I used to love Bethany

But then I walked for 50 minutes in the 82 degree weather, slathered in sunscreen and wondering why I still don't believe in shorts. Yep, still don't believe in shorts. I just change clothes a lot in the summer.

I had a whole cute post in my head, but the summer lovin' taunt made me forget all of it. Oh well :)

84 degrees.

*maniacal laughter*

dear little ineb:

It's 81 degrees. Not even noon yet. This is blissful, for me.
The only thing that would improve my mood about the weather were if I could somehow magically be dismissed from work, and go lounge in an innertube in the river, or a pool, or a lake... whatever!

See also:
http://www.marriedtothesea.com/052307/summer.gif

xoxo

(omg 82 degrees! yippee!)

*gasp* I'm...I'm behind!

The good: Phil is in town and I'm loving not being a single mom to Lola. We have more fun this way. (Especially since we introduced the squirt gun as a training mechanism!)
The bad: I get to sleep longer in the mornings because he'll walk her when he gets up.
The ugly: I've only walked 30 of the 45 minutes projected for Monday through Wednesday. How am I supposed to overachieve if I'm not achieving at all?

I did kayak for an hour on Monday. So if ya'll consider that walking...with your arms...on water...then I'm golden. But uh, I really just need to get my butt moving!

DIET TIPS
The good: Popsicles and Luigi's Italian Ice are awesome to have on hand. Between the two, I can stave off most cravings for Wendy's frosties, rootbeer floats, twists dipped in chocolate and other icy cold goodnesses.
The bad and the ugly: Apparently it is NOT okay to eat mexican food for 6 meals in a row. No matter how good it tastes. Diversity should be enforced.

Yay for me!

Even with a toenail almost off... I went to the gym.

I powerwalked on the treadmill for 35 minutes -1.86 miles.
I walked over and did two of the evil resistance machines that my body is resisting. I am trying to build up a semi-tolerance to them.
Then I hopped on a bike for 25 minutes - 4.44 miles.

Before you say you are proud of me...I should add that I ate cake for breakfast.
And dessert. Twice.
But damn I make a great almond buttercreme frosting!

Week Three Goals

Week three, already?!?

Monday 10 minutes
Tuesday 15 minutes
Wednesday 20 minutes
Thursday OFF
Friday 15 minutes
Saturday 20 minutes
Sunday 20 minutes
total : 5 miles

I have some catching up to do. I've had a sinus infection since a week ago Friday, which now appears to have possibly made its way into bronchitis. This is a lousy excuse for not walking 10 minutes. As is the fact that I spent most of the weekend cleaning at my rental property. Haha I like calling it a "rental property" instead of "the house I lived in until I couldn't find roommates to live there and now won't seem to sell so I need people to live there and help me pay the mortgage." It's more... concise. Less melodramatic. But basically, I'm just saying that I haven't been very good at keeping up with this, which makes me extra proud of those of you who have, because I know first-hand how easy it is to get distracted and make exercise a lower priority, and you're all fabulous and awesome and inspirational.

And I'll catch up eventually... honest.

Week 2 totals

I walked on Friday for a total of 80 minutes-- but that was four 20 minute walks, so don't go thinking I did it all at once. Then I sat on my ass the rest of the weekend :) Total for week 2: 170 minutes.

And I went for a short stint last night, so I got in 30 minutes for this week. My walk happened in between taco bell dinner and chocolate moose dessert, but hey, it was walking, in the humidity, with my feets.

Holiday weekend

This weekend I expected to cheat and gorge on bad foods while being lazy.

I surprised my mother on Saturday by showing up at the Atlanta airport. We all visited my step-brother, John. Step-daddy bought my ticket, but we never told Mom! She cried. Later I did, when I discovered that there was no gluten free food for me other than the box of cereal I hid in my suitcase. John lives on the side of a mountain, with a dirt road. Not really a place with a Whole Foods.

Finally Sunday we stopped at a grocery store and I found some fruit and gf cottage cheese!!! After eating, we went to this beautiful state park and walked up the mountain to see the water falls. We walked for about an hour.

I was doing great until Monday. I decided I wanted cake. I made two gf chocolate cakes. I dropped one and ruined half of it. I then froze the other one so I wouldn't eat every last bite. I still ate too much though.

Tuesday is usually my off night, but I didn't have dance yesterday and I have dress rehersal Wednesday, when I usually go to the gym, so I might switch things up this week. I won a trip to a personal trainer at a different gym. I think I will go to him, then use his wisdom at my new gym!

Happy Tuesday folks!

Who I Am; How I Failed

I never got around to that introduction. So, here it is:

Name: Aaron
Summer Home: E. Pennsylvania
Winter Home: Chicago, IL. (Sounds posh, but it isn't; I'm going to school.)
At: Lutheran School of Theology
Knows Half the People Here From: Alma College
Goal: The ubiquitous 50 pounds would be nice, but really it's just not to die of a heart attack at the age of 32.
Dream Goal: To be hotter than Paris Hi-- Oh, wait. That's been used.
Pets: 1 cat, named Ashes.
Roomates: Not a sausage, not anymore. Hurray! Now let's see if I can pay for it.
Donut: O thou custard-filled long john, my only love. Thou didst not catch me cheating on thee with the fair French crueller behind the shed last week. That, um, must have been someone else.

As for how I am doing this week, I really should say that I have left you all in the dust. I have gone over 700 miles this week. Of course, that was in the car... I haven't walked at all. And now it's Sunday evening and it's thundering and lightning outside and I have to go to a stupid birthday party and so there won't be any walking today either... oh, well. I moved across the country; that's a good excuse. Better luck to me next week. But hey, good work everyone who did so well! You folks are awesome!

Oh, the temptations.

I was off to a great start this week. I was eating healthy and gung-ho on the plan. Then I gave in to laziness, donuts, ice cream socials and peanut butter cookies. I currently plan to go home and nap. And then eat pasta and drink wine (thankfully in honor of a birthday, so those calories don't count).

Awesome!

As for my exercising, I'd walked 80 minutes in two and a half days...and since then I've only walked an additional 45. Phil has been around to share dog-walking duties, and after 5 days of single parenting while he was out of town, I relish the Lola-free time. I have great plans to be active all weekend, so of course, they're calling for thunderstorms. Rain will totally ruin all of my really fun plans but will also keep me out of a bathing suit for a little while longer. Nothing's quite so motivational...

In other news, very much in the vein of my theory that calories consumed in honor of birthdays do not exist, I'm trying to think of a loophole that negates the affect of any foods consumed at holiday BBQs. Any suggestions?

Have a great long weekend everyone! Stay strong!

(Oh yeah, and even though I feel like a slacker, I still totally exceeded this week's goal. So there's that.)

My own worst enemy

I was up SO EARLY this morning. At 6:15 the sun was shining and the birds were singing outside my open window, and I could've gone back to sleep but I decided not to. Since I've been having so much trouble waking up on time, it seemed better to just get up while I was awake. The problem with waking up that early is that somehow I feel like I have all this time and need to make it worthwhile, so I end up doing things like... rearranging all the furniture in our dining room. LOL. Yeeeeah. Hey, I waited until my roommate was up and blowdrying her hair to move anything that wasn't on wheels... I'm insane, I can't help it. BUT anyway. I kept thinking "I should use this time to take a walk" or "I have time to go get real breakfast someplace," but instead I just filled up that time... and bought doughnettes and mini muffins for the office on my way to work. Not exactly health food ("if they're mini, they hardly count!"). And now, for all the times I've talked smack about Krispy Kreme, I publicly apologize. Those mini cruellers with drizzles of chocolate glaze ... oh man, are they good. And I only ate two...

Update

I went to my pretty new gym last night.
I got a late start as I was REALLY tired from work.

I did 15 min. on the bike
2.5 min on the evil escalator-like stair machine (only because I saw a student and he said I would only last 2 min!)
Since it is a large gym I saw three students while working out. I decided to try the resistance machines. I made a game of it. I let the kids pick the machines for me and we would try to figure out how to use them. They find the evil machines funny. I did various machines for about 30 min.
I went back and finished with 10 min on the treadmill.
I am hoping to have more of a plan in the future but for how I am still playing and finding which machines I like, and how to use them.

This weekend I will be in Atlanta so no gym. But I am surprising my mother (she and step-daddy are going to visit my bro, John) at the baggage claim and we will probably go walking. THe whole family likes to do that.

Happy long weekend folks!!

83 degrees and sunny

I bet some of you think that forecast is awesome. I hate it. And I just walked in it for 45 minutes. Good thing I had a lot of sunscreen. I am currently toasty and smell like beach. Ready to eat my lunch and take a nap.

Have hit the 90 minute goal, so anything I do this weekend is extra, yay! (of course, next week I'll have to play catch-up as I'll be short my Monday lunch hike.)

As promised...

Here is my proudly overburdened automobile showing off what I hope will be a great source of exercise and peace for me all summer. The pretty blue boat is mine. :)

I'll take the hilarious side view shot when Phil and I go again this Sunday. 8 more miles. Woo!

Tired and it's only Wednesday!

I had my 45 min. tap class Monday. I skipped Tuesday doing anything due to crazy work schedule and filling out gym paperwork.
Today I did 20 min on a bike and took a 30 min. yoga class. It kicked my ass, but I needed it...I had NINE, yup 9!, parent meetings this afternoon. Now, I am pleasantly tired.

Karma Intervenes

Busy-busy-running-all-day type of day for me at the library.

No time for lunch (No, seriously. I had a 7 minute lunch hour. SEVEN MINUTES.), and I was feeling totally blah this evening...planned to skip the walk and just get into bed early.

And then karma intervened.

My friend and coworker Carrie and her baby girl Isabel stopped by, and invited me for a walk!

I love it when things like that happen. :-)

I wonder if I get extra points for pushing the stroller most of the way? ;-)

Echoing what Harmony said, I've already walked 101 minutes for our 90 minute goal this week, so I'm feeling pretty good!

I'm heading to the parentals for Memorial Day weekend, so I probably will be offline much of the time, but I hope to have a few walks to report when I return!

Have a GREAT long weekend, y'all!

Plan, schman!

The official week two goal totals 90 minutes, with 35 of those accomplished through Wednesday.

I've already got 80 under my belt, which gives me a surplus of 45 minutes at this point in the week.

Which is good.

Because it's donut Wednesday.

Okay so I've been MIA. This is the hellish period of the school year. Next week is the end of the year and then I have six weeks to myself!! YAY! My present to myself?? I just joined a new gym. I've been at Curves for two years. They are great. I enjoyed my time there. Now there is a new gym. One my student refers to as "the cruise ship." It is HUGE and has oodles of stuff. http://www.lifetimefitness.com/

Yup. I joined and tomorrow I go to my first day of the machines. There is also a spin class I would like to try out. They have a rock climbing wall...yeah I won't be trying that.

:)

Oh yeah, the plan.

WEEK TWO GOALS

M 10min
T 10min
W 15min
Th OFF
Fri 15min
Sat 20min
Sun 20min

approx 4.5 miles

Tuesday

Well I haven't kept track up to this point, but now that I have my handy-dandy I'm-so-excited pedometer, I've been keeping score. Surprisingly, I walked about a mile on a workday at my desk job, even though I'm sick. Can't wait to see how I do on a high energy day, that's frickin' sweet. Not that it's fast paced or anything, but it totally still counts in my head.

Sorry I've been quiet. Been sick since Friday. Stupid sinus infections. I've been getting them often this year, and until yesterday it was a mystery -- yesterday when my darling roomie said "well, you do live with a teacher now." So "Merlin," while I do not blame you for bringing home all those germs, I do think it might be your fault. LOL. ;) But don't worry I still luv you, I just need to buckle down on my vitamin consumption!

Yay everybody, by the way. You are all exceeding my expectations and kicking ass in a most admirable manner!

Weekly Check-In

I think everyone's done fantastically well this week! Yay us!

Here are my totals for the week....

Time: 228 minutes (3.8 hours)
Steps: 26307
Distance: 10.2 miles

I'm feeling a bit blah today, but all these high numbers from y'all are totally motivating me!

Lunch Walkin'

Monday and Thursday seem to be my dedicated lunch walkin' days. So I got my first 45 minutes in for the week. And then I had a green pepper with hummus (humus? I can never keep that straight) and a soy yogurt. I'll be hungry again in about twenty minutes, I expect :)

Holy walking, batman!

I'm so impressed with how well we are all doing! You guys kick some major butt! I had absolutely NO expectations and yet somehow we've all surpassed them. To be honest, I might have thought to myself, "Man, Bethany is being overly proactive with this whole blog thing...", but I'm really digging the progress and positive attitudes.

Weeeeee!

My official numbers from the first week:
210 minutes of walking
3 hours of kayaking

I figure Lola stopping to explore the world slows down my usual quick pace a bit and puts us somewhere around 8 miles on foot. Kayaking was 8 miles, though not constant paddling.

And I'll post a hilarious picture of my Neon with 4 kayaks on top as soon as I get it uploaded. I'm pretty sure it defies physics.

Here's to another great week for all of us!

Weekend

Saturday: one hour hike with Heather at McCormick's Creek state park. Stopped in the middle of the big hill to whine. Heather laughed at me and my out of shape ass.

Sunday: ten minutes on my way to and from knitting circle.

This week's total: 200 minutes. That could be as much as ten miles. Awesomesauce! (but with the outofshapeness I'm sure not walking 20-minute miles lately. Probably more like 7 miles).

Trees

For Erica, who says I'm too wordy. I'll show her what wordy is:

---

In between translating Greek for fun and profit
And reading haiku about Frida Kahlo,
I took a walk today,
without you,
Beneath the scattered trees.

The climate was sunny and warm
And filled with house music
Being blasted on airwaves surreal
From behind buildings
Whose facades had decayed with the passage of time
And the creeping vines belaboring their stones,
Cold, under the shadow of the trees.

I wondered aloud at the juxtaposition
Of African natives, a whole tribe,
The eldest matriarch slowly hobbling
And calling out in Swahili or Zulu
To a four-year old,
Not to splash in that puddle
Or you'll ruin your dress,
Just two houses down from the rich
Little white girls and boys
Too young for their age
Having a party on the front lawn of a frat house,
Scratching their names in the tree under which they just made love,
Beer in plastic red cups
Strewn about the yard
No trash can in sight.

The ground shouted in flourescent chalk
Absurdities:
The trees!
Spoon!
304 Families!
Tickets $15!
Look at that horrible crochet work!
Have you met some woman, running a campaign for an inconsequential government post without any prestige or decision making power but which will look good on a resume whether she shows up for the meetings or not!

On the outside of the vast courtyard,
It was silent without your voice.
Trees waved their fan-shaped leaves
As the occasional bus passed by.
I thought of food,
Of the vast restaurant that sat nearby,
And then of the meatloaf that occupied my refrigerator,
Leftovers from L--, who could have eaten them
But is too generous for her own good,
And after all, she said, it's not very good anyway,
The meat was ground too small.

And dinner tomorrow, with B--,
Who I think might like me a little,
Which is unfortunate, really,
Because it was awfully fun strolling with her
Under the giant trees that line the sidewalk,
Talking of Palestine and antidepressants and flowers,
And now she has my cat to keep her company over the summer,
But I don't want her to think I'm just using her
For a cat-sitter and a study partner
When she finally gets up the courage to tell me what she thinks
And I have to turn her down.

Suddenly, someone steps in front of me,
Having turned a corner, he walks swiftly onward
And his gait is like a metronome
Whose tick is mesmerizing.
Swaying like the tallness of the trees.
You'd laugh at me:
I think of little else for several more blocks...

Until I pass the theater-goers under the trees
Waiting in line with E-- to see a woman
Clutch desperately onto a side of beef
With sighs too deep for words to express
While apples rot on the coffee table.

The last tavern stands with people sitting
In the patio, surrounded by lightposts like metal trees
Reaching to the heavens in industrial splendor
Shining on the people below
Eating hamburgers as big as your head
And drinks as blue as your soul
When the phone rings and rings and rings
And the voicemail picks up
And you recite the message along with the machine,
For so you have memorized it
But you leave no message
So as not to seem crazier
Than you really are.

My apartment:
No cat comes to the door.
No roommate disappears awkwardly into his room.
Even the roaches are on vacation.
I can only sit and wait for you to call
And watch as the sky turns brilliant colors
As the sun goes down at precisely 8:06 PM
Sinking silently behind the trees.

---

By the way, that was a 40-minute walk. Add that to 30 minutes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each, and a skipped Tuesday. Total this week? 2-1/2 hours. I like this plan.

Oh, and an introduction will come soon, when I'm feeling less verbose.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yay! Happy birthday to me! Bring on the rice cakes instead of the cupcakes!

(Kidding. *grin*)

I just wanted to say thanks for letting me be a part of this lil online community...it's been the kick in the butt I've needed to start making changes in my life, and there is no better time than on a birthday (31!) to re-evaluate things.

So, thanks!

Also, to make this a relevant post instead of a sappy post, I've walked 2.7 hours thus far this week, and completed 7.3 miles. C'mon, y'all! Top that! Woot!

Have a great weekend!

week summary, weekend predictions

Okay it seemed excessive to post every time I walk since I'm the only one who has a puppy to drag me around. But here's what Lola and I managed to do this week:

Monday
Morning - 20 min
Lunch - 10 min
Evening - 10 min

Tuesday
Morning - 10 min
Lunch - 10 min
Evening - 10 min

Wednesday
Morning - 10 min
Lunch - Called on account of rain
Evening - 15 min

Thursday
Morning - 10 min
Lunch - 10 min
Evening - 15 min

Friday
Morning - 15 min
Lunch - Phil is home. I actually get to go out with coworkers for lunch! Woo!
Evening - Assuming we can actually fit 2 12 foot kayaks and 1 10 foot kayak in the back of a single Escape, I'll be kayaking after work. And Lola gets to romp around with her cousin (a Puggle) all night.

Tomorrow will include at least a morning and evening walk with Lola. And Sunday, again, assuming my logistics all pull together, kayaking on Sunday. Longer trip though, more like 2 - 3 hours.

Yipee!

Total actual time walked so far this week, not counting predictions = 2.5 hours.

Not sure how that translates distance wise, but sounds great to me!

huff and puff

Last night I took a stroll up and down the hill on my street while on the phone. Cuz girls love it when I breathe heavily at them. I think it was about 20 minutes. Survey says I'm at about 5 miles at this point, which is good cuz I have to stand around at the opera tonight, so no walking beforehand.

In negative points, I accidentally ate an entire jumbo cadbury candy bar last night and today I had to drop off paperwork at the temp agency so I left with two big chocolately chip cookies. Not quite the bran flakes breakfast I've been having recently.

Check In

Alright, alright, I'm checking in, Miss Bossy Pants! ;-)

Yes, Erica, you are made of awesome. ;-)

I've managed to walk every day so far since this shindig began. I had a migraine today, so I was feeling pretty blah, but I managed to march in place for 35 minutes in front of the TV during the season finale of Ugly Betty.

(Erica, sorry I didn't answer...I don't do phone calls when Betty or Grey's are on. Ya know. *grin*)

According to my trusty pedometer, I've walked about 5 miles thus far - already kickin' the 4 miles a week goal! Yay!

How about you guys? I need the competitive juices flowing too! :-)

Oh and,

Harmony, how'd the potluck go? ;)

Keep on Walkin'

Where'd everybody go?? I need you to keep me competitive!

I used my lunch break to walk for 50 minutes to the park and back. That's almost 3 miles people. Now get back here and tell me I'm awesome!

Hee.

WOO!

Okay so last night I caught up on my walking. Two walks in one evening, to make up for being a slacker on Tuesday. And tonight, even though "the plan" calls it a free night, I'm psyched to go for another walk, and then reward myself with an 8:30 manicure.

...is it Friday, yet?

and by the way totally addicted to the archives of this webcomic:
http://www.xkcd.com/c214.html
http://www.xkcd.com/c218.html

and one of the few that's made me cry, I laughed so hard:
http://www.xkcd.com/c123.html

little hike with a little tike

Last night I got in another 10 minutes, walking to the ATM with Dave & Maisie. Also, on Tuesday I brought in the groceries one bag at a time. I didn't catch him in time so the bagger used the little plastic ones. Between that and having bought cat food, cat litter, and a 12 pack of Fresca, I made 7 or 8 trips from the car to the kitchen (cuz the key to getting enough exercise is to take the least effecient route possible!)

I hope everyone else is doing well and I look forward to your posts!

Avoiding the Donuts

I've avoided any tasty pastries so far today.

Mostly because there weren't any at work. ;-)

Thankfully after my throwdown at IGA yesterday, I have a stocked fridge of "good things", so I'm on Day THREE of eatin' good in the neighborhood.

But I have to go to a pitch-in dinner tonight.

Uh Oh.

I'll try to be good, I promise...but these ladies can COOK....

In other news, I managed to squeeze in a 25 minute walk last night after the storm blew through town, and according to my pedometer, I've walked 2.5 miles thus far this week. Yay!

Falling off the wagon is tasty.

At work, Wednesday means only one thing.

Delicious. Evil. Donuts.

Now, you people are probably starting to think I'm donut obsessed. This is not the case. While I am fond of pastries, as a snack addict, I generally don't favor or discriminate against any category of sweets. Regardless, every Wednesday, without fail, there will be two doughy dozens of something.

I attempted to resist. I suggested perhaps next week's appointed food provider supply fruit salad. I was laughed at. That's just the kind of people we are here. The "we eat 2 dozen donuts every Wednesday and laugh in the face of fruit" kind. Monsters!

So what else was I supposed to do? I had to eat one of those donuts. I had to punish the donut for taunting me. I ate that little punk as consolation in the wake of my humiliating fruit-laugh ordeal. At least, that's the dramatic justification I've offered myself for so quickly diving head first falling off the healthy eating bandwagon.

So while Lola and I managed to squeeze in all 3 walks yesterday even with the threat of rain, I've only got 10 minutes of walking under my belt for today.

My donut has created a deficit.

Tomorrow there is a potluck. I'm going to hide.

day off for lorelei

I can't walk and watch the last ever episode of Gilmores on the same night! I thought about it though. Friends is on at 7, and Everybody thinks Raymond is a Stupid Show is on at 7:3o, so I was going to take a light walk during that half hour block and still be back in time for Gilmores. But it started to rain. So, no walk yesterday.

Today is Maisie's first birthday which means I have to go be social (oh, darn!). So I may not have time tonight either, but I will try-- the party is in a park, after all.

Hello - Hello - Hello!

Okay - if you know Alice in Wonderland you know why my title is such :).

I'm Melinda - I'm one of the roomies. Bethany and I met at Alma and were roommates for 3 years there. I'm not very good at these posts and such, but I'll do my best. This will hopefully help! A little about Me, hrmmm.....

I'm a music teacher in South Lyon and I do WAAAAY too much in my free time, just ask my roommates. I sing in a band, vocal direct children's theatre (Alice in Wonderland at the moment), teach musical theatre at a dance academy, act/sing at the theatre myself, craft everything you can possibly craft and do dog showing with my springer spaniel. SEE - I told ya! Just say it - I'm nuts - I know! I love it, though. :)

I've struggled with my weight for years and have been up and down with the same 25 lbs. over the last year especially. I'm frustrated right now because I can't seem to get the eating and exercise going at the same time. I love doughnuts - I would say an apple fritter is my favorite but I'll take most anything. I haven't had one in a long time, though. I'm a meat and potatoes gal - OH - and cheese!!! I LOVE CHEESE!! Yes - my name is Melinda and I'm addicted to CHEESE! ugh.

As I expected, I have had a tough time with getting the exercise in. I started yesterday and I'm behind already. I'll try to do some walking tomorrow. I have time during the day, but lots of stuff to do.

Alright, it's late, I'm tired, and I should be in bed. Tuesdays are nasty. Never a dull moment.

Good luck my Doughty Dozen buddies!
/m

Binky's turn

Howdy folks! I am Binky. Bethany and I went to Alma together (go Scots!). In the past two years I have dropped weight and decided to try the healthy part of living. I am gluten free as well. I do pretty well, but I have a trip to Hawaii planned, and I need to work out more. I would love to lose another 15-25lbs.
hrmm... other info on binky...
I am a teacher in North Carolina. Yup, that's right you all just imagined my accent didn't you?
My sign is Cancer. And Erica recruited me to this site!

I do not have a favorite donut as the others have posted, because I do not eat them. Occasionally I will get the gluten free variety, but they aren't as tasty.

My current favorite food is gf spinach and feta pizza. But I also am in love with the current strawberry season at the local farmer's market.

Yay! I even started today. Tuesdays are my "day off" from the gym. Usually I only do arms and abs exercises at home. Mondays are dance classes, Wed. Thurs. and Sat. are gym days. Friday is usually dancing at a club or relaxing night, and Sunday is another day of arms and abs.
Today I added on a one hour walk through one of our hiking trails in town. My tushie is a little sore from the unexpected hike. :)

Introduction

Hi, I'm Liz.

Bethany and I know each other through a mutual ex though I think Harmony is the real culprit.

I have an adorable cat named Bama who is not a fan of walks. If her personality was transported into a person she would annoy the crap out of me.

I'm a gamer so you're more likely to find me in front of the computer playing World of Warcraft than outside walking or exercising. I have an obscene number of characters that I am currently playing but I'll spare you all the nerd talk.

I'd love to lose 60ish pounds but I'd settle for at least 30 for now. Seems like a few of us want to shoot for the magical 60 pounds... I recently got engaged so I want to look good for the pretty dress! :) (Sorry for not telling Harmony until now! It's getting hard to remember who I have told and who I haven't.)

A couple weeks ago I was wandering around my old college campus and it was sad how much more effort the stairs and hills needed in only 5 short years...

I love too many kinds of donuts to list here. *pout*

labels

p.s. I just went crazy and labeled most of the posts to-date.
"The Plan" refers to the actual reason we're all interacting.
Recipes... uh... duh.
Introductions, also fairly self-explanatory.

please feel free to use these, and other, labels liberally!
It'll make things easier, later, for the organizational freak in me.
Or organizational freak who is me.

It's all a matter of perspective. :P

Annoying

So, the boyfriend is a vegetarian (not very strict, but trying) and I am allergic to dairy (not very much, but trying to behave). This means we try to cook vegan. If you have any vegan recipes, please share those too. If not, hell, I totally don't blame you. Cheese and meat are some of the best foods in the world!

Fifteen Minute Chicken Chili

This place just keeps getting better and better. Doesn't hurt that my current alternative is working on my performance appraisal. We've been capped at a whopping 2.5% increase this year. That's just not worth the b.s. self-evaluation involved. Sigh.

Anyway, I'll put my pissy pants away and share my recent favorite.

Fifteen Minute Chicken Chili

Quick and healthy, so for me, it's the best of both worlds. Not so seasonal, but delicious just the same and makes some fantastic leftovers. Great with corn bread, too.

My modifications from the original recipe:

• I use a store bought rotisserie chicken and shred it because it delivers a better texture and cuts down on prep time.
• I don't necessarily worry about the low-sodium/no salt aspects because it's still quite healthy even without it. But if you have BP issues, this is for you.
  
• I add more of the spices than they instruct because this recipe as is, was a little bland to me. But I may be a little more tolerant of spice than most since Phil tends to drown everything in hot sauce or red pepper flakes. :)
• It can actually take more than 15 minutes if you want it to. The longer the spices simmer, the more flavorful it gets. You could even, in the spirit of this whole thing, throw it all in the pot, and then take your walk while it simmers. Now that's multi-tasking. Just don't blame me if you burn your house down.
  

My Favorite Health Food Recipe

And what I am having for dinner tonight, coincidentally, since little ineb reminded me of its existence... fondly known as "Chicken Crack Quorn":

18 oz chicken breast or quorn cubes
7 oz sunflower OR sesame OR other light oil
7 oz cashews, unsalted or washed. ;)
3 t garlic, give or.. give.
6 T browned onion
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 T chili jam (Thai or sweet chili sauce)
4 T ketchup
2 t fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 t brown sugar
2 T chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
4 T chopped fresh basil (or just a bit of dried!)

heat oil, brown onion and garlic, remove to
drain. brown cashews, drain on paper towel.
leave about 4 T oil, brown chicken or quorn. Add
all else except cashew, coriander and basil. stir
fry 5 min, adding stock or water to keep from
sticking. Add cashew and herbs, stir fry 2-3
min, serve over rice.

Expensive!

Here's what I've learned thus far on my afternoon off (I head back to work tonight - gah!):

*Buying healthy food is EXPENSIVE! I ran to the grocery and stocked up on lovely fruits and veggies, yogurts and nuts, and discovered a rather hefty charge when I checked out!

*I've never met Bethany. Oops. ;-)

*Making a cake for a meeting tomorrow is torturous when you are trying to be a good girl, food wise!

What are some of your favorite "diet-y" foods? Good snacks to try? Any fun recipes?

I'm hoping to walk when I get off work tonight, if the storms don't blow through by then! If not, I'll be walking in front of my TV! :-)

Hi! I'm Becky!

I have known Bethany for ....ummmm....6 years now? But, just this past year we have become very close friends! We work together.....so we help each other make it through each, new, bright, fun-filled and exciting day at the office......zzzzzzzzzz!! Hee!

I need motivation and encouragement! I am so needy these days! Hee! I just recently divorced. During the past 6 month time-period, I have successfully gained 20 pounds from stress-eating!!! I MUST get this back under control as none of my SUMMER CLOTHES FIT ME!!! Yeah, and it's 83 degrees today! NICE!

I will devote at least 30 minutes of my spare time (what's that?) tonight to a nice walk down my road with my daughter and our yellow lab.....that is......as long as those "strong storms" don't decide to come whipping in about 5:00 p.m.!!!! If so.....I will "treadmill" it for 20 minutes!

I'm ready! I'm set! Let's go!!! :)

My Turn...

Hi, I'm Marissa.

*waves*

I'm friends with Erica, and I live down near Evansville, IN, where I work as a librarian in a small town library.

Erica has mentioned y'all at various times, and I've met Bethany briefly a couple of times, but I don't know the rest of the gang. Hope it's okay that I'm crashing the party...if not, just let me know and I'll excuse myself.

In any case...

I'm a Taurus, who are known to love good food, good wine, and have a serious lazy streak and abhor exercise, so that explains everything. ;-)

I turn 31 on Saturday, and I'm tired of being disappointed in my health and body image, so I go through this continue cycle of trying to change...I exercise for a few days, then stop. I buy healthy food, then drive through McDonalds, thus destroying the cycle and having to start over again.

I'm hoping y'all can keep me motivated, on the straight and narrow, and let me be competitive enough to stick with this until I lose some weight. Ideally? About 60 pounds.

We'll see how it goes. :-)

I don't have any roommates or pets (yet!), and I love pizza with an all consuming passion.

Wanna know more? Just ask, or hop over to my blog for book reviews, photos of my travels, and random ramblings on all kinds of silly things.

Thanks for having me!

Copycat

I'm Bethany. This blog does not revolve around me. (...yet)
Goal: To get my mood and energy to consistently higher levels, and someday be able to stop taking antidepressants. Apparently this requires regular exercise, minimally.
Dream Goal : To be hotter than Paris Hilton -- OH, Wait.
Pets: 2 cats, Vinnie and Sadie
Roommates: Allie, Melinda, and her dog Jasmine
I don't have a favorite food, not even a favorite donut.
I love many foods equally, and with fervor.
As a result, I currently have indigestion.

Now where'd I put that maalox... ?

intro

Name: little ineb
Met Bethany: like, 10 years ago at college
I brought in 3 people today, 1 of whom doesn't even know Bethany AT ALL
Age and location and occupation in profile thingy.
Boyfriend referred to as a girl in previous post: Scottilufigus
Pets: 1 cat
Roommates: 1 cat
OMG! The labels for this post recommends 'scooters' as an example. Does it know me that well? That joke is from five years ago and it never gets old!
European shoe size: 39
Goal: to lose 15-20 pounds.
Dream Goal: to lose 60 pounds.
Favorite donut: chocolate covered and filled with that white sugar cream that is basically frosting.
Secret: I frequently have embarrassing dreams about famous people hanging out with me.

Who are you people?

I mean really...you're all in here, being enthusiastic and trying to harness this "group motivation" stuff. But for all I know, there is some lunatic with a walking fetish who happened to stumble upon our little project and is now describing pretend walks to our community. Not that lunacy itself is discouraged...

But, since I'm a cheeseball, let's do quick introductions. I'll feel more comfortable harassing encouraging you all once I have some context. EDIT: So it turns out that even though Bethany started it, this thing doesn't revolve around her, so uh...how did you get involved with this? what are your goals? any other imformation that is helpful to know?

I am Harmony. I met Bethany through mutual friends nearly 2.5 years ago. I live in Dexter, MI with my boyfriend, Phil, and our new puppy, Lola. I work about 4 miles from home so I take frequent strolls with the dog. My favorite donut is anything custard-filled and chocolate-covered. And I have a mild addiction to blogs (mostly pertaining to celebrity gossip), but I'll try not to be obnoxious.

And just so this post serves some other relevant purpose, Lola and I just took a 10 minute walk at lunch. Everyone should go get a puppy. They're highly motivational. And super cute.

Breaking Even

Donuts!!!

Well, I walked yesterday, for a measly little six blocks and back, but it fit the 5-minute requirement, so yay me! Of course, it was to and from a restaurant, so I broke even in the process. But I also helped my roommate move his furniture out of the apartment and into one across the street, so that should maybe account for something? Walking back and forth between two buildings umpteen billion times with hunks-o-bed in your arms? Accounts for why my arms are sore today, maybe. :) And why I am so much happier just being in my own home.

But even as I make the last push to finish up the plethora of papers for this first year of graduate school before (gulp!) tomorrow morning, there is time to walk for a handful of minutes each day. 10 min? What's a paltry little ten minutes? It can be done!

Yay, y'all, too! Just out of the gate, and we're all doing great. Keep up the good walk. Er, work.

Calendar

Being the dork that I am I made a Google calendar to help remind myself to walk everyday. It's a public calendar that anyone can view or add to their Google calendar, iCal, or other XML and HTML calendars. Let me know if you would like to be added to the calendar to make changes.



XML

HTML

iCal

Thanks a lot

Now I DO keep thinking about donuts. Sigh.

Contingency Plans

So last night I thought I would walk when I got home from dance class... but I didn't. It was 9:00 and I was starving and instead I just made food and rushed downstairs to watch Heroes. In my defense, I did spend an hour at dance class... and then actually remembered to pull out my tiny hand weights and use them while watching tv. But still... I haven't officially started the assignment yet. Apparently I will start today. But for later reference, when we miss a day (as we inevitably will, now and again)... one day a week is accounted for in the planning already. But if you've already skipped a day, and miss another... consolidate? Add 5 minute increments on to other days until you've made up the time? That's just my suggestion. Obviously, do whatever works best for you. But I thought a general ground rule might help. I'm an over-planner. You'll get used to it (if you haven't already!).

Oh and I did penance by taking the stairs this morning. It's only the fourth floor... but it still had me wheezing. Ugh. Soooo out of shape.

This hour is unfit, but I shall no longer be.

I've been walking with a new partner, a 10 week old puppy named Lola, for almost 3 weeks now. It's been great for me but she needs to build up stamina for some longer walks. Truthfully, I think she just needs to build up bigger legs. Generally we take about three, 10 minute walks a day. This morning, because she woke me up at the godawful hour of 6:15am, I forced her to take a longer walk. We did 20 minutes. And while it did not, as I was so hoping, create a disruption in the time continuum and transport me back to when I was sleeping (maybe we need to walk faster?), it did feel good to use the extra time for something worthwhile.

It even tired out my exercise buddy (photographic evidence). For a second. Before she decided to try and eat me.

Day One

45 minute trek south of downtown on lunch hour.

Today I will cancel my gym membership, as soon as I think of an "appropriate" response to the question "reason for cancellation"

Thanks to Bethany for the reminder that any walking at all is better than nothing.

GO!

Week One, courtesy of Family Circle magazine:

Monday : 5 Minutes
Tuesday: 10 Minutes
Wednesday : 10 Minutes
Thursday: OFF (or pick a different free day, as needed!)
Friday: 15 Minutes
Saturday: 20 Minutes
Sunday: 20 Minutes

Total Distance
for the week: 4 Miles!

p.s. You can totally double it if you're feeling motivated,
just... don't rub it in. Okay? ;)

WTF is a doughty girl?

Well, if you slur it just right, or say it fast enough, it makes us dirty girls. If you're feeling mopey or melancholy, you can be a doubty girl with not enough motivation to pronounce the "b." And if you're feeling grammatically accurate, you can look it up on dictionary.com and find that it was yesterday's "word of the day," because today's kinda sucked and I needed a blog name.

doughty \DOW-tee\, adjective:Marked by fearless resolution; valiant; brave.

Feeling fearless?

I'm feeling lazy. And I want to fix that. So please feel free to jump on in and join me -- it's 73 degrees outside, there's no excuse for this laziness... not too hot, not too cold... just too busy, usually.

But I'm also feeling inspired. A popular woman's magazine (by "woman's magazine," I mean the type whose target audience is NOT me, but rather a stay at home mom whose goals include emulating both Martha Stewart and Lance Armstrong) ... anyway, that popular woman's magazine currently has a "challenge" issued asking people to walk 75 miles over the next four months -- in intervals as small as 4 miles a week, which breaks down to as little as 5-10 minutes a day. Ha. I can totally do that. And I'm inviting you to do it with me. Not literally, for those with whom I barely manage to maintain long distance e-communication... but figuratively speaking. Need motivation to exercise? Me, too. Help!!

C'mon. It'll be fun. And then we can post whiny posts and comments here to keep each other going. I'll post the first week's goal sheet as a separate post. On your mark, get set...