Friday's Letters - The Diet Edition

Ugh. Never say Diet, right? It has DIE in it, right? No more cupcakes! No more indulgences! No more yummy food! Who wants to diet??

If you're tired, bored, or just not interested in people who are trying to lose weight, stop reading now because this is Friday's Letters - The Diet Edition!

Dear Self,

You know you were in denial about exercise and losing weight right? The first half-marathon you ran in Oct of 2011, you didn't really lose any weight...maybe 3 lbs. Got in shape? Yes. Improved cardio health? Yes. Lost weight, not so much.

If you were thinking it was going to be different training for the next half (definition of insanity...), well surprise! Same thing; improved health but no weight lost. Wohn, wohn.

Dear Doctor,

Thank you for putting it in terms even my Lost-in-Denial Self could understand: "Exercise is great for maintaining weight; your diet is what will determine whether you lose or gain weight."

Dear Self,

Time to get real. After getting results from the blood tests, there is no more waffling about health. Either lose weight, improve your diet, or (cue dramatic music) duhn, duhn, duhn...suffer the consequences.

Dear DVR,

Thank you for allowing me to skip all those commercials in prime time that are geared towards making me want to eat not so healthy foods after dinner. Best invention ever.

Dear Pinterest,

It's hard to surf you without seeing tons of recipes for food that would feed my food addiction. Can you make a non-food version and let me spend my hours perusing beautiful crafts, furniture redos, and home decor again? Kthx :)

Dear Sister,

Thanks for leading the way and starting this diet and exercise journey before I got serious about it. You give me a goal to shoot for (losing at least as much as you do - LOL!), and keep me motivated even though you're far away.

Dear My Fitness Pal,

Thank you. You are the best, and easiest, website for counting calories and keeping track of food and exercise. And no, I'm not being sponsored by them - just love this tool for helping me stay the course. I am a yo-yo dieter, I see this now. My goal is to get to and maintain a healthy weight, along with a healthy attitude towards food.

So far, I've been walking several times a week and keeping track of my food. It's working so far, but this is not a diet; it's a lifestyle. When the weight comes off, I'll be able to have a splurge every once in awhile. Not every day, but occasionally. I cannot live without cupcakes :) With the holidays coming up, I'll probably eat more than is necessary, but in the long run, my goals are attainable. 

To anyone out there who is struggling to lose weight, what's working for you? If you want to join My Fitness Pal and friend me for mutual motivation, register (it's free) and look up sbrchick. 

Good luck everyone!

Friday's Letters

Here we are for another edition of Friday's Letters.

Thank you Gwen for introducing me to my favorite post because even if I'm knee-deep and weeks into a project, and don't have anything to show you, I can still post this.

Dear Scalp,

How about you start filling in some of that hair you've been losing, hmmm? No, really. Start now. Don't make me go all Rogaine on you.

Dear Hair,

I know the maternal side of the family goes gray early (like in our 20's), and you've been good for many years of 'just a few here and there' grays, but I feel the need to tell you that the lengths that you have gone to are a little extreme lately. (hair pun - har) Two weeks in between gray roots is not long enough; can we go back to colorings every 4 weeks minimum? It's getting a little expensive to still look like little ole brunette me.

This is just after a cut that's a graduated bob with sideswept bangs - flat ironing doesn't help with the thin look. After I style it myself, it'll be a little bouncier. I should probably think about coloring it soon too.

Dear Gray Paint,

ACK! 6 plus samples and still not the right shade. More being bought today. At this point, you might be out of contention as a color in my house. Every shade looks too blue, too purple, too green, too dark, too light, too brown. Something nefarious happens between the shade in the store to the shade in the can to the shade on my walls. I think I've tried most of the shades recommended as 'the perfect gray', and am giving a few more a try as a last ditch effort. On a positive note, I have tons of samples to make chalk paint with and with which to paint lots of projects. (Random grammar - my specialty.)

This pic is pretty true of the colors - all of these are 'gray' in some form or fashion. I'm thinking the one to the right of the three lightest ones is the one to beat. It was color matched to MS Stonington Gray. They all looked lighter in the can! The three on the far left all looked white when first painted on. I taped up the chips next to all of them just to see if the color was true, and it was. After seeing what they look like at night, I may just make a decision...probably.

Dear Self,

Please stop doubting yourself when it comes to your projects. You have style, you have taste, you have an eye for what works; if you continue to second-guess yourself, sh*t just won't get done! You go with your bad self! Ryan Gosling would most certainly agree.

Dear Thighs and Booty,

I was skeptical all this running was making a difference until I put on those jeans. Yes, 'those' jeans. Thanks for showing me it's all worth it!

Dear Scale,

I am no longer listening to you; ask Thighs and Booty why we're breaking up.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Friday's Letters; The Running Edition

My new favorite blog post to write is Friday's Letters. I get to jot down random thoughts and rants about anything and everything that pops into my head and it's so much fun to write.

Today it's the Running Edition. I composed the following letters while on a 5 mile run on this lovely trail near my house:

Dear Bikers on Trail, 

Just in case no one has ever told you the etiquette when sharing a path with other bikers and runners; please pass on the left but more importantly, please, please, please tell the person in front of you that you are passing. You might want to say it loudly enough to be heard, and give the passee enough time to process it, when you're about 15-20 feet away.

Said in a different way: W.T.F? Did you just whisper 'on your left' 2 seconds before you were on me? Scaring the bejeezus out of me?? My heart rate didn't need to jump 50 beats in 2 seconds. I don't know about you, but when I'm running (or what passes as running for me)... I am probably zoned out and thinking of anything but what's going on around me. I can't be held responsible if I suddenly veer into your path, taking you out because you thought I was paying attention to what was behind me. Rant over. Here's a funny to lighten the mood:

What I strive for on each run:

This is probably more true to life:

Dear Kids,

If you think you won't ever use math again in your life, think again. If you ever want to build something, you'll need math. If you ever want to distract yourself (from the awfulness that is running) with figuring out your mph on a run, you'll need math. And you'll want to distract yourself. Trust me on this one.

Dear Universe,

Have you ever heard the saying 'Be Careful What You Wish For', and it's variant, 'I wished for XYZ, and I should've been more specific'? Well, this should be tattooed on me so I don't forget it. I wished for a more temperate climate, and got it, but also got HILLS! Good grief, Maryland is hilly. So, it's nice enough earlier in the season to get outside and exercise, but the hills are going to kill me.

Dear Self, 

You know better than to even think of patting yourself on the back. You know what happens when you do. Something goes wrong. And you have to redo it. And it might have involved math…calculated incorrectly. (Pay attention Kids.) This has nothing to do with running, unless you consider that maybe I was unable to do the math because I was dehydrated from running?

I swear I measured. Math. Sigh. In case you're wondering - the top should overhang, not underhang.

Dear Joints, 

Thank you for your continued support; we're almost there. I will keep my promise to stop running if you can just do this last little race with me. However, I need to pull Calves into this discussion. Calves, you've been my best muscle group ever. No matter what I throw at you, you've taken it in stride. Until now. Now you decide to seize on me while running. C'mon now! We've done this before; we can do it again. And you do not get a reprieve after this half marathon - you'll continue to be pressed into service, so do what you need to do but don't think I won't put you in a weight machine and work you just as hard as running hills does; maybe even harder because I'm feeling a little vengeful.

Dear GPS Watch,

Why is it that I go out 2.5 miles, turn around and it takes longer to make it 2.5 miles on the way back? On the same route in reverse? When I calculated it perfectly to avoid that hill at the end?? This isn't even me doing the calculations; it's a satellite watch! It should be correct. Sigh.

And there you have it. Hope I've made you laugh a little :)

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Letters on Friday

It's Friday's Letters, where I get to ramble a little. No pictures, no projects, just some random thoughts going through my head on a Friday. Enjoy!

Dear Home Depot, 

How I love shopping with you at 7:00 in the morning and this is from a non-morning person. It's so lovely to walk down the aisles and not be jostled by other shoppers, and not have to dodge all the humongous lumber carts. It's especially nice to be able to find an employee whenever needed. Thank you for opening early.

Dear Computer, 

I may have to spend less time with you. When I spend less time in virtual life, more things get done in real life. Please don't be upset with me but sh*t needs to get done.

Dear New House, 

I promise to bring you into this century, but you must be patient with me. There's only one of me and you have 40+ years of fuuuuugly to repair. Plus like Computer, there is more to my life than your demands on my time...or there should be. 

Dear Me, 

You do not have to fix everything right. this. second. As mentioned to New House, it took over 40 years to get in this predicament, and being overwhelmed by the sheer number of projects is not going to get anything done sooner. Plus, you will enjoy the process much more if you take one project at a time.

Dear Trail Marker,


On a 5 mile run, on the second to last mile, would you be so kind as to not provide a helpful mile marker stating, "Mill Road 1 Mile" and then at the next mile marker state, "Mill Road 1 Mile" Huh? Was I running parallel to the road?? Dang, that's just cruel.

Dear Joints,

(I'm talking to you, Knees and Left Ankle so listen up)

I promise to stop running just as soon as you get me through the half marathon in May. You have been very good to me for the past 48 years, and will be rewarded by a switch to only walking/hiking, and cycling, if you can just hold out a little longer. Would you mind if I added a little strength training in the mix too? kthx.

Linking up here: