Slow Down

Did a walk tonight in my new tennyshoes. Did OK in em as I walked the neighborhood. My route is up to these benches, where I sit and watch cars zoom by and then trek back home again. I sat and stared at the Church's Chicken across the street. Debated to bring $2.81 for their 3 piece and a biscuit special. Don't worry, I left my money home.

Months ago, I post how I needed to lose 41 pounds. I'd gained most of the 70 lbs I'd lost when I'd been sick, and kept it off until emotions from my job and this house got to me and I chose M&M's over a salad. I've kept up with my drinking 74 ounces of water daily (OK, maybe not so much on the weekends), but as for the loss of 41 pounds...

Let's just say, my bathroom scale is the only one in this universe that gets up and runs when it sees me coming!

Anyway, I've gotten back into my daily walks. I still would like a treadmill in my other bedroom for those days when it will soon be too hot to walk. I've cut down on my Blue Bell Ice Cream. Oh no, it's not disappeared actually, I just take slower to eat it--I savor it more--in fact Blue Bell's Tin Roof is in my freezer--and I hear it beggin' me to take a couple spoonfuls. Ya know how, ice cream can be SO pushy.

And one last thing--two guys, in my new job training class, flirted with me today, at two separate instances. Kinda caught me off guard. Been so wrapped up in learning the job, school, and the fact this is the most single I've been in a while--yea, they caught me off guard. Yet all very sweet and made me smile. Nice.

Shhh...do you hear? Oh wow...that darn Blue Bell!!

Tuesday goes OUT with a little '70's song by the Osmond Brothers: "Flirtin" .....enjoy!

Tuesday Twinkle

Had the day off. So nice. Jaunted to see my Heart Doc for my 6 month check up. Said all my numbers looked good. I looked good. My mechanical mitral valve sounded good. And silently I was glad the medical assistant didn't weigh me. Said their scale was outta whack. Being told tidbit that lowered my blood pressure about 10 points alone. The only thing my Heart Doc says is, "You need to be exercising more."

I laughed. I told her how I hadn't been doing it as much of recent times (months?) as I should.

Heart Doc laughed back and said they could tell. Turns out my recent ECHO (ultrasound of my heart) showed them my dirty little secret. My Heart Doc says we need to make sure my heart muscle remains strong so.....And I so agreed. After my appointment with her, I sauntered to my Coumadin check aka my POKE test (which lets me know if my blood to thick or too thin, where my valve is concerned), I headed to the park I walked so many laps around during my open-heart surgery recuperation. This was at the apartment complex I lived in prior to the purchase of the house. Had the park there, plus a work out room for the days I couldn't get outside. I still miss the convenience of the two.

Lastly, after my laps of the park. I sat on my Forrest Gump bench. How many times had I sat and contemplated how life would be as each day I grew stronger? All in all, a nice walk. Pet a couple of dogs out walking their humans. Nice to realize time has moved on. Nice to realize I've had no set backs.

Nice to know I am blessed.

Twinkle in my eye indeed.

In A Nutshell

Yea, yea, yea...I drank my 74 ounces of water today. Along with the snarf down of two sugar cookies with red and green sprinklies on em--tis the season you know. Yea--I still feel like a bronze piglet. A cute one, however a piglet none the less. Let's just say Operation: Lose 41 Pounds has hit a the back side of one of Santa's reindeer--one them biggers ones, like, oh...Blitzen. That is another post for another day.

In the meantime, I will announce I've gone natural on my real hair

Just been doing this for a week. Not really an afro, which I just had once in my life. Courtesy of my chum in KC treating me to a hair cut, in a a place that cost more than SuperCuts, for a twenty-something birthday. Such in angst, I was, due to ALOT of my hair was chopped-and for the first time, really ever-my little ear, on my left side, due to being more with microtia, was out in the world to see. I think my chum and I, probably got drunk later that night and danced the night away--

Fast forward to 2009. I'm smarter now. I realize you CAN have styles with natural hair. I'm humbled by the unexpected compliments. I have ALOT of hair. I don't look like some long lost Jackson 5 sister with a big 'fro. Nope. One co-worker asked why I'd covered my hair up for so long! Why? Because I was tired of the flat irons, relaxers, rollers--and such. For me, and like a lot of other women, I just like to get up and just go--fake hair provided that.

And it still will. Just not so much. Amazing how something that once rain on your parade, now shines sun over your prairie!

Yes, I said that. The writer in me. Natural.

Stay tuned.

So...

Downed my daily 74 ounces of the Earth's elixir-- aka water

Pretended my lunch of a Lean Cuisine meal had garlic cheese breadsticks and about 3 times more pasta with it

Wished to high Heaven I had on Depends as I drove home from work after those 74 ounces of water was a river that ran through my body...

Was gonna go look at embroidery thread--alas

Store I planned to go -which was about 5 mins from my house--SHUT DOWN!

The closest store was about 12 miles away. Still rush hour--didn't go

Will need to tomorrow. Yep, look at embroidery thread.

For the folks that know me, they'll think some of my brain floated away with the water!

And the adventure continues...........

Stay tuned!

Really?

It's Tuesday. Tonight should be aerobics. Need to step up the exercise. For that, I miss the work out room that was in my old apartment. Had a park and work out room just steps away. Around the park, I'd make friends with my dogs and their humans....nice.

My chums have teased me about Donny Osmond being on the Dancing With the Stars, come next month. I think it'll be fun. Plus, I hope Michael Irvin proves he's a winner on the ballroom floor as he was on the gridiron--then Mark Dacascos can do more than point at food like he does on Iron Chef! I can't wait!

Anyway, today. I stepped on the scale and smiled. Of course, you want it to go FASTER, alas--the fact it's going at ALL is wonderful.

All is His time.

I am blessed.

41 Pound Weight

That's what's hangs on my hips. Thighs. Chin. Waist. You name it. The 41 pounds of weight is there.

You see, I'm a full sized girl. Zeftig. Rubenesque-Whatever adjective you want to use. I could say fat. Guess, I am. Yet, it doesn't sounds a groovy cool at zeftig. Sounds put downish, and I ain't nothing about being put down. The deal is, I've had this blog since 2008--right before I bought this house. Adventures along the way, yet at present, kinda stalled on the blog front. A friend asked me if I was going to keep up with it. I knew I wanted to. Life has alot of dips and such. But I didn't know what I wanted to write about. Doing this blog had become dull. I cannot tell a lie, however I wanted to continue.

Sure, there are things going on: politics, football, teen idol crushes from once upon a decade, could be commented on. But what is my blog's purpose? In my new favorite movie, "Julie and Julia" (starring phenomenal Meryl Streep as Julia Child) the husband of Julie (not Julia) asked her what was most important to her, when Julie asked what she should blog about. I sat in the theatre and had my 'A-ha' moment, which I'm sure Oprah would be so proud.

All of life is important to me. Yet the one thing, that hangs all over me is 41 pounds of weight. I've mentioned before my mitral valve replacement surgery in March 2006. In fact, I had a 6 months check up last week with my cardiologist. Such high marks I received. My doc was thrilled-alas, my blood pressure was a bit high. It always is, when I see her.

My weight. I'd recently lost a few pounds, but I never put my full weight on my bathroom scale. Denial. I've been back exercising-walking and treadmilling. And will do aerobics tomorrow. The truth is, I'd lost 70 pounds. Still a full figured girl. I was a 16/18, with a goal of 14, which is the average size of a woman. Around the time I bought the house, job went haywire, and my exercise regime fell to the wayside. As that fell, my weight climbed. I don't know if I actually gained all of the 70 pounds back. A good chunk landed on my hips though.

I do know I had to get over the denial and put my feet down. Both of them. So as of this morning, I'm 41 pounds away from where I was after surgery. When Movie Man first saw me in real clothes when he came to take me home from the hospital that chilly day in March 2006, "Where did you go?"

That's what this blog's new phase will entail. The journey we'll take together to lose 41 pounds. I want more--yet, let's get to where we were before. Why share it with you?

Why not? You'll keep me accountable. We'll help each other. I'm not into Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers (which I've done years ago) or anything else, however if you are and they work for you--then Do It! We can talk about it. You and me. I'm not gonna lie and say, "I will NEVER eat another onion ring or ice cream!"

Get real. Eat in moderation. Know what you're putting in your body. I did it before. I can do it again.

And I will still have something to say about Donny Osmond and any other teen dream I had, plus any current one. And anything else I feel like chatting about, but first and foremost, I'll tell you how the day went when it came to munching--like today, instead of my usual old fashioned oatmeal you fix on the stove, with a spoonful of brown sugar and sliced fresh strawberries, I savored a peanut butter sandwich on 100% wheat bread, which I've chowed for years, with whole fresh strawberries. See, you make me accountable!

Do I have a deadline? Sure, I'd love for this 41 pound weight gone by my next cardiologist visit in January 2010.

You just never know.

This is life.

Live it!