{{{brenda}}} dog~ma to Lucy, and try-not-to-worry~ma to you!

brenda~ma for lucy and lucy~ma for brenda!

Yeah, right now I'm 175 (5'3") and wearing a 14. I'd like to get back to between 140-150 because it's not really that hard to maintain once I get there and I know I'm fitter, BP in particular. It's just the getting there and I haven't been committed to it for the past year. I'm like omnis, I've slowly started changing some of my habits to reduce the amount of junk I eat. I don't buy snacks (chips, cookies, etc.) when I go grocery shopping, so there's nothing in the house to tempt me to eat the whole bag/box. I've quit buying junk out of the machines at work to prevent boredom eating in the afternoon. I quit buying half and half for my coffee (you'll take my raw sugar out of my cold, dead hands before I give up sugar in coffee.) I mainly want to eat healthier, because I haven't been and it effects my energy levels. That and diabetes runs in my family, so I'm trying to wean myself off of excessive amounts of sugar. The big stumbling ground is exercize, I keep using my commute time as an excuse to not work out because of lack of time. At least I'm playing on a coed volleyball team on Sunday's, now, so that's better than nothing.

I can clearly feel a lump. Not large, mind you, but it definately changes the phrenology of my head (I'm sure improper usage of word, but not sure how else to describe). The strange thing is... it doesn't hurt!

Omnis, when I fell off the stool at the bookstore and whacked my head on the shelves behind me this winter, I had the same situation, except the lump did hurt when I pressed on it. I put ice on it and kept it there the rest of my shift (yes, I did continue to work the last hour!), but when I woke up the next morning, the lump was mostly gone as was pretty much all the pain. No double-vision and no lasting side-effects, so everything worked out all right.

Are you practicing reverse phrenology? Have you acquired super power or new insights into cosmic probmes?

John Travolta has nothing on me! I am currently checking MM's calculations for the transporter. I think I know how the cat's head ended up as it did. According to my calculations, there were, in fact, TWO cats! My brain is of the awesome now!

I spent the thinnest years of my life believing I was a fat cow.

I was like this as well. Now I see photos from that time and wonder what I was thinking. At the gym today I realized that I'm not going to be that size again, probably. What I can do is eat right, exercise and accept my body for the way it is.

ChiKat, have you asked Office Max if they will let you buy more than the 10 per day? I provide the same folders to all of my students to use for their journal for my class. By my purchasing them I can color code my classes which helps me try to stay organized. I also overbuy them so I can provide them for students that are financially challenged.

Just heard back from the fencing instructor, who suggested the following shoes:

Most kinds of sneakers or athletic shoes are OK. Indoor court shoes are best. Running shoes not designed for side-to-side motion are not recommended.

What precisely is an "indoor court shoe"? And how would I recognize a shoe not designed for side-to-side motion?

"Indoor court shoes" are tennis, basketball, volleyball... basically, anything that's not running shoes (which have too much tread, and so grip the floor a lot, especially when you're just learning footwork).

More generally, you need to be comfortable and be able to move. Sweats, a good sports bra, sneakers, etc. But you won't need to come in with anything specialized for a beginner's class.

I forgot to add this to my post.

One of my mentors had a heart attack almost 2 years ago. He recovered, but we hoped the college he teaches at would realize he needs an assistant (namely me). I just found out today that he had a fairly bad seizure 4 or 5 weeks ago. The doctors aren't allowing him to drive.

The college still won't recognize he needs help. He retires in 1.5 years and would love to see me take his place. (exciting for me, if I can just make it to January 2010). Bigger than everything, though, I'm really worried about him. He is an amazing professor and a wonderful friend.

But you won't need to come in with anything specialized for a beginner's class.

Right -- if you have sneakers of any kind, just stick with those and don't buy anything new until after you start and get a feel for what you might need.