Blogging From A to Z

I've mentioned a few times that I'm participating in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge this year. It's a fun challenge that involves writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet. So beginning tomorrow and continuing through the month of April, most of my blogging will probably be for this challenge. As of right now, I have my posts written and schedule through the letter E. It's not as many as I had hoped to have ready for the first day of the challenge. But I'm not panicking yet. It'll work itself out. As long as I stay ahead of schedule, there's nothing to worry about. (Okay maybe I'm feeling a little panicked... Deep breaths...)

My theme is me. Because it's my first year participating, I'm keeping it simple and writing posts about me. By the time May gets here, you'll know about my two favorite book series are (D & H), my favorite stand-alone novel (E), my dream house (I), my favorite animal (P), my favorite hobby (Y), and so much more. I hope you enjoy them and getting to know me.

I'll be using the label "A to Z 2012" specifically for these posts. Don't forget to check out the challenge's site and check out the blogs of other participants as well. See you tomorrow for the letter A.

Mega Millions Advice You Need to Read

So the Mega Millions is up so high ($640 million as I write this) that everyone is going crazy over it. Understandably. That's a huge amount of money. I have tickets myself. But I thought I needed to put some sanity about the Mega Millions out there as well. I used to work at a gas station and observed the insanity over lotteries up close and personal. So here's some advice...

~Do not ever join an office pool. Everyone thinks they're so fantastic because they hear about lunch ladies getting rich or construction workers being able to quit. But those are the exceptions to the rule. Trust me. The person who's in charge of the office pool is screwing you over. At the same time that they buy the office tickets, they buy tickets for themselves. Any tickets that win, they keep; the losers are the office pool tickets. I've NEVER seen an honest office pool.

~Don't pool money with your family. It's worse than the office pool. It's more likely to come to blows when it's family. Just don't do it. You know how the overused "They" always say that you shouldn't loan money to family or friends? Don't play lotto with them either. Nine times out of ten, someone will be dishonest. And it's usually the person in charge of the tickets. That's why they put themselves in charge of buying and redeeming tickets.

~Fill out the damn sheet if you're picking your own numbers. Don't whisper them to the clerk. It's annoying and half the time the store is so busy they can't hear you. If you can't trust the other people in the store to overhear your numbers, you can't trust the clerk. I never paid attention to the numbers on the sheet as long as the machine spit out a ticket. But you are willing to whisper the numbers? I have to pay attention to those. And was able to remember the numbers long enough to buy my own ticket with them. I never did, but heard of clerks doing that quite a few times. And saw it with my own eyes a couple times.

~If you're filling out the sheet, fill it out properly. Ask before you mark anything if you don't know how to fill it out. It was easier (and less time consuming) for me to explain how to mark it than it was to try to help you figure out how to fix it. There's also instructions on the back of the sheet.

~Do not pick numbers for other people. If they lose, it will be your fault. If they win they'll have selective amnesia and forget that you picked the numbers. Plus it's not worth the emotional effects it has on you. If they lose, you'll feel guilty. If they win, you'll feel slighted.

~Buy your tickets at least two hours before the cut off. The larger the jackpot, the longer the line. The machine is pre-programmed to shut off at a specific time that's determine by the state lotto commissions and the organizers of the drawings. In Colorado it's 7:30 pm. The clerk can't do anything to stop it. It's not their fault you waited till 7:29 to get in the car and go buy tickets. Don't yell at them. It doesn't do any good. Pick them up on your way home. On your way to work. At lunch. Whatever. But do it at least two hours before the cut off time.

~Sign the back of your ticket.

Large amounts of money can bring out the very best in people. But it also brings out the very worst in people. Be prepare for and expect the worst but hope for the best. Good luck!

What's Your Number

A lot of the shows that I watch on a normal basis are reruns for some reason, so I've had a lot of turn-around on my Netflix queue lately. Watched What's Your Number? last night. Queued it because I remember seeing the trailers and commercials for it and thinking it looked like it might be a funny movie. But after watching it, I wasn't in love with it. I wasn't even in like with it.

You can call me a prude if you want, but there was way too much swearing just to swear (and I have the mouth of a drunken sailor at times) and gratuitous talk about sex. The scenes where Ally is talking to her sister and friends are the worst. You can tell that whoever wrote the movie put those scenes in just to prove that women have as dirty and obnoxious mouths as men do. The concept was okay but all the pointless talk about sex just got boring. The scene where the women have a conversation about 69? Didn't do anything for the plot. It was just a scene where a bunch of women stood around in a dress shop (I think it was the dress shop, might have been the flower shop) and talk about blowing their husbands. Whatever. I want those two hours back.

Turtle: The Incredible Journey

This documentary only made its way into my Netflix queue because I thought it might have some pretty shots of the ocean. And WOW. There's just no description for the visual aspect of this. The narrator, Miranda Richardson (Rita Skeeter, what?!), is really enjoyable to listen to. She's way better than those monotone, boring as shit narrators from school documentaries. You need to watch this movie. It's interesting, educational and just all around gorgeous. I wanted to run out to the nearest ocean and find a turtle to hug. And I'm not a turtle person at all.

 

The Bridge

This is one of my favorite songs and I had to share it. It's been on my mind a lot lately, not sure why. Check out Marc Gunn's site for more amazing music.


Sigh. Love this song.

Bravery and Work

I read this and nodded all the way through it. Definitely worth the click.

Sometimes bravery is closing your eyes, and pushing thru, even when it makes you feel sick.

5ive Days to Midnight

So I only put this on my Netflix list because it has Timothy Hutton in it. He's such and amazing actor. 5ive Days to Midnight is a four-part mini-series that ran on Sci-Fi. It was really, really good. TH plays a single-father physics professor who finds a briefcase that contains a police file about his murder that is supposed to happen in five days. Overall the movie is a good mixture of romance, sci-fi and crime thriller. No single genre of plot overpowers the others.

I can't even tell you all the things I love about the movie because that would spoil it. And trust me, you do not want me to tell you any spoilers. Kari Matchett is in the movie as TH's girlfriend. This is really awesome because she plays TH's ex-wife on Leverage. It's got a Quaid in it. The crazy one I think. And a whole bunch of other actors that I recognize but am not sure what they've been in or what their names are.

My biggest complaint about the movie is the little girl that plays TH's daughter. I don't know if it's just a weird coincidence or if it's being done on purpose but she looks and acts like Drew Barrymore in E.T. This bothers me because I hate imitation like that. And also, I hate E.T. with a passion. Cutest part is when she's reading the file. She mimics TH's body language while he read the file. Whoever thought of having her do that should be high-fived because it's cute and helps balance out her annoyingness.

Watch this movie. It's awesome.

Day One... Again

Over the last few days I've been doing a lot of decluttering (trying to make myself ineligible for Hoarders) and that has given me plenty of time for some introspection. I've thought a lot about weight loss. I thought about where I'm at weight and fitness wise and made a clear picture of where I want to be. Then I went over what has and hasn't worked for me in the path and was able to define a clear pathway of how to get from Point A to Point B.

Somehow I've managed to lose a little over seven pounds since the beginning of the year. I know that I shouldn't sniff at that, any loss is a loss. But I'm so confused over how I've managed to lose it. It really is a fluke. Trust me, my food and exercise behavior should not translate to a loss. That's a very large part of why I started really looking at my behaviors.

I'm not quite ready to share my plan and goals and assessment yet; I will when I'm ready. In the meantime, here's today's weigh in. Day One.

Weight: 262.6 lbs
Week Change: --
Total Change: --
Pounds to Goal: 117.6
BMI: 41.21

That's it for now. It's taken me almost two hours of writing and rewriting to get this written.

Anything Goes

Watched the 1956 Bing Crosby/Donald O'Conner version. I felt like I was having my brain sucked out with a vacuum. It's so tedious and long. I wikied it and apparently it's changed from the actual stage version. I really hope that the stage version is better. Cause the movie was bad. So bad. I wouldn't watch it again if you paid me to.

Rear Window

Honestly, I was a little bit concerned when I started watching this. I haven't seen tons of Hitchcock movies but I generally like them. And I like James Stewart.

But I was concerned about Grace Kelly. I've only seen her in two other movies Dial M For Murder and High Society. I liked Dial M... for the most part but not her as an actress in it. And I despised High Society. For several reasons. It's a remake of a much better movie that stars James Stewart, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant (The Philadelphia Story). It has Frank Sinatra in it. And watching Grace Kelly in it was like watching a piece of cardboard that mechanically recited lines. It was bad. All around bad.

So I was suspicious of Rear Window. But I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised. It was really good. Not only are James Stewart and Thelma Ritter they're normal, fantastic selves. But Grace Kelly was really good. The character is really good and has a great character arc through the movie. She starts out kind of annoying, trying to change Jeff, but then she comes around and stops trying to change him and accept his lifestyle. The story is really good. I made the mistake of reading a summary that gave the whole thing away and it kind of spoiled the fun of the discovery. It's a really good movie. A litle bit slow at first, but it's all neccessary for the set up of the story so it's not that bad. I'd watch it again.

Dancing With The Stars

Yeah, I know it's a couple days late, but whatever. I didn't watch DWTS live on Monday. I opted to watch The Voice instead. I downloaded DWTS on Tuesday and watched it that way. No commercials and I can fast-forward through the judges (Bruno was especially creepy) and Burk Burk-ToiletPaper. I'm fairly certain that this season's contestants had dance lessons prior to being on the show. Except for Gavin DeGraw and Martina Navratilova. They were the only two who really had any awkwardness about them. And of course, we all know that Sherri Shepherd took "just a few" classes (translations: Shitloads) at Maks' studio (that Val just happens to teach out, what a coinkydink). Whatever. It looks like it might be a good season to watch for the dancing, which is pretty much the only reason that I watch anymore. The show is no longer Dancing With the Stars, it's become Dancing With the Stars and Some People Learning to Dance. Seriously, the stars of the show are the professionals and Tom Bergeron. They just need to accept that. So glad that Tristan's back. I love him. He's my favorite pro(I'm sorry Jonathan, I still love you) but I really miss Jonathan, Dmitry and Edyta. Sigh. The show's just not the same without them.

So I leave you with this video I found on YouTube of Jonathan and Anna dancing.



Amazing, right?

Ocean's 13

So Saturday I settled in all ready to watch Rear Window. But the dvd was cracked. Fourth freaking time in less than two months! What the hell Netflix? Luckily, I had the dvd for Ocean's 13 as a back up. Gotta say, not in love with it. I do love Ocean's 11 and I liked Ocean's 12 well enough. But I think there definitely, without a doubt, should not be a 14. There just isn't the same charm and appeal in this one as in the first two. It was fun to see Scott Caan again in a non-Danno part (I love Hawaii Five-0). It's entertaining, but not great. I'd suggest it if you're looking for some entertainment but not if you're looking for a great suspense/heist/thriller movie.

Are You Irritated Yet?

So... I'm not in love with the whole specific posts on specific days thing. It's not working for me so I'm gonna bail on it. I haven't been posting photos because I (yet again) am irritated with the organization of them. I was reading a thing about tips for amateur photographers and two tips really stood out: don't just upload and forget them, and post only your best photos. I'm really bad about not ordering prints of my photos. And I also upload nearly every photo I take so... I'm going to work on that. Personal thing. I know, I know. All the changes and switching back and forth and general ADD tendencies (I swear I'm not ADD, I just appear that way) are irritating for anyone who reads my blog regularly. Sorry. Someday I'll get my act together. Until then, ADD it is.

Weight Loss Update - My Fairy Weight Loss Mother Is Confused

It was another rough week. But somehow I managed to lose weight. I'm confused.

Sunday: Did my morning yoga and walked Noel. But I forgot to do yoga in the evening. Ended up with a net of -47 calories.

Monday: Did morning yoga and did 20 minutes on the elliptical. Walked Noel again. And managed to remember evening yoga. I'm not sure how I feel about it. There's a couple poses that I don't like. I'll have to give it another try but I dunno if it's something I'm going to do on a regular basis. Ended up with a net of 2 calories. I know I said 0 or a negative but it's 2 calories. It's not that big a deal.

Tuesday: This was the last day I did ANYTHING. I did my normal yoga and then when I did the elliptical I had to stop ten minutes in. I can't remember why though. I didn't count calories.

And from Wednesday on, I haven't exercised or counted calories. I ate horribly. I was fully expecting a gain this week, but I had a loss.

Weight: 263.9 lbs
Change: 2.6 lbs lost
Pounds to Goal: 118.9
BMI: 41.42

Yeah. A 2+ pound loss. I have no idea how that managed to happen. I'm confused. I don't know what to do. My idea last week about setting a goal for each facet of weight loss may not have been a failure but it definitely wasn't a success. So I'm going to try something else.

Bribery. Or rewards I guess. Either one works. So my first reward/bribe will be when I reach 250 pounds. I've had several yards of Donna Dewberry "Singing in the Rain" fabric hanging around for a few years. I bought it with the intention of making myself a cute spring/summer skirt and have never gotten around to it. So when I hit 250, I will finally make myself that skirt. I'm not sure what style of skirt yet but I guess I can figure that out when I actually make the skirt.

 

What I'm Watching

Another dose of what I've been watching. Not much this week.

My Boys Season 2: Man only 9 episodes in this season. Which is lame. But the season was good. I just wish that P.J. and Bobby would get together already.

I Don't Know How She Does It: Wow, this movie sucks. It's not entertaining at all. It's really slow and then Kate just handles things all kinds of bad. And Sarah Shahi is in it. Twice. Seriously? You have someone as awesome as Sarah Shahi in a movie and she has like three lines and hardly any face time? That's crap.

Links To Check Out

Another round of links! Yay!

Knitted Sweaters For Guinea Pigs - These are so ridiculously adorable. I just can't stand it.

Should Gym Staff Be Healthy? @ A Merry Life - Yes. They should.

Will Power Exinguishes Own Engine Fire - Not an IRL fan at all but this is damned funny. I love the jumping up and down.

Crocus @ Gone Gardening - I just discovered this blog and I'm in love with it. Now I feel the need to get some crocuses for my yard.

Iditarod Musher Dramatically Revives Fallen Dog - This is so sweet.

Politics I Can Get Behind - You want to click it. It's a joke, not real politics.

Why It Works: Helena Bonham-Carter's Airport Flowerlady Look - I love Helena Bonham-Carter. She's an amazing actress. But on top of that, I love her style. Seriously I do. Because Hollywood is a cookie cutter society. Fit in or get out. And she does not fit in but she's not getting out. I think she's a woman that should be held up as an example to girls (and boys): Be yourself and tell others to f*** off.

Weight Loss Update - It's All In The Mindset

Liked this format last week. I'll try not to be so wordy this week.

Sunday: Did yoga and the elliptical. Tried that Weight Loss Program #1 and had to stop at 15 minutes in again. Not sure why though. Ended up with a net of 44 calories. Not great but it could be worse, so I won't complain.

Monday: Did yoga but not the elliptical. I can't remember why I didn't do it. Had a net of -191 calories. Yay!

Tuesday: I slept wrong and woke up with a horrible neck ache that lasted through the day so I didn't do anything physical. Spaced on counting calories.

Wednesday: Yoga. Then I attempted the Weight Loss Program #2 on the elliptical. Only made it ten minutes. Got cramps in my legs again. Didn't count calories.

Thursday, Friday & Saturday: No exercise. No counting calories. I've really been struggling this last week with my mindset. I've had brief moments of "Yeah! I can do this!" but they quickly disappear. I had that rush from the clothes but the next morning it was gone.

So now the weigh in...
Weight: 266.5 lbs
Change: 1.9 lb gain
Pounds to Goal: 121.5
BMI: 41.83

I'm not surprised at all. I knew that all my struggling would lead to that. Since weight loss breaks down into three categories: exercise, diet, and mindset. So I'm going to set a goal in each category to work on this week. My exercise goal is to create the routine of exercising. I'm allowing myself Sunday as an active rest day so I'll do yoga in the morning, walk Noel and yoga in the evening. Every other day of the week I'll do that and add cardio of some sort (elliptical, stationary bike, dance dvd, dance video game). My food goal is to maintain a negative calorie net each day. No 100 calorie cushion this week. And for my mindset, I'm going to start an affirmation journal. Each night before I go to bed I'll write a page of positive affirmations, then the next morning reread them. It seems silly, and even I roll my eyes at it, but I dont' know where else to start to get my head in the place it needs to be to lose weight successfully. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

Non-Scale Victory Celebration

So I've started trying to declutter and put some distance between me and eligibility for appearing on Hoarders. I started with my bedroom and part of my bedroom is taken up by a cedar trunk and several boxes of skinny clothes. So in the process of decluttering the bedroom I knew I had to confront the skinny clothes and see if any of them could be integrated back into my wearable wardrobe.

And there was more pieces that I could start wearing than I had thought there would be. Unfortunately, they're all tops and I'm in desperate need of bottoms. But hey, a NSV is a NSV and I'll take it.

So I moved 13 t-shirts back into my wardrobe. Including my favorite Kasey Kahne tee.

Moved 5 sweaters. One of which was my Hufflepuff quidditch sweater.

And I moved 5 tank tops back into circulation. Including my very favorite tank top (that I made from a favorite t-shirt).

 

This dress was one of the two that got put back into circulation. My hair's a mess and yeah I'm kinda scowly. I was hotter than hell in my room. Also moved in two sweatshirts. Neither of which are interesting enough to photograph.

 

But I did take a picture of this cute top that my mom gave me last week. I figured it would have to go straight into the skinny clothes boxes. But it fits! Yay!

This was the mental boost that I needed. I have been struggling to get on the right track and stay there the last few days. I feel better about myself and where I'm at weight wise and where I'm going. Huzzah for NSV's!

What I'm Watching 3/1-3/7

Didn't really feel the need to comment the tv showed. They weren't really phenomanal but they weren't horrible. Not many movies this week either. One of my Netflix dvds is the yoga dvd so I didn't  have as much rotation of dvds as usual.

My Boys Season 1 Disc 1: Have you ever watched a show and thought it was absolutely hilarious, then watched it again a couple years later and been kinda disappointed? That's how I feel. I saw a few episodes of My Boys when it was current but was never able to watch a full season. And I remember it being really fantastic. Then I Netflixed it and it's not as funny as I remember. It's still moderately funny but I'm disappointed in it.

My Boys Season 1 Disc 2: Okay, now this is getting back to the My Boys that I remember watching. My mom and I watched this disc together and kept having to rewind it because we were laughing so hard we'd miss stuff.

North By Northwest:  I dunno. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this movie. It was good. But I didn't love it. It's not my favorite Hitchcock I've ever watched (Strangers on a Train and The Man Who Knew Too Much are both better) but it's not the worst I've seen (Dial M For Murder sucked). And it's nowhere near my favorite Cary Grant movie (Charade). It was just alright. It was too easy for me to predict some of the things that were going to happen and the ending was kinda lame. It's a good way to kill two hours, I guess.

My Boys Season 1 Disc 3: Another gem. Freaking cliff hangers. Now I have to put the next season's dvd at the top of my queue. Ruining my whole method. I don't watch seasons back to back. I did that with Criminal Minds and it just goes too quickly. And another thing, there's only 9 episodes each in seasons 2 and 3? What the hell? That's not a season that's a tease. And the 4th season isn't available on dvd. That's just messed up.

Links To Check Out

Here's another batch of links that caught my eye.

When the Mirror Lies

Chad Knaus: Innovator or Cheater?

NASCAR Jet Dryer Operators to Wear Firesuits, Helmets After Fire at Daytona - I know that this accident was a crazy one in a bazillion accident. Juan did nothing wrong to cause this accident and it was a weirdo fluke. But I'm very glad that the jet dryer drivers (say that ten times fast) will be wearing firesuits.

O-pinion: NASCAR Has A Cheating Problem - Yes, they do. All of Jimmie Johnon's wins and championships are questionable in my mind.

Senseless @ Cruising Altitude 2.0

Video: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski Make a Daytona 500 Run For the Toilet - Yep. This is the funniest video to come from the Daytona-That-Would-Never-End.

World's Ten Most Picturesque Villages

I Must Have Missed The Subtext When I Saw The Movies - I take Harry Potter very seriously. But I can also laugh when people mock it. Like in this clip. It's funny as hell.

I Won! I Won!

Ruth of Welcome to Me gave me this. And now I have to tell you 7 random things about me. And pass this on to 15 more bloggers. Good thing I follow a buttload of blogs.

And the ones who win will come take their award, tag 15 people, tell us all 7 things about themselves, tell the tagees about their win, tell them what to do, and that is all.

First, 7 random things about me...

1. I've been called KC my whole life. I went through a phase in high school where I tried to be Kathryn and quickly discovered that I despise being called Kat, Kathy, Kath, Kate, Katie or any other shortened version of Kathryn.

2. I have a pothos plant named Hagrid. I bought him at Walmart because he was on clearance (for like $3) and he was sickly and had about 4 leaves. He is now extremely large (hence the name) and healthy now and has given "birth" to other Hagrids (II, III, IV).

3. I've tried contacts on two different very short-lived occasions. Went back to glasses because not only are contacts a pain to take care of and put in, I don't like the way I look without glasses.

4. I collect wood jewelry boxes and will someday sand and re-stain them and redo the interiors. Someday. That ever mythical someday.

5. I prefer series and trilogies to stand alone novels.

6. When I pluck my eyebrows, I sneeze. Seriously, every hair that comes out is followed by a sneeze.

7. I really want to learn to fiddle. Maybe after I learn the guitar?


And now I'm passing this award to...
1. Kelly @ KellyisLosingWeight
2. Lisa @ The Life of Lisa
3. Gerri @ The Gerri Chronicles
4. Shelley @ My Journey to Fit
5. Robby @ I Go Through Life In Inches And Pounds
6. Karen @ Waisting Time

Quick Note: You know what's a downfall of being a lurker more than a commenter? Wondering how many of these people are going to wonder what rock I crawled out from under. I'm getting better at commenting, but it's a slow process.

7. Steve @ Running on Awesome
8. Katie J @ Katie J Is On Her Way
9. Patrick @ Responsibility199
10. Brittany @ LessBritt & MoreLife
11. Debby @ debby quilts
12. Heather @ Everything Precious

I know I'm crapping out but I'm stopping there. I tried to stick to blogs of people that I actually have commented on or have tweeted back and forth with. Sorry. And you thought I was joking when I called myself a hermit. Ha.

Weight Loss Update - I Saw That One Coming

You gotta wait for the weigh in. Ha. First I'll recap my week.

So last Sunday, I started off with the morning routine from Rodney Yee's Beginner Yoga dvd. Then, since I have a ton of experience with the elliptical I decided to just hop right on without reading the instruction book. Big mistake. I ended up getting off after 15 minutes because the resistance was too high and I couldn't figure out how to change it. Didn't walk because I was watching all the race crap on tv. Waste of time. The race got postponed anyways. At the end of the day, I ended up with a net of -255 calories.

Monday, did the yoga again. And this time when I got on the elliptical I knew what I was doing. I had taken the time to read the instructions. I did Aerobic Workout #1. Unfortunately I can't change the time of the programs and it was only 20 minutes. It was alright. Didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. Didn't walk because I was doing some stuff around the house. We had Panda Express for dinner, and before we sent my dad to pick it up, I checked the calories and came up with a plan. I could get my usual 3 entree and chow mein plate and stay within my calories as long as I ate half. So that's what I did. I put half of each item on a plate and put the rest in the fridge. And even with the hot & sour soup my dad brought back for me extra I still was under my calories. My net was -88. Or a Negative Creepy Junior.


Yeah. I'm gonna get plenty of mileage out of that one for the season.

So Tuesday, did the yoga again. Because of the pose lesson, I realized I had been doing some poses wrong. I'm doing them the right way now and feel more limber and loose than I ever have. So yay! Also did the elliptical again. Did Aerobic Workout #2. I burned more calories than AW#1 but I didn't like it as much. It was kind of boring. Not enough change. Got Oreos while I was at WalMart which was a big mistake. I ate way too many of them and ended up going over my calories. My net ended up being 633. Ugh.

On Wednesday, I just kinda gave up. I didn't feel all that hot when I woke up so I skipped yoga and the elliptical. And I didn't count calories either. It was just a blah day. I did notice that I had trouble concentrating on anything. I'm thinking that may be connected to the fact that I didn't exercise.

But on Thursday I got back on the horse. Did yoga first thing and then I did the elliptical. I picked Aerobic Workout #3. It's 30 minutes and so far the hardest one I've done on the elliptical. It's also the one that I like the most so far. I think after I try out every routine that this is the one that I'll be coming back to.  I ended up with a net of -32 calories.

Friday, I did my yoga but then instead of going straight from yoga to the elliptical I had to go to the grocery store. When I got back I got on the elliptical. I started the Weight Loss Program #1. Just a few minutes into it, I started getting cramps in my legs. I did 15 minutes of the 30 minute program because of the cramps. I'm not sure if the program was too hard or if the delay between yoga and the elliptical is the cause. Maybe my legs weren't stretched out and loose when I got on the elliptical. I ended up with a 96 calorie deficit.

Since Saturday was my birthday, I gave myself the day off. I didn't exercise or count calories. Had cheesecake instead of birthday cake. But instead of the big 12 piece cake, I got a mini 8 piece cake. I actually bought it Friday and had two microscopic pieces on Friday (that was one serving) and then three pieces Saturday. Also had Red Top for dinner. Red Top's a local restaurant that has really phenomenal cheeseburgers, chili burgers (which I had tonight) and the best malts in the world. I'm very proud of myself. I skipped the malt because I'd had the cheesecake. That right there is a MAJOR non-scale victory.

So what did all of that translate into on the scale? Not good news. I expected this result.

Weight: 264.6 lbs
Change: 1.8 lb gain
Pounds to Goal: 119.4
BMI: 41.52

Considering that I blew my calories for sure three of the seven days, I knew it was going to be bad news. For sure, part of it is water weight. After eating the chili burger and fries, I could feel the water retention in my fingers and toes later in the evening. I did manage to get rid of some of the water by drinking some hot tea last night so it's not as bad as it was. But my fingers still feel like sausages so I know I'm still carrying around some extra water. Overall, I'm going to call the week a success. I had non-scale victories in the form of buying a small cheesecake and skipping a malt.  And also after my bad day on Wednesday, I got right back into my new routine on Thursday. Usually, I just crap out on myself and allow myself to wallow for several days, or weeks, and gain back any weight I lost. I also went ahead and bought a copy of Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners.

Deep Thoughts: When Does Innovation Stop and Cheating Begin?

I've seen a lot of posts the last few days about the Chad Knaus suspension thing. For those of you who aren't up on it, Jimmie Johnson's car failed an inspection while in Daytona. The C-posts didn't meet the specs NASCAR implements. Johnson was fined 25 driver points. The team lost 25 owner points. The car chief was suspended for six races, and the crew chief, Chad Knaus, was fined $100,000 and suspended for six races. There's a lot of debate about it going on in the NASCAR blog world. So I had to use my Deep Thoughts post to put my opinion on this out there.

First, there's no honor in winning if you don't win fairly. I really hate cheating. Doesn't matter the venue. Football, cycling, hockey, NASCAR, Monopoly. Do not cheat. Win on your own. Simple as that. You can always hold your head high and know that you did the best you can do if you don't cheat. I have no tolerance for cheaters. None.

Which then raises the question, when does it become cheating? I read one article titled Chad Knaus: Innovator or Cheater? (linked below). Just where is the line between innovation and cheating?

The verb innovate means "to introduce something new; make changes in anything established" (dictionary.com). Okay. Fairly straight forward. But then cheat means "to defraud; swindle; to deceive; influence by fraud; to elude; deprive of something expected" (dictionary.com). That seems fairly straight forward to me also.

The line between innovation and cheating is transparency.

If you create something new or modify something existing, and then make it known, that's innovation. If it was so important to modify the C-posts in that way, why didn't Knaus approach NASCAR about it, get approval for the modifications. Cheating involves deceit and lying.

Obviously Knaus doesn't have a problem hiding things from NASCAR. Last year at Talladega, he told Jimmie Johnson to hit the back of the car if they won. He said it was to ensure that bump-drafting wouldn't make a legal car illegal. Wait... What? That doesn't make sense. Someone hits the car, makes it illegal, so you need to hit it again to make it more illegal? And his defense this time around is that the car had passed inspection several times last year. That's not a defense; that's a deflection. It's the same technique slight-of-hand magicians use. Don't look at my right hand pulling a quarter out of your ear; look at my left waving around like an idiot.

Chad Knaus eats, breaths, sleeps, and shits NASCAR. Don't tell me that he didn't have any possible idea that the car wasn't legal. This whole thing taints all of Jimmie's wins and championships for me. In fact, I'm questioning the integrity of all the crews, chiefs and drivers. Clint Bowyer's car also didn't pass inspection at Daytona. He has a history (the tow truck did it), as does Michael Waltrip Racing of being penalized for illegal cars. Obviously fines, points penalties and suspensions aren't enough. Maybe NASCAR needs to rethink their policy of not taking away the win after the fact. Or as is suggested in one of the articles below, they should start removing cheaters from the Chase.

Some Related Links:
Chad Knaus: Innovator or Cheater? @ NASCAR Ranting and Raving

Chad Knaus Should Be Worried About Reputation As A Cheater @ SceneDaily.com

Chad Knaus, Hendrick Team Got What It Deserved @ SceneDaily.com

NASCAR Has A Cheating Problem @ O-Pinion

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss. Thank you for teaching me to read and to love books. That's a gift like none other.

What I'm Watching 2/24-3/1

Welcome to my weekly post about what I'm watching. Got a movie or tv show recommendation for me? Leave it in the comments!

NextEra Energy Resources 250 (NCWTS 2/24): Holy cow. What an amazing way to start the season. It was exciting and dramatic. And an unknown won the first race of the season. Way to go John King. I am totally convinced that some of the best racing in NASCAR is in the Camping World truck series and the Nationwide series. If you're not currently a NASCAR fan but kind of interested in checking it out, I would check out trucks or NNS first. The races are shorter which leads to more exciting racing.

Drive 4 COPD 300 (NNS 2/25): I can't even put it into words. I'm dreading the season because I really despise Whatsherface and everyone talks about her ALL the time. But the race was just... WOW. That finish was ridiculous. I'm writing this about 2 minutes after the end of the race and I'm rethinking my fantasy picks for the Cup race. Seems like all the experienced drivers are crashing and the rookies and young'uns are the only ones left. Crazy.

Dolphin Tale: This movie has a great story and is really sweet. But it's just so slow moving at the beginning. Tough out the first 45 minutes; it's worth it towards the end.

The Celebrity Apprentice: Man, the women need to get their acts together. Not that I really want them to. I don't like any of them. I like some of the men. But I can definitely say that the women on this season make me ashamed they're representatives of my sex. Ugh.

Daytona 500: So Sunday was supposed to be the Daytona. But it was rained out so FOX filled the scheduled broadcast time with a replay of the Bud Shootout and stupid interviews. Not enough Kasey Kahne or Carl Edwards. So then the race got pushed to Monday morning but then it was still raining so it got pushed to Monday night. I kinda liked it being at that time. I did not like that the announcers were all up Whatsherface's butt. She is not the be-all-end-all of NASCAR. The race was alright. Not crazy exciting.  Until that crazy accident with Juan Pablo Montoya and the jet dryer. I'm so glad that both JPM and the jet dryer driver are okay. Wow. The rest of the season has a lot to live up to. Not happy that none of the drivers I like won. Eh. That's okay there's 35 more races.

White Collar: Nooooo.... my second favorite can't be on hiatus while my favorite's on hiatus!!! Soooo not fair! I believe that Kramer is either Neal's father or somehow associated with Neal's father. I can't stand Kramer. He makes me miss Fowler. Seriously. And Diana has finally proven where she stands. That's a plus.

Last Man Standing: I love this show more each week. I really like the youngest and oldest daughters. The middle one annoys me. And I love that the show is set in Denver. Ha.