BIB #245

To help cement my New Year's Resolution to walk the Portland Marathon on October 5, today I registered for the event - I am BIB #245.

I am feeling especially good, because I also reserved a room at the Portland Hilton Executive, for that Saturday and Sunday night, so I will be right there, will be able to park in the vicinity, and Gene will have a place to while away the many hours while he waits for us to cross the finish line (unless he decides to participate).

I modified the Prevention Magazine training schedule (it started training in May and I need all the time I can get so I am starting in January) and saved it to a PDF, if anyone would like a copy for their own use (hint, hint).

So now there is nothing to do but get training! #245!

A December Walk

Taking an early morning walk on a frozen December morning makes one feel very alive. I bundled up in my down jacket, scarf, hat and gloves, and enjoyed the briskness in the air and in my step. As I crest the top of the hill on Crystal Dr, I gaze to the east where the sun is beginning to cast it's light, making the scattered clouds a beautiful pink. I look at Mount McLoughlin and appreciate that I am blessed to live in a valley over which this mountain presides. I like to walk without any music, as it is one of the few times during the day in which I am left to the solitude of my own random thoughts.

As I walk, I notice trash discarded along the way and vow to get in some "butt work" and pick up trash on one of my walks. I wonder where to buy the grabbers that one gets for "free" with their new power scooters - the one that Billy Mays promotes as an added benefit to whatever other miracle product (aka crap) he is pushing.

I pass a couple boys headed to school - clearly brothers. The younger one is riding a scooter but seems to be struggling to keep up with the his older brother. I hope his older brother is patient with him.

As I walk I am always ready with a smile, but a boy who is old enough to walk to school without an adult, will not make eye contact. Noticing he will have to walk past me, he picks an object on which to intently focus which allows him to avoid looking me in the eye. It always makes me a little sad. I am curious to test this common phenomenon and see if girls will also work so hard to avoid eye contact. I wonder if this is more prevelent in this day and age due to the crime and children having to learn to be on guard. Or is it more common here in the west, where we have fences and have learned to really value our privacy? I remember backyards in the mid-west, where one yard runs into another without benefit of fences. I remember a southern black woman I was priviledged to be seated next to on an airplane trip to New Orleans. She complained about her grandson, who was shutting out the world with his headphones. I remember her telling me, when she was a child, if she walked past one of her parents friends without acknowledging them, her parents were told and there was hell to pay. But I really have only lived in my little corner of the world, so I am left to wonder if all children are as guarded as those in my little town.

As I push on through the 28 degree cold, I begin to sweat a little under my hat and down jacket. I pass another boy, maybe in 4th grade. He is shivering in jeans and a short sleeved T shirt. "Where is your jacket?" I want to ask, but of course, he does not make any eye contact and I am left to wonder - Does he have a coat? Does he just not like it? I remember wearing goosebumps rather than a hideous purple fur coat from Goodwill when I was young. Where was his mom this morning? Why did she let him out without a coat? Maybe he was careless and left it on the playground and is learning a valuable lesson. I try to convince myself that this is the case, but find my thoughts returning to him several times during the rest of my walk.

As I arrive home, I jump into my car to warm it up and turn on the seat heaters (wouldn't want to use an ice scraper and then drive in an vehicle which has not been preheated) and I wonder again about the boy without a coat. "He had a backpack", I tell myself. I wonder how teachers deal with their own emotions when they see a child doing without.

I go into the house and gather my things while the vehicle warms. I get a call from my sister, with some good news. I leave for work, energized from my morning walk with all of it's random thoughts, and I am reminded of how blessed I am.

Merry December 25

It arrives at the same date each year - December 25. Every school child can tell you the date Christmas is celebrated. So how does it manage to sneak up on me every year?

I am not panicked, I just have a lot to do and I still want to enjoy the season as much as possible. To that end I am attending a Christmas Party this Friday and I have a gorgeous outfit to wear. I am celebrating a friends birthday at lunch today (his birthday was yesterday), and I will be missing celebrating my grandma's birthday tomorrow - she would have been 87. Next Friday is my birthday and both of my girls are coming home that day (or night), and I am hosting a Christmas party next Saturday for our friends. We are also hosting Christmas dinner.

So I have a busy December, but I love it! That being said - I need to get busy!!!

Merry Christmas!

Portland Marathon

I walked 2 miles this morning. As I traveled through my little town, looking out at the hillsides shrouded in fog, I decided that I am going to walk the Portland Marathon on October 5, 2008. When I got to work, I looked up information on Prevention.com about training to walk a marathon, as well as checking the dates. FYI - Portland has been rated one of the most "walker friendly" marathons.

I saved the training guidelines to a PDF file, and will attach it to this blog when I figure out how.

I also discussed my plans with my daughters, who are both interested in walking it with me. When I told Gene, he said, "I have no doubt you can do it".

So I am feeling excited and affirmed at this moment.

Confessions of a Blabbermouth

Recently someone shared something with me. I was not asked to keep it confidential - but I volunteered, stating that anything told to me would remain just between us. I was sincere and I meant it. And I have had to bite my tongue a half dozen times since!!

I realize that I tell people things, gossip if you will, when I do not know how to help, but want to so bad. I bounce ideas off others, and seek their opinions. When it is my problem, that is a good thing to do - but this is not my problem, so it is not my place to seek the opinion of others. It is my place to be there and to listen. I have always thought of myself as pretty good in those areas - and now I have to face the fact that I can do better.

So while it is not effortless for me to keep a confidence - it is something I value and will do.

Thankful

My cell phone rings at 1:18am. I run to the office, see it is a Medford number, assume it is a mistake, and do not answer. I walk back to the bedroom, carrying my phone with me to see if the caller leaves a message, when the home phone rings. Uh oh - the call was definitely for us. Gene grabs the home phone and I quickly realize it is the alarm company.

As we drive to our office and shop he tells me it is the front door. Damn - that lets out that it was a motion sensor alarm, maybe from a book shelf falling or something like that.

We pass several police vehicles on our way. They are down many dark streets and in fields. We have to park down the street until the scene is cleared. A police dog from Medford is brought in (Jackson County's dogs and handlers are at a training). The police tell us it is a forced entry. Iam certain my laptop will not be sitting on my desk, wonder what else may have been taken, kick myself for leaving several hundred dollars worth of gift cards sitting on my desk, and wondering if they can be traced if used. I worry that maybe it is not just a robbery, but also vandals. I hope my aquarium is okay, while picturing 75 gallons of water on the floor and my fish flopping around.

The police dog and handler come out of the office and the handler and a sheriff from Jackson County converse. Th dog is cool to watch. He is totally focused on his job, standing at attention facing one way and then the other. He moves with military precision, never once wagging his tail and looking up at his handler with that little look my dogs get, hoping to get my attention and a scratch behind the ears.

The sheriffs allow us to enter, asking us to tell them anything that may be missing, and to please not touch anything. The outside door knob is bent clear over, the dead bolt is still engaged, and the door jamb has splintered and broke. A file/fire cabinet safe has been pried open and the petty cash box is missing. Everything else is undisturbed. The officer dusts for prints. Of course no one likes to have finger prints visible on surfaces in their homes and offices, so most of them, including this fire safe cabinet have a textured surface. Maybe the next safe should have a smooth surface.

As we calculate in our minds how long this may have taken from the time the door was breached until the thieving bastard escaped, we know it has to be someone who has been in this room before. What a creepy feeling.

Nothing else appears to be missing. All checks are accounted for. We cannot determine if any of the keys that are kept in that safe are missing, meaning locks must be changed. After the police leave, Gene gets busy, securing the premises. He screws things back into place so we can lock up and reset the alarm. As I watch him, I wonder what other women do, those that do not have husbands as handy and "take charge" as mine. We go home around 3:30. While I am disappointed and amazed that someone would break in, knowing there was an alarm, I also know that this has kept them from being able to take their time and steal much more.

When I go back in the morning, I am tired and in a really bad mood. I call a locksmith. I call all of the neighbors on our street, learning that many of them have had problems. We have also, gas being siphoned and such. Our neighbors next door tell us that rather than siphon gas, thieves were cutting their fuel lines. Gene gets to work, doing a permanent fix on the door. We consider completely replacing the frame, perhaps having one made in steel. Then we decide it will only cause a thief to have to be more destructive. I decide not to leave my laptop at work any more, to be better about exchanging my two backup drives, and implement a few other precautions, and then just try to move on.

Late that afternoon, we go to get some lunch/dinner and Kylie calls. She is due home the next day for Thanksgiving. She is crying and asks if she can come home that night. The question is ridiculous, because she can come home any time - then she tells me about her boyfriend's uncle, who has a wife and two small children. He has had a heart attack and recovery is not looking likely - and I am reminded of what is important.

I love this man!

Last Friday we helped Kylie move. Now our policy is one move per child, and truth be told, we still owe her sister a move, but Gene was worried about Ky coming down to get a pickup and having to move in the rain, so we hooked up our covered trailer, got up at 3 am, and headed for Eugene at 4am.

As I dozed off near Grants Pass I heard, "Oh, s#*t, I just lost the lights!"

We pulled over and he checked, and the plug had come out, dragged along the pavement and was destroyed. What to do now?

We drove into Grants Pass, hoping that their Super Walmart was open 24 hours. Yeah! It was. We bought a new plug and wire cutters, pulled under a light in the parking lot and in the rain, at 4:30 am, we fixed the plug and continued to Eugene.

We helped the kids move their furniture, and took them shopping, buying a little computer desk and a small dining table. The new apartment is cute and much larger and brighter. We also had Kylie’s car dropped off, to have the brake light fixed and an oil change. It took longer than expected because the wrong light bulb was sent to the repair shop, and to apologize, they did it all for FREE - thank you Meineke - you said you wanted to earn our business, and you succeeded.

That afternoon as we left Eugene, Gene looked at me and said, "I am always sad when we leave the Girls."

Karma or Justice!

This morning the alarm went off at 4:30, as usual. It has been easier getting up at that hour since I purchased a light alarm clock. It is pretty cool, it turns on and gets gradually brighter for 30 minutes, so I am in a lighter sleep mode when the actual alarm goes off, thereby making it easier to get up and exercise.

After the alarm went off, I heard a noise like a vacuum being run and wondered what had turned on in the house (it was that loud). When I went into the living room, I could see flashing lights behind the blinds. Upon opening them, I noticed a large truck with a big tank on it at the end of the road. At that location we had noticed a large pool of water extending into the street on Saturday. Gene had observed men checking out the situation on Sunday. And at 4:32 am Monday morning, it was being addressed, in a loud manner.

I took coffee back into the bedroom and told Gene, adding that I could not believe they would decide to repair that drain at 4:32 am, and that I bet the neighbors really appreciate it.

"I think it is great!", he replied.

"You do? Why!"

"Because it is right in front of the guy’s house who runs his race car!"

What can I say? When he is right, he is right!

Not one bloody ounce!

This past week I have exercised every day, tracked everything I ate, which included 5 fruits and veges every day, drank 8 glasses of water every day, and did not have a single bite of Halloween candy!

Proud of my will and determination, I stepped onto the scale at WW and viewed my results - my weight was the same - TO THE OUNCE!

Many people said that results - good or bad, sometimes take two weeks to show up on the scale - we will see.

In a Funk

I am in a funk as far as work goes right now. I just cannot get motivated to do the things I need to do. So then I procrastinate, and do all the little things that are not nearly as important. I get this way sometimes, and it seems to become more of a problem if I am dieting and exercising. It seems I cannot focus on two important areas of my life at once. If I work at one, the others fall down. Then I feel more overwhelmed, and I procrastinate even more. Then generally, I give up on the dieting and exercising, because I "have too much going on".

I know the first rule, when you have a large task is to just start. Me, I plan to start, thereby delaying the actual starting.

Of course, with procrastination comes guilt and disappointment, which do nothing to help any areas of my life.

So now I am going to:

1. Get right to work on the invoicing and then on AP.
2. At the end of the day, plans tomorrow mornings important tasks, so I can get right to work tomorrow AM.

Johnny Lingo's Eight-Cow Wife

I have always loved this story and wanted to share it (again) with those I love.

Johnny Lingo's Eight-Cow Wifeby Patricia McGerrCondensed from Woman's Day, November 1965Reader's Digest pp. 138-141, February 1988

When I sailed to Kiniwata, an island in the Pacific, I took along a notebook. After I got back it was filled with descriptions of flora and fauna, native customs and costumes. But the only note that still interests me is the one that says: "Johnny Lingo gave eight cows to Sarita's father." And I don't need to have it in writing. I'm reminded of it every time I see a woman belittling her husband or a wife withering under her husband's scorn. I want to say to them, "You should know why Johnny Lingo paid eight cows for his wife."

Johnny Lingo wasn't exactly his name. But that's what Shenkin, the manager of the guest house on Kiniwata called him. Shenkin was from Chicago and had a habit of Americanizing the names of the islanders. But Johnny was mentioned by many people in many connections. If I wanted to spend a few days on the neighboring island of Nurabandi, Johnny Lingo could put me up. If I wanted to fish, he could show me where the biting was best. If it was pearls I sought, he would bring me the best buys. The people of Kiniwata all spoke highly of Johnny Lingo. Yet when they spoke they smiled, and the smiles were slightly mocking.

"Get Johnny Lingo to help you find what you want and let him do the bargaining," advised Shenkin. "Johnny knows how to make a deal."

"Johnny Lingo!" A boy seated nearby hooted the name and rocked with laughter.

"What goes on?" I demanded. "Everybody tells me to get in touch with Johnny Lingo and then breaks up. Let me in on the Joke."

"Oh the people love to laugh," Shenkin said, shrugging. "Johnny's the brightest, the strongest young man in the islands. And for his age, the richest."

"But if he's all you say, what is there to laugh about?"

"Only one thing. Five months ago, at fall festival, Johnny came to Kiniwata and found himself a wife. He paid her father eight cows!"

I knew enough about island customs to be impressed. Two or three cows would buy a fair-to-middling wife, four of five a highly satisfactory one."Good Lord!" I said, "Eight cows! She must have beauty that takes your breath away."

"She's not ugly," he conceded, and smiled a little. "But the kindest could only call Sarita plain. Sam Karoo, her father, was afraid she'd be left on his hands."

"But then he got eight cows for her? Isn't that extraordinary?"

"Never been paid before."

"Yet you call Johnny's wife plain?"

"I said it would be kindness to call her plain. She was skinny. She walked with her shoulders hunched and her head ducked. She was scared of her own shadow."

"Well, I said, "I guess there's no accounting for love."

"True enough," agreed the man. "And that's why the villagers grin when they talk about Johnny. They get special satisfaction from the fact that the sharpest trader in the islands was bested by dull old Sam Karoo."

"But how?"

"No one knows and everyone wonders. All the cousins were urging Sam to ask for three cows and hold for two until he was sure Johnny'd pay only one. Then Johnny came to Sam Karoo and said 'Father of Sarita, I offer eight cows for your daughter.'"

"Eight cows," I murmured. "I'd like to meet this Johnny Lingo."

I wanted fish. I wanted pearls. So the next afternoon I beached my boat at Nurabandi. And I noticed as I asked directions to Johnny's house that his name brought no sly smile to the lips of his fellow Nurabandians. And when I met the slim, serious young man, when he welcomed me with grace to his home, I was glad that from his own people he had respect unmingled with mockery. We sat in his house and talked. Then he asked "You come here from Kiniwata?"

"Yes."

"They speak of me on that island?"

"They say there's nothing I might want that you can't help me get."

He smiled gently. "My wife is from Kiniwata."

"Yes, I know."

"They speak of her."

"A little."

"What do they say."

"Why, just...." The question caught me off balance. "They told me you were married at festival time."

"Nothing more?" The curve of his eyebrows told me he knew there had to be more.

"They also say the marriage settlement was eight cows." I paused. "They wonder why."

"They ask that?" His eyes lighted with pleasure. "Everyone in Kiniwata knows about the eight cows?"I nodded."And in Nurabandi everyone knows it too." His chest expanded with satisfaction. "Always and forever, when they speak of marriage settlements, it will be remembered that Johnny Lingo paid eight cows for Sarita."

So that's the answer, I thought: vanity.And then I saw her. I watched her enter the room to place flowers on the table. She stood a moment to smile at the young man beside me. Then she went swiftly out again. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The lift of her shoulders, the tilt of her chin, the sparkle of here eyes all spelled a pride to which no one could deny her the right.I turned back to Johnny Lingo and found him looking at me.

"You admire her?" he murmured.

"She...she's glorious. But she's not Sarita from Kiniwata," I said.

"There's only one Sarita. Perhaps she does not look the way they say she looked in Kiniwata."

"She doesn't. I heard she was homely. They all make fun of you because you let yourself be cheated by Sam Karoo."

"You think eight cows were too many?" A smile slid over his lips.

"No. But how can she be so different?"

"Do you ever think," he asked, "what it must mean to a woman to know that her husband has settled on the lowest price for which she can be bought? An then later, when the women talk, they boast of what their husbands paid for them. One says four cows, another maybe six. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happen to my Sarita."

"Then you did this just to make your wife happy?"

"I wanted Sarita to be happy, yes. But I wanted more than that. You say she is different. This is true. Many things can change a woman. Things happen inside, things happen outside. But the thing that matters most is what she thinks of herself. In Kiniwata, Sarita believed she was worth nothing. Now she knows she is worth more than any other woman in the islands."

"Then you wanted--"

"I wanted to marry Sarita. I loved her and no other woman."

"But--" I was close to understanding.

"But," he finished softly, "I wanted an eight-cow wife."

One Percent

I recently read an article in Parade Magazine which I thought very motivating and inspirational.
The article basically says that what we consider "normal" aging is not normal at all - our bodies are designed to age slowly and remarkably well. Most of what we see and fear is decay - and decay is a choice. Most aging is just dry rot we program into our cells by sedentary living, junk food and stress. We can live out our life in a powerful, healthy body if we are willing to put in the work

Most cells in our body regenerate every 1 to 90 days. About 1% of our cells are replaced each day and every 100 days we essentially have a new body. Based upon how we live today, the cells that are regenerated will either be programmed for decay (conservation of energy) or growth (activity). We choose whether those new cells come in stronger or weaker. We choose whether they grow or decay each day from then on. Our cells do not care which choice we make - they just follow the direction we send.

Cells are programmed to become strong in Spring, when food abounds and there are calories to fuel hungry muscles. In Winter, when calories disappear, surviving starvation is the key, so the cells are programmed to decay. But food is not the controlling signal - movement is.

The other signal - equal and in some respects more important is emotion. Emotions change our cells through the same molecular pathway as exercise.

Deep in our cells, down at the level of molecular genetics, we are wired to exercise and to care.
Anyway - I thought the article was great and am looking forward to my "new body". I also think this is why it takes about 3 months to develop the habit of exercise. So far it is a chore I drag myself up to do each day, so I am hoping after my 100 days, my new cells are more "pumped" for exercise.

Here is the link for the entire article:
http://parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_03-18-2007/Make_Body_Younger

Competition - Sister Style

This weekend my sister, Carole, called me and proposed a contest. Whichever one of us loses the most weight through the holiday season, the other springs for a pedicure. Her hope is to inspire each of us to lose rather than gain weight through the challenging holidays. My hope is to WIN!!! (But since she is my sister, I hope I only beat her by a pound or two).

Now on the one hand, I am a bit competitive, and think, no problemo. However, when it come to determination - I cannot hold a candle to my sister. When she makes up her mind, she is so incredibly determined and dare I say, stubborn. I have seen her lose good amounts a weight. The most weight I have ever lost is 17 lbs - and it found me again! So if I am going to compete with Carole - I am really going to have to compete!

I did exercise Saturday and then did 3 hours of housework. I was careful not to overeat this weekend. And my reward - I gained 2 lbs!!!!

At any rate, I exercised again today (exercycle 30 minutes; weight training 15) . I had been alternating weight training (legs, butt, abs, lower back one day and arms, shoulders, chest and upper back the next), but I have been also wanting to do yoga. So I am going to do all the weight training on one day, and do yoga the next.

So, Carole, I love you dearly and wish you success, but I am really going to enjoy it when the girl is massaging my feet and calves and you are massaging your credit card!!!

Courage or something like that....

I went to WW last night (for the first time in three weeks). It was nice to get back and as always, Tammy and I had an enjoyable evening. She is so positive - she is truly a blessing to be around.

Anyway, our esteemed leader reminded me that this was my last Silver (6 month) membership, which expires on December 31 - because I had boldly stated in July when I purchased it, that I would be at goal by the end of the year. So to that end I have lost - what! - I have gained 3 lbs! Now to make my statement a reality, I will have to lose 3.77 lbs per week, for the next nine weeks - yes I am 34 lbs away.

Now I know it is not realistic to think that I can lose that much weight before the end of the year - and probably not that good for my body. But how close can I come? What goal should I set? Am I setting myself up for failure if I have too ambitious a goal - will it DIScourage me rather than ENcourage me? As I write this I notice that both of those words have COURAGE for a root word. Do I have the COURAGE to push ahead and try to achieve this goal? Is it courage I need, or motivation, or discipline, or something I have not yet defined?

So what I am endeavoring to do is to see just how much weight I can lose, while maintaining healthly principles. My assignment is to:

1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day - slosh, slosh, slosh.
2. Buy some of the WW 0 points soups to eat.
3. Limit myself to just the 22 points per day and not eat any of the extra 35 weekly points allowed (she writes as she sips her coffee with a generous splash of French Vanilla Coffeemate)
4. Exercise - cycle 30 min 6x/wk; weight train 4x/wk; yoga 4x/wk; walk every afternoon; meditate daily
5. Read my Weight Loss Advantages card at least twice each day.
6. Receive encouragement

And your assignment, my beloved friends, is to provide encouragement and support.

"On three. One, two, three - Just Do It!"

My first Blog (here)

I thought I would start a blog that is a bit more accessible. I have one on AOL, but thought this would work better and my firend Mandy has one and I always love reading hers.