That is just about the most entertaining blog I've seen in... forever. Right up there with stumptuous.com, great link, thanks for sharing!

Shane: Yes, the good swimmers on the teams I swam on as a kid were all pretty lean (and had all sorts of tricks for reducing as much drag as possible--the shaving thing, wearing two suits for practice). And the high school swim team works out in the other half of the pool where I lap swim on Sunday morning and there's not an ounce of fat on any of those kids. I can't say the same for the folks on the lap swimming side of the pool, however. We're a pretty motley bunch. Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

WaterRat: My shoes get wet when I work out (yes, I sweat so much even my feet sweat), so I'd be afraid my shoes would freeze if I left them in the car in that weather. I work from home, so I just go from home to the gym (frequently the gym is the only place I go all day) and I'm always wearing my gym clothes when I leave the house, so I don't need to keep my gym bag in the car. But I could still keep a pre-filled water bottle in it. Today I remembered to bring the water bottle to the gym, but left it in my gym bag in my locker. Oh well, one step at a time.

DGAdDawg: I hope you start to feel better. Being sick is no fun. I also hate it when the house is messy when I'm sick. I just feel better when everything is picked up.

Does anyone else get sick when it is time for vacation?
I seem to always do it-- the stress and excitement of getting packed, getting all the errands run, etc.
I don't know what I have......I have a couple of white spots on my throat and my body aches terribly. I'm going to try to see the doctor today in case it is strep because I really don't think I want to see a doctor in Mexico!

We leave tomorrow a.m. for a dude ranch north of Mexico City. It looks to be so much fun. I should get plenty of exercise riding horses. Food is a big unknown but I will do the best I can.

I might get to check in once or twice while I'm gone, so I hope everyone has a great weekend and a great week next week!

Thinking healthy thoughts.....

Thinking healthy thoughts for all our sickies! Yikes, I wouldn't want to be sick out of the country either. How are you feeling today, Dawg?

Shane, that guy is a musclehead, for real. What a ma-ROON!

DH and I are going out for our long-postponed anniversary dinner tonight and from what I hear, it will be worth every calorie. I'm not going crazy, of course, but plan to indulge a wee bit.

What's everyone have planned for this weekend? It kind of feels like a letdown after last weekend's holiday festivities.

Good morning! It's misting and cool (50F) here this morning. Hoping it will clear up and warm up some! Soon.

Josephine - glad you liked the blog. I enjoy it, though I'm not as hard-core with exercise as she is.

We are leaving noonish today to go the the State Square Dance Festival, which is about a 4 hour drive south of us. We'll stop on the way in Anchorage (the "big city") to do a few errands there. Food should be okay as we're camping so I'm bringing most of it. We may stop somewhere for dinner on the way down, as there's a dance tonight almost as soon as we get there. We'll leave there as soon as we're ready Sunday morning, as DH wants to leave for fishing Sunday night or Monday morning - and it's 5 hours in the exact opposite direction! I'm not going fishing - just a couple of days alone with the cats for me.

Meg - enjoy your dinner! I assume from your comment that's it's an extra-fancy place. Sometimes it's more about the experience than the food....

Have a great weekend all.

Hi everyone,

It's hot here but at least the humidity has now gone away.

No more news from my son since July 4th but I e-mail him each day to let him know he is always in our thoughts. I bought a nice plaque at the post office yesterday that has the "Military Mother's Prayer" on it with a place for a picture of Shane. I'm hanging it in my living room.

Lacy and I both went and got haircuts today. Neither of us are totally pleased. My hair has thinned due to my medications, so it's probably not the beauticians fault. I left my hair long and layered . I just put mine in a pontytail while I work out.

Lacy likes her new job, but she is working for Taco Bell instead of Pizza Hut. She took the other job instead cause it pays more. We went clothes shopping yesterday and I only found 1 outfit for me. I tried on several shirts but they all ended up too flowy and maternity looking for my taste. I also bought me some new gym shoes. Lacy found several clothes items for herself.

My eating is back OP and I sure feel physically better when I eat right. Tonite I plan to just use my treadmill and elliptical at home instead of going to the gym.

Dawg, I hope you get better soon. It sure sounds like you need some antibiotics. Yes, insurance is definitely a pain in the rear. I have about 12 claims currently pending with mine for me, Lacy and Shelbey. I think they must make an extra bonus for denying claims as long as possible.

Dawg, I also watch "First 48", plus "Cold Case Files" and other related programs. Then, I get scared to walk my dogs after dark. LOL.

michele, I'm sure that if I drop the girls from my gym membership that they will decide that they want to go again. Both the girls really do need to exercise as they are steadily gaining weight, but I try not to hound them to go.

As always, another week has flown by. For those of you who advised me last week to just stay the course and know that my weight will go down since I was eating OP, you were right. I spent 6 days away (July 3-9) staying at my Mom's. It was good to get away from home and from my bathroom scale. I was careful for the most part though I only had time to walk each day. I did still exercise by walking at least. My Mom, of course, being my Mom, made all my favorite foods before I got to her house--there was ham balls, cheddar cheese potatoes, chocolate frosted brownies, daily ice cream feeds...it was hard. I can't say I skipped everything, but I skipped most of it. When I went to the Y on Monday with my Mom, the scale said I was up 3 lbs. I was upset! Here I'd tried so hard, yet the scale was up so much! I convinced myself that the scale was wrong and that I HAD to stick with it! I stuck with it and when I returned and weighed in on Friday morning, I was down 4 lbs. That was a good reward considering what that d**** scale at the Y said on Monday!
The rest of this week has been uneventful. I continue to journal what I eat and drink and what I do for exercise. It's become a true habit and a valuable one for me. I forced myself to work out yesterday and today. For some reason, working out is just a drag lately! I know the great value of it, though, so I try to push myself through 45 min of cardio and about 30 of weightlifting. If anyone has any fun exercises that feel like they work, I'd like to hear about them. I need to shake it up!
Tomorrow, my husband and I are going away for 2 nights....just the two of us. We haven't been away from our almost grown children (17 & 21) in 3 years. I'm looking forward to it. I told my husband I'm trying to think of things we can do that are fun and incorporate exercise. I also packed my workout clothes, so that's my intention. Of course, the food is ready to be packed tomorrow morning before we leave...I never go anywhere without food I can enjoy without worry! I'm sure we'll eat out daily, but I'm looking forward to it anyway and will keep it under control.
Hope everyone has had a good week and has a good week coming up! We're about halfway through summer....just about 6 weeks til I return to teaching. Wish I could say I was looking forward to it.
If you're where it's sunny, enjoy! If not, smile and make your own sunny environment!