Day 166 - Trio O Fun

Ok, today is a day to lighten up the topic just a bit. But allow me a quick follow up to yesterday's post on trusting & believing in yourself. Simply I truly do believe your own success rides solely on your ability to do just that; TRUST that you have what it takes to get healthy & BELIEVE that you will.

On to the fun, a trio of fun tidbits for you is what I have.

First…
Seems like a great day to have a go at another picture riddle. So there you see a picture of what? Not that I'm looking for what that 'yellow' item represents more so than what it is made of. Have fun! I'll get you the answer tomorrow, or maybe earlier.

Second…
A quick report out on a fun time I had yesterday evening. My son & I made a venture over to Lake Andrea for some cardio. It had been a couple of weeks since I had had a PR of any kind and this was the place I last did. And this place has become my latest location of challenge.

Recall two times ago here I started jogging the last 1/4 or 1/5 mile of this loop and my pants were falling down. Yeah, I still chuckle at that myself. The last time they didn't because I was wearing better fitting trousers to work that day, ok maybe a little slippage at the end of that effort. It is what I get for walking/jogging in my business casual attire.

Yesterday I finally got the hint. I changed into exercise shorts & t-shirt beforehand. What is the saying, Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me (President George W. Bush said it better, " fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 "). Anyhow, off we went and I wanted this loop to be a celebratory affair; I got the stitches out of my face today and all is healing great; that I believe is worthy of a celebratory effort; no?

Cut to the chase, we walked a bit, jogged for 100 or more steps, and repeated. All in all I jogged seven stints of 100-150 steps on a loop I previously just walked for the most part. For that bit of bravado I earned a new PR on the look, knocking 1:51 minutes from it to chalk up a 33:06 finish for this 2.25 mile loop. I think an Oh Yeah! is in order.

Third…
Twitter. I stayed away from that bit-o-technology (anyone else just get a craving for bit-o-honey?) forever. Until recently a blogger gave me the scoop on it has helped augment their weight-loss effort beyond blogging. Since I never expected blogging to do squat for my effort when I started last April (how blind was I?), I figured I just may be missing out. Boy oh boy (my Grandma Alma's favorite phrase for when the lights came on), was I ever missing out.

Twitter has allowed me to keep up with those of you doing the same during those times of day when I'm off and away with just my blackberry in hand. Perhaps that makes me a bit addictive to all of this, and if so, I am cool with that. As I firmly believe that my connecting with all of you has brought me buckets full of motivation, no barrels full, to stay focused sun up to sunset. Thanks for that!

So, if you tweet and you & I are not connected there, let's get connected. There is a badge on the left to follow on with my twitter conversation, please use it. If you are not on twitter, dare I ask why not?

Fourth…
Oh, I said a trio of fun tidbits didn't I. Fine, this post is long enough as it is.

                                                    Enjoy this day, get healthier and Have Fun!

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 153 - Fuel For Life Award

Good Morning, Good morning! Um, is it morning where you are? If not Good Day to you then.

Today I have a pair of doctor appointments, yeah I hear you; yippee kay yay for me. Boring you with details I wont do today but I will say this is the day I will learn just what that blemish was I had removed, or mole as some have come to refer to it; factually it is a skin lesion. Shoot, failed; I went & bored you didn't I?

Final doctor tidbit is that I'll get these surface stitches removed. If you looked at my progress pictures on Thursday then you saw in my 40% shots I have that bandage on my right cheek still. Looking forward to saying sayonara to those stitches & the bandage.

Misunderstood and Admired honored me with an award yesterday - Thanks again!

He sent some very kind & admirable words my way with his award presentation, you can read them on his blog via that link there. If you are not a follower of Misunderstood and Admired, you really ought to check him out.

With sincere appreciation I accept this award and at the same I must spread credit for it out amongst my fellow bloggers with who I am engaged regularly. Together we put blogging to use. Blogging is not a video game, it is not aimless surfing of the net to kill time. Yes, it is enjoyable but it is also beneficial & useful to our missions to getting healthy.

Lets see, I have been blogging for well 153 days now. On day one I expected blogging to be simply where I would organize my thoughts on how to go about losing weight. Maybe, probably not, but just maybe I'd gather some pointers along the way too. My expectations were low, but my curiosity was high. Thank goodness it was too as I've been rewarded a zillion-fold for my explorations. A few blog visits here a few more there, and wow; I was buried in a torrent of new knowledge I could put to immediate use thanks to bloggers such as all of you.

This award has some responsibilities to follow, so let me get down to business...
1. List three things that you are happy about at this very moment
a- I am happy about being able to rise above my own self-imposed perceived limitations and enjoy the immense surprise from my own results
b- I am happy about having family by my side & having all of you here in blogosphere join me too
c- I am happy about the Chicago Blackhawks possessing Lord Stanley's Cup

2. List three things that played a big part in your current focus on weight loss and inner growth
a- Shutting out negativity. We can fail, learn from failure, and even feed off of it. But negativity too often is the straw that breaks the back of many an effort to get healthy; I have chosen not to accept or even acknowledge any negativity on this mission - none
b- One at a time. Success happens one choice at a time. I have planned to lose 121 pounds, but I attack the plan one choice - one decision - at a time; just one & no more.
c- A new respect & a new approach to food. I haven't talked about this much, or perhaps not at all; but I shall in a post soon

3. Pass this award on to a blogger that you feel really deserves it
'A' blogger huh, just one... whew who oh who do I give this to?
Ok, I will stay within the same essence of the presentation in which I was given this award...
Someone I've had as a friend from the beginning (she was the first to ever post a comment on my blog in fact)
Someone whose energy I feed of off
Someone who has demonstrated they can put it all together into a rhythm and groove
Someone who has FUELED my tank

Thank You DAWN

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Spot No More

The Good - It took all of 20 minutes, the spot is gone.

The Bad - I can't get this dressing area wet for a week; that'll make showering & shaving a trick.

The Ugly - I am not supposed to work out, except for walking, for a week - a WEEK! Because when we work out we strain & tend to stress and strain our facial muscles.

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 146 - See Spot Go

Cool comments from all regarding my belt yesterday. I hear you loudn & clear; I shall save up for a new belt; soon. This belt I will not get rid of, ever, but I do need a new one for work. But I can never get rid of this reminder of where I was & how far I have come.

It would be nice if I had a children's story to tell. Remember those books we learned, or we used to teach our kids to read; See Spot Run, See Spot Sit. Or in my case See Spot Eat Allot! Some of you may be using these with your kids or grand kids these days.

No, the spot I want to see go way is the one you see there on my face. It has been there about 3-4 years now. It started small, just seemed to be a freckle, and I have many freckles so I thought nothing of it. But the past year or so it has slowly grown.

Remember Karl Malden from The Streets of San Francisco? Most think of him for that bulbous nose, it defined his look on screen. But he also had a bunch of skin spots such as this on his face, especially in his later years. He lived into his late 90's passing away a bit more than a year ago.

Forget about Karl now, my point is I really don't wish to age and be one of those men with a face full of these. My father didn't have them, nor his dad, so if heredity plays a role in them I should be safe. But then again I have this one. More importantly I am very aware of that which is a cancer risk. And while I am told that this lesion is not cancerous, it someday could be; just no telling.

So, See Spot Go, I say.

And go it will later on this morning. It what will hopefully be the only reason I ever have to use a plastic surgeon, I am trusting one today to remove this spot and leave me looking as if it were never there. Well, that won't happen. There will be a barely noticeable scar, which is fine by me. You don't get to be 320 pounds and carry allot of vanity along with you. Scar or not, it is a fine trade off to remove that which bothers me and may be a cancer risk.

Now, please tell me you have more exciting, if not all out fun, plans for this day; what are they?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!