So it's been one of those weeks where I've had something to post every day, but a longer to do list than time to finish. That said, I'm heading to DC for DAR Continental Congress (our national convention) next week and I expect my blogging to be even more sporadic. I figure I owe you.
Physical fitness--I made it below 200 last week! And at Monday's check-in I was a little lower. I'm now solidly in the 190's and a little more than 12.5% (remember, my goal for the summer is 15%). The stress of getting everything ready to be out of the office for a week isn't doing good things for my diet, but I figure I've built in the wiggle room this summer. I'd planned to walk every Thursday night with J this summer to help meet the goal, but three weeks in we've only done that once. Last week we had other plans, and last night we both worked late. Next week is out due to my travel. I guess we'll recommit in July?
Fiscal fitness--Did you know that you can call the phone company and they'll send someone out to cut down the phone lines you don't use? For free?? Needless to say, I didn't. If I had, those lines (apparently we had two phone lines; thanks, PO!) would have been gone years ago! I've got a cable company rep coming by later today to discuss options for the cable line. J says cutting that one down is not one of the options. I'll post pics Monday to show you how much more open that part of our deck/yard looks without the phone lines!
How are you doing on your summer fitness goals?
Friday, June 22, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Bridge to Somewhere
I thought I'd share another picture from our field trip to Kingsport, TN. This is taken from just under one of the uprights on the suspension bridge we tackled. I think it looks cool.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Field Trip!
J and I went on a field trip to eastern Tennessee this weekend. A good friend from DAR was married in Kingsport, TN, on Saturday and we decided to make a weekend of it. Kingsport is about four hours south-east of Lexington. There are a couple of ways to get there, so we tried one on the way down and another on the trip back.
To get there, we took I-75 south about an hour to Corbin, KY (birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken!), then turned southeast to the Cumberland Gap. From the Cumberland Gap we turned east into Virginia. That part of the trip was beautiful, with rolling fields of hay and tree-covered mountains behind them. We arrived in Kingsport just in time for the Rehearsal/Welcome Dinner. This BBQ was held in a barn/pavillion on the grounds of the historic Allandale Mansion. Best part? The ice cream truck that showed up just before dinner! The whole wedding weekend was full of sweet, personal touches like the ice cream truck--in this case, the bride's grandfather always supported dessert first, so in his memory, we all enjoyed our ice cream before the meal! After dinner there was dancing (to Gomer and the Three Pyles) late into the night.
Saturday morning, J and I woke up late, enjoyed breakfast by the pool, and then headed out to investigate Kingsport. Kingsport is largely an industrial town (Eastman Chemicals is located there), but they are working to become more fitness-friendly. One part of that mission is the Greenbelt, a linear park connecting historic and scenic properties throughout town.
We wandered around one part of it for a couple miles walking across a suspension bridge over the Holston River (and back--yikes!!) and past the Netherland Inn and old Boatyards of Kingsport.
Side note--the suspension bridge was narrow and swayed horribly when you walked across it. I insisted on going across it because I strongly believe in doing things that make me uncomfortable (remember when I did the same thing on the Navy Pier ferris wheel in Chicago?), and it definitely succeed in making me uncomfortable. Here is a picture of my trying really hard to look calm and collected. I wasn't.
And here's J actually looking calm and collected. Not surprisingly, he was.
Not too much farther along the bridge after we took these pictures, a jogger came across from the other side. Remember when I said it swayed horribly when walking on it? Y'all. Y'all! He was jogging! And the bridge is really only wide enough for one person! J was pressed against the side of the bridge, but I was barely off center of the bridge, so needless to say the jogger had to stop running and squeeze around me. It was not a pleasant experience.
We tried to follow the Greenbelt downtown, but apparently that part of the park hasn't been completed (or marked!). We drove downtown, where we checked out the farmers market and then wandered over to Broad Street. Kingsport was clearly laid out and Broad was once a thriving downtown area. It is still active, but mostly with antique shops and law offices. At one end of Broad is the old train station (now a bank):
At the other end, about three blocks away, is Church Circle, where four of the original churches in town (including the church that hosted the wedding) share space. We ate lunch at TK's Big Dog, a hot dog shop that ships in dogs, buns and toppings from New York, Chicago, the west coast, Philadelphia, Boston, etc. It was a great concept and a great meal. We also stopped in at the Stir Fry Cafe for a tasting, but weren't terribly impressed. Because he insists its a cool picture (he's right), here's a picture of J with the menu:
Finally, we dropped into Paper, a stationary store. J convinced me to buy a couple rolls of paper that I fell in love with. He thought they made good weapons, too...
The wedding and reception after were tons of fun, and I was so happy to have shared in my friend's day. After a late night at the reception, J and I slept in and enjoyed a leisurely drive back through Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky to get home. While not long enough to consider it a vacation, it was so nice to get out of town for a couple days and explore a new part of the country.
To get there, we took I-75 south about an hour to Corbin, KY (birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken!), then turned southeast to the Cumberland Gap. From the Cumberland Gap we turned east into Virginia. That part of the trip was beautiful, with rolling fields of hay and tree-covered mountains behind them. We arrived in Kingsport just in time for the Rehearsal/Welcome Dinner. This BBQ was held in a barn/pavillion on the grounds of the historic Allandale Mansion. Best part? The ice cream truck that showed up just before dinner! The whole wedding weekend was full of sweet, personal touches like the ice cream truck--in this case, the bride's grandfather always supported dessert first, so in his memory, we all enjoyed our ice cream before the meal! After dinner there was dancing (to Gomer and the Three Pyles) late into the night.
Saturday morning, J and I woke up late, enjoyed breakfast by the pool, and then headed out to investigate Kingsport. Kingsport is largely an industrial town (Eastman Chemicals is located there), but they are working to become more fitness-friendly. One part of that mission is the Greenbelt, a linear park connecting historic and scenic properties throughout town.
We wandered around one part of it for a couple miles walking across a suspension bridge over the Holston River (and back--yikes!!) and past the Netherland Inn and old Boatyards of Kingsport.
Side note--the suspension bridge was narrow and swayed horribly when you walked across it. I insisted on going across it because I strongly believe in doing things that make me uncomfortable (remember when I did the same thing on the Navy Pier ferris wheel in Chicago?), and it definitely succeed in making me uncomfortable. Here is a picture of my trying really hard to look calm and collected. I wasn't.
And here's J actually looking calm and collected. Not surprisingly, he was.
We tried to follow the Greenbelt downtown, but apparently that part of the park hasn't been completed (or marked!). We drove downtown, where we checked out the farmers market and then wandered over to Broad Street. Kingsport was clearly laid out and Broad was once a thriving downtown area. It is still active, but mostly with antique shops and law offices. At one end of Broad is the old train station (now a bank):
At the other end, about three blocks away, is Church Circle, where four of the original churches in town (including the church that hosted the wedding) share space. We ate lunch at TK's Big Dog, a hot dog shop that ships in dogs, buns and toppings from New York, Chicago, the west coast, Philadelphia, Boston, etc. It was a great concept and a great meal. We also stopped in at the Stir Fry Cafe for a tasting, but weren't terribly impressed. Because he insists its a cool picture (he's right), here's a picture of J with the menu:
Finally, we dropped into Paper, a stationary store. J convinced me to buy a couple rolls of paper that I fell in love with. He thought they made good weapons, too...
The wedding and reception after were tons of fun, and I was so happy to have shared in my friend's day. After a late night at the reception, J and I slept in and enjoyed a leisurely drive back through Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky to get home. While not long enough to consider it a vacation, it was so nice to get out of town for a couple days and explore a new part of the country.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
A little explanation...
Last week I wrote about finishing my first needlepoint project, and my dad asked (rather pointedly) about it. So, a little explanation--
Fr. J chose several crests, crosses, and other religious icons to be needlepointed for our Chrismon tree. I chose St. Andrew's Cross because it was the easiest one I saw when the projects were passed out. As you can see, the cross is a white (or silvery white, in this case) X on a blue field.
The cross is called St. Andrew's Cross because tradition holds that St. Andrew was crucified on a cross shaped like an X. The tradition is that St. Andrew did not think he deserved to be crucified on the same style cross as Jesus. (St. Peter was supposedly crucified on an upside down cross for the same reason.)
Fr. J chose several crests, crosses, and other religious icons to be needlepointed for our Chrismon tree. I chose St. Andrew's Cross because it was the easiest one I saw when the projects were passed out. As you can see, the cross is a white (or silvery white, in this case) X on a blue field.
The cross is called St. Andrew's Cross because tradition holds that St. Andrew was crucified on a cross shaped like an X. The tradition is that St. Andrew did not think he deserved to be crucified on the same style cross as Jesus. (St. Peter was supposedly crucified on an upside down cross for the same reason.)
Friday, June 8, 2012
Fitness Friday--June 8
Last Sunday, J asked me about the cross on my pedometer. The explanation is easily summed up by saying it is a reminder to me that what I eat is a choice. As I explained it, I was really proud of myself for this 'aha' moment. This whole weight loss thing is a choice. I choose to eat healthy (or unhealthy) amounts of food. I choose to (or not to) exercise. Now, you should know that I totally ate cookies this weekend. And a cinnamon crunch bagel (my first since starting WW, though I consider it a win that I didn't eat the Krispy Kreme donut sitting next to it).
So I went off to my weigh-in on Monday proud of my "choice" realization and confident that it would be reflected in my weigh-in. Y'all probably know better than I did where this is headed. Turns out that figuring things out doesn't necessarily equate weight loss. And figuring things out plus eating cookies/bagels definitely doesn't equal weight loss.
I was down about it for a while. Then, I realized that, like what I eat and how much I exercise, my response to this is also a choice. So I chose to get real about recording every bite I ate this week. I've been lax the past few months; choosing to eat smaller portions, but not necessarily looking up the points or staying under my point allocation for the day. My 'unofficial' daily weigh-ins indicate that this is a good choice. I'll let you know next week how right (or wrong) I am about that.
WW recommended we set a summer goal for ourselves, something to strive for between now and Labor Day. I chose my 15% weight-loss (34 pounds total; almost 8 pounds less than my "official" weight on Monday) . Now, if I keep making good choices, I'm thinking there is a great chance I will meet that goal early. J suggested I hold off on adjusting my goal until I meet it. He's probably got a good point. I'll keep you posted!
So I went off to my weigh-in on Monday proud of my "choice" realization and confident that it would be reflected in my weigh-in. Y'all probably know better than I did where this is headed. Turns out that figuring things out doesn't necessarily equate weight loss. And figuring things out plus eating cookies/bagels definitely doesn't equal weight loss.
I was down about it for a while. Then, I realized that, like what I eat and how much I exercise, my response to this is also a choice. So I chose to get real about recording every bite I ate this week. I've been lax the past few months; choosing to eat smaller portions, but not necessarily looking up the points or staying under my point allocation for the day. My 'unofficial' daily weigh-ins indicate that this is a good choice. I'll let you know next week how right (or wrong) I am about that.
WW recommended we set a summer goal for ourselves, something to strive for between now and Labor Day. I chose my 15% weight-loss (34 pounds total; almost 8 pounds less than my "official" weight on Monday) . Now, if I keep making good choices, I'm thinking there is a great chance I will meet that goal early. J suggested I hold off on adjusting my goal until I meet it. He's probably got a good point. I'll keep you posted!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Crafty-marathon Complete!
So the last few weeks have been a craft marathon for me with deadlines for various projects falling within days of each other. Basically, the run-down goes like this:
May 29 was my original deadline to get the party project in the mail. Because of everything that happened over Memorial Day weekend, I pushed the deadline back, and I got everything in the mail yesterday. I'm planning a monster post on the party plan for next Tuesday's blog post, but here's a sneak peak of what it looked like in my living room:
June 1 was the deadline for my needlepoint project. I finished it on the 2nd and turned it in on the 3rd. I am actually really proud of this project. It was my first attempt at needlepoint, and I think it turned out pretty well.
On June 3, the KSDAR Juniors met to finish putting together our cupcake topiaries. Well, "finish" is a word with an ever-changing definition. In this case, it means we got all of the cupcakes on Styrofoam, glued and ribboned. We'll really finish them (meaning, inserted in flower pots and ready to place on a table) at Continental Congress at the end of the month. Anyway, to be ready to put the topiaries together, I needed to finish decorating the cupcakes I made in April. A marathon decorating session with J and my friend K knocked that out!
Late last week, Fr. J asked if I could etch some candleholders/bourbon glasses (there's been some debate as to what they are) for the choir's last Sunday. Did I mention that was also June 3?
So to wrap this up, last week I: worked on needlepoint, painted cupcakes, cut and sewed together paper mobiles (with K's sewing help), painted cupcakes, decorated cupcakes, worked on needlepoint, finished party planning, worked on needlepoint, etched glass and put together cupcake topiaries.
Any guesses as to why there was no Melton Point Monday post yesterday? Right. Nothing happened around the MP last week that wasn't crafty. Maybe this week. Maybe not.
May 29 was my original deadline to get the party project in the mail. Because of everything that happened over Memorial Day weekend, I pushed the deadline back, and I got everything in the mail yesterday. I'm planning a monster post on the party plan for next Tuesday's blog post, but here's a sneak peak of what it looked like in my living room:
June 1 was the deadline for my needlepoint project. I finished it on the 2nd and turned it in on the 3rd. I am actually really proud of this project. It was my first attempt at needlepoint, and I think it turned out pretty well.
On June 3, the KSDAR Juniors met to finish putting together our cupcake topiaries. Well, "finish" is a word with an ever-changing definition. In this case, it means we got all of the cupcakes on Styrofoam, glued and ribboned. We'll really finish them (meaning, inserted in flower pots and ready to place on a table) at Continental Congress at the end of the month. Anyway, to be ready to put the topiaries together, I needed to finish decorating the cupcakes I made in April. A marathon decorating session with J and my friend K knocked that out!
Late last week, Fr. J asked if I could etch some candleholders/bourbon glasses (there's been some debate as to what they are) for the choir's last Sunday. Did I mention that was also June 3?
So to wrap this up, last week I: worked on needlepoint, painted cupcakes, cut and sewed together paper mobiles (with K's sewing help), painted cupcakes, decorated cupcakes, worked on needlepoint, finished party planning, worked on needlepoint, etched glass and put together cupcake topiaries.
Any guesses as to why there was no Melton Point Monday post yesterday? Right. Nothing happened around the MP last week that wasn't crafty. Maybe this week. Maybe not.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Fitness Friday--June 1
Short post today, since I'm actually writing it Thursday night and I am beat! K and J both chipped in on the craft project (while watching the first night of Hatfields and McCoys--thank goodness for DVR) and we finished it in great time. J even made an awesome steak salad for us to enjoy on a break. I'm grateful to be done, but aware that I still have progress to make in the way of craft projects before the weekend is up.
Best news of today's Fitness Friday post is that I am officially under 200 lbs! As I said last Friday, I have reached this mark three times now in the last five years (though I think it's worth pointing out that I didn't yo-yo as far above it this most recent time than the time before...). My next WW goal is 15%, and I'm seven pounds away from that (which, at the rate I've been losing lately, might happen sometime before fall), but my next 'big' goal is to get under 190 lbs. I haven't been there since some time in 2005.
Some have asked about J's knee, and it is healing nicely. He still needs to ice it regularly, particularly when he's been standing or walking a lot. I'm eager for it to heal completely so he can take walks with me again!
Best news of today's Fitness Friday post is that I am officially under 200 lbs! As I said last Friday, I have reached this mark three times now in the last five years (though I think it's worth pointing out that I didn't yo-yo as far above it this most recent time than the time before...). My next WW goal is 15%, and I'm seven pounds away from that (which, at the rate I've been losing lately, might happen sometime before fall), but my next 'big' goal is to get under 190 lbs. I haven't been there since some time in 2005.
Some have asked about J's knee, and it is healing nicely. He still needs to ice it regularly, particularly when he's been standing or walking a lot. I'm eager for it to heal completely so he can take walks with me again!
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