Bummer, Upper & Happy Father's Day!

I was a bit down before I stepped on the scale this morning.  I just got home from the mornings Jump Board Pilates class and discovered it would be the last class that sweet Laura would be teaching.  She’s decided to do some changing around in her life and won’t be teaching the early morning pilates classes.  Bummer!  I’m going to miss her sweet encouraging presence on my early Friday mornings.  But I wish her well; especially today and tomorrow during the Ragnar where she’ll be running 17 miles as part of a team.  Good Luck Girl!  She’s just amazing!

Photo: "Basketted Purple Bike"; Watercolor on 5" x 7" Paper
A Painting by me that was recently sold to a fellow cyclist.

But I felt quite a bit better when I got on the scale and found I was down 2 to 3 lbs. compared to last week.  Yep, the scale was tittering between two numbers.  Flashing back and forth with those red lights and trying to decide but I was happy to see the change!  YES!! Now THAT's an Upper!  I'm going in the right direction!  I’m now between 5 to 6 more pounds to lose till my goal weight.  It would be REAL nice if I could be down those 5 to 6 by the time I go back to Iowa for RAGBRAI bike ride (July 22-28); but we shall see or shall I say—time will tell.

I did however improve my stats in working out this last week...

114 miles cycling

5.1 miles running

35 minutes on the elliptical

And  

1 Jump Board Pilates class

I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all of you Father's out there.  Go enjoy the day and go do something fun! Be it some fishing, cycling, or some other manly pursuits!  Have FUN!

A Quick Friday Check In...



"Tulips Along for the Ride"; A Watercolor
on 11" x 14" Paper
that I painted a couple weeks ago.

I need to get back at it! 

So here goes… I was NOT at all happy with the scale this morning.  Of course, I had no one to blame but myself. 

That Darn scale, it was reading that I was up 2 lbs. from when I weighed in two weeks ago.  I will admit that I was terribly sidetracked with getting everything ready for the Little Red art booth and this last week I was on my bike a little but nothing near what I had been doing.  I got a total of 54 miles on the bike and THAT was it other than one Pilates jump board class.  I didn’t go for any runs and I didn’t log in any time on the elliptical machine.  It was a pretty pathetic week for me overall.  Well, it’s time for me to get back at!  I need to get more exercising in and back to watching what I eat.  I need to be good for a change-- Oh Boy!  Is that possible?  Hmmmm....  So by next Friday’s check in I SHOULD have good news to share.  I hope!

Catching My Breathe!

It was a busy week!  I feel like I’m just starting to recover from this last weekend.  I’m finally almost back to normal; if ever I would consider myself as such.  Last Friday,  I forgot to do my weekly check in and I also didn’t do my month end report as I was driving on my way to Lewiston, UT to set up my art booth.

 Last weekend (Friday night and Saturday day) I had a booth full of my artwork and various other items featuring my art up in Lewiston Fairgrounds in the Little Red Riding Hood Expo while the wonderful all female Little Red ride took place on Saturday.  When it came time for me to head out on the bike, I started feeling a bit under the weather.  I never did venture with my bike on to the scenic route.  That was a bit disappointing.  I think it was all of the stress of setting up and manning my booth.  It was the first time I had ever done anything like that and I felt like I was a chicken running around with my head cut off.  I will admit that it was FUN and I did manage to sale some of my art which was also fun too!

Friday night ended up being pretty busy in my booth after the costume contest which I entered.  They had all the costumed individuals get up on stage and dance.  How do hippies dance?  I didn’t know so I went up there and just wiggled around.  I imagine I looked quite foolish but isn’t that the name of the game with any costume contest.  It was fun but there were costumes a great deal better than mine that came up on stage.  I was the second one out of almost 20 on the stage.  But here’s me doing my wiggling thing…

Photo of myself "Wiggling" on Stage.

I do however have the stats for last month….

428 Miles Cycling

16.75 Miles Running

1 hour 25 minutes on Elliptical Machine

3 Pilates Classes

And

I’m up to 24 books read for the year.

A Shake for Dinner...

So yesterday, I made a very expensive visit to the dentist office.  Almost a couple of weeks ago, I had an old cavity filling break.  I went in shortly after that and had them file down the rough spots. 

"Your Chariot Awaits";
Watercolor on 10" x 14" paper that I
painted last week.

This last Sunday night the old cavity filling broke off some more.  I couldn’t hold it off any longer; try as I might for next year’s dental starts on June 1^st.  So I called in the morning and managed to get in during the afternoon on Monday.  I skipped my lunch and went straight to the dentist instead.

 Almost 2 hours later, I come out with almost my entire right side of my face numb and starving for a lunch.  Did I mention that they have to use something stronger than Novocain?  Yeah, Novocain doesn’t work but a half hour on me and that’s if the dentist is lucky.  I swing by a fast food place and get some chicken wraps figuring they would be soft and easy to eat on one side of my mouth.  I try to eat at my desk when I get back to work.  I say “try” because I couldn’t feel my entire bottom lip at all.  Next thing, I discover is that I’ve bitten my lower lip and it’s bleeding.  What’s really sad is that a co-worker had to point it out to me.  I was rather oblivious and felt like I was walking around in a stupor.

Another two hours later, I still can’t talk right and another co-worker is answering phones in stead of me.  It’s time to go home and still half of my face is numb.  I swing by my last Spanish class and tell the teacher that tonight isn’t a good idea about practicing speaking Spanish.  After all, I’m struggling with just speaking understandable English. 

So I head home instead but I’m still starving because I could barely manage one chicken wrap.  Then it hits me!  Ice cream!  I can have a shake for dinner and I won’t bit my lips or the inside of my cheek.  Great!  So I swing by and get a peanut butter cup shake for dinner.  Hey!  Peanut butter has protein in it, right?  That’s kind of healthy but well, maybe not SO good for the diet... Oh, well!

A Quick Friday Check In....

With a great deal going on with a bike art show (the GalleryRoll) going on tonight, I thought I would just do a quick check in here.  After surviving another Jump Board Pilates class this morning.  That Laura is one sweet talking sadistic chick but she’s whipping me into shape.  Thanks girl!  I got on the scale this morning and happily discovered I’m down another pound.  Yahoo!  Now I’ve got 6 lbs. to go until my goal weight.  I’m getting closer and that certainly feels good.

STATS this week…

119 miles cycling

2 miles running

12 minutes on elliptical

&

one 55 minute Pilates class!

And check this out....

Yep!  I'm wearing "PINK".  Did I ever tell you that I have "pink" issues?  I don't consider myself a pink girlie girl.  But the sandals were on sale and they are comfortable and they go with the outfit that I'm wearing tonight.  So for the night, I think I can manage to put my "pink" issues aside for at least a few hours.

Spanish Vs. Modern Opera?

Last night I opted to use my last opera season ticket instead of going to my Monday night beginning Spanish class.  It was a toss up!  It was a choice between a modern opera or strangling the Spanish language.  I went to the modern opera.  If it weren’t for the companions that went with me to the opera and that I ended up selling some bike art note cards to two of them, I think I would have come out ahead with the strangling Spanish.

 Modern Opera, I think it’s one of those acquired taste things; you know, like anchovies.  Well, maybe not that acquired but you get the gist.  I feel like something is lost when there’s no true classical music melodies that ties it all together and everything is sung in English.  Yes, it was sung in English.  I was still surprised that they were showing the English subtitles above the stage.  English singing with English subtitles?  Was that for the deaf in the audience?  Or maybe, it must have been for all those Italian immigrants that came to Utah?  Though, wouldn’t it have made more sense to have the subtitles in Italian then?  Hmmmm… 

I found myself out of shear boredom comparing the differences between the English subtitles and what was actually being sung.  There were whole lines that never got sung.  It makes me wonder how much I miss when it all sung in Italian and subtitles.  I mean I could be really missing out on quite a bit and understanding a whole other story line.  Gee, I could have thought I was watching a tragedy and it might have been a true comedy!  Naw, maybe not!

The modern opera that I watched was “Of Mice & Men”.  I’ve read it, seen it on film and on live theater stage and finally last night got to see it as a modern opera.  And it’s not that the singers weren’t talented or that the sets were ugly; which the set design was wonderful.  It’s just some things shouldn’t be translated into a modern opera?  Or maybe, I just don’t have enough of a cultivated acquired taste for a modern opera, hmmm?  But the good news is... I might be able to write off the parking on my taxes by selling the bike art cards.  I'm keeping THAT receipt!