February 05, 2014

Snow on top of snow on top of snow

I give up trying to get anything done! Today, my kids had their (9th? 10th? 11th?) snow day. I lost count. We were supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow, and it just started snowing when I was on my way home from urgent care last night at around 9:00 (TMI: I had symptoms of a UTI all day yesterday, and I was in so much pain last night that I went to urgent care. Sure enough, it's a bladder infection, so I'm on antibiotics now).

At 5:00, I woke up and wasn't able to fall back asleep. When we get the phone call canceling school, it's usually right at 5:00. So I assumed the kids had school. Then at 5:15, the phone rang, and of course, woke up the kids. The Honeywell Instant Alert System drives me crazy when we get an alert--I get a text, Jerry gets a text, the house phone rings (which also makes my cell phone ring because of call forwarding), then my cell phone rings, and then Jerry's cell phone rings. Oh, and Jerry and I both get an e-mail. We can't even remove our phones from the list (I would prefer just a text), because they want to make sure we get the message.

5:15 AM: message received.

Jerry left for work at 6:00, and he later told me that the roads were absolutely terrible. The 20-minute drive ended up taking 50 minutes. People were driving 10-20 mph on the expressway. So I'm not surprised that school was canceled, but I am seriously questioning when this craziness will end!

It snowed really hard from about 7:00-noon, and we got much more snow than we were expecting. In most places, it was about 10-12 inches deep. (I know this because I spent all afternoon shoveling it!) I wish the pics I took could show just how deep it was, but this was the best I could do:





I have a goal for February to get in 10,000 steps per day. On my rest days, I never even come close to that, unless I go for a couple of walks. Today, I was hoping that I could get in 10,000 without going for any walks, but after cleaning the house all morning, and shoveling the driveway for a couple of hours, I'd only accumulated 4,000 steps. My upper body got a serious workout from shoveling, though!

When I came inside, I was absolutely ravenous, so I had a Clif Bar with a smear of peanut butter on it to hold me over until dinner. Normally, I'm not nearly that hungry at 3:00 in the afternoon, but the shoveling definitely gave me an appetite! I was also really cold when I came it, and when I sat down on the couch, Estelle ran over to me to jump on my lap (like she always does). When she put her paw on my leg, she startled and pulled it back. Then she tentatively pushed on my leg a couple of times, deciding whether to climb on. Normally, I'm a nice warm body for her to lie on top of; but today, she didn't even want to get on my lap after I came in from shoveling ;)

I walked for 45 minutes on the treadmill to accumulate some more steps, but even after that, I was only at 8,500. I don't know how people get 10,000 on days that they don't deliberately exercise!

Another goal I made for February is to stay off of the scale for the entire month. Even though I have been much less focused on numbers for a couple of months, I still weigh daily out of habit. So I was 139 at the beginning of February, and I'm hoping that I'll be at (or less than) 139 by the end of February.


My friend Linda just pointed out to me that I am on "The Awesome List of the Top 100 Best Running Blogs of 2104"... I didn't know that there were more than 100 running blogs out there, but I'm flattered to be on the list ;)   Anyway, I just wanted to point it out in case you're looking for more running blogs to read. When I get some time, I'm going to go through the list and check it out!


Finally, I'm going to watch (on Hulu) The Biggest Loser Finale from last night. I've read so much about it on Twitter, that I have to see what all the hype is about!

17 comments:

  1. I'm so darn sick of snow. When will this crazy winter end?!

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  2. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the BL finale. I was disgusted and disappointed. The winner's BMI was underweight and looked completed unhealthy and starving. I could not believe that starving yourself was something that should be rewarded and admirable. No amount of money is worth ruining your health and possible serious long term health problems or death. I am seriously disappointed in NBC and the way they have not addressed the situation. BL is supposed to be an inspirational show, not a contest to see who can starve themselves to lose 60% body fat.

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  3. Thoughts on Rachel's weight loss? The whole vibe changed after she got on the scale, that's for sure!

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    1. Definitely! The Jillian and Bob's faces said it all!!

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  4. Snow.must.stop.now! My students need outdoor recess, and I don't want to be going to school until July! Congrats on staying off the scale - I am still really struggling with that- trying to stick to once a week (with mid-week cheats w/more clothing on so I "really" don't know my final weight).

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  5. I'm also hoping to read your thoughts on the finale. I just watched tonight and was a little horrified. To NBC's credit, they really didn't talk too much to Rachel about her weight loss. Probably because she looked so unhealthy. The trainers looked a little stunned and shocked as well.

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  6. yes i would love to hear your input on the finale. i wanted david to win.. i was rooting for him all season long, but i also am always proud when a minnesotan is in it! i was just very shocked with rachel's weight and i thought the trainers looked concerned.. she just was SO TINY... as soon as those doors opened up, i was speechless. i just hope she's happy and hopefully healthy. i still love last year's winner though, danni!

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  7. I was a Rachel fan from the get go, but seeing her at the finale I was stunned. Skin and bones. :(

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  8. I didn't watch BL this season, but now am also interested to watch the finale after seeing some pictures. Perhaps they should have a rule that, if your final BMI is in the "underweight" category, you are disqualified.

    I finally tried some David's Tea! You have had so many good things to say about it, that when we saw a store (two, actually) when we were in Toronto a couple weeks ago, I decided to get some. I got the Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, just a small bag, and a tea ball. I will have to try more. What are some of your favourites?

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  9. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on BL also. I didn't watch the entire series, but saw the winner. I think she is a little underweight, but I didn't think she looked as anorexic as some articles are saying. She has definition in her arms/legs. But being up another 10 lbs. would probably make her look better.

    Hope you are feeling better and the antibiotics take care of things!

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  10. Interestingly enough I have no issues with Rachel. I suspect she did it for the money. I don't think she'll maintain that weight. A question that was posed on a FB page that I follow was basically: is this much difference than what the survivor contestants put their body through? I watched the episode and I thought she looked fine in video. Less so in actual photos. I saw a clip on TV last night of an interview that she must have done yesterday. Honestly I think this is the same as people judging a fat person. You just don't know. And I think it's certainly wrong and unjust to imply that she now has an eating disorder. I told my husband last night that if I was her and I knew that I could eat a little less and do some more cardio and lose the lbs I needed to walk home with $250K I'd have done it. But I'm sure that comment will also be judged by many.

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  11. I'm ditching the scale this month too! It is actually harder than I thought it would be now that I'm in to it, but good luck!

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  12. Congrats on the Best Running Blog selection. Well deserved! Sorry about more snow in your area. You've had more than your share! That's funny that Estelle didn't want to sit on your lap when your body wasn't toasty and warm like she is accustomed to. Funny cats. I have a cat now, she wondered onto our acreage last fall, and eventually we let her inside, after feeding her outside for a few months. My heart is too soft to make an animal stay outside in this extreme cold. She is very friendly, and might just be the best cat I've ever had. And she just wandered in one day....
    I haven't been a loyal watcher of BL this year, but do still DVR it and catch it occasionally. I decided to watch last week's episode Monday to prepare myself for the season finale. I thought I remembered Rachel (the winner) weighing 150 lbs. on the next to finale episode, when I saw that she had won at105 lbs.!!! She really dumped a whole bunch of weight in her weeks at home. WOW! I bet her scale doesn't stay there though. Few people stay at their lowest weight, especially from BL. I think she worked her butt off to win the $$, and who could blame her? That's a lot of money. She already won a new Ford Focus by winning the mini-triathlon on the next-to-last week. She did have a bit of an unfair advantage in the triathlon though, since she was a competitive swimmer. She is probably too skinny now, although she looked pretty fabulous on the Finale episode I thought. I guess, with me....too skinny looking is rare. I bet she didn't develop an eating disorder either, few people go from one extreme (overeating) to anorexia, do they? She may not know how to maintain a weight, however, and that could be hard for her. But then it's hard for all of us.

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  13. I would be interested to hear your thoughts as well. I admit to being shocked and sad when she came out. The irony that it was the anniversary of the death of Karen Carpenter and she weighed a few pounds less than Karen Carpenter (at the same height) when she passed away didn't escape me. I am disturbed that some pro-anorexia sites are holding Rachel up as a "thinspiration". Whether she has an issue or not, I think she needs to be aware she's being used as a role model for them. According to interviews with her, she was eating 1600 calories a day and going to 4-5 workout classes every single day. Obviously I am not an expert, but it's way too few calories if you are going to work out that hard. I would feel like I was starving constantly if I ate that amount of calories and worked out 4-5 hours a day. I am hoping she just got carried away by the competition and will modify her calories/workout schedule and maybe put on 10 extra pounds, which is all she needs. She seems like a bright, intelligent, attractive girl, so hopefully she will figure it out.

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  14. i just wanted to thank you so much for the inspiration you are! after struggling with weight for 28 years i've dedicated this year to finally getting healthy, and your story is such great motivation. i'm chronicling my journey (yearofskinny.weebly.com) and i'm so excited to see where it takes me. thanks for being a role model. :)

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  15. Just wanted to echo the comments of those looking forward to getting your take on the BL final... interesting.

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  16. I have never in my life experienced a winter like this! That $12.97 for a new shovel the week before Christmas was the BEST money ever spent!

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