[Eves]

Hi everyone! I'm sooooo happy to be back, I didn't realize how much I needed this place until I went away.

So, why I have been gone: I finished my dissertation, so now I'm waiting for my committee to see if I get my Ph.D. in May. I basically shut myself in and started writing. I have forearms of steel and soon people can call me doctor! haHA!

Which doesn't even matter since there are absolutely no jobs in archaeology. But my current ditch digging gig is going pretty well, though. At least I have one of the few jobs in my chosen field.

My husband is in the US now. He is traumatized by all of the snow and cold. And the Midwest. He doesn't get flat land at all. On the plus side, he is the only foreigner that I know that has lost weight since coming to the US. He used to weigh 192 and now he's at around 184. Thankfully, he really hates US fast food. So if we're ever eating anything really fatty, it was home made. Like his alfredo....it goes straight to my belly tires.

Anyway, I stepped on the scale this morning for the first time since September: 171.6

I can't believe I did not gain back more pounds. I really thought that all of my size 10-12 clothing had streched out to be size 18-20 again and that the number I was going to see was going to be closer to 200. Funny how we don’t really see ourselves.

I boogie woogied off the scale and decided to get back to losing weight. And then I did something crazy, I joined an indoor triathalon competition!!! That means that I have the entire month of February to complete:

26.2 miles of running. Easy enough. Even on my current reduced exercise schedule (because of lazyness, nothing else) I still run about 17 - 20 miles a week.

2.4 miles swimming. Or 80 laps in the 50m pool. Geez, that's hard. From running I thought that 2.4 miles wasn’t going to be much, but then the paper told me how many laps that was! My longest swim “workout” was four laps. And that includes being in the middle of the pool out of breath for a while. I think this is the one that I’ll have to work on the most.

112 miles of biking. Geez, that's boring. Okay, if I was biking around town or in the parks it wouldn't be bad, but biking inside the gym is the epitome of boring to me. Biking outside does count, but I can’t bike when it’s 19 degrees outside. 112 miles. I need to find a stationary bike with a TV on it or something.

And just for kicks, my new neighbor completed the same challenge last year in four days (not in a row). Two days of running, one day of swimming, one day of biking. I shake my head in his general direction.

Anyone else coming back with a vengeance???

[ennay]

Hi Archy! Woohoo! I just recently came back myself and I look forward to more of your posts, you make such a good read!

[hikerchick]

I am coming back with a vengence too. You just have to keep at it huh? Sounds like you have a great month planned. Mine consists of lifting really heavy objects and cursing about it. My poor muscles seem to have atrophied in proportion to my belly's growth.

You always had the funniest and most interesting stories.

[rockinrobin]

Hey there buddy. You were missed! I'm so glad you're back, and with a VENGEANCE, no less!!!

Sounds like you set yourself up for a nice challenge there. I'm sure you're more then up to it.

Looking forward to hearing more from you - now that you're back - with a VENGEANCE.

[nelie]

Welcome back!!

[Slashnl]

So glad to see you again! Good luck/congrats on the PhD! Awesome!

[archychick]

Hey there! I'm just finishing up my B.A. this year in archy. There is another archy here besides me that also joined recently! I wonder how many of us there are. I guess I chose the right site (which is not always easy to do in our field. ha!).

Congrats on finishing your dissertation! I'm taking a year off to lose this weight/get stronger, study for the GREs (tell me, are they really tough?) and put together a decent thesis proposal before entering grad school in 2010.

I look forward to this journey with you!

[midwife]

Woohoo!!!

Glad you're back!!! Congrats on the dissertation!

[CountingDown]

Welcome back! You were missed, for sure! Super news on your doctorate! congrats!!!

[Eves]

Thanks everyone! It's been tough, I really thought that I had gained back 30 pounds. I'll take the 8 and get them out! You guys are the reason I came back, I realized that without this supportive community I would have never been able to lose 50 pounds, have those pounds stay lost, and keep my health/sanity. Thank you!

Ennay - How's the running going? I'm glad you're back in the swing of things too!

hikerchick - Weights. That is vengeance. Last week I did some weighted lunges and I could barely walk for two days. I need to get going on that too, I feel so weak!

Robin -This is a page straight out of your book, really. I'm more of a ease into things person, but I feel like now I have to kick myself fully into gear. I just partitioned my kitchen so that I don't have to see DH's bad food. Oh yeah, I'm BACK!

archychick -Good luck. You'd figure in a field as physical as ours that we'd be in great shape, it's easy to forget the amount of beer that goes into it. There are a couple of ex-archies here as well. We're well represented!

Can't tell you much about the GRE's though, I took them way back in the day when we didn't have to write an essay and just got a logic section instead. I aced math and logic, and failed tragically in verbal. I still got into the program I wanted. Feel free to PM me any time.

[Heather]

Welcome back, Archy! I was wondering where you went! I remember how relieved I felt to finish my dissertation!

What kind of jobs will you be looking for??

[Eves]

Hi Heather!
I see that you and I are on the same little bandwagon of losing what we gained back. Good luck to you!

I was going for tenure track faculty positions, but the three I applied for were canceled due to budget cuts. I've also applied to just about every other position just in case what they really wanted was an archaeologist. I've also applied for post-docs, but those are long shots. I can't even get a job teaching at a community college!

But, I still have a job working contract so while it's not teaching, it gets the bills paid. That's a lot more than what many people have and I'm thankful.

[Jeannette311]

Hey I don't know you but not only am I jealous of you being an archaeologist (I suffered through 5 years of Latin in HS because that's what I always wanted to do...until evil family members convinced me it was a field I would never succeed in) but it's really cool that you're doing an indoor triathlon! That's something I'd be interested in doing IF we had a pool at our gym and IF I felt at ease being in a swimsuit! LOL!

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing how you do!

[alinnell]

I'm so glad you're back! I ran into a post on another thread and saw you're tag "Used to be Archy" and had to search out your other posts. Your sense of humor is the best and I had to have something good to read--so thanks! Welcome back (even if I found this thread a little bit late!).

[Eves]

No worries. I'm now coming back again. I went to Las Vegas for a family reunion (50+ people) overate and overate. I'm staying off the scale until I have 14 days back at home of healthy eating and exercising.