Short & Sweet

Making this a quick one - I'm trying to blow through a ton of work today in the hopes of getting out of here early enough to get home, walk my pups and get back to CFCC for some snatch action. (The jokes just write themselves.)

I sort of expected this weekend to be something of a challenge. PhillyGuy and I road tripped it up to visit his parents and grandparents, which - like any visit to an Italian family - typically involves food (and gluten, and sugar, and and and) in excess. Normally, for a weekend like this, while I don't just go balls to the wall and eat everything that's offered to me, I have no compunctions about eating a fresh cider donut or a couple pieces of toast with breakfast or a slice or two of sheet pizza. Not so much this time.

I prepared myself as best I could by packing some necessities into my purse:



Two bags of my favorite buffalo jerky (for snacks and, if necessary, emergency meal replacements...I asked PhillyGuy to get me four, but this is apparently all that was left in the store), jump rope (for travel WOD-ing on the in-laws' back porch), water bottle (for surgically attaching to my hand), food log (for, well, food logging).

Also, my nook (for reading lots of US Weekly and maybe some of the Impressionists). Which has nothing to do with this challenge.

Here are the challenges I expected: lots of donuts, pizza, bread and desserts being offered. Lots of pressure to change my mind after I politely declined said donuts, pizza, bread and/or desserts. Lots of scrutiny about what I was eating or not eating. Lots of questions about what I was doing and why.

Here is what actually happened: true to form, Mama PhillyGuy greeted us with a jug of fresh cider and a dozen or two warm, fresh cider donuts from the Cider Mill down the street. She offered both of us one (or two or ten), and asked me if I'd ever had one warm. Perhaps PhillyGuy gave his parents a heads up, or perhaps they gleaned some stuff from facebook or something, but she wasn't surprised when I told her that I wasn't going to have one.

There were some questions about what I was doing - "is it some kind of cleanse or something?" has been a common one, not just with my inlaws but with almost everyone who's caught wind of it - but thankfully, very little else. There was one point where she literally shoved some kind of caramel apple pie directly under my face, and one incident in the grocery store where she tried to convince me that I could have apple crisp, since she didn't add sugar to her apples, but all in all, it was really nothing.

Which I was completely grateful for. I really, really dislike being scrutinized about my eating, particularly WHILE I'm eating. They were very accommodating - when his dad grilled up some spiedies and locally-made sausages for lunch, Mama PhillyGuy helped me check all of the labels to make sure there was no added sugar or anything else funny in the ingredient lists, and made sure that she was OK to use her regular rice vinegar to dress the salad - but not at all intrusive, and no one tried to get into a debate with me about how whole grains are healthy or whatever.

All in all, the weekend was a non-issue, but it's eye-opening. My takeaways:

- It's amazing just how much ritual is built around food. PhillyGuy and I have discussed numerous times how it's a struggle, particularly for him, to eat well when we visit his parents. It's not just because there is, literally, ALWAYS food available - plates of candy and homemade cookies everywhere at Christmas, everyone you visit putting out a tray of snacks, ranging from antipasto and crackers to home-smoked prosciutto to candied nuts and cheese - when you come hang out with them. It's also because you associate so many things with "coming home" or "family time" or whatever. It's fall, so we always, ALWAYS have cider and cider donuts and usually an apple pie or apple crisp. His parents frequently pick up a sheet pizza to snack on when the kids come visit (like spiedies, it's a Binghamton thing - pizza baked in a sheet pan, topped with american cheese) that we inevitably graze on, hot or cold, for the duration of our stay. We'll go visit his uncle, who might make three varieties of homemade pizza or homemade pasta or both. You don't eat because you're hungry, you eat because it's ritual.

- Not partaking in the ritual feast doesn't stop you from partaking in the important part of the ritual - hanging out with people you love and catching up with them.

- The only time I was a little jealous of the "let's eat whatever" mentality was Saturday night. We were all stuffed from gorging ourselves on spiedies, salad and sausage around 2 or 3 that afternoon, so no one had dinner. Around 8 or 9, people started getting snacky, and one by one, my husband and his parents went into the kitchen and then returned to the living room with big plates of apple pie and whipped cream. I didn't want the actual pie (I'm not a pie fan in general), and I wasn't even hungry OR particularly snacky myself, but I felt a little left out that everyone else was eating and I wasn't. So silly, right?

- PhillyGuy had the bright idea that "he" (read: both of us) would make breakfast for nine people. While cooking this much food in someone else's kitchen is nerve-wracking, this was good because I got to control the menu enough to ensure that there was plenty of food for me. We made two pounds of Whole Foods fresh cut black forest bacon, twenty eggs (some fried, some over easy, the rest scrambled), a few links of kielbasa, and diced sweet potatoes pan-fried in bacon grease with an onion. I had three (small-ish) eggs, a little bit of potato, three slices of bacon and two small slices of kielbasa. Everyone else built out the breakfast with toast, pastries, a variety of cider donuts, juice and fruit - and no one commented on what I was or wasn't eating, which was a relief.

- There is a noticeable difference in the quality of the $5 jumprope I picked up at Target and the jumpropes at the gym. The workout I intended to do involved 50-40-30-20-10 double-unders alternated with overhead squats with the rope, but I couldn't get the rope to move fast enough to do more than one DU at a time. After it took the better part of 5-6 minutes to get to 25 DU's, I said "F this noise" and switched to twice as many singles. Total, this workout took me about 12 minutes, I worked up a nice dripping sweat, and got it all out of the way before my inlaws even woke up. There truly is NO excuse not to work out when you're traveling.

So now I'm back to work and experimenting with portable breakfasts with minimal AM prep time.



Repeat from Friday and one other day last week: shredded smoked pork (from Costco - surprisingly clean ingredients list and I think $8 for three or four pounds) topped with two over-easy eggs. Total prep time of six minutes, including a quick wash of the pan and spatula.

Rest of last week's workouts:

- Friday 10/7 - Lynne redux. 5 rounds of max bench presses and max pull ups. I hadn't done this workout since the first round four weeks ago, before I hurt my shoulder. We were instructed to use the same weight and (if applicable) same band, with the goal being to show progress in the number of reps you could complete. For me, this was 90lbs/average band. The weight felt a LOT heavier than it had the first time, which I chalked up to my shoulder - I was noticeably weaker on my left side, but I was eking out 5 or 6 reps in each round. And then, three rounds in, Liz noticed that I was actually lifting 95 pounds, not 90. So, you know, fail. Can't measure progress with this one, but my rounds were 6/11, 5/11, 4/10, 4/9 and 4/8.

- Sunday 10/9 - travel workout! I put together my own based on the suggested workouts available on the CFCC page. 50-40-30-20-10 DU's alternated with 25-20-15-10-5 OH squats with the rope...except I actually did 25DU's followed by 80-60-40-20 singles due to rope suckage. Still sweated my butt off.

OK, so...so much for a "short" and "quick" post. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

PhillyGirlAWs

Balance, yo.



Carrot sticks and 77% dark chocolate courtesy of Sook Hee's Produce in the Comcast Center. Side of to-do list courtesy of life.

I've had a really good couple of weeks, fitness-wise. First, let me start with an unapologetic, attention-whore, self-congratulating remark: I CAN TOTALLY TELL I'M LEANING OUT BECAUSE MY GODDAMN PANTS FIT BETTER.

And really, it's so much more obnoxious than that. Because today I am wearing a pair of chinos I bought late last spring, when I'd dropped some el bees doing P90X. I regained said el bees during a period of baking obsession last fall (which I am sure is a complete and total coincidence, and not in any way causally related). Thus, these chinos, while wearable, were definitely bordering on uncomfortably snug.

THEY ARE LOOSE. Not like, too big loose, but comfortably loose. And every time I put them on, I'm like "haha YAAAAY my pants are loose!" But that's not it. Legitimately, all day long, I think to myself "heh...heh...these pants fit AWESOME." When I stand up, when I sit back down, when I lean over to put shoes on, when I walk downstairs to buy carrot sticks and chocolate.

So, you know, that's good stuff. But I'm getting stronger, too. This week's recaps:

- Friday: Lynne. I benched for the first time since at least 2007 or 2008. Back then, I was doing (I think) 65 or 75lbs for sets of eight. Friday, I used 90lbs for the metcon, which was 5 rounds of max bench presses followed by max pull ups. I thought I took a picture of my sets, but I guess not - can't recall with total accuracy, but I did something like 7/11, 7/11, 7/10, 6/10 and 5/9 - with 90lbs and the average band.

- Sunday: gymnastics. Muscle-up work. Once I get a pull up, I think these will start to come together for me. Metcon was redonk.



I started getting sick this weekend, and I could really feel my weakness in the handstand holds. Normally I can do 60 seconds without too much of a problem, but after the first round on Sunday my shoulders started to collapse between 40 and 45 seconds each time. That meant 4 broken handstands, which meant a cashout of 40 burpees. I did them in sets of 10 and knocked them out in about 3 minutes, which is SIGNIFICANT improvement over that time I did 50 burpees in 4:05 and legitimately thought I was going to pass out afterwards.



(AW moment: post-metcon, while I was regaining my composure, Sammy told me she noticed how my body composition was changing. The words "your back looks ripped" may have come up. AW AW AW AW. )

I took Monday off from the gym and spent the night on the couch drinking broth and playing scrabble. It helped my recovery tremendously.

Tuesday - ring dips, peak set of 3. I'm still using bands to assist but am getting stronger. Light band - 1/2 light band (one strap only) - mini band - 1/2 mini (complete fail) - 1/2 mini (one rep, then fail). Metcon: 3 rounds of 1min max ring dips (LB), 1 min ring rows strong arm, 1 min ring rows weak arm, 1 min row for calories, 1 min rest. Score: 151 (total reps + total calories). Not too shabby. Stayed for gymnastics; worked on kipping pull ups and kipping for handstand pushups. Between the metcon and my cold, I was definitely feeling fatigued, but my kip is getting better. I will throw a goddamn party when I get my first bodyweight pull up.

Wednesday - sandbags, double-unders. Goal: get a sandbag off the ground and overhead any way you can. 40-50-60-70 (couple attempts). Sandbags are awkward to clean and not easy to control overhead - both times I did the 70lb bag, it fell backwards off my hands at the top, since I couldn't keep a grip on it when cleaning. Metcon was awesome: 5 rounds for time of 35 DU's (I scaled to 10) and short loop run. I finished in 14:59. Runs felt strong, and by the end I was stringing DU's together "unbroken" (meaning "without stomping on the rope or getting the rope stuck in my hair," not "DU after DU after DU without fail or interruption") with singles in between. Wish I'd thought of that in the beginning - I would have shaved off a BUNCH of time.

Um and also PhillyGuy got Sophie a new toy. It's a stuffed hedgehog.



Or her doppelganger. Whatever.

Oh Monday

about five hours of sleep plus lots of this



requires lots of this



That's my second cup of coffee so far. First bottle of water.

I should be telling you all about the nine-miler that I ran yesterday. But I won't be. Because I didn't.

I stayed out JUST a touch later than I intended to on Saturday night. And drank JUST a touch more alcohol. And I stayed up just a TOUCH later, to drink plenty of water on top of the bottle of Gatorade I chugged on my walk home. (and, while we're at it, I left just a TOUCH more Facebook messages for people than I intended to leave.)

So while I didn't have a hangover yesterday, I DID sleep really late. I think it was after 9 by the time I finally woke up. By the time I walked the dogs, it was nearly 10, I had no coffee in the house, and it was already 80 degrees. No chance was I running nine miles at that point. Instead, I hightailed it to Ants Pants for an iced coffee, followed by a quick trip to the grocery store. I feasted on a bagel with cream cheese, lox and tomato from the comfort of my couch while putting together a game plan for the day.

The good? That game plan involved some MUCH NEEDED home maintenance. I scrubbed my downstairs hallway, recaulked the seal of our door that my innocent lil' puppy managed to dig out, did laundry, replaced light bulbs in a ceiling fixture, vaccuumed three flights of stairs, de-dog-furred the hardwood floors, and cleaned the bathrooms.

The bad? That game plan DID NOT involve any running or, in fact, any gym-going at all.

I think I'll try to cover the nine miles tonight. I cannot believe it's less than three weeks until the Distance Run. I still haven't decided whether to run it or not, but I'm leaning towards running it...if only for the free t-shirt.

How was your weekend? Also, Distance Run roll call? Anyone else running it?

Cupcake

So shortly after I posted my last entry, wherein I bragged about wearing sweatpants to work...you guessed it. In rolls my boss. Even though she TOLD ME on Friday that she WASN'T COMING IN.

Oh well. No one said a word all day, so I'll just pretend that means she didn't notice I was wearing Luon.

Of course, even though she decides to come in on the day I rock my sweatpants, she took TODAY off instead. When I wore, you know, functional pants with a tab waist and zipper and made of fabric that did NOT contain 80% spandex.

Whatever.

Today, one of the big legal research powerhouses came in and hosted a "cupcake party" for us. Since it's late summer and everyone and their sister is on vacation (except me...boooo), it was a small scene. Just me and a couple of partners. I rarely have to do research, as I do mainly transactional work, and partners...well, even if they need research done, they aren't exactly the ones logging in to do it.

But I did have a specific question, so I ran in, asked it, chit-chatted with our rep, and then grabbed a cupcake on my way out.



I really, REALLY wanted to like this. You can't really tell from the picture, but it's miniature - base is probably a little larger than a standard bottle cap (soda/water/whatever; smaller than a Snapple cap). There are little sparkly bits of red sugar.

Um, but...I don't know. It's wrong. I thought it was going to be a cappucino-type flavor, and maybe it was. But all I could taste was butter. That frosting literally tasted like someone whipped a packet of Via in with a big ol' stick of butter and maybe a gallon of sugar.

Blech. Not for me. Give me my Lindt Fleur de Sel any day.

Proof

that I'm eating my veggies:



Leftovers for lunch today.

My approximation of shrimp fried rice. I stir-fried garlic, half a chopped Vidalia onion, half a package of sliced and chopped white 'shrooms, and a ton of fresh green beans together with some olive oil, a dash of sesame oil, soy sauce, and ginger. I deglazed with cooking sherry, tossed in some shrimp and let it cook for a few minutes while I microwaved a package of Uncle Ben's made some brown rice. Toss together, scramble in some eggwhites, top with fish sauce. Voila.

I'd show you last night's originals, which were (shockingly) much more photogenic...but I once again left my cardreader at home.

It's Friday blogworld! PhillyGuy and I are grilling steaks tonight at home. I'll probably make some roasted green beans/mushrooms/onions on the side...and just maybe pick up a bottle of vino on my way home.

Plans??

Magic Drawer

I'm having a particularly "meh" day at work today. See, I'm working on something that's not in any way, shape or form challenging. It's also not in any way, shape or form interesting. I have something else on my list that will be far more engaging, but I just HAVE to get this other, far more boring thing done first.

So what do I do? Take a break. A break to take blackberry pictures of the inside of my middle desk drawer and share them with you.



Isn't she gorgeous, folks?

This is also a peek into my average (and by "average," I actually mean "completely representative because I eat the same exact thing every single day until I get so sick of it I can't even look at it") daily eats.

Missing from this picture (because I was eating the last one as I got the inspiration to do a little smartphone photography) is approximately half a pound of baby carrots. Believe it or not, I eat these as much for stress relief as I do for taste. I cannot tell you how good it feels to just CRUNCH into one of those suckers. Sort of like, I don't know, punching a wall, or something. Very satisfying. I get so into the CRUNCH that I usually eat about 2/3 of the bag before I remember that I also have almond butter to dip them in! So, that tiny tupperware of AB -- I usually fill it about 1/3 of the way -- tends to last two days.

There on top we have a chocolate Clif Builders' Bar. In reality, I FAR prefer regular ol' Clif Bars. However, in reality, I am making a concerted effort to eat a lower-carb, higher-protein diet, because, in reality, for me, carbs = maintenance, and, in reality, I still do not fit in the percentage of my wardrobe that I'd like to fit in.

As far as high-protein bars go, the Builders' Bars are my favorite so far. Most other high-protein bars take the form of either this:



(AHHHHHHHH) or this:



(the size of a brick, the texture of clay, and "only" 437 calories)

Don't get me wrong, they're still not the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. But when it's 4:30pm, my stomach's starting to growel and I need to work out after I get home in a couple hours? They're perfect. And (for the most part) don't pretend to be a candy bar.

Inside the other tupperware? My daily dose of berries. I strongly prefer that they be room temperature rather than refrigerated, so they also live in my desk drawer.



I don't know what I'm going to do when berries are all out of season again. They're not TOO pricey at Costco during the winter, but they're nowhere near as good. And no other fruit comes close to being so perfect with plain yogurt.

Honorable mentions go to my collection of random extra napkins (they came in incredibly handy when I knocked over a cup of coffee a few weeks ago), the packet of Starbucks Via (soooo nice to be able to get iced coffee without leaving the office) and the extra hairbands (um, duh).

Hmm. Well, this has been a great diversion. Maybe my work will suddenly seem more fascinating when I get back to it! Happy almost-to-the-weekend!

Struggling

Today is not the happiest of days.

It should be, you know? It's a gorgeous, sunny, low-humidity morning. I listened to my iPod on the walk to work -- lots of Glee mixed with my old stand-by punk and pop-punk favorites. I'm having a good hair day (no doubt assisted by aforementioned low humidity). I'm wearing an awesome bright teal scarf that cooperated when I tied it, so it's arranged beautifully and falls perfectly.

But I'm really struggling today, guys. I've got some immense...I don't even know. I'd call it "guilt," but it's really not guilt. It's more like self-loathing, I guess.

It's not completely out of nowhere. I know what triggered it. Around 5:15 or so yesterday, I started to get hungry -- so I had the other half of my Clif Builder's bar, so I'd be ready to hit the gym after I got home. PhillyGuy offered to pick me up from work, and he got there just before 6.
Right after I hopped in the car, he looked at me. "I have a proposition. Can we get rotisserie chicken for dinner?" And I knew he meant "now, on our way home, and eat it immediately."

I told him I'd just had a clif bar, wasn't really hungry and wanted to go to the gym. And he told me he was really tired, he'd had a long day and was hungry...and that I could go to the gym, but he wasn't going to come with me. And he wanted dinner.

I could have gone anyway. I REALLY WANTED to go anyway. But instead, I decided that it would be OK to skip it, and that I'd have dinner with my husband, who's been traveling a bunch lately and who I haven't really seen much at all in the past few weeks.

So I skipped it. We stopped at Healthy Bites and got some random stuff -- I had a piece of lemon sole with capers and a chicken breast stuffed with roasted peppers, tomato and a goat cheese/pesto combination. I ate most of the sole and half of the chicken. That was it.

And then PhillyGuy had to get some work done. And I sat on the couch. That's when I started feeling guilty, and feeling like I'd made the wrong choice by not working out. It carried throughout the night -- watching Top Chef, heading up to bed. It carried through to this morning, when I realized at 6:15 that, even though I'd set my alarm for 5am so I could get up and run, I had turned it off and gone back to sleep. It carried through to picking out my outfit for the day -- I picked one out and changed because the pants were still too snug. It carried through to the rest of my morning routine -- taking out the trash, making my breakfast/lunch, watering the plants on the balcony. It carried through to my walk to work -- I beat myself up for not taking advantage of the fabulous low humidity and perfect running weather. When a favorite running song came onto my iPod, I mentally kicked myself because I should have been listening to it hours ago, when the streets were emptier and the sun lower in the sky.

This is SO NOT PRODUCTIVE.

And here's the really cheese part: I got to work and put my lunch down on my desk. When I take a smaller handbag to work -- one that doesn't fit my little tupperware -- I pack my food in a Lululemon bag. You guys probably all know how their bags have all kinds of great pictures and inspirational statements on them. This one caught my eye:



That works in reverse, too -- how much you like yourself is going to directly affect your outlook on life. If I spend the rest of the day killing myself for skipping the gym yesterday and eating "extra" dinner, I'm going to be an enormously miserable bitch and my day is going to suck. It's going to be reflected in the work that I do, and how I handle the inevitable bajillion phone calls with clients. And it's just not necessary and definitely not productive.

So, here goes nothing. Berries and yogurt for breakfast. I'm on my second cup of iced coffee, which, thanks to Starbucks VIA and my fabulous travel cold cup, I didn't even need to go downstairs to get.



(seriously - how adorable is that red and white straw?)

In general, I intend to combat my obnoxious self-loathing and negativity by being obnoxiously positive and happy. I figure it'll average out and make me a normal person at some point.

I am a Disgrace

OK, seriously. I got up to grab something off of the printer this morning, and when I came back into my office, I caught a look at my desk.



This is really bad. And kind of embarassing. How do I work like this?

I wonder if my horrendously messy desk contributes to my occasional feelings of "OMGWTFHOWAMIEVERGONNAGETTHISDONE." I mean, I know where everything is. And sometimes, I just need forty different documents splayed out all over. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn't need to be QUITE this much of a paper explosion.

Hmm.

Know what, though? After today, I just have TWO MORE DAYS until I'm off for an entire freakin' week.

We're not going anywhere. PhillyGuy and I kicked around the idea of going to Vegas or Key West or maybe the shore, but the more I thought about it, the more overwhelmed I was with even the idea of going somewhere.

"But...we'd have to PACK OUR CLOTHES...and then when you get back you need to UNPACK THEM."

Not even kidding. It made me want to cry. When the idea of vacation even seems like too much of a hassle, I think it's a clear sign you need some downtime, yes?

So I'm blowing out of this paper explosion and not lookin' back for a whole week. I can wake up when I want (well, within reason -- the dogs sort of like it when they can go outside in the morning). I can work out when I want. I can take a random day and drive down the shore if I so desire. I can make breakfast! Take walks! OMG...TAKE NAPS.

Yup. Paradise.

I just need to get through the next couple of days -- and maybe clean up this desk while I'm at it.

New Addition

I don't think I ever posted my newly-updated bulletin board. In general, my office is pretty bare. Nothing on my walls. No pretty plants to liven the place up. I just never got around to bringing things in to decorate. I'm going on my third year here, so I should probably do that soon. In the meantime, the only drop of personalization in here is my bulletin board.

What used to look like this:



Now looks like this:



You can't tell as well in this picture, but the 2010 bib is significantly more mangled than the 2008 bib. 2008 looks freakin' pristine compared to the bleaching and fading and crumpling that is 2010.

I earned every single bit of that.

Productivity!

This has been an exceptionally productive morning for me -- and it's only 9:30.

I have a big deal that we've been negotiating for an exceptionally long time that (cross your fingers) looks like it's going to close by tomorrow. That means that I've been spending countless hours drafting and editing lots and lots and LOTS of documents, sending lots and lots and LOTS of emails, and making lots and lots and LOTS of phone calls. Yesterday, I sent out a "final" draft of the main agreement. When I came in at 8:06, I already had two emails and a voicemail from our "opponents" with "comments." Meaning -- even though we were "done negotiating," they are STILL NEGOTIATING.

Nothing is EVER final...so I've spent this morning making further edits, phone calls and emailing explanations (of things I KNOW I've gone over multiple times before...but WHATEVER). After all that, I ran down to DiBruno's for my second cup of coffee of the day.



Pardon the exceptional amount of cups on my desk. The silver travel mug just sits there waiting to be filled with hot tea when I'm cold...the ceramic high school graduation mug is full of pens...behind that is my ever-empty Nalgene, which theoretically I should fill with water every day, several times a day. But (here's a dirty little secret) unless I'm in the middle of a workout, I do NOT like to drink water. I just don't like it. I'm weird.

Last night was plyo. God, that hour flies by. I've been doing this one up in the "home gym," by myself, so I can work out in bare feet, a sports bra and shorts. That kind of thing doesn't fly at the gym, you know? I find the jumps to be significantly easier on my knees in bare feet...and why get a shirt dirty if I don't have to?

I'm definitely feeling it today -- mostly in my glutes and hamstrings, somewhat in my calves. Not at all, in any way shape or form, in my quads -- which is sort of frustrating. What is wrong with the way I use my legs that my quads aren't ever incorporated in anything? Pretty sure this contributes significantly to the fact that my patella just won't stay where it belongs :)

Breakfast of Champions

Bucket of Dunkin Donuts iced coffee...tastes pretty bland, but I can get 32 ounces of it, so it'll do. Though I'll probably end up taking a walk to DiBruno's before long to get some REAL coffee.



Berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries), Fage 0, and a side of to-do list and disorganized desk. On the plus side, after I took this picture I crossed one of those items off the list...and my boss is out at a CLE all day, so I'll probably be able to cross a few more off without her calling me in to add to that list.

Last night was chest and back. I was also supposed to do Ab Ripper X, but kind of "forgot." And by "forgot," I mean that I told myself I would leave the gym and go home to do the DVD. And then told myself I'd walk the dogs first before I did the DVD. And then, when we got back from our walk, figured it would be pointless to try to do the DVD, since it was about 8:45 at that point and I still had some work to get done.

The not-so-secret reason that I "forgot" is that I know as soon as I do that stupid DVD, with its stupid "crunchy frog" and four thousand other variations of torture, I will once again find myself worrying about whether my lower abs will tear open when I sneeze. Of course, the REASON they get so sore after the ab DVD is because I have a really weak core. It would be foolish to, you know, do some exercises to build it up, right?

That would just be silly.

Chest and back was good, though. I warmed up for 15 minutes on the elliptical first and then dove in to my non-stop hour of various push-ups, (assisted) pullups, and dumbbell exercises. Our new gym has an assisted pullup machine, which I'm taking full advantage of to try to build myself up to doing unassisted pullups. Right now, I'm using a 70-lb counterweight and completing about 8-10 reps, depending on the hand positions and where I am in my routine. I always go to exhaustion, and it always makes me feel sort of bad-ass. As usual with P90X stuff, I left a sweaty mess.

I'm really loving the gorgeous weather we've been having here -- it rained a bit this morning, so my walk to work was a little more humid than it has been. But it's supposed to clear up and hit the mid-80s today. MID-80's!!!!!