Update, quickly

It's been a crazy busy week at work with about 1/2 the administrative/management staff on vacation or overseas for business; I've been completely without respite since Monday.

So here's the best I can do with the time I've got:

8WC
I was slightly disgruntled at the weigh in when Steve had dropped an astonishing NINE lbs. There's absolutely no way I can compete with that. Even if I (continued) working out twice a day and took up anorexia as my religion, I couldn't manage that. Still, instead of being disgruntled and giving up, it's got me working even harder. My 35 min sessions on the elliptical have evolved to 50 and I'm eating less. Keeping in mind that I was pretty much eating nonstop during that 1st week. Now that I know the dietary "tricks," I expect to stay fuller, eat less and start dropping more weight. Granted, it won't be anything near Steve's, but I know that, as a man, his weight loss has peaked and it's downhill from here. Well, at least after week two or three. I keep telling him slow and steady wins the race, although I am a little intimidated at this point. Every time I vamp up, he matches. I think I just need to keep my mouth shut and not tell him what my regimen is!

Kiera's Bday
The dinner (Fri) was a success and we had a lovely time. Kiera got some nice gifts and really enjoyed the all-eyes-on-me mentality of the night. It was especially nice to have Melissa and Taylor Mae there and for Theresia and Zoe to join as they are, after all, practically family.
The party is tonight and it's a downtown Memphis theme. Dinner on Beale, trolley ride, maybe a little Peabody Place shopping and OF COURSE photos galore. Rather than send out invitations, we sent postcards (text done on the computer) that featured downtown Memphis scenes. They were very cute!

Friend News
Great happenings here:
1. Lisa and the fam moved back to Southaven from Chattanooga last Sat, just in time for Lyla's birthday on the 3rd. I've known for about a year that they were moving back, but it seemed that they were going to encounter endless problems with the financing, etc. on the house they wanted. Needless to say, I'm stoked that they've finally made it home, and I'm looking forward to seeing Lyla grow up and getting Lisa back!

2. Leslie is (apparently) coming to visit allll the way from California for her best friend's birthday (that's me, folks). Although I am certain she will not find the south at all favorable, at least she will get to experience it and will have a better understanding when I go into my rants about the "apparent rampant inbreeding" that occurs here. She's a rather cultured girl, a Notre Dame honors grad; this should be interesting! :)

3. Jana's kick-off party was marvelously done and well received by all. We are very much looking forward to orchestrating this event, and (as an aside) there is some very good networking to be done in Jana's inner circle, evidently. Or maybe that is precisely why she chose those specific people for the kick-off (?). I don't know. But it was great and I'm sure the race will be no exception to Jana's marvelous event-planning skills. Also, thanks to Jana for the birthday cake for Kiera. It was very sweet and so very "Jana" to put someone else in the spotlight when it's supposed to be ALL about her!

Life
Not really relevant to anything, other than the following mini-rant, but I am sooo over the Katy Perry/Lady Gaga/Rhianna/Ke$ha music scene that I am slowly migrating back to country music. Actually, I'm migrating back pretty rapidly. I was, at one time, a major country music fan. Post 9-11 (in the Toby Keith high-tide) it seemed that every song was about Uncle Sam shoving his boot up someone's ass. After about a year of that, I gave up (as a side note, I've met Toby Keith and he was a bit of an asshole, so I may be biased). But now, in the age of talentless mainstream-musicians and radio stations that limit their playlists to roughly twenty songs, I'm willing to give it another go. Kiera may not be overly thrilled, but that's what an iPod is for!

House Hunting
Still no word on the bid for the dream home. Patience is still in tact, thankfully. However, my relator asked me earlier this week if I wanted to start looking at other houses, which is probably not a good sign. Also, having wanted to be moved in before Kiera starts high school, we are running out of time. Geesh. I may start looking again, while I wait on word back from the banker.

That was much more than I intended to write. Have a great long weekend, folks. We have a big one planned our way, and I expect to be thoroughly exhausted by the time I get back to work on Tuesday. Enjoy and be safe!

8WC Update

I'm starving.
I mean, I'm eating constantly all day and still starving.

And, no matter how much of your diet consists of fresh fruit and veggies, a calorie is a calorie; if I'm eating all day, that amounts to a massive intake of calories.

So I call the bestie and ask: What the heck is going on?
Tina has been on a straight and narrow path towards better health for about a year now.
She has a personal trainer, has done every imaginable aerobic/weight "class," and has become a bit of a nutritional guru, so she's well versed in anything I inquire about.

Tina's answer: Protein.
Pure and simple.
I'm missing it and my body desperately needs it as it's burning through my calories too quickly. (It's no wonder I was craving steak yesterday!)

To market to market to buy a fat...chicken?
Sorry, don't do pork.

We shall see...

 PS. Two more workouts since yesterday's blog! :)
[Hums Snap's "I've Got the Power"]

Eight Week Challenge Update

"Eight week weight-loss contest" just doesn't have a pleasant ring to it. And, after all, the ultimate goal is to achieve better overall health, so let's refer to this as the "eight-week challenge" from here on out.

Since it began on Monday, my schedule's looked a little like this:
Work, Home, Workout, Sleep, Workout, Work, Workout, Home, Sleep, Workout, Work.
Exciting stuff, right?

I don't know how long I can keep these two-a-days up, but I do know this: I'm the smallest person in the contest by a pretty good bit, so I'm going to have the hardest time losing weight. I thought two-a-days would pretty much seal the deal until I realized another "contestant" is doing two-a-days too. WTF, Steve? Grrr.

I'd like nothing more right now that a med-rare filet (and I don't even like meat!) and a loaded baked potato.
Mmmmm, maybe I'll reward myself with a meal at Ruth's Chris at the end of this thing--win or lose. After all, we're all winners if we end up healthier than we started.

'Cept for Steve. He's always going to be a loser. ;)

Eliptical Goddess? Yes, please.

A couple of coworkers and I have decided to engage in a friendly little weight-loss competition as of...today!
The wager? $10/wk each for the next eight weeks (or $240 for those of you mathematically challenged) and infinite bragging rights.

As many of you know, this isn’t my first competition. At my prior company (aka “hell”), we had a similar contest with a prize just short of $1,000. There were nine people in that contest, which made it an entirely different kind of play, but nonetheless, I won... and by a long shot. Then, in keeping with my luck, I broke my foot the very next month. Since then I’ve slowly regressed to my former non-athletic, pillow-top potato, carb-craving self. But, having done it before, I know I can do it, no problem. I just have to get back in the saddle, hope my still-injured foot holds up, watch what I eat and make it happen.

I’ll need a little inspiration along the journey (as if practically living in my bikini all summer on Tommy’s boat isn’t enough), so feel free to comment with any helpful hints or words of encouragement, and (of course) I'll blog along the way with updates on my progress. :)