Getting Serious On You

I know I don't usually touch on "serious issues", but I recently read a post by Sarah {The Student Knitter} about women and our weight issues, and it really hit home for me.  If you've been reading here for any length of time, I talk about working out and diets and my struggles occasionally, most recently, here.  Growing up, I was always the girl who could eat what I wanted and not worry about my weight.  I naturally had a fast metabolism, and just by luck, I had good genetics.  In the last year, it seems my metabolism slowed considerably, and I've put on 20 pounds. Yeah, I know, 20 pounds doesn't seem like much to a lot of people, but when you're only 5 foot tall, and take into account my prior weight, it's a 20% gain.  And it feels like a lot to me.  It probably shouldn't, but it does.  At first, when the weight started to creep on, it didn't bother me much, I joked about it.  But as it crept up to 20 pounds and stuck, and my clothes weren't fitting, it started to bother me more and more.  I would look in the mirror and really not like what I was seeing.  I would talk about dieting and working out, but, I'm not exactly known for my willpower, and the exercising would last maybe a couple of weeks, and the dieting, well, maybe a couple of days. 

It goes back to judging our worth or attractiveness by our pants size, or the number on the scale, and that sucks.  Why has it become more acceptable to complain about our weight and appearance than to be happy about it.  How many women do you know would say that they're fine with their appearance?  I don't think I know any.  What would you think if they did?  Would you be surprised?  Proud? Jealous? Think that they're lying? Or conceited?

Anyway, sorry to get all serious on you, but it just got me thinking.  Now I'm actually starting to enjoy working out, and I've stuck with it for almost 2 months now.  Even though I've only lost about a pound and a half, I feel better, stronger and healthier.  Maybe that number on the scale isn't so important.

Shoot Me Now, Or Why I Hate Shopping for Jeans

I finally found a couple pairs of jeans today, and I only had to try on about 10 pairs this time.  This is probably the 4th time that I've went shopping for jeans in the last 6 months and only the first time that I've been successful.

I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say I'd rather be shot than go shopping for jeans.  Maybe just with a paintball gun.  Something painful, but not actually dangerous.  Ugh.

I always say that I go to try on jeans until I either find a pair or become homicidal.  There's a reason I only have 2 pairs of jeans that fit me.

Also, while I'm complaining, I've been working out 3-4 times a week (that's the good part!) for the last 5 weeks and not lost 1 pound!  Not one!!  While I can tell that my muscles are firming up, the problem areas are not improving, and again, no weight loss whatsoever.  It's so frustrating.  I'm glad that at least I am physically feeling better, with more energy, or I'd have no motivation at all to keep at it. 

I thought 2 months would be a reasonable amount of time to at least look semi-presentable in a swimsuit when we go to Honduras.  The goal was only 5 pounds, 10 tops and firming up.  Doesn't look like I'm going to make it.  How annoying.

Hooked on Exercise? Me?!

When my mom called me a couple of weekends ago and said, "Hey, I saw this infomercial last night, it was some exercise tapes, can't remember what it was called, but I think it started with a Z.  Anyway, it looked really fun!", I admit, I was skeptical.

A little backstory; my mom will occasionally see something random on tv or a magazine, call me up, describe it extremely loosely, (so there's a good chance I have no idea what she's talking about), and say let's go do it!  How about tomorrow?!  Usually I'm the one doing a little bit more research to figure out the details and the when's and where's.  And thus, I discovered Zumba.

When I first looked at the website, I'd heard of it before, knew it to be like an aerobic class with dancing and Latin/R&B type music.  Thought it looked kind of fun, but I'm not really a fitness class type person.  I mean, I'm pretty good at laughing at myself, but still a little nervous about looking really stupid in front of people.  I also was a little surprised that my mom wanted to do this, she's not usually one for putting herself out there, way more shy than me.  But, she was just so darn enthusiastic about it, so I looked up local classes and we went the following Tuesday.  And dang it if it didn't turn out to be really fun!  Our first class was an hour of just straight dancing, which was fun, but we went to a different class the following week, and did some toning with the dance, and man, were we sore the next day! (and the day after that for that matter)  Went for the third time yesterday, and she made us do walking lunges.  A lot of them.  I fully expect to be sore for another day or so, but still intend to go back again next week!  I think I'm hooked on exercising... how did that happen?

Writer's Block Again...

I've been picking at a couple of blog posts for the last several days and I just can't put together a cohesive post.  So here's a random list:

- I joined the gym again.  I've just been so tired lately, it's kind of the last thing I want to do, but I think that there's a good chance that it will make me feel better and give me some more energy.  Hopefully, it will lead to more motivation as well.
-I always forget how much I actually like running.  About a half hour after I finish running, I'm wanting to go again.
-I'm still trying to figure out what to do about selling my photos.  If Etsy is my best bet, or if I should set up an separate website like Mpix that will print and ship the pictures directly.
-Gil the cat is growing really fast.  She has probably doubled in size in the last 2 and a half weeks.  And she's mildly psychotic, I keep threatening to sell her to the circus if she doesn't stop being so crazy!  Any time I'm on the computer, reading, knitting, she has to "help".  Usually by jumping on the buttons or biting my needles or chewing on the end of the book.  That's when she's not biting me! 
-I know I've mentioned our next trip in passing, but we're heading to Roatan, Honduras, for the big 3-0 birthday in September!  I'm really excited to spend my birthday on the beach!  We'll be doing lots of diving, taking pictures, and relaxing.  We're staying at Anthony's Key Resort, and have some friends and family going, so it should be a really good time!

Nothing too exciting, but I'm trying to keep up on 2 or 3 posts a week!  Just gotta shake this writer's block!

The Fruits our Our Labor

I love having a garden.  This is our second year and we decided to double the size because we enjoyed it so much last year.  About a month ago I put in lettuce and spinach, and a whole bunch of onions.  There was also an "incident" involving 3 broccoli plants and a small rodent.  One plant disappeared, one was eaten all the way to the ground, and one was completely stripped of all of its leaves.  Thankfully, the one that got stripped, actually survived, so we're going to get a little broccoli this year.  Then this past weekend, we got 2 tomato plants, 1 bell pepper, 1 jalepeno, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans and sugar snap peas.  We also put some parsley, basil and "lime" thyme in a container.  The lime thyme smells fantastic, I can't wait to use it!  I've also thrown some fancy mint in one of my flower beds, since they're perennials, candy mint and chocolate mint, these will be great for teas!  We're also trying out a watermelon plant and some strawberries.  My husband picked out the watermelon, we'll see how that goes, it's supposed to grow 20 pound melons!  Knowing our luck, which, usually tends to be good when it comes to the garden, we'll have a dozen watermelons and not know what to do with them!!

We're already starting to get lettuce and spinach for salads.  There is just nothing better in a salad than fresh baby lettuces and spinach.  Look how pretty that is!

Just a simple salad with grape tomatoes and blue cheese, I could eat this every day!

I'm also about a week into trying to be more active and eating less.  I'm doing pretty well.  I've walked 3 times and we went diving this weekend, which counts for swimming.  I'm also trying to eat smaller portions.  I've tried eating better and eating less, but I don't have the willpower to do both, apparently.  I just don't do well with being hungry!

Or I Could Just Buy Bigger Pants

To follow up my lovefest of a post last week, I'm going to complain a little.  Because I've decided that it's my blog and I can whine if I want to!  So there. 

So I woke up this morning intending to wear my khaki cords to work, since they're comfy and it's cold outside*.  When I put them on, I discovered I don't need a belt to keep them up.  At first I was happy, because I hate wearing belts, then I realized what this actually meant.  That I'm gaining weight again.  Not cool.  The weight gain wouldn't bother me if it didn't mean that my pants don't fit me and that I look pregnant in most of my shirts.  It's just not worth looking pregnant when you NEVER HAVE BEEN.

What this means is that I need to exercise, and probably eat better, or at least less.  Which is what this blog started out to be last year; motivation to get in shape and maybe lose a pound or 10.  Therein lies the problem, I don't like to work out.  It is just too much work.  And I'm lazy.  But I like to eat stuff with lots of sugar and grease. Oh! And carbs.  Wonderful, delicious carbs.  Hmm, remind me why I need to work out again?

I do know that if I start working out, I'll feel better and have more energy.  Plus that 5K isn't going to run itself!

*cold being colder than yesterday-it's in the 50's whereas yesterday was in the 60's

Cranky

• I hate when my pant legs get wet. Today is worse though, I have wool pants on, and now I smell like a wet sheep. Sweet.
• Why am I hungry again!? I ate a butt-load of protein for lunch, at 1:45, its only 3:15!!
• I don't deal with being hungry very well, I get cranky.
• Work is also ticking me off. Why can't people just respond to emails the first time? No, it apparently takes 3 to get anything accomplished.
• No, I didn't work out last night, and I folded like wet cardboard and got freaking Wendy's for dinner on the way home. I couldn't resist the call of the Bacon Deluxe, I'm weak.
• That's it, I'm going for chocolate.
• Mmmm, all better.
• I'm totally working out tonight though!
• Everything's better with bullet points, dontcha think?

Let's try this again...

So, I've been completely absent from blogging for quite a while, I've written dozens of posts in my head over the past several months, just never actually got online and posted. I'd like to try to post at least a couple times a week, and with at least some relevant content, either working out, knitting/crafting, dogs or diving must be discussed in each post. We'll have to see if I can do it! So, let's play catch up:

• Working out: I was running, and was building my strength and endurance. I was running 3-4 times a week for about 4 weeks, then I tore my quad. Couldn't run for 2 weeks, so I got lazy, and hadn't worked out until last night. Had a little bit of a headache, and it was raining, so I did one of the more strenuous yoga workouts, and I can definitely feel it in my muscles today, so that's a good thing! Plan to either run or do the Jillian Michaels DVD tonight depending on the weather.


• Knitting/crafting: We're now into the Christmas crafting season, so I have a butt-load of projects all going on at once, but no pics! I'm working on mittens for a friend, 3 (or more) pairs of felted slippers for family. Not to mention the couple of things that are languishing on the needles for myself. On the positive side, I've finished several projects; 2 Clapotis', one for me and one for my mother-in-law, my Monkey socks, well, I think that's it... Also on the crafting front, I want to make homemade scented bath salts for family and maybe sew a couple of bags too. We'll see how well I do! (FYI, all the knitted project info is on my Ravelry project page )


• Dogs: Well, we're now a one dog household. We said goodbye to the old man Dexter on October 30th, 2009. His quality of life was steadily declining, he was really starting to struggle to catch his breath, and we made the decision that it was time. We will always miss him, and it is certainly quieter around the house without him. Murphy has done well adapting, she's more spoiled than ever (thanks to the husband!) and we can now get a puppy fix at Jeff's mom and stepdad's house. They got a 13 week old chocolate labradoodle about 3 weeks ago, and she is super cute! She loves Murphy so much, but Murphy is not so sure about this crazy little thing that keeps stealing her toys! It's pretty funny to watch, especially since it wasn't so long ago that Murphy was that crazy little toy-stealer!


• And Diving!: I am officially a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor!! I took my Instructor Development Course in August and September, and passed my Instructor Exam October 18th. It was stressful, but an awesome accomplishment and I am just thrilled! Of course, there's not much teaching to be done in the winter, but I have several people lined up for spring when the water starts warming up, so I'm very excited! Also, we have booked a big trip coming up soon in January. We're going to Indonesia to dive! I'm pretty excited about that too if you can't tell!! We leave January 10, will be spending a day and a half in Singapore on the way there, and then onto Manado, North Sulawesi for 7 days of diving around Bunaken island. Then we head to the East side of the island to dive Lembeh Strait for 5 more days! It should be absolutely amazing! We'll be gone 17 days, which is crazy, but we are so excited! We are waist deep in the preparations, everything is booked but there's just so much to plan for. We went to the Travel Medicine Clinic at OSU to get vaccinations and prescriptions and info for going to the other side of the world, so we're getting there, but there's still so much to buy and pack.

Well that's a good catch up, be back soon!

Cold Water Diving and Divemastering

So, we went diving last Friday at Lakeview RV Park in Lancaster, Ohio. It was cold!! I was bothered by the cold on the surface more that day than I was on our ice dives! We did one 40 minute dive, vis wasn't too bad, about 10-15 feet. Sounds crappy, but for Lakeview, it's not bad at all. I'm an Ohio diver, I'm used to low vis! We had a pretty good time despite the cold, and I'm jealous that Jeff is going up to Gilboa without me this Friday! I'm not a big fan of missing dives! But, it sounds like it's going to be yucky weather, so maybe it's not so bad.
Also, I'm cracking down on the Divemaster studying. I've got to get the book read and the tests taken. I still have the watermanship skills and the 4 confined water dives to do too. Thankfully the weather is getting warmer and I'll be more motivated since we'll be diving more. We've convinced our neighbors J & V to get certified and took them to Scubafest this past weekend to get them in the pool for a Discover Scuba session. V's not really sure about it, but J is really going to do well I think. V just needs some more pool time to get comfortable breathing underwater. We're humans, we're not supposed to breathe underwater, of course it's going to be awkward at first!
I swam at the rec center again today, man that's a workout! I did 550 meters in about 30 minutes. I'm so out of shape! I've been running too, and trying to watch my diet, but I'm just not cut out for dieting. I don't have the willpower, and I like ice cream too much!
Well, I need to go read before the husband gets home. I'm going to take advantage of the empty house!

Slacking Blogger

So, I haven't been blogging much, but stuff has been going on. I haven't been working out much, but I did run last night! I ran outside too! It was such a pretty day. I started the Couch to 5K program and need to learn to run outside. I haven't been swimming but once, because I got a tattoo and couldn't submerge it in water for awhile. More on that later...

I've been working on some knitting, but no sewing. I've started the 2nd Jaywalker sock, and am about 2 inches in. It's my travelling sock. The one I throw in my purse to take with me, so those ones usually take a while to get done. I'm going to cast on tonight for Firestarter socks with my Andey's Original sock yarn in the Mossy Brook colorway! It is so pretty and soft! I'm excited! My February Lady Sweater is coming along, I'm about 6 inches into the lace pattern, it's going sooo much faster since I separated the sleeves! And the lace pattern is super easy! Let's see... Foliage is still hibernating because it hates me. The same with River. And I think that's all that on the needles right now.

On the diving front, Jeff and I are going tomorrow with our friend/instructor Jason to Lakeview quarry in Lancaster. We've been there twice before and conditions are going to be a crapshoot. The first time we went, it was great, 20 foot vis. The last time was awful, 15 feet till you got to about 20 feet deep, then when you went through the thermocline, the lights went out. You couldn't see your hand if you stretched it out in front of you. So, we'll see. I'm excited to get in the water again though! If conditions are decent, I'll hopefully have some pictures! I'll post some pics and talk about our ice diving certification soon too! Oh! And Scubafest is this weekend here in Columbus! I'm excited to see a bunch of people we met last month up at Whitestar Quarry for the ice dive. We're taking our neighbors, who are not certified yet (but soon!) and getting them in the pool for a Discover Scuba class. It should be a really good time!

I think that's a start for catching up... I'll do better at blogging, I promise!

And just for fun, here's a pic of Murphy curled up on the couch:

I'm Totally Working Out Tonight... Really!!

I HAVE to, I haven't worked out since Friday. I'm a slacker. And I had cake for breakfast. Plus I found (through the Ravelry forums) 2 awesome motivational websites, 1 on Runners World, this is an article on getting started running. An 8 week plan to get you running 2 miles in 30 minutes.
Swin Plan, you sign up for this website and enter some information about your level of swimming abilities and it will build a custom workout plan for you! Cool!
Since it's raining, and I don't have workout clothes, I will be working out at home tonight with this video: Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred
The first time I did it, it was way harder than I expected it to be, but, it's getting easier. I'm also starting the 200 Sit-ups program. Yeah, I get bored easily. I've just got to get my butt into shape! Once the weather starts warming up, I've got to get out there and get my divemaster swimming done so I can get my instructor done by the end of the summer.

I've done better with the diet than I usually do, but I'm just not cut out for dieting. I like junk food too much and I have no willpower. But, when I weighed myself on Monday, I had lost 2 pounds! So I'm happy with that. And I haven't given up yet on it and said screw it I'm eating McDonalds for breakfast Wendy's for lunch, Taco Bell for dinner and topping it off with ice cream. Okay, so maybe I'm not THAT bad, at least with the fast food. But I loves me some fast food...mmm, Frosty...

BTW, the diet I'm following is the ABS DIET POWER food diet.
A-Almonds
B-Beans
S-Spinach
D-Dairy-lowfat
I-Instant Oatmeal
E-Eggs
T-Turkey and other lean meats
P-Peanut Butter
O-Olive Oil
W-Whole Grains
E-Extra Protein-in the form of whey protein powder
R-Raspberries and other berries

I Heart Fat Quarters!

Went to Joann's today at lunch and they have all their fat quarters on sale for $1 each! Yay! Pretty much all of their other fabric is on sale too! Look what I bought:

I especially love the doggy one and the pink ovals.

The blue and browns are for pillows for the living room. Haven't decided completely what they're going to look like, but the solid brown is the back panel.

And I picked up the liner for the purse I'm going to make. The silky fabric is the liner and the gray and teal is the outside. They were both remnants, a yard of each and less than 6 bucks for both! Yay for cheap stuff!

So, no knitting or diving stuff today, but today and yesterday I've done good with my eating habits, but bad on the working out. I'm being lazy. Maybe tomorrow, cause I'm eating dinner now.