Six Degrees of Separation

I didn't make goal tonight. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I'm not upset either. This journey has been long and that scale is going to make me fight until the very end!

I have one more weigh in before my birthday. That means I have one week to lose .6 pounds if I want to be at goal by then. Because I gained .2 since last week.

So here's my six step plan to lose .6 pounds in just over six days:

1. I will prepare and cook fresh, healthy meals, focusing on fruits, vegetables, skim dairy and lean proteins.

2. I will limit my restaurant meals to no more than two.

3. I will eat more potatoes.

4. I will exercise a minimum of 30 minutes every day during the week, go to the park for a four mile hike on Saturday and walk an additional two miles on Sunday after I climb the stadium stairs.

5. I will not have any candy or chips, even if one of my two restaurant meals is at a Mexican restaurant. Which it probably shouldn't be.

6. I will not drink any caffeinated beverages after 12:00 p.m.

And for bonus motivation, I'm sharing some before and after photos so I stick to my plan:

Safari for a Day

The Professor and I had a wonderful day today. We've both been running non-stop since returning from Germany, and we needed a relaxing afternoon away from phones, work and computers. So we decided to go for a drive and see where the road would lead.

After about an hour, the road led to Fossil Rim, the wild life preserve in Glen Rose:

Fossil Rim is a drive-through nature preserve. After checking in at the main gate, you have several hours to drive the park and see lots of animals from around the world, beginning with the welcoming committee:

Who is really just there to check for snacks:

Luckily, we had some:

It was a wonderfully cool day, and the beasties were hungry:

They're pretty used to humans and don't hesitate to get up close and personal:

I smell SNACKS!

This handsome fellow needed a bath to clean up after his mud bath:

We saw babies:

And giraffes:

And cheetahs sunning themselves:

And we were mooned by a couple of zebras:

It really was a wonderful day!



Exercise Update: I went up and down the stadium stairs 10 times before The Professor and I left for safari. If you see me limping tomorrow, you'll understand why.

Nervous Nellypoo

I'm getting nervous about Tuesday's weigh in. I know that if I don't see my goal weight on the scale, it'll probably happen the following week.

But I really want to see it this week.

So I'm trying extra hard to eat healthy (or within my losing range of points) and get as much exercise in as possible.

Of course, Mother Nature decided to trip me up today. I awoke to the sounds of rain and thunder washing away my plans for a four mile trek through park.

The forecast for tomorrow is perfect, though:

I can't wait to hit the stadium stairs in cool weather! Last week I went up and down them seven times. Maybe the cooler temps will help me do eight, nine or even ten trips. That'd be 1330 steps.

I'll report back tomorrow with the results.

There's a Moose on the Wall

The Professor and I went to a party last week. There was a moose on the wall:

Random, I know. But how many times do you get to party with a moose?

Dillypoo is in the middle of The Busy Season at work. I'm being repetitive, but I really am busy. I logged almost 70 hours on my timesheet this week.

And I would have hit 70 if I had gone back to the office instead of home to watch Glee after my weigh in on Tuesday.

This year seems less stressful than years past, though. (I probably just jinxed myself by saying that.) I'm working just as many hours, but instead of retreating into audiobook readings of Harry Potter to relax, this year I'm exercising. Every day.

The difference is huge.

Getting up at 6:00 every morning for the past six weeks to run and walk two miles wakes me up better than hitting the snooze button for 45 minutes.

Lifting small weights and riding my Nordic thingy gives me more energy than drinking a sugary Dr. Pepper for breakfast.

And making my weekend workouts a little longer and a bit more strenuous means that Dillypoo's final 15 pounds is melting away.

I'm getting really excited about next Tuesday's weigh in. I'm considering wearing grown-up girl clothes for the occasion instead of my usual jeans and t-shirt.

I may even sand the hair off my legs again.

The End is Near

It's that time of year when I barely have time to eat, much less blog. But today was Weigh Day and Dillypoo lost another 1.6 pounds this week!

I am .4 pounds away from goal!

My pumped up exercise routine is really paying off. Not only am I **this** close to reaching my goal weight, but I'm about to slip out of my size 8 jeans and into a size 6.

Who'd a thunk it when I started this 21 months ago?

I'm going to bed now. I have a 6:00 a.m. date with my my running shoes and need some rest.

Sweet Frida

We lost our dear, sweet Frida on Thursday.

She'd been responding very well to her treatment until last Wednesday, when it became obvious she was getting weak again. By Thursday evening she could no longer stand and her breathing was labored. She was ready to go.

So we said our tearful goodbyes and let her.

It's been a difficult, sad summer, losing The Professor's father first and now our beloved Frida. There are a lot of thoughts in my head about how to process these losses.

In a way, losing Frida has been more difficult. She was a part of my daily life and her absence leaves a hole. I keep waiting for her to trot up during dinner and gaze at me and then my plate and then me again, hoping I'll share a morsel.

I feel guilty that I shed tears more easily over Frida's passing. Maybe it's because getting from Germany to Ohio was such an ordeal. I was too exhausted for tears at my father-in-law's funeral.

But I miss them both. And so does The Professor.

Tuesday High

Today was a good day.

Frida is responding to treatment and feeling better. We think she'll be with us for a little while longer. She'll let us know when she's ready to go.

An old friend received a kidney transplant from his sister today. I've been following his daughter's Facebook updates and it looks like the surgeries went well and the kidney is already working. Yay!

I left work while it was still daylight, saw a beautiful sunset and had dinner out with The Professor.

I won an iPod shuffle in a drawing. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I already have an iPod and an iPhone.

I didn't have to pay for my Club WW meeting tonight because I am within two pounds of my goal weight! As a lifetime member, I only pay for meetings when I'm more than two pounds over goal.

And tonight I weighed a mere 150 pounds!

Only three more weigh-ins before my birthday. I'm staying focused on losing those last two pounds by then!

Pooped Out

I'm still here! Dillypoo worked until 9:30 Friday night and then ran around all day Saturday with art gallery business.

So I sat on the couch all day Sunday and watched tee vee.

I'll be back to regular blogging soon...

I Believe

Today was Weigh Day.

I lost 1.4 pounds this week.

I am 2.6 pounds from goal.

HOLY CARP!

I am still in awe of this journey. When I rejoined Club WW in January 2009, I felt chagrined and a little defeated.

How had I got to the size of a small baby whale?

I had low expectations at that first meeting. I didn't really think I'd make it to 148 again. I didn't think I'd ever become active. I didn't think I could really do it.

I didn't believe in myself.

But there must've been some small spark inside that wanted to try, that needed to do something, anything.

And eventually that spark got brighter. And I began to think I could be active. I began to think I could reach my goal weight.

I began to believe in myself.

The weight loss journey may be coming to an end, but my journey to good health and fitness has just begun.

Because I don't ever want to stop moving. I want to continue getting fit. I want to grow stronger. I want to be healthy.

I know I can do it.

I believe it.

Fridapoo

We got more sad news this weekend. Our beloved Frida is very sick and probably won't be with us for much longer.

She's been slowing down all year, but we thought it's because she's getting older. She's about 15, which is pretty old in dog years.

Last Thursday she collapsed and The Professor had to carry her upstairs, where she lay on her pillow all night. We were scared we were going to lose her then, but she seemed to feel better on Friday.

We took her to the doggie doctor on Saturday and they ran a lot of tests. The doctor didn't have anything very hopeful to say, though.

Frida has either an aggressive auto-immune deficiency that is attacking her blood cells or cancer or both.

But she doesn't seem ready to leave us yet and we're not ready to see her go, so we're treating her with medications and diet. We'll enjoy her company for as long as she's comfortable and wants to be here.

Rescue Mission

 I rescued a turtle today:

I spotted this handsome fellow trying to cross the street near the zoo while on my way to the university stadium to climb the stairs. There was traffic flowing in both directions and even though he was moving pretty fast (for a turtle), I don't think he looked both ways before starting out.

I slammed on my brakes, turned on my hazard lights, jumped out of the car and scooped him up. He wasn't happy about it, either.

He struggled and squirmed as I attempted to fasten my seat belt and move my car out of the road. I tried putting him on the passenger seat but he took off running and I had to catch him again before he dove onto the floorboard.

So I held him as I drove past the zoo and towards the river. I thought I'd set him loose near one of the creeks, but as soon as I put him on the ground, he took off running towards the road again.

I don't know what his hurry was!

I decided to take him further from the busy street and down to the river:

He just sat there. I really think he was pissed off now. Maybe he wanted to visit the big tortoises at the zoo? I tried to tell him he was much safer by the water. There were plenty of other turtles there for him to mingle with.

I don't think he was listening.

A Day in the Life of Busypoo

My busy time of year at work is here:

6:00 a.m. Rise early and go for a two mile walk, come home and finish my workout with some strength training.

7:00 a.m. Take a bath and get ready for work.

7:40 a.m. Leave for work.

7:45 a.m. Arrive at my satellite office and start putting out fires and saving the world.

12:15 p.m. Leave my satellite office and head to another vendor's office in another city.

12:45 p.m. Pull into a gas station and buy a banana for lunch. Continue journey to visit vendor in another city.

1:00 p.m. Arrive at vendor's office.

2:15 p.m. Leave vendor's office.

2:45 p.m. Arrive at my office. Start putting out more fires and continue saving the world.

3:30 p.m. Grab a sandwich between fires and world saving.

9:00 p.m. Leave office and head home.

9:30 p.m. Arrive home. Discover one of the cats has barfed all over the bedspread.

9:45 p.m. Start a load of laundry.

10:00 p.m. Blog.