Weekend Update

This weekend turned out to be a rainy one. I worked at the tennis club last night and this morning. By the time I left work it was full on rain so my tennis match was cancelled. Just as well, I was in the mood for a day of nothingness.

I will call this week a success. I have been picking up lots of hours at job number two which really messes with my beauty sleep but in spite of it I have managed to keep on my schedule at the gym of which I am quite proud. I got in several low mileage runs and even a few strength workouts which is a relatively new thing for me. I tend to get in an all or nothing mode with training. All swimming all the time or no swimming none of the time. All running all of the time or no running none of the time. You get the idea. Mixing and matching workouts always has been tough because I tend to go all in and obsess over the sport of the moment.

The strength training is huge for me because I actually did it on my own. Yes, I can be a freakish wallflower and worry entirely too much about what people think. Well, I must not worry all that much because at 5:30 in the morning I arrive at the gym with no makeup, puffy eyes from not enough sleep and a bondi band to sop up the sweat. Occasionally, I will actually wipe any mascara smudges from underneath my eyes and I always brush my teeth; however, that is the extent of my going-to-the-gym prep. I paint a pretty picture, don't I? I worry that I am not using the machines correctly or that someone will think I have no business on "that side" of the gym with all the beefy people. So ridiculous but that is what resides in my head. A confidence issue, clearly.

So this week, I was determined to get the strength thing going again. Boot camp no longer fits in my financial picture so I can either be bummed about it or move on and do my own thing. Who needs someone telling you what to do at 5:30 in the morning anyhow?

At my gym, the equipment is organized by body part so it makes it extremely easy. I just decided to pick a row of machines each day for three days and then finish off each session with an easy run. Chest/Shoulders/Back, Legs and then Arms. So far so good. It really wasn't the big deal I had made it out to be in my head (and isn't that always the way?). As a bonus, this definitely will help in my preparation for the Warrior Dash!

Given the cancellation of my tennis match, I had plenty of time for purging my hoard of useless items. At one point, Rick came upstairs to ask me if I would put my biofreeze on his arm and immediately changed his mind for fear that if I stopped to assist him I might never go back upstairs again to finish the project. I told you he would be thrilled. I got rid of so much today but I don't even feel like I put a dent in it. This may have to be one of those things where I power purge for one hour every day until it is done. Even the little bit I got done today felt very cleansing to my soul :)

I will leave you with some pics from my birthday dinner at the Blue Willow Inn last weekend. The house is a turn of the century mansion where apparently Margaret Mitchell (the author of Gone With the Wind) frequently visited. I am sure when she visited it was someone's residence and not the buffet it is today. Disgusting amounts of food but incredibly southern and incredibly delicious. The word on the street is that when Helmut Kohl, the former chancellor of Germany, ate at the Blue Willow he refilled his plate FIVE times with the fried green tomatoes. It is THAT good.

We had freakishly cold temperatures the week prior to our visit. Normally, temps are in the 40s and 50s but that week it was mostly the 20s thus the frozen fountain. Pretty cool - - so to speak.



A few pictures of the house which to my joy was still decorated for Christmas.







and my usual dinner companions... my sister Amy, nephew Hunter and niece Hollie. Not pictured but also in attendance were my Dad and Rita. H & H are too cute for words, but I may be a little biased. :)







Avert your eyes if the sight of a plate filled with excessive amounts of fatty yet disturbingly delicious food is too much for you to bear. You have been warned.



Shortly after this visit I vowed to visit the gym at minimum of 5 times a week and developed an addicition to yogurt and all things light and healthy. Coincidence? I think not.