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I have a blog because I enjoy writing. I could just have a personal journal, but I enjoy sharing.

Today, I want to vent. And even though it's a free country and I have every right to blog about whatever I want to, the subject of my rant today could produce repercussions that I'm not prepared to deal with. So, just know that I have a lot to say today, but...this page is intentionally left blank.

Facelift

So, how do you like the facelift? I loved the green and greenery that my blog has been sporting for the last year or so. But it was definitely due for a change.

I was thinking about going with something bright and happy, like big orange flowers. But I opted for the dark blue. It's subtle, but I like it. It needed a little something-something...so I created a new header.

I LOVE IT! If ever you want to make your own, you can go to Cool Text Generator. You can choose your own style, font, size, and colors. Very nice little tool.

Nutrisystem: Week 3

wOkay, I lost four pounds in week one. I lost another two pounds during my week two. WooHoo! six pounds in two weeks.

I said that my goal was to increase my water intake this week and have a weekend plan. Okay, the weekend plan did happen. Actually, what didn't happen was coming up with a plan to keep me on track. Must take that action item more seriously. And I did increase my water intake, but mostly because I increased my workouts. So, two improvements this week!

Right now, I have three primary workouts. At least once a week (and sometimes two), I do Zumba for an hour. And at least once a week, I mow my lawn. Most other days, I have a 2.2 mile walk. 2.2 miles is how far it is from my house to St. Mary's Road. It takes me 30-35 minutes to complete my walk.

And get this... Twice during the walk... I RUN! I know what you're thinking... THIS BODY?!?! RUNNING?!?! I know! But I'm completely inspired by "The Biggest Loser". The trainers are consistently asking the contestants to do something that appears to be well outside of the realm of possibility for someone of their size and fitness level. But they do it. And they see results. So, I'm pushing myself. I'm not running a ton, but I'm running. And I'm enjoying it.

So this coming week, must continue to increase my water intake. Must continue running during my walks. And MUST COME UP WITH A PLAN TO KEEP ME ON TRACK DURING MY WEEKENDS!

Kitty Cat Art

I don't know whose idea this was. I don't know where one might go to have this done. And I have no idea why someone would spend up to $15,000 to do this to their cat. But they did. Enjoy!


The twins. Black and white looks good on them. But somebody thought they needed the V-stripes to add a little something-something.

Is it a cat or a fish? If that cat knew he had a fish on his back, he'd spend the day chasing his tail. Oh wait, that would make him a dog. Talk about an identity crisis!

And this cat is just clowning around.

And just in case you wanted to see what the inside of your cat looks like. Creepy!

My guess is that this is a really temperamental cat and the owners are trying to make her seem more pleasant so that they can find new parents for her.

A butterfly. How precious! If this cat is male, I’ll bet he’s ticked!

I always wanted to know what a cat looked like in plaid. Not bad, really.

My personal favorite!

June Bug

I know I've mentioned my cat before, Linus Felinus. He's pretty much MIA, catting around the neighborhood and spending little, if any, time at my house. But never fear, I didn't have to go too awful long missing paw prints all over my black car.

Jeff and his girlfriend Lacey had a cat at college. They weren't supposed to have pets, but apparently lots of the kids did. Anyway, this particular cat is a long-haired female. She is black from nose to tail, except for a bit of gray on her underside. She has claws on all four corners and she's not all that discriminating about when she uses them. We don't know exactly how old she is, but we're guessing 3-4 years old.

Jeff and Lacey named her June. Apparently because her goldish-green/greenish-gold eyes reminded them of a summer evening. Awww, how romantic. June reminds me of Ward's wife on "Leave It to Beaver". So to me, it's much too matronly a name for this little black, ever-moving ball of fur. So, I call her June Bug...when I'm not calling her names.

She's really a pain in the butt. She knocks everything over. She's constantly clawing me...even when I'm sleeping. She even ticked off a skunk and now smells like one. And her favorite place to sleep outside (yes, she's living outside as long as she smells like a skunk) is in a bed of weeds that leaves burrs in her fur...and she doesn't know how to remove them!

Yesterday when I left for work, she was talking up a storm. I couldn't see her and kept trying to get her to come to me. I wanted to know exactly where she was before I backed the car out of the carport. She never came. So, I started to walk around the car and found her...on the roof! I wasn't feeling all that well, not to mention I was running late. So, I left her up there, thinking she'd come down when she was ready. I don't know if she was STILL up there or if she was up there AGAIN, but when I got home 12 hours later, there she was...on the roof.

I tried to get her to jump down to me. But she wasn't at all interested in that plan. I really didn't want to have to go up after her. So, I 'walked' her to a tree. As I walked around the house, she followed me...from above. Once we got to the tree, I encouraged her as she made her way down to the ground. She seemed pretty relieved to be back at sea level. She then clung to my legs, trying to rub her body all over me to show her appreciation. Little did she know, she was nearly knocking me down!

Not sure if she'll venture up that high again. But now that I know I don't have to climb up after her, makes no difference to me if she wants to hang out up there. Honestly, the happier she is on the OUTSIDE of the house, the happier I am on the INSIDE of the house.

I wonder when Jeff is going to take her to live with him.

Nutrisystem: Week 2

Okay, one thing I've learned...I'm MUCH better at the self-control and staying-on-track thing with respect to a balanced diet when I'm at work and already IN a routine. When I'm at home, not so much. To solve that problem, I need to work more often.

Unfortunately, I called in sick today. Deep chest cold and cough. So, I didn't eat much of anything. So, either go to work or be sick. THAT will control my caloric intake. I didn't eat much yesterday either, as I slept a TON. But Friday and Saturday, NOT healthy diet days. Shame on me. Must focus on staying the course during my weekends.

But last week at work, I ate more fruits and veggies and low-fat cheese consistently than I have probably ever. And I've been good at getting at least four cups of water in. I need to be drinking at least eight cups of water. But since I was drinking next to NONE before, I building up. This week, I'll go for six each day.

I got my blood work back late last week. My sugar is high...103. Not grossly high, but they like for it to be under 100. My cholesterol is improved, though my LDL (the bad kind) is unchanged. And my iron count is low. She wants me to watch my diet, increase my exercise, and start taking a daily multi-vitamin with iron...and get my blood checked again in six months.

I like it that I'll get my blood checked in six months. That coincides with my 40th birthday and my first goal of being under 200 lbs. Staying on track will make both me AND my doctor happy.

I waited until today to weigh myself since I didn't have a good Fri/Sat. Today's weight? Drum roll please...

234. That's a loss of 4 lbs. WooHoo! That leaves 35 lbs in 25 weeks.

NutriSystem: Week 1

A friend of mine is chronicling her weight-loss journey via blog with pictures and everything. I don't intend to go that far. But I've really been slacking in the blog area of my life for the past several months. So, I figure this gives me something to write about.

I have decided to do the Nutrisystem Diet! I'm actually doing the diabetic plan. I haven't been diagnosed as diabetic. But it runs in my family and I'm the perfect shape for it. So, I'm going 'low sugar'.

I'm not sure why I selected this one instead of one of the other plans like Jenny Craig or South Beach. But so far, just a few days in, I'm happy with it.

So, I'm going to give you details. One, I figure most of you have seen me recently and won't be all that surprised. Two, I just want to be real.

Starting Weight: 238 lbs.
Goal Weight: 135 lbs.

I didn't ask my doctor or anyone what my goal weight should be. I just know that I have a good 100 lbs to lose. But with a goal weight, it made sense to round it to something that ended in a 0 or a 5. So, I picked 135.

They say I should expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week. That means that it could take me 1-2 years to take off 100+ pounds. But it took me several years to put it on. So, I'm okay with that. Not to mention, I deserve the penance.

Just a little history for those of you that didn't know me then. When I joined the Air Force out of high school, I weighed 120-something. When I started going to prenatal appointments at age 19, I weighed 115 lbs. Five hours before they said, "Congratulations, it's a boy!", I weighed 129 lbs. (I had a hard time gaining weight when I was pregnant. Apparently, I've figured it out since then!) When I got out of the service in '95, I was back to being 120-something. In the last 15 years, I've doubled in size. DOUBLED! Ouch!

Well, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of not sleeping well and having to keep buying bigger clothes. I'm tired of wanting to look and feel better. I'm tired of hearing my doctors say that all of my problems would disappear if I'd simply drop 50-75 pounds. I'm tired of panting after climbing a flight of stairs. I want to be healthy and fit. I want to be sexy and sassy. I just want to be a better me.

So my initial goal is to be below 200 lbs. before my 40th birthday, November 3rd. Wish me luck!

I'm weighing myself every Saturday. So, expect updates then.

My Biggest Regret

I know we all have regrets. Some are big: I wish I hadn't gotten behind the wheel after drinking so much. Some are little: I wish I wouldn't have eaten that piece of chocolate cake. Some are valid: I wish I would have finished my degree. And some aren't so much: I wish I would have mowed last night so I didn't have to tonight. Regrets come in all shapes and sizes.

My biggest regret is the man I chose to start a family with.

I divorced him 17 1/2 years ago. Even though we shared a son, I didn't want to be married to him any longer. There were times when I regretted not trying harder to keep my marriage together. But in the last year or so, my decision has been affirmed in several different ways.

The last time Jeff saw his dad was high school graduation, nearly a year ago. Mike (the dad) promised to get Jeff a television for his college dorm room. That never happened. In addition, Mike never even saw the college campus, never once made an attempt to visit Jeff there.

The last time Jeff heard his dad's voice was last October. Mike called to ask Jeff if he wanted to go see a UK football game. Jeff thought that he was going to go to the game WITH his dad. But his dad said that he had to work and THAT'S why he was giving the tickets to Jeff. And although he only lived 1 1/2 hours away from Jeff, he chose to FedEx them instead of dropping them by.

The last time Jeff heard from his dad via text, email, or message through Spencer (Jeff's step-brother) was in early February. Mike was finally going to stop by IUS to see Jeff and his home, meet his friends, take him out to lunch, exchange Christmas presents (six weeks late) and Birthday presents (two weeks late). Jeff had been looking forward to it all week. Instead, he gets a text message from his step-brother saying that Mike was going on a date night with his wife (Spencer's mom). So, he hadn't seen Jeff in 8 1/2 months and he'd last seen his wife just a few short hours before. Yet he found it necessary to cancel on Jeff AGAIN in order to go out with his wife. Jeff never got his Christmas presents or his birthday presents and hasn't heard from his dad since then.

This week, Jeff got the opportunity to move back to the area where his dad lives. He'll be living in an apartment with one of his friends there. Jeff called his dad to let him know that he was moving to the area and maybe they could hook up. Jeff called his dad's cell...no answer. He called the house...no answer. He called his dad's work and found out that his dad was off. So, Jeff texted Spencer to find out where his dad was, only to find out that he was home sitting on the couch in the living room watching television. So, Jeff asked Spencer why he wasn't picking up the phone. Spencer said, "Dad told me not to pick up the phone. He wants you to send him an email and he'll get back to you later."

Un-freakin'-believable!

Needless to say, Jeff didn't send that email...and probably never will.

I also kind of regret not getting married years ago and replacing Mike with a much better model. It would be interesting to see how much different Jeff's life would be with a REAL male role model.