My non-human companions

So, Will and I recently purchased a dog, a Sheltie. Her name is Jandia, but I call her Jandi for short. I'm crazy about her! She's so loving and sweet that it's impossible not to do everything in my power to make her as happy as she can be.  I took the pictures below three days after I purchased Jandi. You can tell she is uneasy and nervous, but she's quite a different dog now; she has relaxed and opened up immensely. We find out new sides to her just about every day. We have finally discovered her playful side, but she's mainly just a little homebody that loves to snuggle and follow me from room to room. She really enjoys going on walks at the park and car rides around town.  I have also discovered that she really loves playing with other dogs; we've made some great friends at the local dog parks and set up play dates from time to time. She's still very quiet unless she has something in particular to say, and trust me, everyone within a mile will hear it. Wow, she has a loud voice for such a small, meek creature. 

My cat, Zoe, was very unsure at first; in fact, when I first brought Jandi home, I came through the door first and had the dog follow me in. Zoe ran to the door to greet me as usual, but as soon as Jandi slunk around the corner,  Zoe stopped mid step with her paw still in the air and had a look of utter betrayal. She looked.....hurt...that is the only way to describe it. Jandi sat down next to me, and Zoe army crawled on her belly up to Jandi, as if the dog couldn't see her in plain sight, and slapped her (the dog) across the face. Out of all the reactions I anticipated from the cat, that was not one of them. Jandi just looked up at me like, "What's her problem?"  I suppose it was a good thing that I had just placed Soft Claws on Zoe's front claws; so, I know it couldn't have hurt, but I still felt bad for Jandi. Despite the fact that Zoe has been the love of my life for years, I must say that her temper and disposition are not as sweet and meek as Jandi's. I have often thought that Zoe must be the reincarnation of a crotchety old woman, grouchy and prissy. She definitely does have her sweet, cuddly and playful moments; however, she's rather spiteful, mischievous and spoiled. Anytime you sit down, she will always immediately jump up on your lap, and she usually doesn't want to be touched too much; so, if you do touch her, she'll ignore for the first few attempts, then, turn and glare at you and squeak (like a "hmph" a bratty kid does), and THEN, she'll give you a nip, not ever hard though. Will thinks it's cute and endearing when she nips; she also does that when she's happy or playful, which is most of the time. If you keep up touching her, she'll jump down and sit a few feet away, and if you call to her she'll flip her head the other way, swish her tail and resolutely walk out. She has these funny little tantrums. Haha! What a diva! Honestly though, she's great, very loving and playful, and we ADORE her queer, eccentric personality. 

Over the last few weeks, the two have grown accustomed to each other. They play and lay together from time to time, but they give each other lots of space too. So, we have quite a happy home here, with lots of other small pets as well. We have a crown tailed beta who we've named Leviathon, a sea monster that is one of the 7 princes of hell and the gate keeper. Leviathon, the beta looks pretty evil; so, it suits him. We have two leopard geckos, Titan and Tangerine, and we also have two hermit crabs, Herman and the mean one. lol We didn't bother to name the latter because we rarely interact with the ornery creature. That makes up our happy home. 

Will is not so crazy about pets as I am; in fact, if it wasn't for me, he would prefer not to have any. But since I grew up surrounded by animals, literally, it's impossible for me to not have them around. Will also wasn't crazy about Jandi at first, but I was really touched to come home to a bed that was carefully made for Jandi out of a child hood blanket that will has been harboring for 20 years. The dogs adores that blanket, and I love  the bond it created. Our little home if full, warm and happy. Life is good. 

There's that crotchety old woman I was talking about. Haha! So cute!

 Zoe exploring our new apartment and dragging her toys along.

Manny eating a nasty centipede.

Jandia!

She looked like she felt awkward! lol "Ah! She's doing pictures again! Quick! Look away!"

Caught a moment of camaraderie. The cat doesn't like people; she's super shy, and a guy was walking by our door. So alarmed! lol

Diva.

Titan & Tangerine 

....updates and clean slates..................................

Wow...it has been a really, really.....really....long time since I've updated the cosmos on what twists my life has taken in the recent weeks and even months (sadly, it really has been that long :P) Well, mainly, I've been working...a lot. When I'm not working my 80 hours with my patient during the week, I'm doing house work, and when I'm not doing work in the house, I'm doing work at church or service projects, but I love the busy bustle of life! It makes the rare moments when time seems to stop that much sweeter. Maybe that's why I love honey bees so much. They seem to have perfected the balance between hard, driven work and lazily droning around during the blazing summer months. Other than work, I've been having a whole lot of fun, mainly crafts, reading, group get togethers, concerts, local events, writing, cooking tons, planting things, artsy stuff and hanging with my honey and our cat.....and our new addition, Jandi the dog.

I have had a crazy fun summer, and I'm looking forward to an even better fall. Will and I went camping and to the  Earth Wellness Festival weekend a month ago. We got to see our favorite local band, Cavedoll, and the weather was perfect. The festival as a whole was awesome! I intend to go every year; they had lots of cool booths about how to live happy, well balanced and long lives. Some booths were a little out there for me.....well....quite a few actually, he he. The ENTIRE festival was powered with solar panels, which is awesome! My Dad told me recently that he's afraid that I'm becoming a "Tree hugger" because I'm into Greenpeace, organic/mainly pescetarian eating, saving animals, political happenings, artsy junk, music, hoola hooping, yoga and holistic medicine. lol  Perhaps. I don't know what I am other than insanely happy. Yesterday, Will and I got a dog, a Sheltie. She's lovely and very sweet; I'm so excited to find out who she is and how she'll fit into our lives!!! I'll post pictures and more about her later. 

On a more depressing note, I went and saw my Professor friend and confidant for all things medical a week or two ago; he's a Chiropractor and wicked genius when it comes to nutrition and natural/sports medicine. He adjusted my spine and hips, which feels amazing! If you've never had it done, I highly suggest trying it. I have sciatica, and since he cracked my bones, I have slept better, had more energy and an absence of pain that has been a relief that I didn't know could exist. I haven't felt this good in years; I was totally jazzed. I discussed my struggles that I've been having with my out of control ADD and my knees and ankle when I run. He had solutions for me, but they were not easy to hear. Sigh.....no more sugar or refined food and......no more running until I lose 50 lbs. How devastating for an aspiring marathoner to hear, but he did offer me hope. He told me to take my eating habits and lifestyle back to basics: no sugar or refined food, lots of veggies, 100 g protien per day, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper, get good rest and walk on an incline for an hour a day, and above anything else, consistency. Once I reach my weight loss goal, my body will once again be ready for high level activity. So, I'm totally in!!! Of course I am! I couldn't live with myself if I gave up so easily. So, I'm starting over with a clean slate, trying to let go of my pre-misconceptions, mistakes and all that blather. I believe my new four legged friend will help; she loves running and walking :) So nice to not be alone in this. I have many other friends and family that I adore and make my life so full of happiness that I can barely contain it. Life.Is. Good.  :)    Here are some picks of the festival and camping. 

Our good buddies Allison and Camden of Cavedoll. (We heart them)

Lovely Allison again. She's a doll :)

The whole band.

Our scrumptious hobo dinner.

Will....doing something....not sure what lol : P

The sunrise coming over the peak in Rockport State Park at Twin Coves campground. 

Celebrating diversity.

Solar power rocks my world.

Continuation of consternation...

I've had some crazy changes lately. My husband and I moved from L.A. to Salt Lake City, which we love! Our apartment and Kitty are awesome! I've lost some weight, but I don't know how much.

I'm so sad that I still can't hit the pavement hard yet. My Achilles Tendon is still not healed, and my knee is still giving me problems. I miss running hard so bad. It feels amazing, but the pain from these problems is not worth it. 

Life is crazy, which makes me miss my outlet even more. I will definitely be back, but the Physical Therapist said I need to stretch and heal for another month. It feels like so long....  This just goes to show. Listen to your body! It's better to go slow and steady or stop for awhile to heal than have an injury and injure yourself further out of stupidity. Well, I just wanted to give an update. I haven't abandoned my dream; I saw a cool running store close to my house that I'm excited to go see. 

To still feel inspired, I read these awesome quotes I love:

"To succeed you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality." - Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." - John Bingham, running writer and speaker 

"Dwell on the positive, but have controlled, passionate anger." - Pat Tyson, running coach 

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed." - Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ

"Believe in yourself, know yourself, deny yourself, and be humble." - Irish Olympian John Treacy's four principles of training prior to Los Angeles 84 

"To know you are one with what you are doing, to know that you are a complete athlete, begins with believing you are a runner." - George Sheehan 

"Any idiot can train himself into the ground; the trick is working in training to get gradually stronger." - Keith Brantly, U.S. Olympic Marathoner

Oh my heck, I suck!

It has been so long since I blogged! For shame! I have been running...off and on.....mostly off :( I have been insanely busy; I feel like I barely have time to stop and breathe. Although, my running yesterday was AWESOME! I went with Will, and about 3/4 of the way through our run, he says, "Do you need a break? You have been running a really long time. Are you okay?" I stopped and thought about it, and then I realized that I didn't need a break! I hadn't even noticed I'd been running for long. What a great feeling! 

I'm dealing with the new/old battle of time management. Morning run vs. night run. Ugh! I feel a little lost, but Will has agreed to be my "running coach". So, I'll rely on him to get me squared away. I adore running! It feels amazing! I don't have time to write much now, but I'll catch up soon! Later!

I love honey bees.

The L.A. marathon was today! I had hoped to go, but I couldn't get over in time. I wanted to cheer for people at the finish line :( Oh well. Next time. Today hasn't been an "amazing" day, but was alright. 

My husband and I drove over to Fillmore to look at the orchards and browse the fruit stands. I love them! They're so cool! We also went to a honey farm and tasted all kinds of honey. I adore honey bees! I'm serious. It used to be my dream to have a honey bee farm; I've been catching bees in my hands since I was 18 months old. Although, it took a lot of stings and about six years for me to perfect the practice. Poor bees. When my mom asked what I did to the bees that stung me, I'd always answer that I punished them by tearing their wings off so they'd have to walk everywhere the rest of their lives, which is short as it is since stinging something is a death sentence. How hideous was I?! I haven't been stung in about 16 years, but I still catch 'em and play every chance I get. The secret is to cup them in your hands, but be very careful not to squish them. If you do it that way, they never sting. 

I'm putting together a small package for my sister, and I think it turned out quite well. I bought a cheapo mug, some fresh ginger from a fruit stand and Eucalyptus honey from the honey farm. I'm wrapping it up all pretty; then, I'll put instruction on how to make fresh ginger tea. She feels a little sick from time to time, and ginger tea is awesome for nausea and circulation! 

Anyhow, I think I got dehydrated today. I didn't drink much water until late afternoon, and by the time I realized I was thirsty I was in the kitchen guzzling it by the gallon. Dang. When I'm thirsty, I. Am. Thirsty! Not too long after that, I started to feel sluggish and swollen all over. Eh, not a good feeling. I won't be doing this again any time soon. lol

We had an earthquake today, which is a HUGE deal for me! I'm so happy I slept through it; if I'd been awake, I would have had a category 5 melt down. I'm sure I'll experience one sooner or later.....hopefully, later. Its still scary to this Texan. All I have to say is...yes. A hurricane is no picnic, but at least you can trust the ground you're running away on. I miss Texas and my family.  

My Texas home. http://lma-artisan.blogspot.com/

Operation breakthrough-executed. Outcome = I. ♥. Running.

Yeah...running is still hard and painful, but something....has changed. Oh my heck! I love running so! It's such a free, rewarding feeling. I get so excited that I can't wait to run again on my running days. I've had a couple of breakthroughs during my last few runs. I'm so thankful to have the guidance of Runner's World magazine; I find so many useful and inspiring ideas and stories from there. So, I've changed things up a little with both my diet and my work out.

Workout:

• Monday-Run 2 miles
• Tuesday-Yoga X training
• Wednesday-Run 1.5 miles
• Thursday-Yoga X training
• Friday-speedwork = repeats and drills
• Saturday-Long/Easy run = total miles through out the week
• Sunday-Recovery day

*I change my programs week to week depending on what needs to be altered

With my running, I've changed my perspective completely. I used to push myself really hard until running was a dreaded chore, and when I didn't perform well, which I NEVER performed "well", I'd feel guilty and worthless. Then, I'd skip running for at least a few days. I blared my music loud to drown out the pain and negative thoughts constantly running through me, and I wouldn't eat before or after runs. Finally, I never warmed up before running or stretched afterwards. What an idiot! I couldn't have been more wrong about how to run successfully; I set myself up for a fall.

I never knew running could feel how it does to me right now! I will go so far as to say that I had the best run of my life today, just from small, simple changes over the last week. First, I eat a small snack with carbs to get some energy, whole wheat bread and almond butter today. Then, I did a light 10 minute warm up session with butt kicks, legs swings, walking lunges and some other movements, NOT stretches mind you. I also warmed up with a brisk 5 minute walk. I ditched my watch and concentrated solely on my body and what it was telling me. AND I left my Ipod at home; that decision made a HUGE difference for me. Regardless of the fact that I'm a music freak and love it dearly, I found that music was distracting me to the point that I was missing vital cues my body was sending me. For the first time ever, I did what my body asked, and guess what? It knows what it's doing. 

Today, I ran longer, with more energy and more breath than I ever have. My husband noticed the drastic difference within the first 5 minutes of running. If I got winded to the point that I couldn't speak to him comfortably, I held back some until I got my breath back. Also, when I felt the need to walk, I would kick it into hire gear for thirty seconds or so. After which, I did NOT allow myself to stop and gasp; I kept my breath as even as possible and lightly walked until I was relatively comfortable again. After awhile, my body adapted to the speed bursts and it wasn't so hard. Finally, when I finished my run, I stretched out really well and ate a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and banana slices on top. Delish! And I feel wonderful! Not like I want to peel my clothes off and die, which is a HUGE turn around for me. I'm so excited! Thank you Runner's World! Also, I swapped out my Friday run day for speed training at the track, usually with repeats and drills.

With my diet, the progress is much more slow, but it's there. And I can feel it. Here are a couple of articles that I found insightful by Mark Bittman:

• http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-242-303--13283-0,00.html
• http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-300--13284-0,00.html

I have decided to cut back on animal products some and consume more plants and fruits, while still avoiding sugar, processed food and white breads and pastas like the plague. I've been concentrating on getting more of my protein through veggies, nuts and beans. I have so much more energy, and I feel great! Also, I drink water, water, WATER!' Then, I drink more water.

Yoga is also going well. In addition to Runner's World, I also subscribe to Yoga Journal, which is very insightful and useful tabout how  to make my Yoga practices more personal and molded to my needs. Overall, things are going great. My knee ached some in the beginning of my run today, but it wore off after a few minutes. I love this new relationship with running...its...amazing! The difference is crazy, and it shows in my personality and day to day life. Before breaking my barrier, I shut myself in this little bubble of self doubt, criticism and anger. I forced myself into a mold that just wouldn't fit. Running is still painful and still a major challenge. But I'm loving the feeling of working hard and finding my barriers and smashing them. Through the changes I've made so far, I now feel....free. Happy, content, blissed out...being in my head is no longer a bad place to be when I'm running. How lovely! Thank you body! I so appreciate you!

A Good Day of Troubles and Victories...

Today was filled with torture....and sweet success! I fought and conquered a myriad of troubles today. I was faced with opposition and turmoil at every turn while in my patient's house. She has a junk food/sweet tooth, and every drawer, nook and cranny is crammed with devilish little morsels from Hell that tempt and tease me. Usually, I surrender without much of a fight on my part, but...today? Today...was different.

I did not cave once! I feel great! It was cake after the first couple of hours. This is what I had today:

• 7:15 AM vitamin shake
• 9:15 AM 1 cheese stick
• 11:15 AM 1 sliced cucumber with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, 1 sliced avocado and half a tuna salad sandwich on toasted whole grain bread
• 1:15 PM 6 almonds
• 3:15 PM 1/2 whiskey river bbq chicken spinach wrap with cantelope 
• 6:30 PM 1 VERY small portion of chilli with 2 Lite Grahm crackers and milk

No crap food like I usually succumb to. Although, I did have a five minute stare down with my spinach wrap before I finally decided to put half of it in a To-Go box for Will. I didn't falter; that's the main point...not to say I wasn't tempted. I never used to be a glutton or a sweet tooth whore, but somewhere a long the way, food has begun to fill a void.☺I feel a change taking place in me, a shift; it feels good and invigorating. I went running with Will when I came home from work. I wore my knee brace, but it still ached for the first few minutes of jogging. Overall, it was a great run! I feel stronger and more resilient. I also noticed that I tackled my hill with out nearly as much exertion and fatigue as usual.  

After my run, I got to talk to my best friend from home, she told me about the jogging class she's  taking and her running. I hope she decides to run the marathon with me. What a fantabulous day! I'm ready for a much lusted after night of sleep. Later!

Lazy Days

I put my running, yoga and blogging on hold for the last 2 weeks to recover from an injury. Shortly after I began running on a regular basis, I started to notice my knee and ankle aching. It was getting progressively worse with longer periods of pain; so, I decided to take a short break in order to let it heal. I also invested in a knee brace and ankle brace for when I run. I think this is happening because my tendons and ligaments are not strong enough to support my weight when I run since I gained it all so fast. They have not had the chance to build  up.

It was very frustrating to have to stop so soon after starting; however, I feel that it was the right thing to do. My knee is slowly improving; so, I will start my regular 5K and Yoga regimen again tomorrow. I will also post my weight and food guidelines as well.  

 I went to the beach with Will last Friday and it was wonderful! Very overcast, but gorgeous anyway. I was inspired because I saw so many runners on the beach. I can't wait to be at that point when my relationship with running is a happy one, when every step doesn't hurt and ache. Well, I'm sure this is the first of many hurtles. Yay for endurance!

These are pictures I took at the Beach. If you'd like to see more, you can go to my website @ http://lma-artisan.blogspot.com/

Tribute to Rain ☂

Gotta love Led Zepplin. Well, once again, no yoga X-training yesterday. I should do something to stretch, even if I have to jump on the mat and pretend I know what I'm doing. I can't find the style I'm looking for, a combination of Ashtanga techniques and something slower. Running is wonderful! I love it! It is such a free, empowering feeling to know your body is getting you somewhere, despite the fact that I'm not a good runner. I will go later today, although it's raining.

I'm new to California, but even I can't believe all the rain. I hear my patients say they have never seen this much rain here. It's pretty funny how people here react to it. I run into many Californians who ask with a serious face, "Is this what a hurricane is like?" I just laugh and shake my head. They have no clue! All these storms would be considered light showers back home. I adore rain, but I was so excited to get that California sunshine I hear so much about.

Our Earth is changing I think; what a cool thing to witness. A little scary too. I'm not big on global warming. I think we are very much damaging our Earth and need to change the way we live ASAP. I love this planet and would like to keep it healthy. However, I don't believe the degree of emergency they are stressing at the moment....apocalypse and such. It is normal for Earth to change; it always has and always will, until the end anyway. Since when is this planet a constant? I believe people waste too much energy and time worrying when time and energy would be better  companions of action and living, myself included.

Meals are going well; however, I'm still battling sweet cravings. I think my family is trying to sabotage me. My dad(in-law) brought in Samoa and Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies and displayed them right in front of me. Sigh....of course I caved. Damn this age and its processed, delicious, deadly food! Curse it all! I need to retrain my palate...hardcore. 

On a good note, I've lost 4 lbs. since I started my running regimen, probably water weight. I've been peeing like a pregnant race horse! TMI-I know. Starting Monday, I will post my "stats",  which are weight, inches and my food journals. Pretty soon I would like to start orienting my posts around how I feel physically AND emotionally when I'm running, yoga, etc. I'm still new at this, and organizing the waves of word vomit takes practice. Have a wonderful day! Namaste

Houston, we have a problem...

Okay. I'm noticing a trend here. I was so naive when I thought..."It's simple! Just eat better!." Meals are not so much a problem as snacking is. I definitely have to keep a food journal. I'm so used to just grabbing a handful of this and a few of that every time I walk by the kitchen, which is seriously about 100 times a day. I'm taking on WAY too many empty, unconscious calories. So, I'm keeping a food journal and everything, I mean EVERYTHING, that passes my lips gets jotted down, even if it's a nibble. That way I can actually see on paper what it is I'm eating. Alright. Now that that's out of the way.

I didn't do any Yoga yesterday,which is a bummer. I was at a dead run all day and my wimpy back is still wining. I went to a patient's home yesterday to bathe her and do her nails, and for the whole 2 and a half hours, I was leaning over. Leaning over her bed, her wheel chair, her sink...yada yada.  I'm such a wuss. I had no idea how weak my back has gotten over the past couple of years void of surfing. The difference is really amazing, and depressing, to me. I knew I was in trouble when my muscles started quivering 20 minutes in, but I adore my job and my patients. So, it's worth it. When I got home, I laid out in the sun and watched my husband fuss with a brick wall he's building around a tree in the front yard. He's quite a perfectionist; so, it's entertaining to watch him bustle around fixing problems I can't even see. After getting in a warm, sunny nap, I helped him: carting bricks, mixing concrete and mortar, hoeing and planting...more bending over. lol

I should have done Yoga last night. It would have seriously helped me not be so sore and tight today, and I'd probably be in a better mood :). I did find a daily Yoga routine geared towards runners and the muscles we use.  However, I still haven't found one to implement my X-training. I'll keep looking. I'm also trying to find a good mixture of Ashtanga and a softer style that applies techniques of power yoga and soft yoga. I've posted some more info in the links about weightloss and the Runner's Yoga routine I do daily. Catch ya later! Happy running!

Day 1: Executed. 729 more to go...

Day 1 was great! The weather was sheer perfection! I got in a good long walk. I had intended to run some, but I got caught up in chatting with my hubby. Before I knew it, we were back at home with our route completed. So, I intend to get some running time in on Wed. My program suggests I run 1 minute, then walk 1 minute. I was a little concerned; I noticed my knee was aching slightly. So, I will try wrapping it when I run next. 

The rest of the day was fun! We went to a park and read in the breezy, sunshine for an hour. I'm reading Jane Austen's Emma. Then, we walked around in town so I could try and capture some good photos for my deviantart site. I got some good ones. 

The real problem I ran into was when my sweet cravings hit hardcore around 5:30 pm. I was scouring the house looking for anything with any degree of sugar. I would have been ashamed if I hadn't been so crazed. I ended up raiding our cookie dough a little :( Grrr! This is not easy! Oh well, moving on. Overall, I had a wonderful day and am looking forward to a good week! I haven't gotten my stats together yet; so, I'll post those soon. 

Later!

P.S. Thank you Mel! She is my first follower, and her blog is awesome!!! It has given me a lot of great ideas about how I want to proceed with my training. Check her out here: http://meltriestorun.blogspot.com/ 

A picture I took today. It makes me feel serene :)

Go Big or Go Home...

Alrighty! I'm so ready to get moving! Tomorrow, I'm staring my new regimen....a little scared, a lot excited. Many have taken it upon themselves to make sure I'm fully aware that they think I'm psyched out of my head for wanting to run a marathon, but it's been a dream of mine for some time. And what better time to get started than right now. I can't even run a full minute without stopping;  so, I'm starting at ground zero. I suppose since this is my first entry I will give a small introduction of myself and why I'm doing this. 

My name's Michelle; I'm from Lake Jackson, TX. My favorite things to do are surf, read and talk. About 4 years ago, I moved from Texas to Provo, UT to attend BYU University, and yes, I'm one of those "crazy Mormons." Haha! We're not nearly as peculiar as most people believe. AND, like myself, the majority of us are super friendly:P When I moved to Utah, I was a very fit, healthy young lady of 118 lbs. My profile picture was taken a couple weeks before I moved; I surfed and did yoga everyday to keep in shape. 

Turns out, I was not nearly as prepared for being landlocked in the cold as I thought.....In fact, I down right hate it! Ugh! My first winter (and every winter since) was miserable and only bearable because I lived down the street from the best hot chocolate providers in town, 711 convenient store. Needless to say, with week after long week of bundling up on my comfy couch and drinking hot chocolate by the gallon, I began packing on the lbs. It was very gradual at first, and over the last 4 years, it has continued to slowly creep up on me until I've gained around a 100lbs past my normal weight. I've tried many times to get back in control; I often contemplate the fact that I can scarcely believe I've let this happen to myself. I never thought I'd fall victim to excess laziness and overeating. I'm here to tell you my friend that no one is safe!

But, don't despair; there is hope. I'm also here to prove that anyone can turn their life back around with a steadfast plan and scratch resistant resolve. I will post my weekly weight and success along with daily updates on problems I encounter and obstacles I conquer. I decided to keep a blog during this as a sort of journal and motivator for myself.  


My plan consists of three days of running, two of extended yoga routines and one long run on Saturday. With a rest day on Sunday. I'll post my weekly stats tomorrow. Well, gotta hit the hay. Tomorrow the torture....I mean....fun begins. :P Later!
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