Dear Real Simple Magazine:

Feel free to get out of my head any time now.
XOXO,
Bex

I've been intermittently perusing my September RS mag for a couple of days now (life has gotten in the way a smidge).  Practically every third article is speaking to something I've been thinking of or doing lately.  It's a little creepy.  I feel like Truman.  I wish Ed Harris were here.  Minus the beret.

ANYway.

The thing that jumped at me the most was a little article about exercising to lift your mood "Mood-Boosting Workouts" for anyone interested in exact details - and no, it's not online yet; it looks like those crafty folks over there wait a month to put articles from the magazine up.  Clever girl... (eleventy points for that movie reference!  hint:  said in an Australian accent, after placing hat on fallen tree)  As per usj (ummm...shortened version of "usual"), I've gotten off track.  Twice now.

In a nutshell:  the article is about the benefits of certain exercises outside of the obvious.  Here's where it gets all in my brain.  There's one section about cycling, and how it has been shown to increase energy.  For those of you who haven't been keeping up with the Not Kardashians, I've recently rediscovered my lurve of biking. I can tell you that there was a DEFINITE increase in my energy in the days after my two bike rides.  Perhaps it was euphoria at having not keeled over at some point in the ride.  Perhaps it was just as the article explained and there were positive electrical charges happening all over my brain.  Either way, I liked the feeling.  I'm going to try to keep it up.

Other entries in the article:
How to sleep better:  Pilates.
To achieve clarity:  weight lifting.

I'll let you buy the mag (or read the article if you already get it!) to discover the secrets of the rest of the thing, but I loved these bits.  I'm definitely going to try weight lifting for mental clarity.  I could really use the help getting my multi-tasking and planning under control.  As a Project Manager, I'm supposed to be good at these things.  While I don't suck as much as, say, a dog does at these tasks, my more free nature has a hard time with living by a schedule (just ask my friends - there are more than a few out there who despise the fact that I do not make plans until the night of an event...I just don't want to).  I'm going to be all over the weights.  According to the article, all I need is "a chair and some three- to five-pound weights."  I've got sixers.  But I'm sure they'll be fine.  Perhaps they'll bring me the ability to NOT be constantly pissed at MS Project STAT.

Oh, and in case you wondered, here are some of the other articles that were all in my medulla oblongata:

• FALL FASHIONS!
• 33 Low-calorie snack ideas
• "6 Numbers for Financial Success"
• a little ditty about how Mary Jane shoes have grown up (LOVE MJs)
• the "It" color this month is teal, and they pair it with a couple of interesting other colors.  I love "It" colors, and I love teal and (as they call it) saffron together - which was one of the pairings.
• and a big 'ol beef lover's guide.  I'm anti-chicken right now.  I go back and forth several times a year, and chicken is currently out.  Gimme Bessie.  In my belly.

That's it for now.

Keep on keepin' on - the skinny train is a'movin'.


(oh, and in case you wondered, NO, RS did not pay me or whatever to post this post.  I just love the shit out of that magazine.  Go buy it.  Buy a subscription to it, as a matter of fact.  Go on.  I'll wait...)

ACK!!

I know. So "Cathy."

Rode the bike again. Clearly forgot how friggin' hard it is between the end of the workout yesterday and deciding to give it a go again today. Wanted to just lay down in a ditch about 3 minutes in (JR Lauer moment: JUST. LEAVE. ME!). I made it about 20 before giving up. I'll quickly add that my Runkeeper app was acting up and that was also frustrating me to quit. I made it about a mile longer than I wanted to be on that devil's instrument. I could barely get up the little incline of my driveway. I almost fell going down the deck stairs to the garden. My legs = shot.

The point of all this whining is this: working out is HARD! It takes a lot of effort. And it sucks. But if I want to be in that size 10 - 16 (I'm not totally set on a number just yet - I'd like to be a little more realistic before I disappoint myself...) dress for Tessa's wedding, I'm gonna have to learn to suck it up!

And remember to maybe take a day in between the same cardiovascular workouts...give myself a day to recover a little. So, after dinner, I'm going to burn some calories using my resistance bands and cleaning the house.

Sure beats Little Caesar's AND sitting on Pinterest all night! :)

Steve Perry ALWAYS knows.

ALWAYS.

I got back a bit ago from a nice long bike ride.  It was 40 minutes of awesome, in case you were wondering.  I was winded and ridiculously tired when I got back.  And thirsty.  Super thirsty.  And HAPPY.  And really, really ready to go it again.  Man, I dig biking.  I'm kicking myself for having waited this long to get out there on my bike.  I'm gonna miss the girl over the winter!

Anywho.

As I was just thinking that I was going to have to quit because I was TIRED, what came on?  Yeah, "Don't Stop Believing."  Thank you, Steve Perry (and Co.)!!!!  You're totally right.  I will not stop believing that I can do this damn thing!

In an effort to save myself from being TOO cheesy, I'll stop here.
And play this little ditty for you.

Awwwwwwww, yeah.  You're welcome.

County fairs are about more than tractor-pullin'!

First order of business:  this is my 90th post.  What??  I had no idea.  I guess I really DO talk a lot.  :)

Next up:  I'm back, baby!

I realized this weekend that eating right is something that I really like doing.  This weekend was the county fair at home.  I love fair time.  Nothing like fried bits and demo derbies to get you happy, right?  Well, minus the fried bits, I guess.  When I was a kid, nothing was more great than getting my gobble on with the fair food.  I mean, it came about once a year.  I was going to go ape-shite on the cheese curds and Mt. Dew out of the giant milk cartons (attendees of the BCF know exactly what those were...!).  Ape. S.  It's not as if we went out to find the greasiest foods available, but I'd be all kinds of lying if I said there was ever a salad (or vegetable outside of french fries and ketchup) eaten during those four days of glory.

But now, as an adult, all the mini donuts and corn dogs just couldn't do it for me.  The corn dog by itself would have been fine.  The cheese curds by themselves would have been okay.  But the dog and the curds and the cheese fries and the donuts...not awesome.  I feel like I should note that I did NOT eat all those things by myself.  I had plenty of help.  It's just that they were consumed all within probably an hour and a half.  NOT good.

Not only did my belly hurt, I just didn't feel good.  Groggy.  Generally unhappy.

Here's what I learned.  Next time I go to one of these things, I need to bring some fruit.  GRANTED, the Gburg fair isn't really a big enough deal that I couldn't have left the fairgrounds and wandered to the 'ol IGA and gotten some fruit (or just traipsed off to the BP down the road...) - unlike, say, the state fair.  But, I plan on making sure I have a game plan when I go to the other couple of fairs that I'm going to this summer.  #1 part of the plan = moderation station.  Perhaps, let's go ahead and have all that stuff - but do a bunch of walking and water-drinking in between.  And share with everyone I can find.

It's kind of nice to know that all the learning that I've put in has actually sunk in.  I had chicken, a wild rice mix, and corn on the cob for dinner.  And it was awesome.  Just what I wanted.  Guess I'm growing up a little bit in my food choices.  I'm willing to trade the mini donuts in for that.

As promised!

Here's the post regarding posting memos and the trouble therein.  I put the question out there to the blogger world, and here's my number one pick!  So, let me know if it works.  Pretty much, I would just skip to #11.  Install Google Chrome.  It's free, I've done it, and frankly I like it.  Oh, and it works.  I was able to comment on Megs' blog right away - which is something I haven't been able to do for MONTHS.

Here are some things that worked for a couple of people. It's a known issue with Internet Explorer. 

1) Before attempting to Login in Make sure the "Remember Me" Checkbox is UNTICKED

2) Make sure you are running the latest version of your browser, if not, upgraded it.

3) Make sure you REALLY have cleared both your COOKIES and CACHE

4) Once Cleared shut down the browser

5) Then Open it again and CHeck that the Cookies and Cache are indeed Empty. This is very important. The problem seems to be with corrupt cookies and cache files

6) If that is OK try going to www.blogger.com . Don't login yet, press CTRL-F5 and then try logging in again

7) If that still does not work try logging into Gmail first and then go to www.blogger.com and try again

8) If that does not work try going to this address http://www2.blogger.com/home

9) If that does not work try going to draft.blogger.com

10)  If you use IE8 or IE9 try pressing the compatibility button (at the end of the address bar) when you're on your blog page.

11) If all those fail, try installing another browser to see if that works eg Firefox, Chrome, Opera etc

PS - in case anyone wondered, NO I was not paid or perked or whatever by Google to promote their stuff.  I'm just a convert.  

So, that's a sign, eh?

Today, I got both my fitness and Eating Well magazines in the mail.

Ummmm...yep.  You're right, universe.  I should definitely get my shizz in gear.

Ergo, I'm back here doing some writing.  I know it's been about a million years since I wrote last.  I have to be honest.  I don't even have an excuse this time.  Not even a quietly whiny "but I've been buuuuusy" to utter about my lack of effort.  Just a bunch of lameness.  Does that count as an excuse?  *sigh*  I know.  It doesn't.

SO, I'm going to make a pledge.  I'm starting over.  I'm going to bring the stuff from my class at work home, and I'm going to look over it again.  I'm going to go through it, refresh my memory, and get determined again.  And I'm going to kick some ass.  I'm going to beat the 'ol Battle of the Bulge.  I have to.

I don't think that, at this point, there's any denying that another day at this weight is detrimental to my health.  I have suspicions about things like PCOS and fears of diabetes.  I worry about my thyroid, and wonder if it's to blame for my lagging energy levels and inability to lose the weight.  Or, is that diabetes?  The point is, I'm worried that, if I don't do something soon to lose it all, I might just lose it all.  The fear of not being able to have kids, or not being healthy enough to stay with them as long as I can is petrifying.  It's so scary that I would just rather not deal with it at all than have to be so disappointed at getting some answers.

But answers I will get.  I finally made the appointment with a doc that I've been promising to make for months.  September 12.  Remember that date.  Not that I'm going to need a reminder or anything.  I just want to make sure I'm reminded to write about what I find out.

In other news, sister has picked out not only a wedding dress (she looks so stunning - makes me WAY more jealous than I ever was before of her svelte little self!!), but has also nailed down the bridesmaid look as well. EEK!  That means it exists.  That means that I have to worry about buying one, and panic about size.  I am, however, going to hold off buying that puppy until I absolutely can't wait any longer.  The good news about MY gig as (barf) Matron of Honor (she calls it "Sister of Honor," which I appreciate greatly.  Matrons are old.  I am NOT old.) is that the Wonderful Tess is encouraging of me wearing a different dress than the rest of the girls.  So if worse comes to worst, I can always get a similar or another dress if she's down.

Either way, this is going to happen.  I WILL be at least a two dress sizes smaller than I am now.  That's 8 months.  I think I can do it.  It's going to take a lot of hard work, and I'm going to need some serious encouragement and love from what I've told myself is my cyber cheering squad.  :)

Also, I'm going to try to take a pic every week or so from here on out to have a way to document my progress.  I'm trying to get a pic from my girl Kavitha's birthday party downloaded, but the Facepage isn't playing nice right now.  I'll update this baby boy later, once I'm able to do that.

OH, and one more thing!  I'm going to post a little sumpthin' about posting comments and such.  Sounds like there's a known problem with Internet Explorer and Google Blogger (I'm writing this post on Google's internet browser, Chrome, right now...trying to see if that helps the sitch any.  I'm fairly certain it will.  I heart me some Google.  :)  Let me know how it works out, if you follow the steps!

Baby steps...

No, Mom, that's not what we'll all be hearing in a few months here. :)

That IS, however, what I keep reminding myself it takes to get back on track. I know it's been pretty much forever since I got back from vacay, but I'm STILL not exactly back on track. It's really driving me bonkers.

I haven't been fastidious with tracking or planning or really anything. I'm really only just sliding by right now.

Today was a nice little step in the right direction though. Pre vacation-of-health-death, I was taking down at least a Nalgene of water a day. I haven't done that once since being back. UNTIL TODAY! I had that sucker gone before 2:00 today. I know, not that big a deal.

Except that I really think my water consumption is a big part of my earlier success. Not only do I stay hydrated and flush the toxins out of my system (about 30 times a day, it seems!!), it helps keep me from mindlessly eating or WANTING TO mindlessly eat. When my belly's all full of sloshy slosh water, I'm not even able to think about eating. Kind of like how eating so much food that you want to vom (obviously not the recommended way to eat, for the record...) prevents you from wanting to shovel in more grub, having a belly full of water keeps me from thinking of eating.

So, while it doesn't necessarily sound like a big deal, it's a big enough one for me - one that helps me feel like I'm back in control and ready to get this ball rolling again.

I'm ready to get back on the skinny train for reals, friends.

BRING IT!!!