Back on the bike

I go back and forth about posting about my weight loss goals and stuff on here. In a way, it could be kind of embarassing, but I am going from the angle of that it helps with my accountability. So, from time to time, you will continue to see me post on the subject. I keep my fingers crossed that they will remain encouraging and I will be blogging about good results.

Yesterday, I finally went to spin class again. I was motivated by writing about my new diet, that I figured it's time to also get back to the cardio. If you are a loyal reader, you will remember that I suffered a back muscle strain earlier in the year and had to go through physical therapy. Since then, I've been intimidated to go back. I've slowly worked some weight training and running into my routine, but nothing hard core like I was. So, yesterday I sucked it up and went for it. I got in the class and let me tell you, it was hard. I'm not going to lie. Flat out, I know that I am going to have to work at getting back to the level I was, but the good news is that I wasn't discouraged. In fact, that is what I love about spin class. It's an excellent work out and I feel like I really accomplished something when I get off the bike. It's not that I am obsessed about taking the class to lose the weight, but it really is the satisfaction/buzz of finishing 45 min. of hard work. Don't get me wrong, I want to get back into shape and possibly try street biking when it gets warmer. My brother is a huge biker and always asks "When you going to get a real bike?" Maybe soon, 'lil bro, maybe soon.

No more bread...I hope.

This year for Lent I gave up soft drinks. I wasn't drinking a lot of sodas before, but I thought that with now having to deal with high blood sugar levels, it was the perfect time to say "I'm going to give this up!" I'm proud to say that I actually made it through and on Sunday when I could celebrate, I did so by NOT having a coke. It's terrible but I used Lent to kick off an even bigger plan. See, I'm a real picky eater. I hate, HATE vegetables and don't eat a large variety of fruits. I like apples and sometimes bananas...but that's about it. So, this soft drink plan was just the first baby step in reorganizing my diet. I got through that and will continue, but now the next baby step is breads and cheeses. For the first two weeks, I'm doing "NO WHITE AT NIGHT!" rule and then gradually move to no breads. I will be allowing myself one cheat day per week, but I'm really going to try to cut back as a whole. On a sandwich, I don't need a full piece of cheese. A half slice will do and on pizza....(which will only fall on the cheat day too, is actually preferred with half the cheese and double the sauce.) This step is going to be a lot harder, but trying is better than nothing at all, right? Giving up these foods is making me look at other options too. I'm sure I'll let you know how it goes. Right now, I'm already saying "Ugh!"

Officially Ghetto

Today one of our cars officially became ghetto. Yes, those are rubber bands keeping our side mirror attached to the car. Last weekend, the strangest thing happened. I had the car parked on a level surface and five minutes later I'm looking out the window and my car is rolling down the driveway. The first thing you might ask is "Was the car in park?" That's where the strange part comes in. "Yes! Even the parking break was still on!" Luckily, the mirror bent backwards by hitting one of the concrete posts on the side of the driveway and prevented the car from rolling further. Not good news for the mirror, though. The sad part is that this new wreck addition doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. The rusty paint, the scratches and the "maintenance required" light (that is always blinking) all work together making our car officially ghetto.

Break Dance

Enjoy this greeting featuring my brother, Brad, my husband, Skye and Lance Armstrong. Brad and Skye are bikers and Brad actually rode with Lance last October.

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I Heart Top Chef

Last night was the Season 4 premiere of Top Chef. Don't get me wrong, I am sad that Project Runway is over, but I love my Padma and Colicchio duo. They started the season off great with one of my celebrity crushes Rocco, who judged the "cheftestants" in their skills to make their version of Chicago deep dish pizza. Yum! After the quickfire and elimination challenge, I think it was a good call to let Nimma go home. Seems like she decided to over-salt everything she made. That got on my nerves after she separated herself from the rest of the house and didn't want to bond. Shame on you! (shaking my pointer finger). To point out some of the ones I think we should watch for this season include: Stephanie (last night's winner), Mohawk Richard, and although Ryan messed up his Chicken Piccata, he might redeem himself. It really is too early to tell, but I also like Erik. I like seeing big tough guys do something great in the kitchen, which isn't meat and potatoes. Andrew, I thought, was a bit juvenile.

Here's my own top chef moment of the day. I had to make cupcakes for a friend's birthday. I think these flowered creations came out looking alright. They at least tasted great!

What are kids thinking?

It was all over the news yesterday about this CDC report concluding that 1 in 4 girls have an STD. HPV, the virus mostly known to cause cervical cancer is the most common. It is very sad that so many teens are having sex and not caring about their bodies, but using a scare tactic of the possibility of cancer is pointless. What about all those smokers? Lung cancer doesn't seem to really scare them. People still continue to smoke and can spread the potential of catching the disease with second hand smoke. Did you know that every 1 in 4 cigarette's that you smoke in front of a child is like them smoking a full cigarette themselves?

What kind of message are we continuing to give teens? In today's society, every time we turn on the TV there is a commercial on for medications. It seems we are so quick to go for the easy fix, rather than doing the hard work and helping our bodies. Rather than getting a good cardio workout and watching what we eat, doctors quickly distribute medicines for high blood pressure and cholesterol. I can't recall the name, but there's even one for genital herpes. So, does that give them the message that there is a fix for that too and they can take their chances?

So, for some reason the results of this study don't surprise me, but it does anger me. Kids are raping kids on school buses (a few counties over here in TN) and we find it stressful to find it in the budgets to add teacher aides to prevent things like this? Kids are needing sex so much they feel they have to victimize kids and pass along these viruses this way? Are kids becoming more stupid and ignorant or are parents becoming more irresponsible in what we teach them?

Royal Family Special

There is a program on tonight on ABC that I am really looking forward to. It's a Barbara Walters special that shows the behind-the-scenes look at the Royal Family. Now, if anybody knows me, they can tell you that I am a huge fan of the UK; the history, the Royal family, the music and lifestyle. I lived there with a 6 month work visa and would move back in a heartbeat, if I could. So, when programs like this pop up, you know my Tivo is set. They say that one of the big things you take away from this special is a better understanding at how hard the Royal family works.
One of the big questions floating out there right now is all the extra expense to protect Prince Harry worth the risk of sending him out to war? Critics say that the manpower and cost to protect him doesn't prove it to be worthwhile. In my opinion, I am going to defend the handsome Prince and say that I respect him doing so. Coming from such an elaborate background, he chooses to go and serve in the military and defend his country. Some believe that it's a PR stunt to help turn around his party boy image, but I don't think that they would send him out, risking his life to do so. I think, even though he has protection, being out there on the front lines helps make him feel more of a common man. But it does raise the important question they are asking. Does it put an increased target on the men beside him? Should he be finding other ways to serve his country?

Modern Day Etiquette

I've been babysitting and substitute teaching practically everyday, so I have spent zero time on the computer. Our comcast has also made it almost impossible to log on as well, but it's also been nice to really stay busy. It's been a struggle just to spend an hour of quality time with my husband. I know I needed to put up a quick update, so I decided to share this quick snippet I caught on the Today Show this morning. It's the quick bullet points caught from an interview with the great granddaughter of Emily Post.

1. Do not talk about sex, religion and politics. You can do so with good friends, but not with your boss or company you don't know.
2. Single parent dating-don't give other school mom's something to talk about. Keep it low-key.
3. Using hand sanitzer at the table. It's rude because of the harsh smell and they said it's in the same category as picking your teeth.
4. Email invites vs. stationary invites-watch your audience. It's easy to get lost in junk mail and it is still fun to send out regular invites to help excite your guests.
5. Cell phone etiquette-do not leave out on the table. Keep it on vibrate in your pocket and politely excuse yourself from your guest. Remember, this is a time to be social and it helps reassure your company know that you want to be spending time with them.