St Walter Pray for us

I started to call Wally "St Walter of the Patio".  Image my surprise to find out there is a St Walter (of Pontoise) and that one of the reasons to pray to him is for invoked against job-related stress - and to think my Wally was my main stress reliever.  No matter how bad things were, the mere presents of Wally would lower my frustration level dramatically.  A few minutes with him and all was right in the world again. Oh how I miss him and his calming affect on me. 

As a gift to myself I plan to get St. Wally medallion as soon as I reach my next weight loss goal - this is very appropriate since Wally's death was the catalyst for restart on the weight loss.  Wearing the St Wally medallion will be a physical reminder for me, something tangible to help me stay focused on my priorities. Wally will always be a priority for me.

Milestones

Just a quick update on the weight loss progress.  I don't like to leave too many personal details out here on the web so this may seam a little nebulous but I know what it means and if you have questions, ask me!

Our St Joe's group has complete our first Light Weigh program and are about to repeat it starting next week.  Through the first session I've lost 10 pounds!!  That's a big accomplishment for me; I usually lose between 1 and 2 pounds a month - and this is 10 pounds in 14 weeks!! (12 week program plus I started a week early on Ash Wednesday with my own Lenten plans, and our week in-between the program on the back end.)  Very nice achievement for me.  Last year's shorts are no longer fitting me well; I've purchase new one and the new size is one "X" less than last year. Very nice feeling!

I still have another 35 pounds to go to get to my desired final BMI category.  That is too big a goal for me to directly focus on, I need to have some intermediate goals.

I am now within 3 pounds of my next weight lose goal of reaching the next level on the BMI scale.  I would really like to reach this goal before my New Mexico trip at the end of June.  Honestly, this is a stretch goal - I have about a 50-50 chance of reaching it.  It will take a lot of hard work and dedication to reach it.

Next goal is for the Houseboat trip and this goal is not fully set yet.  I would absolutely love to have lost 19 pounds at this point in July.  That would put me at a nice round number that would feel like I've made a lot of progress.  I'm down 10 but getting another 9 between now and mid July is just not realistic for me.  So I'm setting this goal as 5 more pounds - its takes me not to a nice round number, but a pound under a nice round number so that I'm under NNN.

I have a feeling the New Mexico trip will give me a temporary bump up in the weight so the near term goals are 3 more pounds between now and New Mexico and then losing any gains from New Mexico plus 2 more before houseboating.  These are flexible goals that I may change - they feel realistic and something that I can accomplish.   But I really would like even more weight loss and I am feeling like I'm in a good pattern so I'd like to take advantage of that good grove and set new challenges for myself if it looks like I can reach these too easily.  I have a long way to go and I want to stay both motivated and pushing to reach these goals.

Ultimately, I would like to reach my BMI goal category by Ash Wednesday 2013.  That would be a year of focusing on this and losing a total of 45 pounds.  I think it's possible and will be a great accomplishment!  Secretly I want to reach it by Christmas 2012,  but I think that is too much for me to reach by then so it is not an official goal but a huge desire.  I'll keep you posted on my progress and if we can pull this in.

Running Update

The running update.....!!!!

In a nutshell, my goals and status update:

First goal is to be ready for the BLS Fun Runs
Overall summer pace goal is to be a 9+ minute miler by the last of the fun runs.
--- I have attended 3 of the 4 fun runs - a pretty good percentage for me.  I'm conscientiously  trying to keep my schedule open to attend these but things do come up that are outside of my control.  And I have run most of these; some years I have walked more of the runs than I runs I run.  I have been starting early so that I can finish with the crowd instead of being a straggler.  Overall I'm happy with the results and progress that I have been seeing.  Tonight is the Holy Hill Fun Run which I have been looking forward to attending.

Second summer goal is compete a long distance race. 
 -- The Ice Age Half Marathon in May had mixed results for me, overall very good and it really does deserve its own post.  I finished 6 minutes faster than last year and that is with losing my keys and spending significant time and (at least mental) energy looking for them!
-- Time to start making some plans and select a long(er) distance run.  I'm not sure if I want to do another trail run (I know Laphem Peak has a couple longer events in September and October) or if I want to do a street run which would be faster.  

 Third running goal is to run with Zeus.
 -- Sad update - the vet found Zeus has a heart murmur which explains a lot of why he tires out so quickly, pants so hard after even a small exertion effort, and has the poor appetite.  No decision on what treatments, if any, are needed.   But it does make it very unlikely that he will ever be able to run with me or even hike with me - the sad thing is those are two of the key reasons I wanted to get a dog in the first place. 

Happy Birthday Boy!!

Happy Birthday Dear Tibbers

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!!!

25 years ago today Tibbers the cat was born under my bed in a college house apartment on Mifflin Street in Madison, Wisconsin.  I was studying for an Accounting final (can't recall which exact class it was) and the mother cat, Monster, was pregnant with her first litter.  She was scared; her owner/my roommate Tracey was at work that night so Monster stayed around me and hung out in my room as I was studying.  That evening she had 4 kittens under my bed and I was very clueless on what to do.  We called Tracey and luckily her manager let her go home early to take care of it.  Tracey knew just what to do and started pulling these kittens that were less an hour old out from under my bed and putting them in a nice box she has set up with blankets.  Monster was barely able to follow her out from under the bed and into Tracey's bedroom.  I had to help Monster - I've never seen a more exhausted animal - she was still bloody from the birthing process and stumbled as she walked along.  Good thing I was there to keep her steady and comfort her. 

We kept the kittens for a few weeks before giving them away.  I remember the biggest kitten was orange and we called him "Tank".  I kept the cute gray and white kitten and called him Cosmo.  Sadly he had a heart condition and only lived a few months before he was suffering and the very hard but humane thing was to put him down.  There was another kitten that my mind has forgotten.  And then the last was Tibbers.  Tracey decided to keep him.  He was the sweetest boy. 

Tracey stayed in Madison only one more semester - she moved to Arizona over Christmas break of 1987 and finished college there.   She couldn't take all her cats - by then she had 3 - Monster, Tibbers, and a new kitten from Monster's 2nd litter that we named Battle Cat (Battle for short).   Monster was given back to her ex-boy friend, who was the actual first owner of Monster.  I don't know what happened to her, but I did love that cat and hope for the best.  I kept Tibbers and he lived a happy life with me for the next 10 years.  He died much to young from a heart condition - very similar to what his sister Cosmo died from when still just a few months old. Battle was Tracey's constant companion for 20 years.  Tracey has never replaced Battle with a new pet - not that a one pet can ever replace a much loved pet - but she has not taken a new pet into her home.  On the other hand, I find I need a pet in my home and life.  Things are just too quiet and lonely without a furry friend.

I have old printed photos of Tibbers, Monster, Cosmo, and Battle but none digital - I do need to add that to my ever growing to-do list to scan those photos for prosperity. 

Happy Birthday Boy!! You were there for me through so many ups and downs.  I love you.  I miss you and I pray there is a pet heaven and you are there surrounded by our other dear pets and that they are celebrating your bday with you today!

Not proud, but at least I learned something

I'm having a rough day.  I've learned that I cannot have Herr snack products in my house.  Over the last 2 days and probably more accurately the last 24 hours I have gone through 2 bags of flavored cheese curls.  I don't recall ever having Herr's cheese curls before, but I've had this same problem with their potato chips.

Herr's has different flavors - the cheese curls were buffalo and blue cheese, and cheese pizza flavored.  The most recent problem potato chip was ribs flavored.   Prior to that I had some Corn on the Cobb flavored chips.  There is just something about these different flavors that makes me want a 2nd bowl of them.  Or want them at inappropriate times; I don't know why I want a bowl of these after I've had my cereal and am finishing my morning coffee!?!!? It makes no sense.

I'm in the midst of the Light Weigh program and the founder has said that it may come down to temporarily excluding some foods that have control over you until you are able to have control over your food.    So for now (at least) I bid Herr's snack products farewell.  You are officially excluded!!! Someday we may meet again but for now you are bad for my health and especially for my hips.

Fun Merit Badges

I ran across this company in my Outside Magazine.  Demerit Wear makes merit badges for the rest of us.  I found some of these badges hilarious.   I want to get a few and use them to cover up a few corporate logos on some luggage and bags I have but don't use that much because of those logos.

http://demeritwear.com/StoreFront.bok

April Update on Running Progress and Goals

In a nutshell, my goals and status update:

First goal is to be ready for the BLS Fun Runs
Overall summer pace goal is to be a 9+ minute miler by the last of the fun runs.
--- Ran the first BLS fun run of the year at just over a 13 minute pace.  Multiple sections of that run were actually under a 10 min pace (yea!), but the BLS Fun Run at Whitnall Park is filled with several long steep hills which I decided to walk so some of those sections were at a 20 min pace -- overall I'm pretty happy with the first BLS fun run result.  The concern is I have not run since that fun run - the weather got cold and rainy again which is not my favorite outdoor running conditions.  I have had two long (6 mile, 7 mile) hikes and several 30+ minute fitness walking sessions.  The hikes have been at Laphem Peak state park and have taken about 3 hours with travel time - I would do these more if I could find a way to fit this block of time in around my schedule, daylight, and the biggest impact - around Zeus's feeding and pooping schedule.  With his GI track issues this has been a big challenge.  Tonight is the next BLS fun run (last week was a BLS meeting so fun run).  It is at Greenfield Park so the route is flatter, which means much faster for me.  Last night was is cold and rainy - and I found out the 124th Street entrance no longer has access to the BLS reserved shelter, you have to enter off of Lincoln Avenue.  I entered on 124th street and then had to circle the park so I arrived just after the runners had taken off.  Knowing the rain was coming I decided not to follow after them but instead of head out the end of the run, circle the lake, and I was planning to head to the street entrance but the rain got harder and heavier so I returned after just one loop of the lake.  Short run of about 1 1/2 miles, and slower than I would have liked -- shows me I need to do my own training runs throughout the week!

Second summer goal is compete a long distance race.  I have the Ice Age Half Marathon in May, but my expectation is that I will hike that more than I will run it; although this year I would like to add some running to the course.
-- No update here.  The Ice Age Half is about 3 weeks out.  I won't make any plans until this is completed

Third running goal is to run with Zeus.  This will take time and practice to get us to a mutual pace - he is a sprinter and I can go longer (but slower) distances than he can sprint.  He also has to learn to run and not stop at every interesting leaf or mailbox!
-- No update here.  I'm convinced that Zeus' GI track issues seam to tire him out very quickly - I think he has something stuck in his stomach that is pushing on his lungs so that he can't get enough air and starts heavy panting with just a little bit of heavy exercise.  He can not go near as long or as hard as he used to.