At last...

We have internet! YES! I can't believe the endless hours that were spent this week trying to get back online. Every day, and I mean every-frickin-day, I was talking to some tech person on the phone trying to solve the issue. Finally, they decided it was the modem (naturally, don't listen to me, that's what I said all along, grrrr). Then after they came out and plugged in (sold me) a new modem, I had to get on the phone again for a tech to get my wireless network back up and running. Grrrrr.

The stress level this past week was so over the top that on Wednesday, while talking to the 516th tech-guy (okay, I'm stretching it), I began to laugh at everything that came out of his mouth. It was hysterical to me. I got the giggles so bad that I had to lay the phone down and laugh for about 3 or 4 minutes. I could hear him snickering, then laughing, too. I'm sure he thought I was a nut case but I didn't give a rat's *ss. He did say he was glad I was laughing instead of screaming at him. Yeah, it was your lucky day, bud. Turns out, it was PMS. Yep, he was one lucky dude, lol.

I took Nellie today and had to get her a new tire and tube. The old tire had a hole in it near the rim and that's what caused it to blow. That other bike shop that I went to first must not have checked for wear. I'll not be visiting their store anymore. REI is the place for me. I could live in that store, literally. I mean they have protein bars and nice sleeping bags and great chairs. No place like it!

The best part of my week has to be my new workouts. Dragging myself out of bed at 5am and getting to the track by 6 takes some doing for the night owl that I am, but once I get there, it's great. I knew my arms and shoulders were weak, but geez, I had no idea what a softie I am.

So this weekend I plan to get some riding done and try to catch up on all that I've missed in your world. Have a great weekend and remember to drink your water.

Are We On Now?

We are having some internet problems at my casa these days. Since Monday morning to be exact. It looks like the signal is there but we can't get online. I spent over an hour with a tech with my phone line carrier Monday night. Yesterday they were supposed to call me between 7am and 8am to do an over the phone fix and finally they called at 8:50am to tell me they needed to reschedule for later in the day. So they call me back at 5:30pm last night and after 86 minutes of pure Windows Dos Hell, he tells me I need a level 2 tech. Gaaaaahh. So tonight, they'll call and we'll see what happens.

We never have internet problems. I can't even imagine what the problem is, unless it's the modem. We've had it for a long time and the guy that I talked to last night said he couldn't even find support info for it. Gaaaahhh.

Needless to say, I haven't had as much time to read blogs and post cute comments. I hope we get this thing fixed today!

I had my second morning workout today! Yay! I'm really loving it. I haven't been able to get back to the bike shop and get Nellie's tire fixed so she's just been glaring at me every evening. She sits by the door in the living room and I can almost hear her sigh, lol.

Hope to catch up with all of you soon. Have a good evening and you know what I'm going to say, right?

Drink that water!

Shock and Owwww

I got up at the crack of dawn (well, to me anyway) and got to the school at 6am. It's still dark at that time of the morning here in Texas, in case you don't get up that early. Man that's early for me to already be at the school. My body was in shock!

Anyhoo, we walked the track for 3 laps and then hit the circuit. Am I sounding like a true weight lifter, or what?! M, who has volunteered her fitness expertise, showed me the machines I need to start out on today. I only did 15 reps on each machine working my arms, back, legs, and abs. The leg machines weren't too hard for me but the arms, well, lets just say I'm a real weakling. It felt good though and I'm sooooo glad I got my carcass out of bed and DID IT.

M will also start us on some calisthentics later in the week. I'm going to be sore, I know. But I need this and I'm so thankful for the opportunity.

Make it a great day and don't forget to drink your water.

Oops! I forgot something!

Last week I got an award and I totally dropped the ball! Shmologna over at Me vs. The Buffet, bestowed to me the One Lovely Blog Award. How sweet! Please forgive me for not getting to this sooner. I really am appreciative of the gift. It's hard for me to follow rules, ya know. And now, since I've waited sooooooo long to pass it on, most everyone I follow and adore has now been given the award. Oh, well. I'm going to pass this on and if you've already been given the award, now you have two!

Karen @ Fitcetera

Roxie @ Gravel and Rust

Spunkysuzi @ Spunkysuzi Working Towards a Healthier Me

Ruth @ she-fit

Tamzin @ One Inch at a Time

Andrea @ Echo of Me

Lee @ Journey to Fitville

Patty @ Fit by My 50th!

Irene @ livin large

BVar @ Onmyway100

So, Shmologna, I hope you still think I'm worthy of the award. I love that you thought of my little blog as "lovely." I love reading yours and always leave with a smile. Give Linus a hug for me.

Here we go again

It rained a lot on Friday evening so I chose not to go to the bike shop to get Nellie a new tube. We've needed rain but honestly, I've gotten used to not having rain that I kinda like it. It reminds me of when I lived in California. *sigh*

Anyway, Saturday morning I got up and loaded Nellie into my mom's van and went to the local bike shop. I usually go to REI, but this shop was closer, and closer meant I could get home faster to clean house and do all my lovely chores. It took them 5 minutes to change the tire but they really didn't have time to show me how it's done so I just paid the man and Nellie and I rolled out the door.

I got home and cleaned and washed and wore myself out. I was too tired to ride and figured I'd already had quite the workout so not riding wouldn't be too bad diet-wise. Watched a movie, "The Soloist" (good movie, btw) and that was that.

So today (Sunday) at 6:30pm I decided to go for a ride. It was still very hot, but I was anxious to get some miles in today. I rode down the driveway and into the street and two houses down, POW! WHOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHH! PFEEWWWWWW. $&%@ #$&@ and %&*$. WTH, I can't freakin' believe it. The same tire blew. Did they even check the tire for glass or a sliver of something sharp that JUST MIGHT bust the new tube??!! I'm really ticked off and the shop is closed so I can't even call them up and tell them how ticked I really am. *breathe*calm down*it's just a flat and that can be fixed, blah, blah, blah. I know that but it means I have to do this all over again and that also means no ride today. Arrrrrgh.

Tomorrow, some girls at work and I have decided to go in at 6am to the weight room at the school and start lifting some weights. One of the girls is a coach and tennis player and has agreed to mentor us and be sort of a personal trainer. I'm excited about it, but not about the 6am workout time. As I've said in the past, mornings and I try to avoid each other. Oh, well, I'll just have to get over it. I need to work with weights and that is something I'm just not motivated to do at home.

Take care and don't forget to drink your water.

The Ride That Wasn't

Things at work have continued to be at break-neck speed. Now that all the faculty and staff are back and school started on Tuesday, they're a bunch of demanding folk. Which is good because busy means time flies, but bad because I seem to have lost my skill at remaining calm. I'm usually the one who stays calm, cool, and collected (in control of her feelings, etc.). But this week I just see everyone as sniveling, demanding, cry babies. When I worked in hospice, we had great stress management meetings. I need one of those right now.

Any who. This morning I felt thinner so I went to the altar (scale) and stepped on. YES! My prayers were answered, halle-lu-ya. Two more pounds are gone from my soon-to-be-svelte bod. Thanks, I needed that :D

When I got home I suited up and Nellie and I went for our ride. My daily route is a lap around the neighborhood which comes in at 1.5 miles per lap. Most days I ride for 40 minutes and comes out to about 8 miles. I made it the first lap and almost talked myself into heading home. Just wasn't feelin' it. But like a good girl, I stopped, selected my Sheryl Crow playlist, took a swig of water, and off I went.

I rode about 1/8 of a mile and POW-WHOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH! HISSSSSSSS. What the cr*p was that? I stopped, got off the bike and sure enough, poor Nellie's back tire was flat as a pancake. I haven't had a flat since I was 14 and I'd taken my 10-speed to the gas station to air up my tires. Never, ever, do that. As soon as I rode 20 feet, the tire exploded!

Anyway, Nellie and I walked home. I think we were about a mile from home when the big bang happened. It felt like 5 miles. Now I know why I choose to ride rather than walk. The humidity was so bad it felt like I was wearing a sauna suit, you know those kind that say you'll sweat off the pounds? It was miserable. And I must be the slowest walking human alive. Seriously, I walk at a snails pace. The neighbors were sweet, they all wanted to know if I was okay or if I needed some air. Lesson learned. I need to get a spare tube and attach my little air pump and learn to change my tire. I don't want this to happen to me again.

Oh, and on top of all the sweating and turtles-pace walking, I got a blister on my foot. My feet just don't like being rubbed the wrong way, lol.

So, tomorrow, I'm off to the bike shop to get Nellie a new tube and me a lesson on changing a tire. Should be fun.

Have a super weekend. Good riding, walking, or whatever makes you happy. And don't forget to drink your water.

Is it Friday yet?

I kept saying that all week this past week. We had to go back to our regular hours at work, 8 to 4 (summer hours are 9 to 3) and the stress level was tantamount to a category 4 hurricane. We had in-services that were boring and some that were okay, but they still took up too much time. When the work is flowing in, sitting in a room and listening to business that doesn't relate to your world just adds to the stress. By nature, I'm a calm, relaxed person. But when everyone else around me is getting stressed out, I get caught up in it and then I just shut down.

One thing different about this week was how I chose to deal with the stress. I didn't eat candy or crap food. I did have a few days when sugar was calling my name so I had a sugar-free Jello Chocolate Pudding cup with a few graham crackers. Yes, some sugar and some fake junk, but it was better than going for a vat of Ben & Jerry's.

Anyway, today there was another training ride out in Brookshire, Tx. It's kinda far from my house so I would need to get up at the crack of dawn and load the bike then head out at 6 am to get there to ride with the group for a brief 14 mile ride. Nah. I think not. After my crazy week, I was not in the mood to give up my Saturday morning rest time.

So I got up at 8am and at 9 I headed to the bayou trail to ride my own training ride. It was great. A little hot and humid, but it was really a nice ride. I rode for almost 13 miles and even had a chance to go up a couple of small hill-ish sections that I'm proud to say I was able to climb. Yay!

I'm going to spend some time this weekend cleaning out my d*mn garage. That thing collects all kinds of crap and I don't have a clue where it all comes from ;)

Have a great weekend. I've missed you guys and will be playing catch-up on all the great stuff you've had going!

Where's your water? I know, it's around there somewhere. Drink up :)

Tour de Pink Training Ride #2

Today we had our second training ride for the Tour de Pink. If you don't ride much or have never ridden a bike in a group, there are some things you need to know to make riding as a group safer and more fun. Like announcing holes or debri in the road, when you are slowing or stopping, which way you are turning, etc. We learned about hand signals and being aware of the other riders. It was a lot of fun!

This morning when my alarm went off at 6:00 am, on a Saturday, I almost stayed in bed. Saturday mornings are my one time to sleep in and relax with a cuppa coffee so getting out and about by 7 am is a shock to my system. Once I got the bike loaded and got on my way, I was so glad I did :D

Here are some pics from today's ride. I am lovin' it!

On the weightloss front, I undid the bad eating that creeped up on me from last week and I'm down to 245.2! Yay, that puts me at just a hair away from 40 lbs. In fact, the myfitnesspal thingy shows 40 lbs gone so that's fine with me.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about how I have let food rule my life, my emotions. And after reading how many of you (to mention a few Fitcetera, Losing Waist, and Spunkysuzi) are dealing with this same issue, I've actually had a kind of peace with food this week. I'm not freaking out over every bite and I'm not freaking out about counting and measuring and just look how my week turned out. I'd say I'm finally growing into a healthy mind-set about all of this diet stuff. I only wish this change in attitude could have happened 20 years ago.

Oh, and thanks to some wonderful blog friends, (I'd mention them if they say it's cool) I've exceeded my goal for fundraising for the Tour de Pink! You guys ROCK! Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Have a great weekend and take care. And drink that water!

Exciting Stuff

Well, first, let me say thank you for mentioning my blog for the "Reader's Choice: Best Weight Loss Blogs" thing that was held at Cranky Fitness. I made it on the "Other Reader Favorite Weight Loss Blogs" list that Crabby put together. I'm very honored to be included in the line up of so many great blogs/bloggers! You guys, ROCK. And Crabby, thank you for putting it all together and getting the info to us. I only wish I could read blogs all day long!

Speaking of new blogs, I would like to introduce you to Andrea. She has joined the world of weight loss bloggers! Yay! You may have seen some of her comments here and there as CrowNology. Andrea is a very talented artist and designer and is working on getting some of her artwork and photography on Etsy. This girl has a heart of gold! She's genuine. And shares from her heart. Please stop by her new blog, Echo of Me, and offer her a warm blogger welcome!

Karen had a birthday! Happy days ahead for you girlie. And Roxie is getting ready to rock some worlds at her reunion!

Now, what else...oh, yeah, I had some Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt today with some Craisins in it. Geez, loueeze, it was heaven.

Have a great evening and don't forget to drink your water!

Diet Apathy

I've fallen into the old familiar way of eating that I despise. Being off work for two weeks has meant sleeping in, staying up late, and having no menu structure. You would think that my being off work would have inspired me to cook and work out. Pffftht. Not hardly. I have not been eating breakfast. Lunch is a joke. And dinner? Well, dinner hasn't been awful, just not the way I need to be eating if I really intend to lose more weight.

Why have I lost interest in dieting? I honestly don't know. Maybe it's just juvenile rebellion. I wanted to take a trip and couldn't afford it, so let me pretend to be on vacation by not dieting. That's what we do when we are on vacation, right? Eat like we're not on a diet?!

Anyway, tomorrow I go back to work and I'll be ready to set limits for myself and have a schedule. When you have a lot of weight to lose, like I do, it requires a long term commitment. And just like anything that requires a long term commitment, boredom can set in. I think that's what's happened to me. I will be working on mixing things up so the boredom lifts and my "loser" attitude gets adjusted. I've come to far to "break-up" now, lol.

Saturday I went on a training ride that is offered by the group that organizes the Tour de Pink. Bike Barn was there to go over some items bike riders might consider using when out on the longer rides; helmets, camelbaks, mirrors, etc. They also offer a bike maintenance class the first Wednesday of every month. Yay! They are really nice and very helpful.

There were some great mentors riding around helping us novices learn about bike fit, safety while riding in a group, and just learning to be observant on the road. Very nice group of peeps. I am excited about next weekend when we go on a short group ride.

Thank you for thinking of me while I've been absent from bloggerville. I have some catching up to do and I've missed some important stuff, I'm sure. I'm especially sad to learn about Jen's loss. I can only hope that her family finds peace in the coming days.

Have a good week and don't forget to drink your water.