Weigh-in Wednesday - Holdin' Stead

After some thought (and help from April) I figured out why I gained weight last week. I've been doing my runs Monday and Wednesday mornings, so that by the time I weigh-in, I've exercise (and sweated) for over 30 minutes.

Last week, I had to shift my long run to Wednesday and there was no way I was going to get up early enough to run 7 miles in the morning. My dreaded 126.2 weight was my early morning sans running weight. After Friday's morning run, I weighed in at 124.8.

After hiking (and eating to make up for it) this weekend, then slacking for the 2 days to follow I was a little nervous to step on the scales. Since its getting cooler, I've been able to shift my runs from the mornings to the afternoon/evenings, so today's weigh-in is sans run also: 125.4.

Which means I'm not doing to badly with this whole maintenance thing!

Training has hit its first few little road blocks - the first was just life happening. I couldn't drag myself out of bed Monday or yesterday to get my runs in, so I'm having to squish everything up at the end of the week.

Its gonna get done though. I'm gonna squeeze 7 workouts into 5 days. Since tomorrow is a strength day, it won't be difficult to add a run in as well. Then Friday for my cross training I'll just pretend I'm Christie and do a bike and a swim in the same day.

The other road block is mental - I mentioned it on Christie's Open Water blog about facing your fears, but I found out today that its worse than I expected.

My comment on her blog: Nuclear radiation is one of my biggest fears, crazy for someone who was barely alive for the end of the cold war. guess I'm facing it a little (not really) running my half in Oak Ridge, TN the maker of WWII's "little boy" - the first atomic weapon used. ever. on Hiroshima.

Yesterday I emailed the race director for the half asking for an explanation of the "standard deluxe" terminology (we have a "standard deluxe" hill on mile 8 of the course).

His response brought me to tears.

(But I am a cry baby who's about to be visited by Aunt Flow so I'll blame that.)

It is a pretty good hill, “standard” for many like it in Tennessee, and it does have a “deluxe” climb at about 100 feet vertical over approximately ½ mile. So I thought “standard deluxe” could be a fairly accurate description for actual course conditions.

The course is on Department of Energy property and runs by the historic K-25 building (you overlook the building at the top of the standard deluxe hill.

Seriously?

The hill I can take - a little hill training at the end of my long runs and I'll be ready for it.

But running by the Mother responsible unleashing nuclear terror on the world??

Okay so that's a bit dramatic, who said phobias were calm and reasonable?

I can do this.

I can.

And if I do, nothing will ever hold me back again!

My List

As you know from last week, I'm a little stress right now. I feel like I've got lots of stuff that needs to be done and not a lot of time to do it in. I decided to write out my list to make it seem a little less intimidating. Beyond the normal stuff (dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, sweeping, etc) I need to do the following:

1. Train for/Run a half marathon

This was going great until this week. I've yet to run a day this week. I can't pull my rear out of bed in the mornings and I'm committed to other things after work. I'll have to run tomorrow, Thursday, and Saturday to stay on schedule.

2. Read 52 books this year (a book a week)

I'm at 40 now. The temptation is to get the 40 smallest books I can find and bust through this one quickly, but that would be missing the point. I just got Ted Dekker's Green in the mail yesterday, and I'm excited about starting on it.

Check out my last review here on Andy Andrew's book The Noticer.

3. Donate items in spare bedroom to charity

Since Jay's self employeed, we'll definitely be needing the tax deduction this year. Which means going through and listing everything in a notebook as I box it up and remove yard sale stickers.

This one is overwhelming. I think I might need to employee Fly Lady's 2 minute rule in this room. Only two minutes doesn't sound long enough. I'm thinking I could actually get something done in 5 minute increments.

4. Clean/organize items to remain in spare bedroom.

To be honest, I have no clue how hard this will be. I'll need to buy bookshelves, and box the rest up and put it in the closet.

5. Set up spare bedroom as sewing/hobby room.

I've asked Jay to finish my sewing table by our anniversary. Remember his injury(and part 2) last year? Yeah that was working on the table. He's since gotten side tracked working (doing a great job of killing it and dragging it home I might add) and its still sitting in the garage.

6. Birthday shop for October.

My sister and BIL are both October babies. And Jay turns 30 this year. I have no clue what to get any of them, and they aren't being helpful either.

7. Put away summer pjs/shoes

It was 49 degrees outside this morning. It sure changed seasons quickly!

8. Get out winter pjs/shoes.

It was 49 degrees this morning!

9. Christmas Shop

I know what I'm getting my mom. Beyond that I have no clue. :|

10. Weed the flower bed

This is one that's stressing me out the most. Last time I worked in the flower bed I was out there 3 hours. This is no 5 minutes at a time job. Thankfully I'll only have another time or two doing this before the weather turns off cold and I don't have to worry about it the rest of the year.

11. Print pictures, organize in photo albums.

Last year for Christimas, I asked for photo albums (or was it the year before?) and I got them. Only I still have pictures from when Jay and I were dating that I haven't printed out yet. Its low priority, but I'd like to print a few a month so that its not so blasted expensive when I go to buy the pictures.

NYC Day 2 - Part 2

I left off this walk down memory lane last week, as Jay and I were just about to leave Central Park. We now join our story already in progress...

I needed to find a bathroom, but none were easily accessible from where we were in the park. As we were headed out to the park, Jay mentioned that he was tired and he wanted to rest for a little bit from all the walking and sit down on a secluded bench.

I thought it was odd that he was tired when I wasn't, but I didn't say anything. As usual he read my mind and asked me if I was going to blog and let all my friends know that he was a sissy that tired quickly walking around in the park.

We found a bench and sat down. Then he asked me if I remembered our first date - sitting outside of Johnny Carino's on a bench waiting to be seated. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." Then the moment happened - he got down on one knee.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jay: Brooke Middle Maiden, will you marry me?

Me: Of course I will. I love you

At this point we're hugging. And then the bling. 23 diamonds. One marqee cut diamond in the center with rows of 3 deep baggets on the sides for 3 rows on either side and the last row with 2 diamonds. Making it all the more beautiful is the fact that the center diamond was the stone that his father first gave to his mother.



(I've actually been told since this blog, that this isn't the greatest photo of the ring and that its prettier in person. Please note that its white, not yellow gold. I meant to take a picture of the set - the wedding band has 10 additional stones in a similar patter, but I forgot. And I've kept you waiting long enough.)

I have to confess that I was so impressed with the ring that I kept saying a phrase that my grandmother would chastise me for. But when the time comes we can delete that from the story to tell the kids right?

We sat on the bench for a while longer, just taking the moment in. Then he confessed that from the time we entered Central Park to the moment he asked he was on the look out for an empty bench that wasn't heavily populated.

(Please note: we were big dorks and forgot to take pictures of the moment. Please hang around until NYC Day 4 to see our best recreation effort.)

I tried to call my sister to let her be the first to know (my parents had already been tipped off by Jay) but she didn't answer. She called me back fairly quick, and it didn't take her long to confess that Mother had already spilled the beans. I immdediately started considering how to dress shop for a Matron of Honor that's 8 months pregnant when the wedding is only 6 months away.

The rest of the calls had to wait as we got on the subway and intended to head toward Filene's Basement to check out their bargains. Little did we know there was an "investigation" on the subway of a stalled train. We were forced to head Uptown to 125th Street in Harlem to board a Downtown Train back to 23rd Street in Manhattan.

After traveling 102 blocks on the subway, we arrived at Filene's Basement. After all a girl needs a new dress to coordinate with her newly aquired accessory. A mass text message went out to all my friends letting them know the big news.

One of my cousins responded back "huh?" to my text. The original message had said "a silver eagle has landed in Central Park with a couple of carrots in its mouth." Then I got a call from Maria - when I answered the phone she said "who is this?" It took only knowing that the text was from me for her to figure it out.

After purchasing a lovely wrap dress in the store - and talking to my Mamaw, my brother-in-law, and my niece - we headed toward Century 21 Department Store. Or so we thought. It felt like we walked forever and then walked some more.

Remember me looking for a restroom in Central Park? I still hadn't found one. Finally we found a sandwich/soup cafe that we stopped in to eat at and I headed straight for the restroom. We discovered quickly that we wanted to get in and get out in a hurry. Since the ladies room door was locked, I headed into the men's.

Out on the street we still had no clue where we were going. We were hesistant to ask for directions, but saw a group of cops on the side of the road and decided to go ahead and ask. This cocky sonofa... pieceof... officer interrupted us with the question of directions we asked and assured us that if we turned left at Chambers it would run right into the store. Turns out he gave us directions straight to the police station....

At 8 o'clock on the nose we headed into Century 21's doors, only to be turned away. It was closing time. And if that lousy, unprintable name hadn't sent us off on a wild goose chase, we would have made it. The NYPD is going to receive a scathing email from me. I'm quite certain he'll either be repremanded or fired. Or not.

When we walked out of the store I saw heaven across the street. Okay so it was just McDonald's, but I was really thirsty and the thought of a large coke sounded like a godsend! Thanks to Jay and google map (accessed on his fancy cell phone) we walked a few blocks down and got on the subway to finally head home. I was exhausted and took my shoes off on the ferry ride back. I think I got an evil look from a young girl as I was complaining about my feet hurting. So because she walks with a cane she thinks she can judge my aching feet? Yeah, I felt pretty bad about that.

When we got back to the B&B my fiance (its really fun to say that) gave me a wonderful footrub. I'm a lucky girl.

Head over to Rachel's for some more love stories, and don't forget to check back next week - this story is far from over!!

Its official - we're rednecks

In redneckville, you don't get more country than muddin'. While Jay enjoys taking the ole Jeep through a mud puddle or two, I prefer a far less dirty way of enjoying the top down.

This weekend, Jay will be attending a property auction of some farmland. He really wants to buy a lot (if we do, we'll sell our current lot), so we decided to go out and take another look on Wednesday evening. I finished my 7 mile (EEEE! my longest distance ever) run around 6:30, he picked me up and we headed that direction.

(Click to enlarge photos)

The view from the top of two of the lots:



Crossing over a dip in the field, Jay slung some mud up on the his side of the Jeep. It was a soupy, dark, sticky mud, so I was very glad it didn't get me. We rode around a while and made the loop back to enjoy the view one more time.



On the way back through the muddy dip, Jay decided to try another way, just about 100 feet from our original path.

To our misfortune, this spot was deceptively muddier than the first.



And as Jay hit the accelerator, the mud started to fly.



I was not a happy camper. The dooney & burke purse was a gift, and while I had no clue just how much he gave for it, I knew it wasn't cheap.

I can however tell you exactly what I spent ($109)on my running shoes - I just bought them two weekends ago.



Jay tried hauling some rocks over to put under the tire for traction, but not before losing his flip flop in the depths of the marsh.



This next picture can be deceptive. No, Jay isn't kneeling. That's how deep the mud was. And why I stayed in the Jeep the whole time.



Of course his redneck roots (I thought he was supposed to be the yankee here?) found it very amusing.



I, on the other hand...



I called my parents for help, while Jay tried to get a hold of some of his buddies. My dad was at his referee meeting, so my mom didn't have much assistance to offer. She certainly wasn't going to hitch anything to her Chrysler 300.



Jay finally got one of his buddies, who said that he'd run home to see if he had the chains, toe straps, or other accessories needed to pull us out. In the mean time, my mom called back, deciding that she was going to come out and just sit with us because she was worried. About a 100 feet away was a gravel driveway, so she'd make it out to us just fine.

I only had one request - food!! Please keep in mind that it was approaching 7:30, I had shortly before that ran for an hour and a half without stopping, and my last bite of food was a snack at 2:30.



She came bearing gifts of diet mtn dew and peanuts. That's her in the photo above - she wouldn't come near the Jeep and I wouldn't get out in the mud. Jay acted as the go-between.



As dark started to fall, my patience got thinner and thinner. I called a friend of mine, to see if she knew anyone that could get us out (she has a corolla and her husband has a versa so I knew they couldn't). Thankfully she thought of our boss, who not only owns a 4X4 truck, but also lives not too far from where we were stuck.

When I called, he was outside mowing his yard, but his wife passed along the message and he promptly called us back asking what size chains he'd need. About 10 minutes later, we saw a flat bed truck coming down the road.

"I just meant for him to bring his ram." I said to Jay, but as Jay approached the vehicle, we quickly realized that this wasn't our rescuer. He was hauling mulch to the top of the property (presumably for the sale).

Just a few minutes later my boss showed up (in his dodge). As he pulled down the path, two flat beds came over the hill. "We've been up there mulching for the past hour, if we'd known you were down here we could come down here and got you out."

They helped my boss and his son hook up the chains and with very little effort by the Ram, we were free and clear.

No offense to all you muddin' fans out there, but I hope that's what my Papaw calls a twofer - the first and the last time I'm ever involved in one of those adventures. Thankfully, the Jeep did make it out unscathed, just a little dirty.

Thursday's Ten - My Bucket List

Lora, over at Take Me the Way I Am, hosts "Thursday's Ten" and provides a new topic each week. This week, she's sharing the top ten things she'd like to accomplish before she kicks the bucket. I've been meaning to join her for several weeks now, but I always get my Thursday blog up before I remember.



Here are mine:

1) Live happily ever after

Too generic?

2) Build/pay off our dream farmhouse.

I figured since building seems to be in our 5 year plan, paying it off could make it a more long term goal.

3) Travel to new places

One of those open ended items,but I don't have one specific place I want to go. I just want to go all over the world experiencing new cultures and locations.

4) Read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Not because I have any interest in this 1,000+ page book, but because I want Jay to quit asking me to read it every time I pick up a new book.

5) Take my niece to NYC her senior year of High School.

Its something I said I'd do when I was in NYC 5 years ago, when my sister was pregnant with the Princess (referred to as P-nut at the time since we didn't know she was a girl yet).

When her mommy and daddy went to NYC 2 years ago, I helped babysit the Princess and told her that when she got to be a big girl I'd take her. When her parents got home and were showing their pictures, she ran back to her room and started packing her bag. When my sister ask what she was doing she said "Boo say she take me to new yerk when i get to be big. i a big girl now!"

6) Maintain my weight loss
I know I won't stay 125 for the rest of my life. I could get pregnant or else just grow old and not want saggy skin. Either way I want to stay as fit and healthy (or better) as I am right now.

7) Complete the half marathon, no walking

Last night was my 7 mile run, and short of 15 second water breaks, I never stopped. I'm not talented enough to drink water and run on a treadmill at the same time. And I'm sure I won't be talented enough to jog while I stop by the porta-potty during the race, but you know what I mean.

8) Run a marathon

Just once, to say I have. We'll see how the half goes before I pursue it more.

9) Be content

Most of the time this feels like an impossible dream, but I know that if I rely on Christ, I can do it.

10)Write a novel

We'll save the most lofty for last. My great-grandparents have a remarkable story - I'd love to make it into a book. The longer I wait the more difficult this one will be. My great-grandparents have already passed and my grandmother and great-aunt (their daughters) are in their 70s.

Weigh-in Wednesday - Maintenance Week

Last week I weighed in at my goal weight of 125.0, this week's challenge was to gradually increase my calories until I got to my maintenance weight. Unfortunately, I've already hit a bump in the road.

This week's weight: 126.2
Maintenance weight: 125

It could be a combination of things so I'm trying not to stress over it too much. Emphasis on trying.

Setting the little scale bump aside, I wanted to tell you about my victory this week: running 6 miles.

Saturday afternoon while everyone else was watching the University of Tennessee get pounced by the Florida Gators, I laced up my running shoes to complete my long run for the week.

Jay had originally offered to join me, but said that the 23-6 score was just too close for him to abandon the Vols yet. My run consists of a 3 mile loop, so I told him I would give him a call when I circled back around.

Then the down pour came at mile 2, and I knew he would never join me. I bypassed the house and started on mile 4, which consists of 3 hills. Those hills aren't so scary when they are on mile 1 of the run, but by mile 4 they were difficult.

I had a cramp in my side so I had to focus on breathing so I wouldn't give up. Once I made it past the hills to mile 5 I knew I was home free - so I started dreaming about my place in the sisterhood.

I'll just tell ya, you learn a lot about yourself when you're alone with nothing but your thoughts and an occasional "hello" from a neighbor for over an hour.

So wanna here my day dream? I got to thinking about how the Sisterhood has a triathlon expert, a calorie counting expert, and a weight watchers expert. I dreamed of being the maintenance expert of the sisterhood (after this week's numbers I need to keep dreaming).

Okay I'll give you a moment to snicker.

Hey if you're gonna dream - dream big!

At mile 6 I really felt like I could have kept going, so I was confident of this week's 7 mile run.

That run is today, but I'm changing it up so I don't feel quite as confident. The half marathon course description says that its flat to rolling with one "standard deluxe" hill at mile 8.

Which means I've got to start training my hills at the end of the run. A running friend of mine said I should probably do my 2 miles over and over, and then do the hills at the end of my run. So I shall start that plan today. 5 miles of easy running finishing up with a mile of hills.

I'm already hurting!

Book Review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews

The Noticer starts off with a tale of a Andy, young man struggling through life. Both of his parents have passed away and his opportunities are few - he lives under a pier taking spare food from vacant vacation homes.

The real story, however, is about Jones, the title character in book. Jones enters Andy's life and teaches him how to gain a new perspective. As the book progresses, the readers are introduces to countless people who have been touched by the wisdom of the old man.

I very much enjoyed this read, and although quick, it was also very insightful. It read as casually as a conversation, but there were moments that I had to stop to take it all in. While Jones was teaching the couple on the brink of divorce how to love one another, I found myself reviewing my marriage. Do I truly understand how to make my husband feel loved?

With each example came introspection and real knowledge, broken down to its most basic level. Lessons on worry, forgiveness, and purpose – told in a scene between Jones and one of his “best friends” but meant for the reader to not only glean, but apply to our lives.

Having said that, allegory aside, the story itself was touching and very heartwarming. I definitely recommend this read!

Making Time

For the most part, I think people have time for the things that they are interested in. If you have a passion for it, you find a way to work it into your schedule.

Before I get a slew of emails from mothers - I'm not saying that the week you bring your infant home you can do anything you want. I understand that there are times where it just doesn't work that way.

But for the most part, on an average day I think we make time for what's important to us and forget about what's not. And I absolutely think that's the way it should be.


What I'm struggling with is how you find the will power to work what needs to be done into your schedule?

Right now my Saturdays are booked up through Thanksgiving. Not just with long runs either - but out of town activities or football games or soccer games or races.

I've had to juggle my schedule around a bit. Now I do my regular chores through the week instead of on weekends. Not all of my Sundays are booked, but honoring the 10 commandments I choose not to work on Sundays.

When does that leave time for the other pesky stuff? Like weeding the flower bed. With all that English Ivy that keeps popping up (and all this rain) its a hour or two job every couple of weeks.

Then there is the laundry. Last night, after folding and putting away 2 loads, I was exhausted and just left the last load in there. I'll turn the dryer back on tonight to try and knock some wrinkles out.

Not to mention the junk room. Its a room full of yard sale crap. Only Most of it didn't sell at my last yard sale. And due to my booked up calendar I'm not going to get to participate in the indoor community yard sale next month.

What should I do with it? Giving it away would mean taking pictures and going through the effort to being able to use it as a tax write off. Keeping it stresses me out (I want to be able to put my sewing machine in that room when Jay finally gets my table done - he's been working on it since two weeks after we got back on our honey moon.)

I'm sure you mothers are sitting back saying "just you wait"...and that's exactly why I'm not interested in children at this point in my life! I have a full enough plate. Not over flowing, but just the right amount. I have no interest in adding something else.

So instead of telling me how horrible...erm...great children are for your social calender - share with me some ideas on how to work in this crap I really don't wanna do, all while keeping house, being social, and running 20 ish miles a week.

NYC Day 2

Continuing the saga on how Mr. Right and I ended up the blissfully happy couple we are today...

I knew the day would be special when the sun gently awoke me around 7AM. Or else I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. Either way I went ahead and got showered so that I was mostly ready when it was time to head downstairs and enjoy the breakfast part of the Bed and Breakfast concept.

Our hostess seemed delighted to fix us bacon and scrambled eggs. She was even more excited when she sat down at the table and started talking politics. After waiting for the conversation to naturally come to a close and finding no such opportunity, I excused myself to come upstairs and finish getting ready.

Jay: Skip to the part where I ask you to marry me.

Brooke: I'm getting there, be patient.

After putting the finishing touches on my makeup, and curling my hair, Jay was still downstairs. His phone started ringing and I thought that would be my golden opportunity - I would take him the phone, he would pretend it was terribly important and excuse himself and then we would be home free.

The caller, his neighbor Kevan, didn't realize we were on vacation and felt bad for bothering Jay. I tried to convince him he was a godsend, but I don't think he quite understood my desperation. And Jay didn't get the plan either. So about 10 minutes after the phone call I just had to go downstairs and tell him that we needed to leave soon.

Did this woman not understand that this could be the day that my darling love proposed??

We walked to the bus stop and saw that the next bus wasn't due for another 20 minutes, so we decided to drive again and park in a municipal lot. Unfortunately for me, the lot closes at 10 which means we wouldn't be able to see a Broadway show. I could just see the disappointment in Jay's eyes, but I promised I'd find a way to make it up to him.

Since we were getting such a late start, when we got off the ferry we decided to take the subway directly to the Tavern on the Green. Our reservations were at 12:30 and we didn't want to be late. We were actually about 30 minutes early, so I decided to make good use of my time and petition ABC to bring back Boone, Charlie, and a message board that works properly.



After my work there was done, we took a stroll through the sheep field and learned that the Tavern use to house sheep before it was converted into a fancy restaurant.



Jay had made reservations for us Easter weekend, and although we were still a few minutes early we were escorted directly to our table. I was afraid that the food on the menu would be too fancy for me, but they had fish and chips as well as a bacon cheeseburger. I got the fish and chips and ordered a peach bellini. It was the most expensive drink I've ever had, but it was delicious. Wanna see what a $12 coctail looks like?



My fish and chips were served with a individual sized glass bottle of ketchup. Since I didn't use it for my fries/chips, I threw it in my purse.

And might I say its quite a magical purse. I got it for $1 at K-Mart on Christmas Eve and it seems to be the bag that won't quit. At any given time today I had the following items: 3 cell phones, one large camera, a wallet, a bottle of ketchup, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a framed picture from the Tavern, a calculator, chap stick, lip gloss, a mirror, and feminine hegine products. So while I didn't get my father a rock from Central Park - he does have a bottle of ketchup to add to his collection. Fancy ketchup at that.

After finishing up our meal we headed outside to get a few pictures of the garden.



We were finished at the uber fancy restaurant and still no ring.



Right outside the restaurant there were several horse drawn carriages. We went past the building where John Lennon was killed and then turned into the Strawberry Fields portion of the Park.



A note on the carriage reminded us that tips were "customery" and appreciated. Jay commented that proper spelling on official signs is also appreciated, but that certainly didn't get us any where.



We hopped out of the carriage, my finger still ringless.



We scouted out the map, then headed north toward the lake and Belvedere Castle.



The note on the door entering said "no food, drink, animals, or weddings (proposals only). Hmmm...I wondered to myself...foreshadowing of what was to come?? Nope. We went up to the tip top, took pictures, and walked back down.

After we were done with the castle we decided to head out of Central Park and continue with our iternary for the day.

Will he finally propose? (Of course, we've been married over 10 months). Will it be romantic and unexpected (I said yes didn't I). Will I ever stop teasing my readers and finally come out with it? (Maybe)

Tune in next week for the next installment of our love story. And don't forget to tells us your story and head on over to Rachel's for Meetings, Marriages, and Memories.

Inspiration

Christie made an award for little ole me!! Okay so maybe not just for me, but still I was one of the recipients, which is kick a-awesome!

She created the award to pass on to bloggers who "make me want to be a better writer, blogger, and even most times, a better person." I am truly touched that she though of me.

She also gave the recipients the chance to pass it on to those who inspire us. In light of my huge scale victory this week, I want to pass this on to two of my sisters in shrinking that helped me out along the way. Two wonderful ladies who encouraged me and taught me. I really don't think I would have made it this far without them.

So here's to you Christy and April, for taking me from this, this, this, and this.

I restricting and counting my calories, exercising, and still not losing weight. What good is a 1 pound loss when you can eat burgers and fries and not exercise at all and just be a pound heavier?

Christy believed in me all the way. She always had an encourage word to say, pushing me to keep at it.

Then one day she hooked me up with April. Christy saw that whatever I was doing wasn't working, so she introduced me to the calorie counting queen. April gave me (actually is still giving me) great advice to help me get kick started.

13 pounds later I'm here to tell you that the last 10 pounds aren't all that hard if you can just keep up your momentum. Unless of course I haven't reached my last 5-10 pounds...in that case I probably shouldn't be taking a break ;)

So thank you ladies. My husband isn't sure if he thanks you - he says that now that I'm smokin hot I'm starting to get cocky! He obviously doesn't understand the "fake it till ya make it" rule.

Just gimme 5!

Now that you're going to be singing the Krystal commercal song all day...

On Monday Mari did a meme about 5 random words and offered to give those of us who want to play along. Here are the words she gave me:

Family

I love my family. Sometimes I have trouble remembering that Jay and I are technically a little family now! :) I am blessed with two great parents, a wonderful set of grandparents, a great sister and BIL and two precious little ones - a 5 year old princess who just started Kindergarten and wants to be exactly like her Aunt Boo, and a 17 month old little man.

Finances

I'm a financial junkie. I'm convinced its a sickness. I love spreadsheets and tables filled with my financial information. I'm sure I must bore you guys to tears with my financial stuff, but it really is one of my passions. ( I sound like such a square!!!)

Health

I worry about Jay's health,and the health of my grandparents. I'm really working at being more healthy myself, but its tough. Growing up in a family where fresh fruits and healthy just weren't an option because of budgetary reasons, I'm having to train myself now to try and experiment with new things. Just in case you were wondering, I tried a grapefruit this morning and didn't like it at all. Thankfully there are plenty of other great fruits out there I do love!

Its crazy how my palate is changing. Chocolate cake has little appeal to me now (unless its a cheese cake) but fruit pies and cakes are my favorite types of desserts.

Mountains

The mountains around here are beautiful. For the longest time I never noticed them, certainly didn't appreciate them. Being in love with a Yankee that's not use to them certainly opened my eyes!

Its crazy to me to think that these are mountains down to their bare bones. I read somewhere that at one point, the Smokies were as big as the Alps or something crazy like that. Years of erosion have made them America's little babies compared to the Rockies.

Lost

I read spoilers for the new season. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
Also, I'm already starting to get sad. This time next year there will never be another episode of Lost again. Ever.

Maybe we should start a support group, go out and buy every season on DVD, then come next fall start off watching Season 1 like its a new show.


Okay so how's that for random. Let me know if you'd like 5 words to have a go at!

Weigh-in Wednesday - I did it!!!

Its weigh in day over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans - so hop on the scales and head on over. Then come back and join my party!!!



This past week was rough for me - I missed a run on my training schedule. I also came in about 400 calories short for the week. Since it was a 3.5 mile run (and you burn about 100 calories per mile = 350 calories) I figured it'd be pretty much a wash.

I expected to lose this week, but since I'm so close to my goal I wasn't sure just how much.

My half marathon training program calls for the "short" runs this week to be 4 milers and a 6 mile "long" run. Using quotes of course since 4 miles doesn't seem that short and 6 miles isn't nearly as long as I will be running!

I've already done my two 4 milers this week, one Monday morning and one this morning, so I know missing that one run last week hasn't hurt me as far as that goes.

This morning I felt like a real runner. I got up at 6 AM, put on my running gear, and ran 4 miles in the rain. How's that for no excuses?

For those of you who run - how do you carry your cell phone/keys/mp3 player? My mom wants me to wear a fanny pack (with pepper spray) but I don't want to look like a total dork. Suggestions?

I suppose I've kept you waiting long enough. Time for the weigh in results (which happened post run).

Goal Weight: 125
Last Week: 126.6
Current Weight: 125.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was hoping to see that 5, but I was expecting to see a .6 or .8 after it. I'm really there!!!

Of course I'm not 100% happy with how my body look, but that's okay. Training for this marathon might thin out my legs *crosses fingers* or else afterward the first of the year I can shoot for another 5 pounds.

The important part is that 9 months ago I set out to lose weight and be more active. I set a preliminary goal weight of 130, with a ultimate goal of 125. AND I GOT THERE!!!

*pops calorie free champagne cork*

With the addition of another mile later this week, that's 2.6 pounds of food to add to the stash.

Judgment

Our lunchtime ladies Bible study is currently doing the Priesthood series by Beth Moore. A couple of weeks ago she brought a verse to our attention that I really needed:

“But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them!” Jude 10-11a

I have a problem with judgment. Its something I’m aware that I need to work on, but many times the flesh gets in the way and I say/think it before I can filter my thoughts.

One week, I was going at it from both sides. Early in the week I saw a local gospel singer in the weight room, looking at himself in the mirror as he did his bicep curls. For a Christian in the public eye, he’s acting awfully vain.

Later that week, another local gospel singer came into my office at work. I was shocked to see that he was morbidly obese. For a Christian in the public eye, he’s terribly overweight. Doesn’t he know our bodies are a temple unto the Lord?

No wonder Christian public figures come crashing down so hard sometimes. If the church judges them this harshly, what must the world be saying?

Since then, the Lord has shown me firsthand how much pain can be caused from judging what one does not know.

A young twenty-something and her husband entered the front doors of the church, holding hands. What made them different from any other couple? The surgical mask she was wearing over her nose and mouth.

Some in the church mocked her behind her back. What is she a germophobe afraid we’re going to give her something? These words were spoken in my mother’s class. Since s didn’t know the situation she tried to ignore the comment and change the subject.

Later, in my Sunday school class, that same couple entered the room and took a seat. When it got time for prayer requests, the husband spoke up and requested prayer for them, as they were travelling in the coming weeks to the state capital for her to receive bone marrow transplants.

Two Sundays ago, she came to church – without her mask – to share a message in song for the church. The pastor explained her situation, and then she began to sing “You were there” as a thank you to everyone in the church who supported them. The slideshow behind her included pictures of get well cards as well as pictures from the fundraising yard sale our class had to benefit her.

Hopefully she’ll only ever know of the love and encouragement of her church, and never learn the judgmental comments that were made. I sat smugly in my pew, hoping that those same people who made the comments were watching, mortified of the judgment they had made.

(Yeah, I was probably sitting in judgment of them at the moment. It’s a tricky thing isn’t it?)

Then the hardest incident hit home. A judgment about me – brought to my attention – by someone who just doesn’t understand my life. What hurt me the most is that it came from someone I care about, who I thought really liked me.

Pretty much all weekend I was depressed about it. Too depressed to exercise and too depressed to eat (well eat much).

That one moment of judgment has changed me, and has changed our relationship. I’ll probably never be able to open up to this person, like I have in the past.

"Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13)

I’m working on that now. Not there yet, but hopefully I will be.

NYC here we come!!

When you last joined us for the love story of Brooke and Jay, he had just shown me the ring, but not officially proposed.

I could only guess when the big moment would happen - he and I were planning a trip to NYC to see the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox. It was the last year that they would be playing in Yankee Stadium.

Growing up I had read pretty much every book ever written about Lou Gehrig, and I wanted to see a game in the same stadium where he played, and where he gave his famous "Luckiest Man" speech.

Once I knew Jay was going to propose, I wondered if it would happen at the game. Here is the first day of our NYC trip as I recapped it for friends and family later that night:

Jay and I planned to leave Tennessee at midnight Monday night/Tuesday morning. He was going to sleep in Monday morning so that he could take the first driving shift, and I would slept straight away. Then once the sun came up I would take over and he would sleep. Also, please know that when I say "plan" I don't mean something we casually decided in conversation. I mean that according to the excel spreadsheet of the week's events we were leaving at twelve on the nose.

Jay, being new to the vacationing with a Justus phenomenon, took the midnight departure time as an approximate - and didn't start packing until the clock struck twelve. We finally got on the road about 12:30 and as planned about Mo-town I laid my seat back. But before I could get to sleep, I couldn't help but hear the radio call in program that he was listening to.

Ever heard of John Teeter? Yeah us neither. Apparently he is a time traveler from the year 2030 that is hanging out in 2008 under the watchful eye of the United States government. And one of the show's listeners is good friends with one of Teeter's bodyguards. All the proof I need to believe.

At about the 400 mile mark, we stopped for gas and I took over driving. Jay was supposed to use the time to get some sleep so that he would be able to better enjoy NYC this afternoon, but he was too impressed by the farmland and the historic farm houses to fall asleep.

When I stopped at McDonald's for a potty break, I made the mistake of choosing the exit with the mega-Cabellla's store on the same exit. I knew that going into the store would deviate from the plan too much, so I made sure the doors were locked and got out of dodge quickly as possible.

Today alone, Jay and I have been 7 states: Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Without a doubt New Jersey was the ugliest of them all. It didn't help matters that while driving on the Jersey turnpike I got cut off by two drivers. Thanks to my superior driving skills I managed to avoid an accident.

Quit laughing Jay, I am a good driver. Honestly thought even he said that neither was my fault and trust me, whenever I made the slightest lapse in judgment he felt the need to let me know. Just a heads up apparently he's the "work your signal before changing lanes" police.

After settling into the Bed & Breakfast we are staying at, we circled Staten Island looking for a place to park so that we could catch the ferry to Manhattan. The plan - according to my itinerary - was to visit Battery Park, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty this afternoon. Then we would have dinner and call it an early night to recover from the days travel.

I failed to thoroughly research my plan, because Ellis Island closes at 1 in the afternoon. We didn't arrive until after 2. Once again, my plan for the day was thwarted. We control freaks don't take too kindly to that, but at least we were able to cover the Battery Park portion of the schedule.





We I decided that the subway to Time Square would be our fallback plan, but I was so distraught over my faulty planning it took me a few minutes to figure out which train we should be on. My manly man turned into a sissy and worried the whole time we were waiting for the subway that someone would push him onto the tracks. We finally made it safely to Time Square and took a moment to just take in the city.

Then we headed to the 2nd story of Mickey Dee's to have a seat and take a look at the map. Jay had to look up a few addresses, but we were able to plot out the rest of the afternoon's activities.

Next stop was Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios, and Radio City Music Hall. On our way to the Empire State Building, we took a brief detour into the New York City Public Library.



On display they have a Bible dating back to the 1400s, the original stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie the Poo characters, and a Honus Wagner 1909 baseball card.



We didn't go up into the Empire State Building, but admired it from outside. Then we headed toward Madison Square Garden - with the convenient trip inside Macy's on the way.



Of course while we were in Ann Taylor, I found a t-shirt dress that I really liked, but couldn't justify spending $40 on that casual of an outfit. So when I passed H&M, I insisted on stopping item. I found a cute sundress there for $14. Instead of smiling and saying that he liked the dress, Jay foolishly gave me his honest opinion. He liked the expensive dress (that probably wouldn't have even fit my pear shape) better than the more thrifty, a-line dress that would have looked very cute on me.

Our last stop of the evening was at Lasagna, a restaurant on 20th and 8th that a friend of a friend suggested. It was reasonably priced and the food was excellent. I ordered angel hair chicken primevera, and when it was served it was covered in mushrooms. So my darling love gave me his yummy lasagna and ate the fungus covered dish instead. I also must brag on myself for a moment because as the hostess was seating us, she complimented my sweater. Who would have thought a $7 find at Ross Dress for Less would be considered fashionable in Manhattan?

On tap for tomorrow - Central Park, the Tavern on the Green, shopping, and a Broadway musical.

And maybe a ring??? You'll have to wait till next week to find out! In the mean time head on over to Rachel's for more Meetings, Marriages, and Memories!!

I'd also like to encourage those of you that haven't participated to jump on board - its not too late! And wouldn't you love to have all your memories recorded to be able to give to your children one day?

Patriots Day

Please take a moment today to remember the families of those that were lost on this day 8 years ago. Hug your family today and make sure they know how much they mean to you.

I remember several things about 09/11/01 - I was at my internship at a local TV station. Ashamed of looking like a kid, I held my emotions in. I didn't let how sad I was show on the outside.

That day we went to the airport, to the local Red Cross, a house of prayer, and a school interviewing people with different points of view about the attacks.

I also remember leaving at 2:00 that day - I had soccer practice that afternoon and I didn't want to be late.

Can you believe that? I honestly didn't get the magnitude of the event.

Of course practice was canceled. A large group of students (including soccer players) were gathered at the student center watching the news on the big screen.

One of girls on the soccer team was from New York - her father was a firefighter and she was scared because she hadn't been able to get ahold of him all day. Turns out he was called to a fire on the other side of town just minutes before the attack.

My roommate was an international student from Dubai, UAE. The arabic looking international students were advised not to leave campus unless absolutely necessary for their own protection.

I remember sitting on my bunk, watching the footage of the people falling out of the buildings to their death.

I remember finally calling my parents and finally getting to talk to them that afternoon. After 3 years of college, I'd never been so home sick.

I remember the blisters on my feet - the two prior days I had been at my internship were slow news days. I assumed that Tuesday would be too, so I opted for cute shoes over sensible ones. My blisters were rubbed raw and became open sores. For a couple of weeks after that I had to wear my tennis shoes untied because the tops of my feet hurt so badly.

I remember feeling sorry for myself, because the first few days it hurt for water to touch my feet in the shower. Then being appreciative that my only wounds from that horrible day were superficial and would heal in a couple of weeks.

I remember the paranoia that followed. We had our own mini anthrax scare and everyone that was in White Hall the afternoon an empty envelope was opened had to report back, sign the log, and wash our hands.

I remember.

Best Week Ever!

Last Friday, Love 89, the Christian radio station I listen too, teased all morning about how they had the scoop on the latest University of Tennessee football news. Of course I was curious about how they would get the information over some of the mega music stations, or even the talk radio station.

Unfortunately, I don't get Love 89 reception at my office, so I wasn't able to hear their big news.

The next day my mom filled me in. After some time talking to the team chaplain, the starting quarterback, Jonathan Crompton, accepted Jesus as his savior.

No wonder the other stations weren't carrying it.

Last Saturday, Crompton took to the field and threw more touchdown passes than he had throw all last season!

Do I think that God played a hand in the 63-7 victory over Western Kentucky?

Not in the least. I think UT's opponent wasn't quite up to the standard of play that the Vols are use to.

One difference Crompton's conversion could have made in the game, however, is confidence. According to my father that's one thing that he lacked last season. A confident player is a better player, and how can you be more confident than when you know without a doubt that you're a child of God?

Win or lose the rest of the season - I think its safe to say that last week proved to be the Best Week Ever! for Jonathon Crompton.

Weigh-in Wednesday - Really?

I was prepared not to lose any weight this week. This past Friday I had birthday lunch with a friend at Olive Garden - where there is nothing on the menu low cal. Even their salad has 300 calories a serving!! She felt bad for picking it, and asked if I could eat anything there, but I told her it was her birthday and what she wanted ruled the day.

Which would have been fine if I hadn't been invited to a surprise birthday party later that evening for another friend. Applebees doesn't have their calories listed online, and I don't know how to do a Weight Watchers points to calorie conversion. I just had to trust that the Daily Plate (the web site I use for tracking) was accurate.

That day I went over my calories by 300. Another day I splurged to put cheese on my salad and went over by 100. Then came the inlaws.

My mother-in-law shows her love through food. Food that's very bad for you. Knowing they were coming into town I decided that instead of losing this week my goal would be to maintain.

Chocolate covered pretzel rods can only stare at me so long before I have to try them.

Not to mention the Brewery ritual where beer, pizza and wings are considered a well rounded dinner.

You'd think I'd be scared to step on the scale wouldn't you? Well here goes.

Last week: 127
Goal weight: 125
This week: 126.6

Seriously.

I must have went under on calories some days or else burned some serious calories on my long run followed by a 3 hour gardening session.

Either way it definitely makes me more likely to be good at Olive Garden tonight! (I wonder if I could sneak my own dressing in and just order their salad plain?)

So, how'd you do this week? How are you doing on your running training plan? Or the EA active challenge? Have you been meeting your nutrition goals? Step on the scale the head on over to the Sisterhood to report in.

Book Review: Fearless by Max Lucado

There are times the storms of life overwhelm us. The waves grow biger and threaten to capsize our boat. All the while Jesus is seemingly below the deck sleeping, oblivious to our trouble.

Does he not know the danger we face? Does he not care? Max Lucado addresses these questions in his new book Fearless.

The short answer is yes. We see in the Bible that he calmed the stormy water for his disciples. Like the twelve, there are those of us today that need to work on our faith. He may not be standing beside us, be he is with us, and hasn’t forgotten about us.

I was excited when Thomas Neslon gave me the opporunity to review a Max Lucado book. This book is written in typical Lucado fashion – conversational tone & funny quips lead us to that “aha” moment where everything clicks and we finally get it.

If you are looking for a formula or quick fix to get rid of your fears, this isn’t the book for you. There are no steps inside to lead you down the road of peace. Only one trite but true answer:

Look to Jesus.

As Lucado takes this journey with his reader you’ll see its just that simple, yet not at all easy. It was a very enjoyable yet educational (I took notes for future reference) read, as with most Lucado books. I’d recommend it to friends and family. As a matter of fact, I’m passing my copy along to my mother this week.

Our engagment

Since I'll be entertaining my out of town guests today, I'm going to try to make it on for a minute to link up to Rachel's Meetings, Marriages, and Memories carnival.

In the interest of keeping it real, I'll just tell you - I knew that Jay was going to propose.

I was certain that he was going to propose because he all but told me. Then he showed me the ring.

Seriously.

He wanted to make sure my ring was perfect. I'd already told him that the ring he proposed with was the one I would keep for life. No upgrades. I'm too sentimental for that. If I ever want an upgrade he can get me a gorgeous one to wear on my right hand.

So he would try to casually quiz me about what I would like. Silly boy didn't realize that for a girl in love, there is no casual conversation about engagement rings! I told him that I wanted whatever he picked for me.

My ring was just one thing I wasn't a diva about. I requested white gold to match the other jelewry he had bought me but beyond that he was on his own.

Then he "casually" asked me about how I would feel about getting his mother's diamond.

I was quite flattered. He's an only child. I just always assumed no one would be good enough for her baby. Giving me her diamond (she believes in upgrades) was a huge sign to me that she approved.

He took the diamond, had it reset, and made into a unique ring for me.

And couldn't wait to share it with me. He first tried just giving me hints to tease me. Asking me if I knew what his favorite number was.

Easy answer 33, but what does that have to with my diamond ring?

He finally just got it out and showed it to me.

23 diamonds in the engagement ring (22 small ones + his mama's) and 10 diamonds in the wedding band.

And let me try it on.

For real.

How long would he torture me waiting? He had said that since my BIL had proposed to my sister in a castle overlooking the ocean, he had a big shadow to overcome.

I suspected I knew when the big question would come...but I'm going to make you wait until next week to find out!

But I could tell no one. He hadn't asked me to marry him yet. We weren't even engaged.

Labor Day Weekend

Jay and I (well maybe not so much Jay) love watching old reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. I didn't use to get the humor, but since we've been married its becoming funnier and funnier.

My in-laws enjoy it too. Thankfully they are nothing like Marie and Frank. They live in Ohio, 8 hours away. Since the wedding last November, we've only made it up there to visit them once. This coming week will be their first trip down to visit.

Jay and I will be spending all day tomorrow getting the house ready for them. Not because we're dirty people, or because their particular people.

The two of us live in a 2,000 square foot home. three bedrooms, two baths, and a bonus room. I love my house, but its too much house for two people. So in the normal course of life I pretend the bonus room, two guest bedrooms, and guest bath don't exist.

Its not a huge chore to walk to the master bath when I need to...um...go, so why should I be bothered cleaning two toilets every week?

Needless to say, while my house stays spic and span for the most part - it still has a lot of work to go.

We hope to get a brief hike in on Monday, but since we're taking both sets of parents it won't be as strenuous as some of our typical hikes. I'm hoping that it'll still have some good views.

So that's my weekend in a nut shell. What about you? Do you have big plans in store for the holiday?

Vacation

Growing my parents would take us on vacation every year like clockwork. Daddy's plant shut down for two weeks in the summer. I suppose for a manufacturer, its easier to just completely close the doors rather than having to replace people on the line as they requested vacation time.

Ever year in July, my parents took us somewhere whether we could afford it or not. Some years were nicer than others, Canada instead of Kentucky, but the important part was that we were all together.

They found ways to cut corners and save money - if our hotel didn't have complimentary breakfast, we'd eat poptarts in the room. Lunch typically always consisted of bologna sandwiches and chips.

Yet these were some of my best memories growing up.

Vacation is one thing I told Jay I wasn't willing to compromise on. Its harder for someone self employed like Jay (I'm sure I've mentioned that he worked on our honeymoon) but I think its very important to take a week to just be together as a family.

The extended family (my parents, sister, bil, niece, nephew, and Jay and I) took a 4 day weekend trip to a town about 2 hours away just to hang out together earlier in the Spring.

Jay's sorta been dragging his feet on our vacation though. We had originally planned to go to Virigina Beach, Busch Gardens, and historical Williamsburg in September. His month is shaping up to be pretty busy, so he decided that we needed to go out west for our anniversary.

First we picked Yellowstone. Only Yellowstone in November is very snowy, and all the roads are closed.

So we've settled on the Sequoias in California. Since it was his idea, I'm letting him plan it. Confession time: I'm a control freak. I love to plan. I love creating hour-by-hour iteneraries for trips.

He's a little nervous that the wild fires out there will affect our plans.

I don't think we have any real plans yet, so how can they be affected?

This is gonna be fun.

Or not. :P

Weigh-in Wednesday - Shrinking for good

Its weigh in day over at the Sisterhood for those of you non-sisters, we weighed in Sunday to kick off the Shrinking for Good challenge in collaboration with Weight Watcher's Lose for Good campaign.

One way I've proven to myself that I have shrank "for good" is I've moved all the size 8 pants out of my main closet. I've taken them to the guest closet, where most will go to the consignment store to be resold this fall. The others have been tucked away far in the back of the guest closet for "someday".

You know that "someday" when you're belly's supposed to get bigger? While I'm not eager for that to happen tomorrow, I know that its a choice that Jay and I will eventually make. Having plenty of friends with bebes, I know that there are several transitional phases where you're too big for your normal clothes and too small for maternity pants. Not to mention those first few post baby weeks. Okay months, I can be ambitious right?

For these two purposes, my size 8 so-comfy-they-could-be-sweats-but-no-really-their-dress-pants pants are shoved to the furthest part of my library (okay so its my junk room now. Back to that ambitious thing - I want it to be a library) closet.

So I'm done with size 8s.

Period. The end.

And this week I'm a pound closer to my goal.

Last week: 127.8
Monday: 126.8
Today: 127.0
Goal weight (for now): 125

So I went up 0.2 pounds between Monday and today. Complete fluke fluctuation, not fat gain. Aunt Flo is knocking on my door, so it makes me wonder if the 0.2 up would have really been down even more otherwise.

I've been thinking a bit about things, and have decided to stick with my 125 goal for now. When I get there, just work on maintaining. My family has said that I don't need to lose any more, and I'm going to respect their opinion - for now.

But mostly so that I can put all the focus on training for my half marathon. Running 13 miles without stopping. Along the way I'm going to have to learn how to seriously fuel my body.

My half is November 21st, so after that I can maintain my goal weight through the holidays. Stop snickering - its possible!

Then come the first of the year, and the beginning of my 2nd year of healthy living, I'll decide if its worth trying for another 5 pounds. My fitness goal for 2010 is running a 5K in under 30 minutes. Makes me glad that the new year is still several months away!

Getting back to the current challenge, since walking into the food bank with 3 pounds of food would seem pretty puny, I was soliciting ideas for how I could change it up a little.

Melissa suggested I base my donation on workouts. I've decided that my donation is gonna be part total weight loss (not the challenge, but how much I've lost since I started, 10 pounds to date) and part on how many miles i'm up to on my long runs. According to my training schedule that should be 9-10 miles.

If all goes as planned that should be 20ish pounds of food to donate. Not to shabby right?

Sisterhood Update

Crazy exciting things are happening over at the Sisterhood of the shrinking jeans!!!! Giveaways, challenges, and encouragement galore over there. If you're not a member I'd seriously recommend you check it out. Even if you're not trying to lose weight

There are two giveaways that I'm dying to tell you about. Mostly because it means that I get a 2nd entry in the giveaway myself!! :) Christie O. reviewed a pair of Zoot Tri Shorts and loved them!!

I'll be honest with you ladies, I thought I was the only person in the world that suffered from chub rub. Could I possibly be the largest runner in the world?? That didn't sound logical, considering most races have an "Athena" division for women 150+ pounds. My neurotic side said maybe the Athena chicks just carried all their weight in their upper body/chest.

My running buddy (who resembles a stick insect with her supermodel long, skinny limbs) and my hubby both told me to just get the shorter shorts and get over myself. They both thought it was a vanity thing - I assured them both it was more about comfort than pride!

I've since found a couple pair of longer Nike shorts that I like, but I look like I stole my husbands shorts. Or like one of those girls...you know the ones...that wear the long shorts and the wife-beater tank tops and try desperately to fit in with the guys that they're ballin with. (As Jay, I do a lovely impersonation.)

How stylin will I be if I win, wearing the zoot shorts with a pair of the shorty shorts that Larry the Cable guy likes so much?

Another giveaway the Sisterhood has going right now is connected to the Weight Watchers Lose for good campaign. They're giving away a Jenny McCarthy autographed copy of Weight Watchers magazine along with a free 1 year subscription to the magazine itself!!!

How cool would that be??

Now that I'm done pimping out their giveaways to try to help myself win, I want to let you know about the Lose for Good/Shrink for Good challenge. The SSJ ladies have taken the LFG challenge and tweaked it a bit. For the next few weeks we'll be shrinking for good - the greater good that is.

For every pound we lose we're being challenged to donate that same weight in food to our local food pantry.

First off, I think it'd be awesome if you'd join in. Link up to the sisterhood if you'd like (please!) I promise there is no judgment amongst the sisters.

But if you're not ready for that kind of commitment just kept it to yourself and make a donation already!

I need your help though. Right now I'm only 1.8 pounds from my goal, which translates into only a couple of items donated to my local food pantry. What do you think I should do to alter the challenge to make it work for me?