter level?

Lucky for me, I have a close to one hour commute on the way home and was able to give myself a really good ass-chewing.  I got home and put on my new shorts - they make my legs look like they go on forever.  I acknowledged the fact that my thighs don’t rub together so much any more.  I flexed my nana-wingless biceps.  I reminded myself of my generally healthy food-choices.  I reminded myself that my weight fluctuates by pounds per day - it’s the over all that matters.  Those were my sparklies.  Then I took action.  I went for a two mile walk.

Then I came here.  I know ya’ll get it.  Thanks for being here.

Not much new going on.  Skipped the workout yesterday - just too much other stuff to do.  Today I walked three miles and did some toning stuff.  Tried power yoga and was amazed at how the instructor could twist herself into knots!!  Probably not going to be a good class for me because she does lots of spine arches - and I have spinal arthritis - when I arch, I need to spend an equal amount of time hunching to decompress if that makes any sense at all.  The new fitness goal is to get my fat lazy butt out of bed earlier and go for a two mile walk in the morning.  I’ve done that before and it really helps to get my day started right.

Personal junk:  Having the whole fam damily over this weekend if that works out - grilled chicken breast & veggies galore on the menu. Pool is open, 9:01 club has not met yet - will keep you posted - talk about motivation!  New idea that works for me - a nurturing workout.  Best of both worlds.  There is a lovely sweet young lady in our office space who is trying to get herself healthy - she has two kids, one brand new, and she’s ready to drop the mommy weight.  I admire her pluck.  She started out by walking around the office and trying to eat less crappy food.  Then she moved up to walking once around the block over lunch.  Now she’s three times around the block.  My friend/coworker and I both really think the world of this young woman, so we have been encouraging her and joining her.  We’re hoping to have her join us on our one mile lunch hour walk which we have just started doing.  Told her about the site, hope she joins. 

Loving my garden, ya’ll.  I picked my first cucumber this morning and had it for breakfast.  The tomatoes are looking good - going to have squash out my ears - and thought that I would try purple hull peas - love them.  I really encourage people to get their hands in some dirt and grow food - eating what I grow is so satisfying to me - sharing what I grow even more so.  I grew a whole row of chard - I don’t really like chard, but I have two friends that do - thus, a row of chard.  I have the most beautiful lettuce - I plant a spring mix instead of a flower bed.  Herbs are weeds and grow well where nothing else does - thus basil, oregeno, parsley, lavender, & rosemary go where I can’t get anything to grow.  Even if you live in an apartment, they make special hanging pots so that you can grow tomatoes & strawberries.  Herbs grow in pots. 

I have noticed that women tend to nurture people with food - depressed?  I’ll have  a pint of Ben & jerry’s on your doorstep before you know it.  Loving a man?  cook him up an apple pie and some fried chicken.  New  to the neighborhood?  Have a platter of brownies.  Sick?  Well - chicken soup will do the trick.  

So, where are my thoughts leading?  To the potluck dinner, of course.    Came thru w/ flying colors - I share office space with some very caring women.  There was a home made keylime pie.  Two crockpots full of bbq meatballs.   Homemade potato salad.  And while I did not eat very much of it I complimented the hell out of it.  It ain’t the food that needs acknowledged, it’s the cook and the love that went into the preparation of the food that needs attention.  No one noticed that I had a plate full of fruit and salad with one of each kind meatball.  All I had to do was state that I love homemade key lime pie - that everyone loves rotel chili dip - and where did you get the receipt for the strawberry glaze layer cake w/ cream cheese frosting.  The fresh strawberries and peaches that I brought were enjoyed, and it warmed my heart to see people eat it - even if it was simple.  So why not return the feeling?  Mean time, I’m down two pounds.

Well, made it back from the North Alabama Scottish Festival.  Boat did great, stayed at a beautiful marina in Scottsboro, Goose Pond Colony - and really enjoyed the festival.  I have a thing for bagpipes, what can I say.  Hope to have pics on my profile page soon.   Stayed away from the food vendors - there was a booth called the Frying Scottsman that sold, and I am not kidding, Fried Snickers Bars.  And Haggis & chips.  Fried hardboiled eggs - ugh!!!!  In 95+ degree heat.  Nauseating.   

I’m originally from Colorado, and was fortunate enough to land in Alabama about 15 years ago.  I really love it here - but the food here is a nutritionists nightmare.  I worked my way thru college in a redneck diner and learned about the south and the glory that is southern cooking while working there.   I discovered that I really love the South and southern cooking - Fried Green Tomatoes, real coleslaw with mayo & sugar, fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits and gravy.  Everthing is prepared with some mixture of sugar, salt, and fat.  Squash is fried.  There was a place down the road where I used to live that actually sold hamburgers, battered, and then deep fat fried.  Turnip greens are cooked with pork fat.  Same with beans.  Macaroni & Cheese is a vegetable here.  It’s rare to find a place to eat that isn’t an ”All You Can Eat Buffet”.  I could eat like that when I was chain smoking,  younger, and running myself ragged working & going to school, trying to raise a family - but the moment I got a desk job & put down the smokes - and turned 40 - well, hello biscuit butt. 

I have no tolerance for it anymore.  I know how to eat right - so I will.  Two more days till I weigh in.  Hoping to be anywhere below where I am now.

Hi ya’ll;

Weird day -  Today was birthday time in the office.  I have the good fortune to work with a woman who is a wonderful cook - and she brought in a lemon poppyseed bundt cake that was like heaven.  Then we all went out for lunch - Mexican.  Two weaknesses I have - Mexican food and cake - so here’s how I handled it.  I did eat the cake - and I’m so glad I did because it was really really good.  One slice.  At lunch, I had a grilled chicken salad with black bean salsa, fresh pico,  real chipolte ranch dressing and pepperjack cheese (deprivation not my thing) wow, good stuff.  O.k, what I wanted was the Enchalada Platter - with extra sour cream - but I do recall the statement “nothing tastes as good as thin feels” - so that worked.  When the late afternoon munchies set in, I thought about the cake - I looked at my Wasa Whole Grain Crisp bread & peanut butter - I took a deep breath and - - - ate my crispbread.   Worked out like a fiend after work - 20 minutes rowing, biking, treadmill & elliptical for a total of 80 minutes of powerful fat burning cardio.  Bye Bye Cake.

Here’s my 15 seconds - totally surreal - I’m back at my desk, getting into the work groove, got my XM getting ready to hear Dr. Laura give em hell and - - - she read the blog I posted yesterday - on the air.  Cheeze Whiz.  I thought only ya’ll read this stuff, you know,   folks like me who need to drop a few & need a little encouragement to keep going - it was bizzare.  Anyway, I called my mom - told her to call my conservative uncle and tell him about it cause he’ll be so proud.  The rest of the family will probably disown me.

Other personal stuff:  Still getting ready for my trip Scottish festival up the TN river.  I’m thinking of loading up the boat Thursday night rather than Friday morning - it’s going to be hotter than blue blazes on Friday, and I’m thinking leaving EARLY Friday might be best - beat the heat.  There should be wind from a favorable direction, so I should be able to sail/ motor sail for a chunk of the trip.  I’m thinking haggis might be the perfect diet food - much like spam, too revolting to eat.   Looking forward to the music & the piping - bummed that the grandkids won’t be there - my mom & dad & daughter & son in law have no desire to drive the guys up in the heat & they are too young to come with me on the boat.

Ya’ll are the gravy on my grits.  Be blessed.

O.k., I confess - I’ve just started listening to Dr. Laura in the afternoons on XM at my desk.  She’s said some not so nice things about extra curvy people - still and all, today she said something that made sense to me - a curvy person called her and asked how she stayed motivated to work out - her answer?  Motivation has nothing to do with it - she does not get up and feel excited about working out  - BUT SHE DOES IT ANYWAY.  It’s not motivation, it’s just what she does because she has to do it.  I beleive the word she used was “grit”.  I would like to get there - make taking the stairs like brushing my teeth - just do it because it needs doing.  So when I left work today after a one hour commute and ten hours behind my desk and didn’t “feel” like going to the gym - had no “motivation” to do so I thought to myself - yeah, I have no motivation today - none zero zap zilch - but I do have plenty of grit.  And that is what got me to the gym - and boosted my normal workout.

Then there is this site - which is motivating to me - I have a buddy that I report to every day about how many flights of stairs I took - and that really does keep me from taking the elevator.  It also helps me to keep fitness and health as an active part of my life instead of as an afterthought. 

My final thought - grit alone ain’t enough - but sometimes it’s all you have - so use it.  Motivation is the gravy on the grit(s).  I’m a hefty girl - I really like gravy a lot.  So I’m really glad I’m here.

I did go on my 2 mile walk today - I ate reasonably - kept the calorie content under or around 1200 - cleaned my house a little bit - Mostly today I was just grateful.   I live at a marina so I am surrounded by beauty and have the opportunity to meet  many different people.  Today I spend the day on the dock pitching in to help a fellow sailor get his boat out of the water - his scuppers clogged up, his boat took on water, and now it’s at the bottom of the lake.  I was the  ”gofer” - which was great because I didn’t have to get into that scummy icky water - it was interesting to me to see how people come together to solve problems - everyone comes in with an idea about how to solve the problem - what works, what doesn’t, what’s been tried, what hasn’t - and working together they figure it out - a lot like this place I think.  Well, the boat is still at the bottom of the lake, I’m still overweight, we’ll give it another shot in the morning.  Keep trying - keep open to new ideas - something will work.

 Ommmmm ya’ll

The pool where I live is clothing optional after 9:00 - and I am a proud member of the 9:01 club.  Fortunatly for me, the pool is under repair right now - so no worries!   It is, however,   a reality check - bods is bods is bods - and nekked is nekked.  Still, knowing that the 9:01 club will soon be in session for the summer is motivation to stay on that treadmill for another 10 minutes!!  

 All kidding aside, skinny dipping actually fills me with a sense of gratitude - I love to swim and knowing that my body is working and able and that my friends accept me as god made me (in very dim light) is empowering.   I used to go when I was a kid - we’d sneak up to the lake with a bottle of Boone’s Farm and frolic.  Good fun with good friends.  It’s an innocent child like feeling.  Just being peaceful with who I am and who I am with at the moment.

Ommmm ya’ll

Diet and exercise - ARRRGGG!!  There has to be an easier way!  Those weight loss gimicks are always so seductive - just pop a pill - drink a potion - clean your ever loving colon so your immune system functions better and the weight just melts away?????  What the F****?    Hoodia - green tea - colon blow -  hydroxycut-  dexatrim - Hollywood -  if it worked i guess there would be no overweight people - but there are - - -my conclusion - worms don’t have knuckles - so please don’t try to sell them to me.  There is no such thing as a magic pill to make me skinny and fit - may as well invest in worm knuckles.  Pass the Nutty Buddies & revv up the treadmill

amen