How Did I Get Here? & Month End Stats

Ever get one of those quiet reflective moments that you are sitting there and wondering WTF happened to bring you to this point? That was me this morning at 5:45AM waiting for the Pilates Reformer Class. I will admit that I wasn’t feeling like my usual self and thus, I guess I wasn’t on auto-pilot.  I found myself in a reflective mood.

Photo- Diane Ross eat your heart out.  It's Ollie in drag!

I’m quietly sitting waiting in my frigid car in front of the pilates studio and attempting to think warm thoughts. The car heater hasn’t really been working since this latest cold snap and I’ve been meaning to check out to see if it’s just the anti-freeze that needs topping off. (I hope that’s all.) But I’ve been too busy to get it checked out and I’m not mechanically inclined at all. So, here I am freezing my butt off.


Just as my teeth are about to chatter, a car pulls up in the next parking stall. It’s another gal that’s in the pilates class with me. She’s sitting in her less than one year old shiny silver gray with black four door sedan Cooper with tunes and probably a heater that works. Meanwhile, I can't help but think about all of the steps that have led me to be sitting here in a freezing 11 year old scratched and dented (small dents & scratches from leaning my bike on it) silver station wagon that looks like I live out of it. Not that I’m jealous of the situation. I could be sitting there in a newer heated car if I chose to be. But it’s kind of strange that I’m relatively happy sitting here freezing in the old car that has me perplexed. What happened along the way that made me okay with that? Hmmm… Did I have a few screws that came loose along the way?!?


The more I thought; the more I found myself comparing...  I bet she lives in a cute little house with a spoiled cat or a springy young dog that loves to run. Meanwhile, I live in a one bedroom apartment that doesn't allow pets where most days my living room serves as a painting studio which leaves me inclined not to invite guests in. She probably has a productive job that she enjoys and she’s good at it too. Meanwhile, I’m passing the time as a lowly secretary/receptionist that answers phones and sometimes back talks to my boss. I really should be fired but for some reason I’m not. I will admit that my work is not fulfilling but I’ve reached a point where that’s not what I’m looking for. I opted out years ago to settle for an 8-5 type of steady job and I’m okay with that.  Not all of what I AM or who I AM is my job like some people.  I would have to say that I’m everything BUT my job to a certain extent. But overall, I’m happy with my life. Not that I couldn’t use some changes but overall I’m happy.


The pilates studio opens its doors. We both get out of our cars to head in and I can’t help but compare myself.   Now, is this mentally unhealthy of me to do this? I don’t think so. I see it as a litmus test. And so the comparison continues… She’s a tall blonde slender and looks like she’s ready for to model for a layout in a yoga magazine. Her hair is in smooth ponytail with matching headband. She’s wearing a matching black jacket with long yoga pants and black sleek tennis shoes.


Here I am looking like I’m homeless and look like I HAVE been living in my car. I’m in an oversized fleece jacket with a mismatched hoodie and almost threadbare yoga capris. I’m wearing knee high shearling winter boots, fingerless colorfully striped knitted gloves from some third world country and have topped off the whole affair with a black & gray skull cap to cover my bed head hair that is in BAD need of a color dye. So, in another words I look like I was literally dragged out of bed from my car.


We walk in and she (Ms. Yoga Model) is all sunny “Good Morning!” Meanwhile, I mumble “good morn” as I’m consciously trying to tug my hat off so my hair isn’t sticking straight up. You see, I really had a time trying to drag myself out of bed this morning for some reason. Which is really not LIKE me at all but my lack of being “put together” this morning seems very obvious when I’m staggering in with Ms Yoga Model next to me.


It’s later after the pilates class as I’m heading home in my still frigid car that I think that there MUST be a few screws loose as I’m happily puttering home to shower and change for work.  But I will admit that I wasn't happy with the scale when I got home.  It had been almost two weeks since I've stepped on it and I found myself up by 3 lbs.  Ouch!  Yep, there's some things that I want to change.

November's Monthly Stats--
27.5 miles running
60 miles cycling
3hours 11 minutes on the elliptical
Read 2 THICK books this month (bringing to a total of 55 books for year)
and ...
I'm up to #95 on the 100 Salt Lake City Porches Painting Project.  To view the progress of the project you can click here.  Here's the latest...

"100 Salt Lake City Porches, No.95"; Oil on 12" x 12" Canvas

A Question of Sanity & An Update

It’s pouring rain outside this afternoon and I’m sitting at my desk at work. I’m staring outside watching our lawn guy mow the grass. And I can’t help but wonder at what point is a person considered insane or at the least eccentric?

It seems that the worse the weather is our lawn guy shows up to mow the lawn. I guess it’s a good thing we are not in tornado alley of the country. I can just imagine the wind whirling around him as he walks the mower along. Dorothy and Toto would have nothing on Marty and the lawnmower! I can imagine—“…I’ll get you my pretty and your weed whacker too!” LOL!


Last summer he even mowed the lawn once at 2AM in the morning. On that occasion he happened to report to the police about teenagers tagging the building across the way. I would have paid anything to see the police’s reaction to his story of…” I’m just out here at 2AM mowing the lawn! Nice night isn’t officer?”


But I will admit he keeps the lawn well maintained. He comes at a cheap price too, or so I’ve heard. AND I will admit, he’s also easy on the eyes. He’s all lean muscle. How can you complain but still it REALLY makes me wonder about his sanity. One of the guys just got back from helping loading a truck out back and complained that it was freezing outside and he was wearing more than our lawn guy, who is clad in a sleeveless muscle t-shirt and shorts. At the very least, I would classify him as a BIT eccentric.


AN UPDATE-
I’m up 1 lb. for the week. That means I’m back to having 9 lbs. to lose to my goal weight. I’ve been snacking at work. There’s been several birthday treats in the office of late. I do admit to getting a bit concerned with the cooler weather starting to approach that I’ll have a harder time losing weight because cycling season will be ending soon.

Some of the night rides that I do regularly have started to be shortened because of the earlier sunset times. I’ve been trying to catch as many of those rides as I am able. It’s just a matter of time when it’ll be just the treadmill and the elliptical machine between me and my weight. Though, I’ll probably throw in some snowshoeing time when the white stuff comes.

Old Navy + Me = Dangerous Territory

Sunday early evening, as I had dinner plans cancelled I found myself at the local Old Navy Store. I figured I would go in to get a cheap tube top. I needed something to wear while I have my henna tattoo applied at the end of this month. Yes, I didn’t own a strapless top I could use and thought I could pick up an el-cheap-o at Old Navy. I came out an hour and a half later spending almost $60. Can you say, “Oppppsss!”

I did manage to find the tube top for about $3. I also managed to find a pair of jeans, a sleeveless top, a floral tank, and a cute skirt. That’s the problem with going straight to the discount area at Old Navy. There are just TOO many bargains to be had and then the next thing I know I’m trying on this and that; followed by another this and that. AND before you know it the hanged section of “LOVE IT” is filled up. AH-OH! Then, I’m going through and try to narrow down everything that will make it over to the register with me. YIKES! This is dangerous and originally I just came in for a cheap tube top.


But on the fantastic side, I discovered I can fit rather snuggly in a pair of 12 jeans! Yahoo! I normally wear a 14. The jeans were on sale for $15. So, of course, I had to get a pair of them! Then I discovered that the large shirts that I usually get are too large. I go back and grab the medium and WOW! I’m fitting into medium shirts! How cool is this? This is making me feel really good till I try on a pair of 14 jeans in a different style and I can barely get them up my thighs. What’s up with that??!


I look more closely and discover they are mismarked. The clipped on tag says size 10, but all the stickers say size 14. Whew! That was a load off my mind because I was wondering if I was in a special twilight zone of the dressing room. Ooooo Spooky!  I go back to get another size 14 and discovered 4 other pairs that were marked the same way! I immediately grabbed a sales gal and showed her. I did it because I hated the idea of some other gal trying on a pair of mismarked jeans, and ended up with a bruised ego.


AND so, that’s how I went into Old Navy for one thing and came out spending almost $60. But I will say that I’ve improved! The last time I went into Old Navy I had spent $120. Thus, in the new math method:
Old Navy + Me = Dangerous Spending Territory!

My Bucket List...

 I've been thinking about it all this last week.  I've been adding and I still may have somethings to add over time.  There may be some crazy and different things that might surprise some you you, but then maybe not.  But this is what I came up with....
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1. Go canoeing


2. Go kayaking

3. Try rollerblading

4. Attend a traditional Greek Wedding (I mainly just want to see if they really do spit on the bride as she goes up the aisle.)

5. Get a henna tattoo

6. Go on a retreat that’s at least 4 days and at least 100 miles from home-- either spa or sports related.

7. Learn to speak Spanish

8. Brush up on my French

9. Write & Publish a book

10. Go horseback riding

11. Go whale watching

12. Try pole dancing (this might be dangerous due to my lack of coordination.)

13. See a Circque du Soleil Show in Vegas

14. Eat a meal prepared by a world class chef

15. Do a bit of stand up comedy

16. Cycle the diameter around Crater Lake & possibly Lake Tahoe too.

17. Make a difference in someone’s life. ( I see this as an on-going thing.)

18. Experience a nomad lifestyle for an extended time frame. (thinking possibly 2 years)

19. Visit all 50 states

20. Participate in the Burning Man

21. See the Northern Lights

22. See an Atlanta Braves Game

23. Go on an Alaskan Cruise

24. Visit some National Parks (not in Utah)

25. Go skinny dipping

26. Visit the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

27. Walk along the Coney Island Boardwalk

28. Take a tour of the Hershey Factory in Penn.

29. See the Grand Canyon

30. Visit Historic Williamsburg

31. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago & see American Gothic by Grant Wood in person

32. See the Cherry Blossoms of Washington D.C.

33. Cross the Golden Gate Bridge

34. See the Liberty Bell

35. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

36. Visit the Guggenheim Museum in NYC

37. Bake a French loaf of bread that’s not like a rock.

38. Visit a nudist colony

39. Kiss a complete male stranger & make it a good kiss!

40. Have several pieces of my artworks on sale & hanging in a professional gallery

41. Phrases I want to say before I die---

--- You can’t fire me, I quit!; --- A martini shaken not stirred. (Gold finger)

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I invite any feedback or comments you may have.

An Update & Rambo Part 5...

No change in the weight situation this week. I’ve been struggling with motivation this last week. Of course, it’s hard with the schedule I’ve been doing. Catching an early morning bike ride, going to work, catch an evening bike ride or workout at gym, then head home to work on a porch painting, and end the day with an hour of winding down time on the Nook ( I’ve got to turn the energy and brain down somehow.) I blame this all on my type A personality mother. (Just joking Mom!) If I was a true type A personality I would be studying for my Masters in some remote degree, learning at least two foreign languages, and have an immaculately kept apartment. Please never come to my apartment without proper warning because I have the hazmat team on standby at all time.

I’ve often been running through the fast food in between here and there. AND we all know that fast food is the anti-Christ of dieting! Especially when one is not fond of salads; but I’ve been trying to get the sandwich wrap things on the menus that are somewhat marginally lower in calories. Though, I tend to wonder about these wraps when you find a big glob of mayonnaise stuck in the middle of it.

My stitches are healing well. My whole calf area was looking pretty “knarley” (as a former college mate would say). There were all shades of purples, blues and greens that made it look like my calf had been used as a punching bag. The bruising was really showing up and it looked worse than the actual injury seemed to me. But as of today there’s just the lovely sickly yellow-greenish glow left. I’ve all ready been back on the bike, which will come as no surprise to any of you that know me as “Biker”. I rode Emigration and didn’t “pop” a stitch.

I was telling most of my fellow cyclists about the event. Tales of the doctor’s office where I refused to take the shot for the local pain deadening. The nurse hovered with the shot ready at a moment’s notice meanwhile the doctor is taking a brush to the wounded area to get the bike chain grease out and then he does the stitches. The whole time we are chatting along about cycling and a recent vacation trip he took to northern New York State where he cycled. It was as the doctor was washing his hands after the procedure that he looked over his shoulder and called me, “…one tough cookie.”

My fellow cyclists’ reactions upon hearing the story were “owing and ouching” and then comparing me to Rambo. In fact, one teased me that I was Rambo Part 5. Another teased me that my pain center of my brain went dead from a bike accident I had back in 2007. In that accident I face planted it while doing 20mph and was knocked unconscious for about 3 min.

Last night, I braved the same ride that I got these stitches from. I was ever so careful when I went by the intersection where I went down.  The scene of the crime still had a great deal of gravel but I managed this time to get to the “Brew” part of the “Bike & Brew” ride that’s put on by a member of my bike club (BCC). My good friend Doug who puts on the ride did however announce at the beginning of the ride that I was a safety hazard and I should be avoided. Talk about adding insult to injury! I, of course, took it all in stride.

Mowing the Lawn at 2AM?!?!?

Just when I think I’ve heard it all; I hear this tale from a co-worker...

His son is mowing the lawn last night. As a side note: here at my work they subcontract mowing the lawn out; most times to a relative of one of the employees. I should also tell you of the graffiti that is happening on a white wall across the light rail tracks near my work. It’s an on-going problem, and at one time there was a wonderful mural in the place of the white wall. But due to the graffiti problem, it has sadly become a white wall that is always getting tagged with various shades of spray paint. It’s like a white chalk board that is proving VERY tempting to the local graffiti “artists” in the area.

Its 2AM in the morning and the co-worker’s son is mowing the lawn. Why 2AM, you ask? I guess it was the only time before the rain came this morning that his son had time to mow the lawn. “But wasn’t it too dark out?” I asked. “Oh, between the street lights and shining his car lights he could see the grass enough to cut it.” He answered. While his son was mowing the lawn, he called the cops on the taggers who had showed up around the same time to spray a colorful new purple on the white wall. The graffiti artists were long gone before the police arrived. But I had to wonder how the son explained to the police why he was mowing the lawn at 2AM in the morning. Oh how I would have liked to see the scene unfold...