Finishing up a 4 day weekend...

Hi all...a belated Happy Mother's Day to everyone. I was going to post something yesterday, but well...I didn't want to end up being a Debbie Downer, especially since all and all, I've been pretty gosh darn good.

So, what did I do with my LLLLLOOOOONNNNGGGGG weekend? Well...here is a quick recap.

Friday: I went for a long bike ride. I biked from my apartment to the local video store...and then over to my dad's. I went through a bunch of stuff in my brother's room (which we are using for storage right now and are going to turn it into a workout room when I move back in). I found such weird things in there....a couple of checks people wrote me back in 2000. I am not going to cash them now because well, I've seen that episode of Seinfeld, so I just shredded them. I also found so much stuff I could have been using: blank notebooks, crayons, tape, a stapler, boxes of Papermate pens, rolls of unused film, etc. I just threw stuff in a box and never looked at it again. After sorting for a while, I rode my bike home...and then started to pack some stuff.

Saturday: I took a long, long, long bike ride...I rode over to the Post Office in town...then I headed to the video store again...and rode beyond and went on the bike trail for about 4 miles and then headed back to my dad's house. I am LOVING riding my bike around town. Dad and I went shopping...and bought lotsa stuff. I came home and continued packing things I didn't need. I filled my car...and worked up a nice sweat. Oh...and I had a nice, hour long conversation with a friend on the phone. We haven't hung out in about a year...but, it was SO nice talking to her. It didn't feel like so much time had passed. We are going to make plans to hang out next weekend and actually *see* one another. I am glad I am not being such a hermit...slowly, but surely. I also watched 2 movies...Juno and Superbad. Both very funny.

Sunday: I went to church. I almost biked there because my bike and I are in love. I was running a little late, so I drove instead...plus, I don't know how long it would take me to get there, so I played it safe. Church was really nice...and was glad I spent Mother's Day there since my mom always loved going to church. I had the nicest conversation with my Pastor...and she asked me to get involved in a service project I am really excited about (more about that at another time). I headed to dad's...unpacked all the stuff from my car and started to pile it in my dad's house. My dad and I headed to my mom's grave marker and brought some fresh lilacs from the house. My mom LOVED lilacs, so I love the idea of the smell of lilacs surrounding her marker. We came home...puttered around the house a little and then I headed home. I watched some crap tv and was in bed early. It was a sad, but more than that...a really good Mother's Day.

Monday: Ah, my last day off. I could get really used to not having to work...if only that paid the bills. I woke up, puttered around the apartment and then headed out (yes, on my bike)...and yep...went to the video store. Then, I headed over to my dad's and this time went through a lot of the stuff in my old bedroom. It's kind of cluttered now and since I am moving myself and all my stuff in...I have to declutter it. I threw away 2+ garbage bins full and found bags of clothes to donate. I also found...and this is hilarious, some alcohol I had stashed and hidden from college. So, I've had wine coolers stashed in my closet since probably 1998. If that's not funny and pathetic at the same time, I don't know what is. Anyways....I finished what I could, had lunch at my dad's...and headed back out towards my apartment. I decided to take the long way since I wanted to know how long it would take to bike all the way from dad's to work. Well, I got about halfway...and went over a rusty metal hanger and it plunged right into my tire....splat...flat tire. So, I got off my bike and walked her home. It was a little less than 2 miles...and so I got some walking workout in. I came home...watched some crap tv...continued to pack and now dad is coming over and we are going to get a patch kit and hopefully fix my bike.

So...that's my weekend...which basically is packing, decluttering and my constant love affair with my new bike.

Hugs all....

Happy Thursday....because it feels like a Friday!

Hey all...

Yep, today feels like Friday to me...why is that? Because I have tomorrow off from work. I have a bunch of time at work that I NEED to use, so I decided to make it a long weekend...taking Friday and Monday. I'm not doing anything really exciting. I am taking some stuff to the Salvation Army. I'm going over to my dad's and continuing to sort and throw away a lot of stuff...and starting to make my bedroom ready to move into. I plan on going for a long bike ride, as long as it doesn't rain too much. I am going to start the process of packing up and moving things ASAP...so I can do it all a little at a time, instead of having one day of crazy moving where you are dead tired by the end of the day. I did that last time when I moved and it made all the difference in the world. My roomie moved all in one day...and she and her friends were hurting units by the time she was done with the whole event.

I've been a happy camper this week...since the weather has been really nice. The rain has really held off, so I've been able to bike to work every single day this week. I am really excited about it. One, I get instant exercise added into my day. From my apartment, it's just a smidge under 3 miles to get to work...and so I can get there in 10-15 minutes. With the round trip, I get about 30 minutes of exercise each and every day. I've also been doing weight lifting at home...but I am loving the added cardio. Mr. Elliptical is probably getting lonely...but I'll spend some time with him this weekend.

I have to figure out how long it is going to take me to bike to work from my dad's house for when I move home in June. I still wanna bike to and from work...it'll just take a little longer. It's an additional 2 miles since I think it's about 5 miles from the house to work. I am thinking it'll take about a half an hour, but I won't know until I test it out. I am thinking...if the weather holds out...I might give it a test ride one day during my long weekend.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday...I sure am, since my Thursday feels like a Friday...and I LOVE Fridays.

Wacky Weather

The weather has been SO weird lately...I wish Mother Nature would just figure out what she wants to do...and do it already. All last week...the weather was in the 80s, constantly sunny, etc. It was beautiful...and felt like summer. Then starting on Monday...it was like a monsoon...raining non-stop. And then today, we woke up with frost all over everything. It felt like winter again. It's supposed to be in the 30s to 50s every day this week. The weather guy said that if you spent of last week out in the garden...and anything is sprouting that you should cover it with blankets and sheets so that they don't get killed by the frost. Luckily, I don't garden...I could kill silk flowers..I have such a black thumb. So, no worries there.

I rode my bike to work today...it was cold, but not rainy. Everything was fine except...my hands got SO cold. They basically felt like bricks when I got to work. I'm still jazzed about biking myself about again. It's been great to not have to get into my car each and every day. I plan on biking to work tomorrow as well...and maybe Friday too. I figure...as long as it's not raining, I am going to be getting myself to work.

How's the weather in your neck of the woods???

Weekend Recap...

Hey there internet....I had some busy and exciting times this weekend, so I thought I'd share it with you. So, here goes...

Friday: I got home from work...and since I hadn't bought my final weight loss reward yet, even though I "earned" it weeks ago, I decided it was TIME. So, my dear ol' daddio and I went to Devil-Mart and bought me a nice, new bike. I got a great deal. It is a Schwinn Jet Star Women's Bike. It was with the clearance bikes. I think someone bought it and returned it, so I got it for over 50% off. Sweet!!! I am so excited to have a new, swanky bike. I am going to ride it to work everyday that it isn't raining (like it is this Monday morning). I am going to love the instant exercise added to my day...and with gas prices, it'll be a great thing for the environment and my pocketbook. Whoo hoo!

Saturday: I worked on Saturday...we had a big huge community service project. We were cleaning up a local park and re-doing the trail that goes to it. And guess what...I rode my bike to work. It felt great. It takes me 10 minutes to drive to work and only 15 minutes to bike it. It's awesome. The day was great for community service. It was sunny, but not too hot...and there was a nice breeze. What we did for most of the day...is clear brush and what not from the trail above the park. So, I spent hours...dragging brush, twigs and rocks onto tarps and dragging up a pretty steep hill. Let's just say...I got a nice workout. It was nice to feel physically fit enough to do it. We started right around 9am...and finished up about 3pm. I helped clean up the site...and headed home around 4pm. I was beat by the time my bike and I got home. Phew. TIRED! I made dinner...and then felt ready for bed at about 7pm. I didn't head to bed that early...but I wanted to. I think I fell asleep sometime in the 9pm hour. My body needed the rest...let me tell you.

Sunday: Ah...lovely Sunday. I didn't go to church this week. It's the annual giving drive...where they feed people a nice lunch and talk about each person's weekly giving to the Church. I know it's how the church survives, but I didn't want to be made to feel guilty about my level of giving...or feel obligated to give more than I already do. I don't give a lot each and every week in the plate, but I do always give money or goods to the dinners we have...and I have given large sums of money to special projects...like funding the summer camp program, etc. So, I feel good about my level of giving. I know that the church is also a business and it has to be...but I figured I would skip a week that reminds me of that.

I did go over and hang out with my dad instead. We've been trying to declutter the house. I think it's going to be an ongoing project FOREVER. My brother's old room is just chuck full of junk we've acquired over the years. I have boxes and boxes of stuff from college....that I just packed up, brought up and never thought of again. Mind you...I graduated in 1999. So, I spent the morning going through it and throwing away 90% of everything there. I was surprised how emotional I was going through some of the stuff. I found a lot of old pictures...and a bunch of old clothes from college. I had forgotten how overweight I was in college...denial has a way of doing that. I was probably the biggest I ever was during my college years. It was really heartbreaking looking at those old pictures. And the clothes...same thing...I would hold up the physical reminder of how big I was and it was definitely eye opening. Of course, everything in me wanted to shred those pictures and throw away all those clothes...but I didn't. I kept the pictures. I am going to put them away in a little box...and keep them as a reminder of how much change I have accomplished. I'm also going to keep them as a reminder...that I don't want to gain this weight again...that this change is permanent. It's easy to let denial take over again...and let the weight creep back on. I also put the clothes in a pile. I'm going to wash the nice ones and donate them. Hopefully someone else who needs them...will put them to good use.

And the rest of my Sunday. I had a lunch with my roomie and another friend. We went to Panera for lunch. I love that place...they have really yummy food and if you make the right choices...a lot are really healthy for you. I had a garden salad with fat free raspberry dressing. And after eating, we went back to our apartment and watched a movie...August Rush. It was completely unrealistic, but I liked it. It was great to hang out with the girls...since we haven't done that in a long time. Since I hadn't seen my one friend is almost a year, it did take a little bit to kind of get to know each other again. Now that her schedule has changed, I am hoping we are going to be able to get together more often.

I think that's about it for my weekend report...and because it's Monday, I'll report that I weighed in and lost a pound this week. That didn't surprise me at all...especially given the cardio marathon I did on Saturday with working out on the elliptical, riding my bike to and from work and all the work done on the trails, etc. I probably burned close to 2000 calories that day...

Hugs all...I hope everyone has a great Monday, even if it is a rainy one like it is here.