Renewed energy

It's amazing what a good colon flush will do. Oh...and in case you were worried and missed the news, colonoscopy was clear for polyps and cancer, but I have diverticulosis. When he told me this, my first thought was "Shit, that means no more Big Macs because of the seeds on the bun!" But I did some reading, and diverticulosis is just the pockets in the colon wall, and the newest treatments don't forbid nuts and seeds...just recommend a very high fiber diet. If it turns into diverticulitis (where it gets infected and inflamed), THEN I may have to give up the Big Macs, but only about 10-20% of people with diverticulosis develop diverticulitis.

Anyway. enough about my sparkly clean colon. Actually, this is about weight loss. And while I'm not going to start again until after the 1st, I *do* have renewed energy for that. Watching the Biggest Loser season finale has made me want to start a competition...so I am. Because I do what I want and no one can tell me otherwise. Hence my weight problem (actually, this is only part of the reason, but it IS part of it--more on that later).

Here's the challenge: Get a group of friends with no specific connections, but we all want to lose weight. Break into teams, and see who can lose the most! That's it. So far, there are about 6 of us, I think? I guess that means the teams are out...we skip right to individual competition. And I doubt we will do eliminations, because I'd rather all of us stick it out to the end and lose as much as possible. Unless we have an At-Home winner...which is pointless, because we are all "at-home" already. Oh...and we certainly won't have a quarter of a million dollar prize, because none of us are rich. In fact, right now, there is no prize. Anyone out there on the interwebs that cares to rectify that, let me know. Competing for bragging rights is nice. Competing for stuff is better. ;o)

And just so my competition knows what they are up against, I'm gonna lay out my plan, here and now. *insert determined face here*

-30 minutes a day of a work out DVD, EVERYDAY. Sorry, DH and furbabies, but unless you want to do it with me, this means I go in the guest room, close the door, and work out. You will just have to suffer without me.
-3 days a week, we will add a 3 mile walk to that. Again, sorry, DH, but stuff needs to change, and we can't live our life in front of the TV. Come with me if you want to spend time together.
-Follow WW points. I did 75 days straight, I can do it again. And again. And again. I already know I have a few challenging days in there (Disney trip), but I did it once, so it's possible.

Since it's a competition, and I want to be fair, I will forgo the alli. Not everyone is ABLE to take it, much less willing (though, really, I have never had any of the major "treatment effects" listed), so it wouldn't be right for me to do that. This contest is about weight loss, but it's also about doing it right...diet, exercise, and confronting demons.

Speaking of which, I mentioned that part of my problem was that I do what I want. This is something I learned about myself from reading IE. While I don't follow the principles much anymore, it was good for some self reflection. There are many times where my way of pushing back is to do the opposite of what someone tells me to do. So if someone says "You really should get some exercise," I tell myself "Fuck you. I'm not doing that because you want me to," even when in reality, I probably would have done at least SOMETHING. Same goes for food. "You should eat this apple," turns into "Screw that! I'm going to eat this whole package of cookies instead!" So yeah, I have issues. I recognize them. I just don't know how to change them. Which brings me to my last part of my plan: counseling. Actually, I'm still a little iffy about this part, but it has crossed my mind, and the time might be right to do it. Obviously, I've lost the weight before. The fact that I have regained it says that there is a problem somewhere that needs to be addressed.

I imagine there will be lots of tears over the next 5-6 months. Hopefully, at least a few are from my fellow competitors when I blow them out of the water. :o)

'Tis the season for colon cleansing and shopping.

Any medical procedure where you purposely give yourself diarrhea is stupid.Made even more so by the fact that all I can eat on Sunday will be jello, gatorade, sprite and broth. For anyone that knows me, when I don't eat, I'm a bitch. Well, I'm a bitch anyway, but take away my food, and it's worse.

I have come to that time in my life where I had to insist on a colonoscopy. Yes, I know I'm still considered young for getting one. Welcome to what I like to call my gene cess-pool. Both my grandfather and uncle were diagnosed with colon cancer at 33. One of my cousins had pre-cancerous polyps at 25-ish. So yeah, I'm not playing around. Monday, I go in for the test. I don't expect any issues or anything, but I wanted to get it done and over with. 90% of the people that I tell this to think I'm insane. I probably am. But when it comes to colon cancer, I don't play around.

That's really all that has been going on for the last week or so. We had Thanksgiving...where people don't know when it's time to leave, then I've been back at work and super busy. I have 2 more weeks before my Christmas break at work, then I'm heading to TX (I think...this *could* change based on some recent developments) for the first week of the break, and Disney for the 2nd week. Very excited, a little stressed.

All of my Oz Fundraiser donations have posted and I have 28% of my fundraising done! I was just given another donation yesterday that needs to be submitted as well. Plus, I'm about to submit all the Tastefully Simple orders (finally...no thanks to my consultant), which should give me about an extra $1 or 2. Honestly, I'm regretting that whole thing. The consultant has been less than interested, and I'm doing more work than I would have if I had just signed up as a consultant again myself. But, such is life and lesson learned. I'll close out the party this weekend and be done with it.

I did set up a "shopping club" account thing. I got the idea from another walker. It's not working quite like I thought it would, but if people are willing (and remember to go through there), it could make a few extra bucks toward my goal. And $5 here and there add up! Here are the deets:

Click here. Once you get to the site, create a free account. It should list me as the referrer (I think it assigns a number, so just leave whatever number is in there). Browse the list of stores, and when you find one, click on it. It will pop up a message, and then open a new tab/window for your store. Shop til you drop, and you will get the stated percentage back from your purchases...and my account will get half of that to be used as a donation! They have an actual "for Charities" account, but that one costs about $30, so while I'm considering setting it up, I haven't decided yet. We'll see how things go. But this is a great way to do the last of your Christmas shopping! It costs you nothing extra to set it up...and YOU will get cash back as well! It's really win-win.

With the craziness of the next few weeks, I'm not sure how much I'll be posting, but I'm sure I will a few times. In case you miss it, though...Merry Christmas and a Fantabulous New Year!

The Origin of the infamous Green Bean Casserole

It's a southern staple at Thanksgiving. Green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and Durkee fried onions. It has been attributed to Dorcas Reilly of the Campbell's Kitchen, but none of the "official" links ever seem to be working. And when searching the Campbell's site for "Dorcas" nothing comes up. And that's when I realized Dorcas is very close to Dorkus...and probably made up.If you can find a WORKING link at Campbell's itself...not Wiki or someone else's blog...please send it along.

Until then, here is where *I* think the nasty shit infamous green bean casserole came from.

(cut to 4 southern women playing bridge while the men are watching football and talking about raking leaves on Thanksgiving Day)

SW1: Has anyone checked the turkey lately?

SW2: No. Perhaps I should do that while refilling my sweet tea?

(SW2 gets up to refill tea, starting with a splash of bourbon, checks turkey, and peeks at the rest of the food)

SW2: Goodness gracious! The green beans are over cooked! With all this starchy food, we simply MUST have a vegetable! Whatever will we do??

SW3: Don't you fret your pretty little head! We will see what we have around the house! There simply MUST be something we can do with them.

(SW3 checks cabinets)

SW3: Well, would you look at that! We have Cream of Mushroom Soup and fake fried onions. We can use the soup to add some flavor since it was all cooked out and use the fake fried onions to replace the crunch that should have been from the beans! No one will know the difference!

And THAT is how green bean casserole REALLY came to be.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy whatever you choose to eat!

Break time!

Phew! What a week!

2 of my 3 favorite aunts came to visit last weekend. They flew in from DC on Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. We shopped, shopped some more, and ate. I have been off WW for exactly 7 days, though I have made a FEW good choices in there. I don't entirely blame them...TOM was also in town, and so I just basically took the week off. WI day is Saturday, so I will be hopping back on the wagon then. I'm not entirely unhappy about this...I think I needed the mental break with everything going on.

Before they arrived, however, we had some effects of the hurricane...rain and some wind. Unfortunately, some of that rain made its way into our house on Tueday...the night before visitors and 3 nights before our housewarming party. STRESS! Luckily, it wasn't major damage, but it was still frustrating. The insurance adjuster came out yesterday to check things out. No storm damage to the roof, but when they built the house, the morons didn't fill their toe-board holes. *Sigh* Looks like DH will be climbing up there to do it, since the insurance won't cover THAT little gem...but they will cover the inside damage. Waiting on final numbers now, but really not so optimistic that it will be worth it.

Housewarming was Friday night. Went reasonably well, with a few stressors, but most seemed to have a good time and everyone liked the house. Got a few Tastefully Simple orders, and waiting until payday for a few more. Right now, it looks like that will be a $15-20 donation. Every little bit helps!

After the housewarming, it was time to focus all of my energy on Oz...and that was a GREAT night! We ended up with about 29 people that came out, including 3 awesome women that go to the same gym I do. I had put up a flyer there, and they skipped their spin class to support the walk. We talked for quite awhile, and I hope that they will consider walking with me this year. They said they had been considering it for awhile. I'll work on them some more. :o) They asked me to make sure I tell them when I do another event and they will bring more people. Not a huge number of bidders in the silent auction, but those that did really were awesome. In total for the night, including the 20% from Oz, the silent auction bids and a few extra donations I received, it was a $350 night! It was mostly checks, so it's not showing up on my link just yet (they take 4 weeks to post), but I'm THRILLED! I had hoped for $500, but I knew it was a long shot. I still have 1 item that didn't get any bids...probably my own fault. The Rack Room gift card thing (free pair of shoes up to $50) came in an envelope...and I didn't pull it out to show it. I was in a hurry and got sidetracked. Such is life, and now I have a head start on my next auction/raffle.

The one disappointment is that someone stole part of the Rita's bucket. :o( It had the bucket with a letter to get a free gallon of water ice, and 2 coupons for free regular size ices. Some jerkwad took the 2 coupons out. I was sitting where I could keep an eye on things, because I was afraid the Taco Mac GC would "walk away"...but I never saw anyone by the table, except for one family with 3 kids that were in teh booth that was next to it. I am guessing one of the kids took them. Upsetting, yes. Frustrating, very. End of the world, no. I think I'll donate $10 to myself and drown my sorrows in a bucket of Black Cherry Italian ice.

I have a test this week in my math class. Thank god the semester is almost over. Finals are the week of Dec. 8, so only 1 more week of class. I'm HATING this whole thing and really leaning toward saying screw it and just not taking any more classes. I have never wanted my masters. Hell, I never really wanted a bachelors, but my mom made me start, and when I tried to quit in my Junior year, I realized you can get a much better job with a degree, so I went back and finished. I'm only doing this now because it's free. And really, who am I to pass up a bargain like that? But it's really not free. I have to pay for books, and I'll have to pay for the GMATs at some point, and there is the time...the most expensive part. Maybe it's just this semester with the required 3 hours of lab time that makes no sense to me. Why force me to do my homework on YOUR schedule? So I'm hoping next semester is better...one night a week of class, and no lab requirements. I can do my homework when and where I choose. Of course, I'm taking Econ, which I hate, so it may still be a struggle to find motivation.

And finally, I was going to take a break from my hard-core fundraising until after the first of the year. I'm tired, and the holidays are hard enough...plus as it is, people are asking for money left and right this time of year. But then I got the idea for a Poker Tournament...so now I'm emailing people to get info about hosting one. Granted, it still won't be until after the first (in fact, I'm looking at March or April), but it means kicking some planning into gear again already! My preliminary thoughts are to have a ticketed event at a restaurant that will also donate a portion of sales (like Oz did...perhaps even AT Oz, because they said I was welcome to come back as often as I wanted!). I'm leaning toward $10 tickets, and prizes for the top 3 finishers...perhaps cash (taken from the ticket sales) or donated items, depending on what I can get. Since GA doesn't allow buy-ins, that's where the tickets come into play. But I'm not sure about details, so I've emailed one place that specializes in poker fundraisers and one place locally that hosts poker nights at restaurants to see what they can give me. As plans develop, I will update. Right now, it's mostly an idea in the info-gathering stages.

I feel helpless.

I get to work this morning, and am checking my emails. I have one from one of my friends. I open it and my heart sinks.

She needs info on breast cancer because her best friend was just diagnosed.

She came to me because she knew I was doing the 3 Day. I hope I gave her enough. We live in different states, so what is available here may or may not be where she is, so my first thought was for her to call her local Komen office. They can give her the best and closest resources. I hope that I didn't make her feel like I was blowing her off. This was very much NOT my intention. I just wanted to let her get the fastest and most reliable information possible with the fewest steps between A and B...and me chit-chatting and giving all kinds of links that may or may not be appropriate wasn't going to help her get what she needed at the time.

But also, when I opened that email, I realized that THIS is why I walk. I have been very lucky. I did have a "scare" of sorts, but it was 6 months after a breast reduction, so while we acted quickly anyway, everyone (me, the doctors, the surgeon, family) were all fairly certain it was just scar tissue creating a lump. I had the lump removed, and it was in fact, scar tissue. There were still a few scary times in there, though. The "what-ifs" crept in.

Based on the age of my friend, I'm assuming her friend is also close to my age. It's scary to think that this could happen to someone in their 30's. It used to be you heard about it mostly in older women. When I was at the Pink Out events, there was a woman there...27. She was diagnosed and treated while pregnant. I can't fathom. Breast cancer is hitting younger and younger.

I will do everything I can so no one has to send an email like my friend did this morning. 60 miles is nothing compared to what these women and men (yes, men can get breast cancer) go through.

My head is spinning, but not in the fun, drunk kind of way

What a week! I feel like I haven't accomplished much, and yet, have gotten a lot done. Unfortunately, the to-do list keeps growing, which is probably why I feel like I'm not making any progress.

I managed to get a few more donations for Silent Auction items. I'll do the official list later today when I pick them up and can take pictures of a couple of them, but look for a Gift Bucket from Rita's Water Ice (YUM!!), a gift card from Rack Room Shoes and a Valencia coffee maker, that brews directly into 2 travel mugs. I still have a stop to make at Walmart, so cross your fingers, though I'm not hugely optimistic right now that it can be done in time. Books-a-Million also sounded promising when I was talking to the manager, but when I looked at their website, it said they needed 6 weeks lead time, and that donations couldn't be auctioned off or resold...so I didn't submit it.

Picked up a second gallon of paint for the dining room yesterday, too. We'll be painting either tonight or tomorrow. Most of today (after these morning errands when I finish my Venti Bold Non-Fat Cafe Misto with Sugar Free Caramel syrup) I'll be putting the guest rooms in order. One still has our last few straggling boxes that haven't been unpacked, and the other just needs some tidying up. The cats were feeling zen and a rock in the small zen garden was messing with their feng-shui, so they took it out. Honestly, I'm surprised that's all they did and I don't have sand everywhere.

This week I still need to get the rest of the food for the housewarming party. I'm also in a baking mood, completely unrelated, so I may make some flourless peanut butter cookies and maybe even some Heath Bark (that's not baking...but it's in the kitchen. It counts).Sadly, I will probably eat at least some of everything I make.

I entered a new "decade" today with my half pound loss, bringing my total to 15 pounds! I've been very cyclical with my losses. Before I even checked the calender, I knew it was almost time for TOM to rear his ugly head again. Those are the weeks I lose .5. I have been slacking on the workouts still, unfortunately. I did my first real-world (not on a treadmill) on Monday, and my knees have been KILLING me ever since. Just normal walking is painful. So I think the C25K is going to be abandoned and I'll just start walking instead. It's still really early for my training, but it's not like that will hurt anything. I may give C25K another shot after I lose some more weight. I'm thinking the extra that I carry around doesn't help matters.

I also spent most of the week feeling like I'm coming down with a sinus something. I've managed to skip it for the last 2 years or so, but it's catching up to me. So far, I'm just a little stuffy, and some occasional coughing and sneezing. I'm trying to fend it off with extra rest. Or just passing out on the couch at 9pm like I did last night.

Well, time to get moving and pick up these prizes! I'll update the original post later on today!

3 Day Summary to date!

I realized I have a bunch of stuff going on for the 3 Day, but it's all spread out every which way. In an effort to consolidate, here is what I have going on so far:

Fundraising: 
Goal: $2500
To Date: $200
Remaining: $2300

Ways to donate:
Directly to my 3 Day page 
Purchase Scooting Toward a Cure item
Bid on Silent Auction items
Purchase Tastefully Simple products (enter Lillian Winfrey as the host, otherwise it won't count)
Come to Oz Pizza in Fairburn on Nov. 17 between 4pm and 10pm and dine in.
Tell your friends--even if you can't, someone else might!

I just sent out an email "blast" earlier today from my 3 Day participant center. If you didn't get one, I don't have your email. If you want one, shoot me a message. Comments are moderated, so you can leave your address in a comment, and I won't post it, but will send the note on to you.

Training:
I'm still plugging along at the C25K. I had a hectic week last week, so I wasn't able to get my workouts in, but I started up again last night. I used Nicole's 1.1 podcast, and it was great. Even when I didn't want to run anymore, the music was so good, I had to! I did skip 2 of the 8 running segments (1 minute each), but that puts me back where I was 2 weeks ago when I last did it anyway...and I'm ok with repeating a week. Unfortunately, this was my first run "on the streets" (as opposed to a treadmill) and I'm feeling it in my knees today. Considering a walk after work to try to loosen them up some, but weighing that against just resting them for tomorrow's run. Oh, and my reflective vest that I won at a Scooter/Motorcycle event awhile back? Yeah....it sucks. Big time. It wouldn't stay strapped down (D ring style side things). That is being added to the list. I spent more time messing with it than enjoying the nice cold weather that made it so I didn't have sweat dripping in my eyes.

Miscellaneous:
I'm starting a shopping/Christmas list. So far, here it is:
-sleeping bag--mine is a junior size. I'm not.
-sport water bottle with a straw--I have the Camelback back pack thing, but the lack of ice available last time made for some NASTY drinking, so I'm going smaller this time.
-some sort of inflatable mattress (I have heard pool floats work well!)
-Eddie Bauer hiking fanny pack with a spot for water bottle. All good reviews from other walkers.
-Reflective running tops--see above.

That's it so far. I'm sure the list will grow exponentially between now and October.

I'm still looking to do some "canning" (stand outside Walmart or Kroger and collect donations) and I have a pretty nice banner I got and some silicon rings (instead of bracelets) that will be given out for donations, but I haven't found the time to do this yet. Well, that, and the Kroger Manager hasn't responded to me yet about the 3 dates I asked for there. But choosing dates right now is tough with all of the above going on.

Oh, and the radio spot that was supposed to air? Still hasn't, but I was up early this past Sunday (stupid time change) and so I tuned in. They did a spot on Tutus for Tatas, who Adam had told me when I was there that he had interviewed...so I'm thinking they are just a couple weeks behind and mine might still be in the works. I have every intention of listening for it and recording it to be posted everywhere!

I think that covers everything I've got so far. I'm hoping for some great news from the email blast over the next few days!