observations from over the weekend

• Running in late September is like playing hundreds of consecutive games of chicken with the grasshoppers that like to hang out on the sidewalks.
• It is not a good idea to hang out under black walnut trees on windy days.
• When a place you spent a lot of time in as a child becomes neglected and a non-place, it can be a little depressing.

There used to be a nature trail here that went to a boardwalk.
I spent hours upon hours of my childhood here, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends.

• A dog's thoughts about a salamander - "What is this thing?  Do I play with it or do I eat it?"
• Beware of falling branches in cemeteries.
• Oh, to have the life of a katydid.  "I'm just a big green leaf on the sidewalk gently moving in the breeze.  Nothing to see here."

• Time spent with family is always best - money or no money, laughter is priceless.
• When I have to be creative, I have a mental block.  When I have to be logical, I just want to be creative.
• Wow - the last part of the second season of Twin Peaks really went downhill quickly.
• Weekends rule, workdays drool!

 

methinks a vacation is needed

When I logged in to my LinkedIn account this morning, I saw this:

My tired eyes and screwed up brain read it as:

 

"How I Would Like a Blow Job Offer"

 

Wow - now that's a different kind of networking.

Anyone willing to give this girl a vacation getaway?  I've got the vacation time, I just need a place to go and the money to do it with.  I think it's pretty obvious that I could use one. 

 

Maybe I should make a commercial with pictures of me with big puppy dog eyes to the tune of Sarah McLachlan's Angel.   Heck, I'll even give you a tote bag from wherever you send me as a gift for your generosity.

 

 



the jowls are not as they seem

There are many things about my appearance that I don't like.  I freely admit that and am working on improving what I can and dealing with what I cannot.  There was one thing that I found on a photo taken last year that made me take a step back. 

Apparently I have jowls.

Seriously.  Jowls.

 

via Biography.com

I'm not even 40 years old yet and I'm beginning to resemble Churchill?  What the freaking hell?!   

These are not attractive. 

These do not embody femininity. 

I love The Onion.
Serious Man Pleased With How Jowls Are Coming In

Yet there they are, just flapping in the breeze...

So what do I do about them?  Well, according to the almighty Internet and the wisdom that springs forth from it...plastic surgery!  Ugh, no.  That's not gonna happen.  Next best bet...exercises!

No, no, no.  Not like that.

So now on top of the exercising I'm doing in the morning and the running I'm trying to do after work, I have to find time to do these:

The only time I can think of to fit them in would be while I'm sitting at my desk.  You know - in the office with one wall full of windows.  I should get some great looks from people walking by while I'm doing the Lion Face...

random again

This song popped up on my iPod, so I was going to find the video and post it here as a "Yeah, I'm feeling this today" post, but then I found this lovely gem of a performance...


Not only is it the song that I was looking for, but this video oozes so much 80's awesomeness that it could bleed neon pink and aqua blue.  It was Solid Gold!  I freaking loved that show!  I wanted to be a Solid Gold Dancer when I grew up!  Badly lip-synced performances, cheesy dance routines, Marilyn McCoo interrupting the song for no reason whatsoever and lamely swaying to a beat all her own, realizing why some one-hit wonders were limited to one hit since they had faces for radio, crimped hair and headbands!

Ah, the nostalgia. 

And now someone just broke my stride...
*sigh*
Carry on....

hi-dee-ho!

I don't have too much to report, but I thought I'd drop y'all a line and say hello - I'm still here!  I've been doing what I'm supposed to be doing: exercising (Focus T25 every morning), eating better, drinking 8 gallons of water a day (well, kind of), sending out resumes, and all is well.  I think I've only lost about 3-4 pounds so far, but that's because I cheat a little too much on my Sunday cheat days, so I'll have to reel that in a bit.  I'll just have to have fewer crackers on Packer game days. 


Game watching necessities

So for now I'll leave you with this for no reason whatsoever:

renaissance

Ren·ais·sance  [ren-uh-sahns, -zahns, -sahns, ren-uh-sahns, -zahns, -sahns] 
noun 
      (lowercase) a renewal of life, vigor, interest, etc.; rebirth; revival: a moral renaissance.
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Remember that funk that I was talking about before?  It actually lasted quite some time.  It started long before I posted that entry, but I hadn't really realized it.  Looking back at some of my posts before that one, I can see it.  

I let myself go, not caring, no direction, no goal, just getting by.  

I had stopped exercising, stopped meditating, ate anything and everything without a second thought about carbs or calories or cholesterol, sat around the apartment after work doing nothing.  I was becoming a sloth.  
Then I saw what was going on.  I gained 15 pounds from the lowest weight I had been at which was about this same time last year.  15 pounds!  I tried running again and where I was once able to run 5 miles, I could barely make it around the block.  I wasn't happy.  Not with myself, my job, what I was doing (or not doing) with my life so after a short amount of time dwelling in self-pity, I came to a decision:

On Tuesday, I will be starting over.  My own renaissance.  I will be exercising every morning again - I am so looking forward so kicking my own ass once again before heading to the office.  I have updated my resume and will actively pursue the search for a new way to spend 8.5 hours per weekday.  I will be meditating daily.  I will be drastically lowering my carb intake and watching my portion sizes again.  I will be cutting way back on my alcohol - limiting it to weekends only.  I'm thinking I should be able to lose that 15 pounds again in 2 to 3 months.  Thankfully my awesome husband will be doing the same so we'll be able to help each other along the way.  Oh - and I had a good length of my hair chopped off.  Perhaps symbolic, perhaps just in need of a change.

I'm putting this out there so I know that people have seen it and will hold me accountable.  I'm pretty good at doing something once I have a goal - I just needed that goal to work towards.  Bear with me as I post from time to time on my progress and please...I could use all the encouragement I can get. That self-confidence level is in need of a boost again.  :)

Here comes Rebecca version 3.0