Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Don't Laugh, But...

My stomach is losing its shadow. It's almost totally gone. I can't imagine what I'll look like when it's completely disappeared. There's a whole inch and a half of skin I've never seen....

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Belly Flop

My mom, the twins, and I have ventured to the UMBC campus near
Baltimore for my sister's biggest swim meet yet. I'd like to say that
although she's not the best swimmer here, she made a valiant effort
and gave it her all. That's what I'd like to say. Instead, I can
summarize today's events with two words: belly flop. Twice. Yup. But,
at least she tried, right? Ok, so I won't mention wanting my gas money
back...

Monday, July 21, 2008

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Here's to setting a goal, sticking to it, and seeing progress.

First of all, I've trained every day but two since initiating my marathon training. Granted, some days all I could muster was two miles. But the point is that I got my butt out of bed at 6am three days last week, went to Valley Green and put in some major miles, and went to the gym when then heat was too much. I'm feeling pretty good, although I see some yoga on the horizon to combat the tightness in my upper back and hip. This week, hopefully I can bust out a few four milers to go with my threes, and keep my momentum going. I figure I have about 8 weeks of early morning runs, then it'll be Ramadan, and then the time will change and I can do evening runs again.

Secondly, I've been smashing my weight goals. The middle number that changed a few weeks ago seems like its ready to change yet again. In other vague words, as of this morning, I'm half a pound away from a number I haven't seen since college. How's that for motivation? The scale is moving so steadily, it takes all my control to limit myself to only checking its progress once a week. I think this week I'll evaluate my wardrobe. If nothing else, I need to switch to my skinny jeans. That's right, my skinny jeans!

I'm still very much raw, holding steady at a good 90-95%. I am a little concerned that I'm not eating enough, so that'll be something I work on this coming week. I also finally got a spirulizer. It kind of broke the bank, so I'm feeling a little poor now, but it feels good to check it off the list. I'll try to remember to take pics of my first attempt at angel hair 'pasta' with marinara sauce.

So maybe this post title was a little misleading, because I'm chugging right along...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Mine For the Taking

For better or worse, I've been a little down at work. I don't think I can trust my managers and at least one of my coworkers, I don't feel freedom to make mistakes. My brain is atrophying by the minute from lack of use. It feels like my cubicle is my cell and for all the appeals I file, I can't break free. As a go through my morning routine, I can feel my energy draining from the thought of the mundane day ahead of me.

That being said, I had a very enlightening talk with TP (ha-ha). It started out with the realization that we were both lovers of The Secret, and were both hoping to reread/relisten to it in the near future. Not only did he bring to my attention, how fortunate we were, and how far we had come, from thinking a $3 hoagie was a luxury, to blowing $50 on a single dinner. From counting pennies to afford a SEPTA transfer, to filling the tank of my car with premium gas, not looking at the total. I could go on and on, but I digress. He also used himself as an example that I can have whatever I want, I just have to ask for it. I'm also more capable than I think I am, so I can't let fear stop me before I begin. And don't accept failure as an option.

I realized that as much as I want certain things (a new job) I've been distracted from really concentrating on what I want. Like, I haven't thought about how that fits into the bigger picture. I haven't been thinking about what I want with my life, not just what I want for this year or this month. I've got some ideas about where this may end up going, based on what's been holding my interest lately, but I have some research to do before I can make any moves. But one thing's for sure. If I was dreaming big before, I'm dreaming huge now...

Friday, July 11, 2008

Mission Accomplished (and then some...)

Well, I did it. I've been more than 80% raw and 99% vegan (eggs in Thai food, butter in a dessert, that's it) for the last month. Not only do I feel great; not only have I finally cleared a major weight hurdle (10 lbs. of excess gone!); after a total of 5 hours in line, I ALSO have (drum roll, please)...



I am now the proud owner of a 16gb white iPhone 3g! That's iWhitey to you. Unlike last year, the lines were hundreds of people long, even in tiny Ardmore. I would have taken pics, but I was too tired from standing in the 90 degree plus heat for 3 hours. The other two hours I clocked before work and was unsuccessful at two AT&T stores. The Apple people were so much nicer anyway. They gave out SmartWater (of course) and Starbucks coffee (I held strong, even with free). I also got to spend some quality time with W, who I haven't seen in ages (and by that I mean weeks). I convinced her to get a 16 instead of an 8 gig, so I hope she's happy too. But meanwhile...

As with all impossible missions (theme music plays), just as soon as one ends, another mission begins. I'm going to stay on my raw and vegan, at least until all my excess weight is gone. Should be interesting to see where my body stops, seeing as how I'm not very tall. But I've also got the Nike Women's Marathon looming. October is fast approaching and even though Runner's World says my training should have started on June 30th, I'm giving myself a pass and starting when? Tomorrow, of course! From an article in Runner's World (which I can't find a link to, help please) I got the idea of paying myself a dollar for every mile a run (marathon included) and using the proceeds to treat myself to a San Fran shopping spree (NikeTown, anyone?).

So I got to thinking: I'm already registered for the race, I need to get back on my grind. Why not act like I know and start training? And why not do it ninja style, not missing a beat, right after my 'Raw Apple Quest' (why did that name just come to me)?

Therefore, insha Allah, tomorrow morning, relatively early and hopefully not so bright, I'll log my first few miles. I've got no high hopes, just a few miles to start working the kinks out. And on that note, iWhitey and I are going to bed (he likes to snuggle).

Monday, July 7, 2008

Sometimes...

People are just wonderful. I sent a former classmate (who I haven't talked to in ages) an email asking a few very general HR questions about where she worked. Not only did she promptly respond, she gave tons of info, and offered to connect me with the right person several times. After a few months of friends blowing off my attempts at networking, her response was so refreshing, it brought tears to my eyes. She's officially at the top of my rock star list. Now back to work...

Friday, July 4, 2008

When Friends Have Friends...

Granted, the story I'm about to tell took place like two weeks ago. But I've got a case of insomnia and one of the parties in question just sent me a text, so it's on my mind.

In my family, there's a phenomenon known as the 'adopted child', wherein people unrelated to us decide that they want to become part of the family. The younger of the bunch do this by coming to every outing with an overnight bag and staying for 3-4 days. The older ones, knowing how important Eid is to us, have gone as far as to buy Eid presents for the females of the family. And no matter what age, they all start calling my mother 'Mom'. For the most part, we take it in stride; we've always been a 'more the merrier' crew. And it really makes you thankful for what you have when other people are so eager to be a part of it.

Anywho, one such adopted brother, AK, asked me to help him reconnect with someone from his past, a girl I never met. I'd had a setup for him go sour before, so I was none too eager. But, AK has a special place in my heart, so I conceded. Not only did I send an email, I mentioned him in conversation. I didn't expect anything to come of it, but I figured I had to make sure I gave it a good effort.

Of course, as luck would have it, the girl in question was receptive. Who knew!?! She came out, by herself, to a party I mentioned he'd be at. Now that I think about it, the situation could have gone wrong in so many ways. But I wasn't thinking about that at the time. I was thinking about how shocked AK was to see her show up (in a speak of the devil type way) and how nervous he was when he realized he now had to walk the walk. It was great to see when two people are meant to connect, how naturally things flow.

I haven't gotten an update and I REFUSE to ask, my part is done. I did it with good intentions and Allah knows best. Now, back to my raw fooding and hopefully some sleep...