Am I ever glad it is Friday.....I thought this week would never end! I have been having troubles getting hungry in the late afternoon and just binge on anything and everything when I come in the door at night! Maybe I am not eating enough lunch to keep me going......next week, I am going to experiment with a little bigger lunch or maybe a healthy snack in the late afternoon. I mean, there is no reason to get a speeding ticket getting from work to the grocery store checkout candybars!
AuntyEm.....Is it already time for Halloween? Every year, I decorate the fireplace mantle with pumpkins and fall like stuff......with a big candy dish in the middle.....and the kids all look forward to it. They don't have a problem with it......just have a piece or two.....but then they leave and I can hear the chocolate calling my name. Hmmm....going to have to have a plan for this....maybe buy less candy or find something I don't like (really going to have to search on that one).
Elisha.....That RapidStart diet sounds like a good idea. : If I had results right away, I might stay on it longer!
Betani......Sorry, but I had to smile about your 'corningware fight' with DH. Some years ago, my DH and I nearly had to go to nuclear over selection of doorknobs! It sounds so silly now.....but at the time........
Your rationale of not exercising due to thunder makes perfect sense to me. We should start a thread on our most creative excuses!
Julie.....Have you tried Gala apples? A friend gave me one and it was delicious! Autumn means apples around here.......along with football games and color tours....maybe a little salmon fishing.
Well, I should be up doing other things.....even have a list made out.....maybe I will sit down with a cup of tea and review it before I rush into anything.
OK gals...I KNOW I have a problem with food now! It is controlling me! Here's the saga!
My sister caters. I think I've shared that with you all before. I volunteered to help her with a really fun job she had tonight at an opening of an art gallery...very posh! So all was going well...
First, she verbally "spanked" me for even asking for one of the appetizers before she had them set out...I mean...I left work after 8 hours, rushed to the store to get her Sterno's for her warmers, come home, change and get tidied up, made some little cards on the computer for her foods (because she asked me to)...and she tells me I can't have any food and it's 6pm and I'm hungry!!! OK. So then later...after I HAD nibbled on some of the food...I am out in the gallery...it's like almost 10pm...and I am standing near the crab dip and crackers pouring wine for the "customers". I had a bite of crab dip and crackers while talking to a lady about campers! MY SISTER SAW ME EAT IT AND VERBALLY SPANKED ME AGAIN!!! OK...I admit...I probably shouldn't have been eating at that time...I wasn't really hungry...BUT IT WAS THERE JUST CALLING MY NAME!!! WHAT COULD IT HURT??? I doubt my sister will ask me again to help her with a catering job! ......................I'M SOOOO TIRED!!!! End of saga!
The day was a crazy one all around and I am dog tired...not sure why I am even writing this. I suppose to try to relax before I go to bed and get some thoughts out of my head! Yea...that's it!
MsRD...I love the Gala apples! I want to go to the Farmer's Market tomorrow to get some apples and stuff! Maybe you should go to...and get some healthy "snack" food for your afternoon "binges"!!
Betani...I too, laughed out loud when I read about your blowout with hubby about the Corningware! OUrs was about some corn in the grocery store!!!! Go figure! Hope you've patched it up with him by now! Rubenetts and Winesaps! Will have to see about them, too!
Elisha...good luck on the Dr. Phil's diet. Hang in there!
Eva...I have done the water aerobics before and remember they were great! I was much younger then and didn't appreciate it however! Your room sounds marvelous! Will you come and decorate my house next??? And your hubby...he must be a real keeper! Two shows in one day??? WOW!!!
OK...that's it gang! I HAVE to go get some sleep! Hugs to all!
Just time for a quick post. I'll have to catch up with comments later.
I was up .4 lb. this week. First time in a long time that I've been up, though.
Thoughts: Why? Because I have been overeating.
Is there a pattern? Yes, I overeat when I'm stressed, in an attempt to avoid whatever is stressing me out. In this case, selling the house, moving, Hubby giving notice at his job, my new job.
Has this happened before? Yes. Back in college, part of the reason that I gained weight was that I used meal times to avoid studying. So I would stretch out meal times by eating more food. Also, another time that I was losing weight, I kept it up for five weeks, just like now, and then got comfortable with my new body, and went back to my old eating habits. Finally, I'm nearing one of my usual plateaus.
What am I going to do about it? Eat less food, commit to my calorie limit. Be mindful of the stress in my life, and vow to keep the weight off this time, and continue to lose.
Whew! This weekend has been crazy! Seriously. Big stuff? Umm... my mom bought a horse. She's been wanting one ever since hers got stolen when she was 16. So now she has one. No barn, no fence, no trailer, just a horse. Luckily, we've got friends with horses and extra space in their barns, so she'll be fine until we get a barn built. She's a blonde Belgian draft horse, but rather small as far as Belgian draft horses go, 15 months old, and her name is Argo (Xena's horse was named Argo, and looked just about the same).
My kitty came home after 2+ weeks of being gone. Steve woke me up to tell me around 6:50 this morning, and I sprung out of bed. I missed my kitty. There is definitely some kitty-cuddle time in my near future.
Steve and I did our grocery shopping, and I'm going to plan out meals and put the menu on the frige today. I had my Dr Phil Rapid Start breakfast this morning, and can I just say that it feels like a lot of food?
The menu goes like this: (what I ate is in () )
1 serving high-fiber cereal (1 c. frosted mini-wheats)
1 cup low-fat, skim, or soy milk (1 c. skim)
1 egg, scrambled or 2 egg whites (1 egg, scrambled)
Strawberries or other seasonal fruit (Sliced tomato--it just looked really good)
Coffee or tea (coffee with 1 T creamer and 1 t sugar)
I haven't figured out how many calories are in the day yet. It says this menu is supposed to range 1100-1200, but that seems like a very low estimate to me. I guess I'll find out.
Today I'm cleaning a bit, playing with the kitty, planning some menus. I might go for a walk this evening. Or I might go buy some rollerblades and go rollerblading with Steve. He's been trying to get me to go for a while now. We'll see.
Anyway, back to cleaning. I hope you're all having a good weekend!
~Elisha
HI all,
This weekend was ok! We are getting some rain...much needed rain here in West Michigan. I was planning to go for a hike with a gal that I met when I went on the Hiking Trip. She lives about an hour fromme and we were going to meet in the middle. But...rain! So...we went grocery shopping for some healthy foods. The only "bad" stuff I bought was some "junk cereal" for Kaleigh. Sometimes a 6 year old deserves a little sugar cereal! LOL!
It was DH's birthday on Saturday and he didn't want a cake and he didn't want to go out to dinner, so we went to a picnic for my work and he did his Slim Fast the other two meals. He's lost 12 pounds in a week (GRRRRRrrrr!) Actually, I'm happy for him, but I sure wish I could lose it that easy! The brat! Anyway...I'm glad we didn't have a birthday cake laying around...I sure don't need the extra calories. I did get some leftover dips from my sister's catering job from Friday and we did snack on that this weekend!
I spent the day cooking. Made a pot of Split pea soup (yummy!) and we are having salad bar (chicken, bacon, eggs, pecans, whatever we have...)
No exercise this weekend But I have done a lot of work around the house and what not, so that has to count for something. My legs, knees and heel feels better by Sunday night and then it starts all over again on Monday from standing on it all day! <Sigh>
TBJ...sounds like you are getting things figured out with stress=overeating! Good job! Sometimes we have to fail in order to know that we can succeed!
Elisha...Yea...Glad the kitty came back! Enjoy your time with it. A horse, eh? My DD would be soooo jealous. She had her lesson today and was loving every minute of it! Let me know how the Dr. Phil diet goes...
We celebrated DGD 8th birthday today.....and a good time was had by all! And the best thing was that they took the leftover cake home with them......dodged another bullet!
TBJ.....You are up less than a pound and you have all the reasoning and motivation behind the gain nailed! Life certainly is a learning experience!
Elisha......Soooo glad your kitty came home. I think I would have been frantic, but my kitty is strictly an indoor cat and wonder if he has any survival instincts left! A diet with only 1100-1200 calories does sound awfully low.....or maybe that is just for the first week or so to get you started?
Julie.....Sorry that rain ruined your plans, but it was quite glorious, wasn't it? I have gardening I want done, but have to put it off due to the mud condition in the backyard. My DH loses weight so much easier than I do too (though his is due to his being sick, and I don't think I would choose that way to go). What kind of shoes do you wear for work......are they giving you enough cushion and support?
I did 30 minutes with Leslie yesterday......it felt soooo good - both physically and mentally. Gotta get some laundry started now - maybe I will do WATP during the spin cycle.
Hi MsRD...Thanks for the feedback on the feet! It is very important to me to wear good supportive shoes to work, since I am on my feet pretty much the full day (with the exception of a 30 minute lunch break and about 30 minutes at the end of the day to do some charting). We do have carpet in the main parts of the NH (halls & DR) but it is industrial carpet and concrete under that! I have New Balance walking shoes with Spenco Insoles (I recommend them highly) AND I tape my heel every day. I have left the house a few times without time to tape it and I paid dearly at the end of the day. A Sports Med trainer showed me how to tape it to alleviate most of the pain. I know that this (Plantar Fascitis) takes a long time to heal and I have even heard of it taking up to 3 years! REsting it is the best thing for it, but I find that hard to do. I do ice it and take some anti inflammatories if I really am struggling, but I domanage to alleviate most of the pain by getting off of it at night and on the weekends. This is why I have given up Leslie for now.
Anyway, glad you are rid of the cake! Have fun with Leslie! Do a mile for me, ok?
Busy weekend! After I finished posting yesterday, I got a phone call from my mom telling me that they were brining the horse home and that our friends were coming along, so clean up the house! Not only that, but they were already on their way! So I had about 20 minutes to make our house presentable. And then the friends didn't even come down. *rolls her eyes* So we spend the day converting our car-port/garage into a stall for the horse until we can get a barn and fence built. I have to get some film tonight, and I'll try to post some pictures in a few days.
Didn't get as much kitty cuddle time as I had hoped, but mostly because she was sleeping and curled up in a box and I didn't want to disturb her.
The diet went fairly well yesterday, though I made a few alterations (cottage cheese instead of yogurt, etc), and there are more alterations today. I am trying to follow the pattern he gives as to fruit/meat/dairy/grains/etc, so I think I'm doing ok. I was amazed that calories came in around 1230 yesterday. I haven't added up my calories for today's menu yet, as I'm not sure which option I'll pick for dinner.
The boss is on vacation this week, so it should be pretty restful around here. I still have some work to do though, just enough to keep me busy, but not enough to keep me stressed, so that is good.
We're hoping to see some houses this week. I'm getting really impatient with our realtor. He hasn't even called us back in almost a week.
Today I will be exercising for at least 30 minutes. I don't seem to have any energy today though, so it will probably be WATP. Whatever works.
I've set some mini goals and rewards for myself. I've already told you about my "5 days of exercise this week = new CD" reward. I also added "Follow Dr. Phil Rapid Start diet for 14 days AND do 10 days of exercise = hair cut, colored, and highlighted," and "Onederland = Professional Manicure and Pedicure." Nothing like a little motivation, right?
MsRD: The scary part is, my kitty is an inside kitty! We've been letting her go out on the deck off of the loft and she'll sit there for a while then come right back in. It's been so hot, and we don't have AC, so we'd leave the door open occasionally. Then she was just gone. And yes, the 1100-1200 calorie diet is just for 2 weeks. I don't have the whole book yet, just the menu (you can download it on his website), so I'm not sure what you're supposed to do after that. But I do plan to get the book before the 2 weeks is up, and I plan to add in a couple more foods after the initial 2 weeks. Not much, perhaps 1300-1400 calories, trying to keep the foods low-calorie.
Julie: Men always lose faster than women. It's not fair, is it?! I occasionally wind up grocery shopping with my best friend instead of going out. She always buys junk food though. I don't know that I've ever seen her eat a vegetable (besides a potato, usually in the form of French fries). But she's one of those people who can just eat anything and everything and stay skinny... grrr. She always yells at me when I order a salad, but I yell back and tell her that not everyone has her metabolism.
TBJ: You're so analytical--I love it! It sounds like you know exactly what you have to do and why, now all you have to do is do it!
Anyway, chickies, things to do. Have a good day!
~Elisha
Busy as all get out here! I wish my partner would come back from vacation. I'm drowning in boxes!
I did manage to lose 1.5 lbs of the 2.5 I gained last week. Not bad, considerin'.
Hopefully I'll be going back to the doctor this week, if he has an opening. This cough has me at my wits end.
Hubby and I have recovered from the Corningware fight. Actually, it was really about decluttering. He can't stand the thought of giving stuff away because of how much it costs. Well, now he knows that it's costing my sanity to keep it!
Morning chickies! Chickies? Any chickies out there?
Betani--I hope you feel better soon! That cough has lasted too long already!
Yesterday was ok. I went off my diet a little--Mom had spaghetti ready and waiting when I got home. At least it was made with lean ground turkey rather than regular ground beef (but only because she couldn't find the ground beef--I hid it in the spare freezer!). I did succumb to a slice of whole-grain toast with real butter, but only one. And I had a salad, and I tried to keep the pasta to a minimum. Calories came in at 1443 for the day, so I'm ok. And my weight was down to 212.2 this morning (from 213.4 yesterday), which is flat out ridiculous, but I'm not complaining.
I've realized that as long as I'm living in my current environment it's going to be nearly impossible for me to eat according to a strict meal plan. Unless I get everyone on board, and I honestly don't see that happening. I showed Mom the Rapid Start diet this morning and told her I was trying to follow it as closely as I could. Today's dinner is supposed to be beef tenderloin, green peas, and cauliflower. Mom suggested chicken stir-fry. I'm ok with that. I'll just not eat so much rice. I don't think we have any beef tenderloin anyway. *shrugs* At least she's trying, right? And a stir-fry is a good compromise.
And the change in dinner last night prompted me to do a little extra workout. I ended up doing 30 minutes on the elliptical and a full UB weights circuit. I really need to start doing more weights. I'm going to hop over to the Ladies Who Lift board for some tips and questions I have. But I notice that I always sweat more when I start lifting, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I want to be not only thin, but buff and toned and muscular in my wedding dress!
OK, stuff to do. Have a good day, chickies, wherever you are!
~Elisha
Whew! It has been one of those 'let's go in 6 directions at once' days! I started off with jury duty......sat in our little jury waiting room for 1-1/2 hours and then they told us that all the cases that day had been settled! (not complaining, as the company was good and it was a good break in routine). Then.....off to work, a mere 48 miles from the court house! Some dear soul had replaced the hard drive in my PC (it had died a untimely death yesterday) and it was up and running when I got there .....minus only a few report templates, which I will re-create and then copy off to a disk so that never happens again! I was there probably less than 2 hours when DH phoned.....said he was sick and needed me home....yikes! So.....back on the road again.......feeling a lot like that 'zoomzoom' car commercial. I spent the afternoon at home.....DH is okay, just a little weak and wobbly (not to worry....chronic condition). Needless to say the eating today has been erratic, to put it mildly......the good news is I will do 30minutes with Leslie to relieve the stress and put everything back in perspective!
Elisha.....It is hard to stay on plan when you are not the one in charge of meal planning.....shucks, it is hard to stay on plan when you ARE the one in charge of meal planning ..... Don't worry so much about the content and concentrate on portion control. Your reward program should give you the motivation! What a great idea! If your present realtor isn't helping......find yourself a new one!
Betani....You have things back under control and are losing again! Careful with that cough, chickie......folks are work are having the same thing and it develops into bronchitis.
I have been out walking with the dog for the past 2 evenings......and did 30 minutes with Leslie last night too. It feels so good when I exercise.....can't understand why I can't commit to it every day! Hmmmm, now that sounds like a goal!
Well, today is a good day. Yesterday my mood was a little... crazy. Up and down. But I did ok. I got in a zillion gallons of water, 1244 calories, and 33 min. of WATP plus 10 min. of calisthenics. Food wasn't exactly to plan, but I did good anyway. And this morning the scale showed 211.2. That's just plain crazy. Over 2 pounds in 3 days. Yeah, my metabolism isn't *that* fast. But I'm not complaining. :
I got the results of my blood tests back, finally. My cholesterol is high. Honestly, that surprised me. It shouldn't, considering how I used to eat, but it did. Everything else has always been healthy, so I guess I just expected my cholesterol to be healthy too. But alas! What I get is not more validation and justification of my old ways, but rather new motivation and more proof that I need to get healthier, and that is a good thing.
Tonight is laundry night, if we don't get to go see some houses, and I'm really not holding my breath on that one. I get to play with the horsey some this evening too. Mom will be busy tomorrow (taking my car in for a 6-8 hour job), so Dad and I will have to take care of Argo, so Mom is showing me what to do. And I finally got some film, so I'm going to take some pictures tonight.
MsRD: Walking with Leslie does help relive some stress, doesn't it? It also makes me feel good about myself because I actually did it. Last night I had to argue myself into doing it, but hey, whatever works, right?
Anyway, time to work. Have a good one, chickies!
~Elisha
Got back late in the day on Monday, had a billion things to do but got caught up on posts.
Well, I've got good news and and I've got bad news. Which do you want first
First the good news, we had a great time at the cabin, I didn't do too much except read three books. We had nightly camp fires by the lake (which was a real hike to get back and forth from). DH & DGS found a campsite in the bush and so then came back to get me for a picnic one day.... that was so lovely. Spent lots of time cooking and cleaning up from cooking and being domestic.... Felt like a pioneer or something, except we had power and heat and stuff. I guess it's good news that my weight has stayed the same. I did come back much relaxed, I definately needed this.
... And so the bad news, I didn't get much exercise, unless you count the numerous trips to the outhouse; which was quite a climb. I'd come back to the cabin "huffin & puffin" everytime.
The "boys" came back with a deer one evening but that's okay, once you get over it the chops tasted pretty good. Had DFIL over for dinner last night and he really enjoyed them.
I read an interesting book from the library while I was away, it is called "Real Fitness for Read Women". It deals with a lot of issues with being a "women of size" and has a "Unique workout program for the plus size woman", it is by Rochelle Rice the Founder of "In Fitness & In Health" workout centres. It includes a six week beginning exercise program to get us moving and ready to begin more advanced exercise programs. I think I missed a lot of the "getting ready" core muscle building when starting out and so have difficulty in some areas. It closes with an appendix full of inspirational success stories.
So enough about me, I was glad to see everyone has been "up and down" I sure know what that's about.
Elisha - glad to hear about your recent weight loss - I'd take it too. I don't know if you like whole grain oatmeal (not quick cooking), but they say it works to reduce the bad cholesterol. I'm due for a check up in October, and I know the DR will be on my case because my blood sugars have been between 13-14 in the mornings (used to be in the good range between (6-8) I have been really trying to watch my carbs and sugars this past week.
MsRD - I know what you mean - I don't know why I resist exercise when I FEEL SO GOOD AFTER. Glad to hear DH is okay, and your PC troubles at work are taken care of. How's the garden going. Mine is getting near the end. I picked some corn, beans and tomato for dinner last night, and we've been eating carrots, beets, onions and lettuce on a regular basis now. Kinda makes it worth all the work at harvest time. Today will be mowing the lawn, the weather has been so nice here but it's forecast to turn to rain soon and then who knows when it will be dry enough to mow again on the WET west coast.
Betani - YAY for the weight loss. Remember, girl, you can only accomplish ONE PERSON'S TASKS at work. I decided while away on holiday that I'm only going to attempt to do the number of things that I can do WELL at work and quit trying to be a hero because "things" get missed. Better to do a thorough job and feel good about it than run around like a chicken with my head cut off and try to do EVERYTHING.
Julie - Sorry to hear you're hurting. I know how frustrating that can be when you want to exercise and do stuff. And really, being in pain all the time is SO tiring. It sounds like you're finding it difficult to locate a pool for aquasize (the best low impact cardio around) or water running. Does a recumbent bike cause your knees pain if you have no resistance on? I'm not sure what your knee problems are, but I find if I ice after exercise it helps alot with my arthritis.
TBJ - don't worry about your little gain. But you did ask yourself some great questions to focus on getting back on track. I know I'll be doing the same when (or if) I find myself in a position of eating unhealthfully.
Aunty Em - Good work on all that exercise. I know I can't have yummy stuff (and those eyeballs definately fit the bill) in the house or I eat it all, and then have to get more before DH notices and <sigh>it's a vicious circle. We'll have an aquasize challenge since we both enjoy it. What film is the Viking Alien movie star doing today?
Anyway, enough putting off the mowing of the lawn. I'll check back in later.
Hugs.
Welcome back, Joy! Glad you had a good time on your vacation! Climbing trails and hills counts as exercise! We have deer a lot during the winter, seeing as my father is an avid hunter, and we live in the middle of a forest, and the property next to ours is a hunting reserve. It's very lean and much better for you than beef.
So the scale was at 212.0 this morning. 1 pound in 4 days, that's much more realistic. Of course, I'm thinking it's because we had Quizno's for dinner last night. It's ok, calories still came in at 1505, and I skipped the bacon on the sub. No exercise last night though, as we went to look at some houses, one we liked and one we didn't. We're looking at another one tonight that looks like it's in good shape.
Hmm... what else? Nothing much. Work is going to be boring again today, but at least my office buddy is back. I get to leave a little early to go meet the realtor. We're planning to just get a snack on the way there, then eat dinner at home so we don't have to eat out twice. Except I forgot my lunch today, so I'm going to Arby's for a salad, or maybe Wendy's. I'm going to research salads and their calorie content this morning before I go so I'll be prepared.
I won $4 on an instant lottery ticket last night, cashed it in for more tickets, and won another $4. I think I should just quit while I'm ahead, but I'll probably cash it in for more tickets. I already spent the $1 anyway, so it's all I stand to lose, and I've already lost it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big instant lottery player, just sometimes the urge strikes me and I buy a ticket or two. Hey, that's $1 I'm not spending on potato chips, right?
Yeah, so I'm random today. OK, time to get a little work done. Have a good one, chickies!
~Elisha
Sorry for not posting more regularly......came home last night with a horrible sinus headache, did what absolutely had to be done and went to bed early. Thankfully, today was a much better day! After work, I took the car in for an oil change, stopped at 2 stores to get some stuff for MIL, grabbed a sandwich at McD's (bleagh!) and then stopped and visited Mom. Then, I did my grocery shopping and wandered on home.....these 15-hour days are killers!
Elisha.....That new diet plan really has you motivated! You go girl! Sorry to hear about the cholesterol problem, but you know what to do to get that corrected. I think weight-bearing exercise helps with the cholesterol too......don't forget to get it checked in another 6 months to see your progress.
Joy.....Welcome back! We missed you! I am so happy to hear you had a wonderful realxing vacation......and don't fret about not getting enough exercise......it was a VACATION for pity sakes! The venison sounds yummy.....DH & DS & DSIL are all hunters, so we generally do pretty well.(If I get enough, I pressure can it and then use it in stews or like swiss steak) For the record, vension has just as much cholesterol at beef does, but almost negligible fat. My garden is winding down.....still a few tomatoes left, and the pumpkins are almost ready for the grandkids. I have a cold frame and have started bibb lettuce, so will have fresh salads until Thanksgiving.
Julie?.....TBJ?.....Betani?....hope you are all having a fantastic day!
on anything and everything when I come in the door at night! Maybe I am not eating enough lunch to keep me going......next week, I am going to experiment with a little bigger lunch or maybe a healthy snack in the late afternoon. I mean, there is no reason to get a speeding ticket getting from work to the grocery store checkout candybars! 
Hmmm....going to have to have a plan for this....maybe buy less candy or find something I don't like (really going to have to search on that one).
: If I had results right away, I might stay on it longer!
and color tours....maybe a little salmon fishing.
......................I'M SOOOO TIRED!!!! End of saga!
First time in a long time that I've been up, though.
I started off with jury duty......sat in our little jury waiting room for 1-1/2 hours and then they told us that all the cases that day had been settled! (not complaining, as the company was good and it was a good break in routine). Then.....off to work, a mere 48 miles from the court house! Some dear soul had replaced the hard drive in my PC (it had died a untimely death yesterday) and it was up and running when I got there .....minus only a few report templates, which I will re-create and then copy off to a disk so that never happens again! I was there probably less than 2 hours when DH phoned.....said he was sick and needed me home....yikes! So.....back on the road again.......feeling a lot like that 'zoomzoom' car commercial. I spent the afternoon at home.....DH is okay, just a little weak and wobbly (not to worry....chronic condition). Needless to say the eating today has been erratic, to put it mildly......the good news is I will do 30minutes with Leslie to relieve the stress and put everything back in perspective!
Careful with that cough, chickie......folks are work are having the same thing and it develops into bronchitis.
It feels so good when I exercise.....can't understand why I can't commit to it every day! Hmmmm, now that sounds like a goal!
That's just plain crazy. Over 2 pounds in 3 days. Yeah, my metabolism isn't *that* fast. But I'm not complaining. 
: 
