Now, THAT's talent...

As a multifaceted woman, one of my favorite things to do is to bake. The Hunk is probably laughing right now because every time I have a cake to make, I end up waiting until the very last possible minute. This causes me to stress out and proclaim that I'm never going to bake a cake again. It's as maddening for him as it is for me, I'm sure.

At any rate, last week, I made a cake for someone at work. It turned out fairly well.



However, those flowers are real.... I'd LOVE to learn how to do this:



Those flowers, my friends, are not real. They are delicately fabricated out of gumpaste. Amazing, immaculate, detailed, and probably even MORE maddening.

So, my birthday is tomorrow....

....and this is what I want.



And it is on sale! For $199 I could have the whole thing. Down from $731. Look at that discount! Sigh....so tempting.

The Hunk and I are always joking about how I'm going to be a hoarder once our kid(s) move out of the house in 20-some years, depending on when we decide to procreate a second time. I've decided he's right and that I'm going to hoard China. He better prepare himself. Stacks and stacks of plates, bowls, tea cups, and gravy boats are in his future

The Crane and an Almost-Sprain

I finally got off my butt and started P90X all over again this week. It's such a buzz kill to know that I undid all of the progress I made by letting life get in the way of continuing my workouts in the first attempt. I'm trying to convince myself that the important thing is that I'm back on the horse, taking it one day at a time.

The first time I attempted P90X, I made it through the first month. I felt great, and I could already see some results. It was a half-hearted attempt, too. I only did the Yoga X one time. The rest of the time, I avoided it.

Prior to doing P90X, I'd never done yoga. I consider myself to have flexibility and balance, but yoga, particularly Yoga X, honestly makes me feel like a clumbsy fat kid. I powered through it the best that I could, tumbling quite often. It is uncomfortable, long, and just downright painful. But I did it because I was so sore from the first three days and was hoping for some relief from stretching....which I did get. I feel much better today.

Anyway, towards the end of the workout, there is a pose called the Crane. Tony Horton even says, "DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU ARE NOT READY OR YOU WILL FALL ON YOUR HEAD." Eh, what do you know, Mr. Horton?

Here's a picture of what the Crane looks like:



See? Piece of cake, right?

WRONG.

Guess what, kids? I fell on my head! No, seriously, I did. And then I fell over in an awkward motion on my arm. It really hurt! Luckily, it feels fine today. I was worried I was going to end up with a stupid sprain...all because of the stupid Crane.

Do you think this will keep me from trying it again? Heck no. I'll be back at it next week....

Grievances Over Green Grapes

When Aunty C and I were little, we used to go stay the night with Grandma Soup. Her name was really Sue, but Aunty C always added that "p" at the end, and thusly, she became Grandma Soup. It's especially ironic because I don't recall ever having seen her eat soup even once, but I digress.

There are several instances where I can recall sitting at her light oak kitchen table with the blue floral cushions, a bowl of fresh green grapes in front of me as I colored princess pictures, getting slightly out of the lines JUST because I could while Grandpa read "the pixie book" a half dozen times.

As I colored and ate bunches and bunches of green grapes, Grandma Soup oooohed and aahhhhed over my drawings, making me feel as if I was a Picasso in training. The truth is, I still color outside of the lines, but now it's because I just suck at art unless it is in the form of music, not because I'm pushing the boundaries of conformity without even knowing what it means. In fact, I'm so terrible at art that my dad has a paint-by-numbers that I painted and framed for him for Father's Day....not when I was nine but when I was NINETEEN.

I think about these times often, especially as I cut up green grapes into small little bites for my 'Lil Bit. I smile as she requests more because she, too, loves the green grapes. Red just won't do. And then I take a step back and swallow hard, trying to supress the giant lump forming in my throat, for I miss my Grandma Soup and I wish that she were here. Sometimes I consider throwing the grapes and never allowing them into the house again.

I can just picture my own daughter, sitting at that same table coloring princess pictures and eating green grapes carefully chosen, washed, and placed in a green plastic bowl. 'Lil Bit is just starting to "comer" (that's how she says "color"). Right now, she doesn't even know what lines really are, but someday she will. Whether or not she colors in the lines and the reasons she does or doesn't is no matter. Although she'll never know Grandma Soup, she'll know what it's like to feel like a Picasso in training. The green grapes will always be there as long as she likes them, and I will always oooh and aahhh over her drawings, no matter how great or how not great they may be.

I want to write.

I haven't written here for over a month. Sad panda. Even sadder still is that I feel like I have a million things swirling all around in my head, but I can't pick out any single thing to write about. I feel uncreative and unexpressive. Blah.

Sometimes I wish I had a job that forced me to write, just so I'd have no excuse not to write, like not having the time or not having anything to write about.

Sigh.....

P90X Month One - DONE

Yesterday was the last day of my first 30 days of the P90X Lean program. Admittedly, I was a little bit nervous when I weighed myself and took my measurements over again. I mean, really, I haven't done the best job (or even a good job) of sticking to the fat shredder diet. I had some rough spots where I got off a few days on exercising and then had to make mad dashes to catch up on workouts. Honestly, I even skipped a couple of days of Yoga. I know, I know.

At any rate, before I put down the stats, let me just tell you how I FEEL. I feel great! Some days I don't want to work out, but I begrudgingly pull myself off of the couch and make the trek downstairs. Once I get started, I feel a burst of energy. After the workouts I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for pushing through the lack of motivation that tries to take hold. That just happened tonight in fact. Of course now it's after 11:00 and I'm blogging instead of sleeping because my body is like, "YAY! I have energy now!"

About a week and a half ago, I stepped out of the shower and dried off. As I was putting lotion on my legs just as I do almost every morning, I stopped and thought, "Dang, yo! That's a calf muscle!" And it's a long and lean muscle! It was very exciting!

I feel totally different as I'm walking down the hallways at work. I feel as if I stand a little taller. Even sitting at my desk I notice much better posture compared to a month ago. I've already gotten compliments like, "Wow, I can really tell that is already working!" It's true - my pants are fitting better, my shirts are fitting better... it's not a huge change, but it is enough to make me keep going.

Now for the measurements...drumroll please!

Waist: Feb 18 - 33.25" (ugh, that number is so humbling still)
March 23- 31.5" loss of 1.75"
Bust: Feb 18 - 37.25"
March 23- 35.75" loss of 1.5"
Chest: Feb 18 - 31"
March 23- 30.5" loss of .5"
Hips: Feb 18 - 40.75" (what can I say, I've had a kid. lol)
March 23- 39.5" loss of 1.25"
Left
Thigh: Feb 18 - 21.75"
March 23- 20.25" loss of 1.5"
Right
Thigh: Feb 18 - 21.5"
March 23- 20.25" loss of 1.25"
Left
Calf: Feb 18 - 14.25"
March 23- 13.75" loss of .5"

Right Feb 18 - 14.25"
Calf: March 23- 14" loss of .25" and I suppose I have crooked legs :p

Left
Upper Arm: Feb 18 - 10.25"
March 23 - 10.75" gain of .5"

RUA: Feb 18 - 10.5"
March 23- 11" gain of .5"


Weight: Feb 18 - 133.4 lbs
March 23 -129.8 lbs loss of 3.6 lbs


I'm not posting pictures this time. I don't know where my "Befores" went, and there's really no benchmark for comparison. I took new pictures this month and put them on my 'puter, so you'll see them next time....maybe. LOL

In the second month, I get to swap out the Shoulders and Arms workout and do the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps instead. I'm excited for a change in routine, even if it is only subtle.

Anyway, that's it for month one! Yippee!!

Completely Inside My Head

With the promise of Spring comes the promise of rain
Washing away all of the dirt and grime of the dark winter
Fertilizing the Earth in preparation for the blooming vegetation and regrowth
No more dying trees, sad looking bushes
Instead of looking tired, the world will awaken
So will I.

I'm not the best writer of poetry, but those few lines sum up how I'm feeling today. It's not really a Spring-y day today, though we did have some earlier in the week. Yet I sit here in great anticipation of sunshine after a thunderstorm.

I've been enduring a few thunderstorms of my own as of late. Nothing major really, but they've been enough to rattle me out of my state of complacence. In light of that, it's time to rethink Spring cleaning. In addition to wiping the dust off of the surfaces in my house, I shall also wipe the dust off of my mind.

I've been focusing so hard on taking courses to get a degree that I haven't really actually LEARNED much of anything beneficial to my indefinite career path. At this point, I feel it is in my best interest to take a small break, even for just a semester or two, to really get out there and soak everything up that I can. Anyone can read a book and take an open book quiz, but to really get out there and APPLY that knowledge is where the real learning is at. Not sitting at a desk taking classes that have little to no relevance to my actual career. So, I'm finishing this semester and then redirecting my efforts to a more targeted approach. I want to get some certifications under my belt this year to make myself more marketable in the industry and to really prove to myself that I have what it takes to succeed as a female in a male dominated industry.

It is also time to declutter. I have way too much going on in this brain of mine. Instead of balancing a few items on my agenda and really doing them well, I'm jugging more than I can and not really making much contact with any one of them. As hard as it is to make decisons on what to place on the shelf, it has to be done. Therefore, I'm shutting down my website because it's doing nothing but taking up space and causing me stress. I've shed a few tears over it, and I still think it is a great idea; I'm just not at a point in my life where I can properly execute.

I've already started a transformation of my body with the P90X program. I just started Week 3 last night, and while I am extremely bruised from doing so many push-ups on my knees, I feel awesome. I'm proud of the progress I've made in a short period of time, and what I'm most proud of is that I am doing it. Even on nights when I really don't feel like working out, I pick myself up off the couch and just get it done. Normally, it just takes a few minutes anyway and then I'm over the feeling of not wanting to do it. It's just getting over that initial hump, and so far, I've been doing a fairly decent job. But wow are my knees purpley red and sore. :/

The Hunk has been so patient with me over the past few weeks as I've put more hours in at work and have been in quite a funk over everything. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful husband that supports me in whatever ways he can. It doesn't matter how craptastic my day at work is or how poorly I feel I'm doing in a class I don't really care about. Once I'm in his arms, it all melts away even if only for a minute. I love you so much, hubby.

Even writing all of this has been a breath of fresh Spring-like air.