The Near Attack of the 100 lb. Raccoon

So I'm taking this working out and weight loss thing pretty seriously... last night I decided to go six miles at about 7 p.m. and it was dusk, so I knew it would be pretty dark during parts of my walk. Got passed by two runners (boo hiss) and then encountered a very smelly dead animal (not sure of it's identity) on the sidewalk... yuck. On the march back there is a part of the sidewalk that is very dense with trees and bushes. I was making a pretty good pace and getting my "second wind" when I heard something move in front of me. Oh, it's just a cat I thought to myself and proceeded to walk toward it. The "cat" then growled like a freakin' sabertooth tiger and lunged toward me -- this thing was huge! I ran (f-a-s-t) to the other side of the street and realized that the "cat" was a ginormous raccoon, probably rabid, probably hungry for a sweaty, unshaven bite of leg. Nice.

Anyway, I survived. 1 hr 34 minutes. 14:35 average miles and burned 692 calories. Woo hoo!

Hold Me To It

Well, this week began the real, bare-knuckles, actually-try-to-really-stick-to it-for-once exercise and weight-loss program. Sunday night I left Michelle and David's after dinner and did 2 miles jogging and walking intervals back home. Average 14:27 per mile and burned 257 calories. Tonight we had a heck of a workout at bootcamp; serious legs followed by serious arms. I was completely jell-o by the time we got to the 100 abs we had to do to complete the hour. I went to my new doctor this morning (she's great!) and she had some bloodwork done and gave me a tetanus shot. Food today was 1/2 cup coffee, my vitamins, lunch of soup and multi-grain bread with one Pepsi (I can't help it!), a tiny bit of rotisserie chicken for dinner... oh, and 2 Mr. Goodbar minis from Connie's desk at 3 p.m. (she's going to kill this thing with all the crap she keeps at the office). Drank lots of water today and I can't believe I'm going to put this on here, but I think it was be an incentive -- weight this morning was 141.5. So, it's actually 11.5 pounds I need to lose not 10.
On a not so good note, a girl from bootcamp was diagnosed late last week with lung and throat cancer. She's a mom, 35, stunningly beautiful and sweet, works out 5 times a week, has never smoked in her life. What the hell? Cyndi you are in our thoughts and prayers!

The Lazy Daze of Summer

Today started out with the kids on their bikes in the driveway... Jason was out for his run and I was sitting out front drinking my coffee and reading the paper. This has become somewhat of a weekly ritual and I absolutely love it. I can see the bay from my seat and the water was like glass this morning.
At 9:30 we received the call we were expecting, changed into bathing suits and went to Siesta to pick up Jason. We took a dip in the Gulf and the made a sandcastle... we were all back home by noon, pink from the sun and trailing soft, white sand everywhere. Oh, well. We're used to it. (There's a makeshift beach in our backyard).
The big news of the day is Little Miss Determination conquering her bicycle. Bryce never liked riding her bike because she couldn't quite get the hang of pushing the pedals. Riding a bike for her amounted to us pushing her up and down the driveway or leaving her sitting on the seat crying because she couldn't go anywhere.
Finally, today a light bulb went off and she's been circling the pool on her bike for the past 20 minutes. She is very proud of herself and the determination I saw in her today was pretty darned amazing. Now I can't seem to get her off of it. Of course, I would ride forever if I had a princess bicycle with white tires, too.

5 Miles at Dusk

Did 5 slow n' easy miles tonight. No watch. No sweating. Just walking, breathing and taking it all in. I don't know how many calories burned, but it was a great de-stressor.

The Worst of Times Brings out the Worst in People

Yesterday my Mom's condo got broken into. Some loser(s) took some of her jewerly, a photo printer, but worst of all her debit card and lots of personal paperwork including her social security card. To boot, they were dumb enough to go around the corner to Publix and try to use her debit card a few minutes later. Hope they got the pissants on camera. Just this past couple of weeks the house next to our shop was burgularized and on Monday night (Labor Day) the house next door to us was broken into. To boot, we had a TON of people over that day and none of us saw anything.

We've had materials stolen from the shop, saws and other equipment stolen from job sites... scrap metal taken. When will it end? I have never seen such ridiculous desperation. It's a sad state when every time you turn around you find something missing and you feel completely violated.

Well, my new stance is to take the defensive position and we're going full board as security freaks starting right now.

High School Memories

Tonight we had a great planning meeting for our 20th high school reunion next summer. I love getting back together with these guys... it's so easy to be around people who know you so well. Every time we get together there are a slew of new, hilarious stories that come out... one person remembering that she offered sex to her then boyfriend (a classmate) and was declined, another giving incarceration details about one of our 'state champion' athletes.

Among all the laughter and me yelling at my kid, we actually got a lot done and I think we got everyone excited about what is in store for us that weekend. Actually, all Christa and I want is for some people to pick up the reins and really help us out.

Even though I am already freaked out about how much work we have ahead of us, I am so excited to see everyone again for the event and re-live some of those ridiculous moments and memories. I was thinking that I should post some pics from high school. But on second thought, maybe not.

Labor Day Fun & Frolic

I can't believe I didn't break out the camera today because there were a bunch of cute kids here having fun together, while the adults had just as much fun. The Kotters, the Rileys, the Youngs, the Blancos and Michelle & Melissa's Mom, Brenda all came over for a cookout of pork tenderloin on the BBQ and lots of other delicious stuff. Everyone had kid(s) in tow, so there were EIGHT kids in total. It seems like all had a blast and I'd wager that every single one of the kids are completely and totally pooped out like mine are right now. Jake and Bryce practically fell asleep in the bathtub.

Christa and I were talking about how great it is to have people with kids over to have them entertain each other. Kind of takes the pressure off Mom and Dad. And can I say that I love not having to worry about my kids as much since they can swim. That is super cool. Of course, I do have to say that I was caught completely off-guard when little 1-year-old Joachim decided to take off in the pool while I sat on the edge with Brenda. Duh. How quickly we forget. The last three day weekend of the summer was good one. I will welcome fall with open arms, though, as it's too freakin' hot outside.