Spies or Virals?

Winter isn't here quite yet. But I can feel it coming, and I'm ready for hibernation mode. My problem is that, when I have free time, I'm torn between cleaning, practicing the flute, reading a good book, and watching TV. I usually end up sort of cleaning something while I watch TV. (Mostly, I stand there with cleaning implements in hand, attention on the TV. It's not very effective.) When it gets cold outside, I lose any motivation to clean when I have a minute, and all I want to do is bundle up in a soft blanket and either read or watch TV. Which leads me to the point of this post. It's getting cold outside, especially in the mornings. I've been doing a lot of TV watching and reading.

What have I been watching, you ask? Alias. I watched this entire series 8 years ago when I was pregnant with Jacob and I was in the South in the early part of the sticky, hot summer. After 3 kids and 8 years, I don't remember a thing about what I watched. So when I saw that Netflix was streaming the series, I began watching immediately. Here's what I've learned about being a spy and the seedy underworld in which master criminals operate:

1. No one is ever really dead. They've either faked their death using that stuff from sea urchins, have been cloned, have been cryogenically frozen then brought back to life, or were wearing kevlar without telling their buddies and were relocated to a secret location in the Caymans until the danger was over.

2. Don't trust anyone. Everyone's a double agent. Except Marshall.

3. Bad guys operate out of night clubs. Without exception. This makes it necessary, if you're a spy, to own a large wardrobe consisting of leather mini dresses and spiky jewelry, as well as a large supply of eyeliner and neon colored wigs.

4. Deals between crime lords usually take place behind granaries and industrial parks. There are a lot of those near my house. I'm guessing Ogden is a magnet for organized crime because of all the industrial areas in town.

5. Black sedans and SUVs are bad news.

6. And lastly, a tube of lipstick can be made into anything: a tiny gun, a usb drive, a fingerprint reproducer, a camera, a microphone, a retinal scanner, a parachute. And this is why I can't ever be a spy. I'd be made in seconds if someone saw me casually taking a tube of lipstick out of my purse. My kids don't even know what lipstick is, because they've never seen it at our house.

And what am I reading? A number of books, but now that I've started The Twelve, those books are going by the wayside until I finish this one. The Twelve is book two in a trilogy by Justin Cronin. It's not for the weak of heart. Book one, The Passage, was good enough that when I finished reading it, I had to buy a replacement copy for the friend that loaned it to me. I took it everywhere, and it had finger smudges on the cover from lotion that I was too impatient to rub in all the way before picking up the book again, the corners of the cover were getting a bit rounded and worn, and it got the tiniest bit of water damage from being in the same bag as a sippy cup for 5 minutes, before it got pulled out of the bag and read some more. Please note, book lending friends, that this treatment of a book isn't normal for me, and I make every effort of returning your book in the condition it was in upon lending. Which is why I bought my friend a new one. Anyway, this author knows how to write a good story, and that's why I'm in a bind.

I want to read The Twelve, I want to finish out Alias (is Arvin Sloane really turning back to his evil ways?), my floor needs mopping, and my feet need to be wrapped in a soft soft blanket out of the cold.  

...and After

Well, the contest is over. I'm still waiting to find out who won. I'm pretty sure I didn't win, because some of those other ladies rocked it. But I did pretty well. First, the pictures. The before pictures again (taken August 1st):

 And after (taken October 23):

So there's a difference. I've lost 17 pounds, a number I'm very proud of.   I still have about 4 pounds to go to get to my ideal weight. Not everything is flat and smooth in the right places yet, but I'm really close. And even if I didn't win the contest, I've figured out how much I can eat every day, what foods fill me up without packing on the pounds, and what to avoid. I've also learned a lot of self control. I am a huge fan of desserts. If there are naughty treats in the house, I want to eat them all day, and I did for a long time. I don't anymore. Having to account for every bite of food that goes into my mouth has helped me limit myself to one treat per day, if I can afford it. I still want to stuff my face all the time. But I know how much I'm paying for that indulgence. During the contest, I had one bad week where I didn't lose any weight, but I never had a week where I gained.

I went jeans shopping last week, thanks to my saint of a friend, who watched my kids while I spent an entire morning trying on clothes. For the first time in years, I didn't leave the store feeling horrible. I left with 2 pairs of jeans that were 3 sizes smaller than the ones I'd been wearing. That alone made all of this worth it.

My goal now is to maintain the healthy weight I've achieved, continue using self control, and maybe even get those last 4 pounds off. (It's all in the belly area, which is always the last to go for me. Ugh.) So there you go, folks. Done and done.

Just do it

If you are still reading my blog after all these posts, thanks. Now, if you're reading my blog and you haven't watched Vampire Diaries, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Season 3 was fantastic. I just watched all 5 discs from start to finish. All 3 seasons are on Netflix streaming now. No excuses people. Just do it.

Odds and Ends

I've been a teensy bit busy. So I haven't blogged for a while. Here's what's on my mind:

1. I've had some success with my weight loss goal. I'm down about 10 pounds so far. The problem is that the calories I'm cutting out are trying very hard to be replaced by dollars spent. I can only exercise self control in one area of my life. It's either do well with the budget or do well with the calories. The 10 pounds off my body has been gained in the form of shoes and jewelry. I went shopping on my birthday and bought 3 pairs of shoes and a pair of sunglasses. And I still had some birthday money left, so I went to a jewelry party and bought 5 new necklaces. Then I came home with my necklaces and spent an hour trying to find a new necklace hanger because the 5 new ones were getting tangled up with the other 5 I bought at the last party. And those 10 were getting tangled up with the ones I bought the last time I was trying to lose weight. (I have still not found a necklace storage unit that is satisfactory.) Here's the good news: If I keep this up, when it comes time to take my after picture, I will be skinny and have 200 fabulous accessories to choose from for the picture.

2. My friends and I watched the Pilot episode of "Beverly Hills, 90210." The good one, not that joke the CW threw together a few years ago. The one with the side burns and the bike shorts and the big hair. I remember when I was 13 and it was a brand new show. My parents absolutely forbid me to watch that trash. It was considered scandalous and racy, and I couldn't stand the fact that I wasn't allowed to watch it. Eventually, I went to college and watched every rerun I could get my eyes on. At that point, I was older, and shows had changed. Then we watched it this week, and, besides getting nostalgic over the clothes, I also realized just how much TV has changed in the last 20 years. That episode was cleaner than most cartoons that are on right now. Plus, the hairdos back then were SUH-WEET. I'm looking forward to watching some more. Also, I can take notes on which clothes are going to come back around in style so I can be ahead of the game. I'm on the lookout for some bike shorts to wear under my jean skirt. It's coming up soon, because I saw neon pink jeans at Walmart today.

3. I just finished watching the movie "Bernie." Awesome. I'm not even going to tell you what it's about. Just know Jack Black is in it as a Southerner that's slightly effeminate and who sings a lot. It's based on a true story, and there are a bunch of interviews with small town Southerners. Loved it.

4. Season 3 of Vampire Diaries on DVD is arriving at my house on Tuesday. I'm going to be waiting on my porch. 

Time to Change

I've just started a Biggest Loser contest. I've been whining for the past 9 months about how fat I am, but I've been unwilling to do anything about it. (Sorry to my friends who've listened to my whining, and thanks for not slapping me. I totally deserved to be slapped.) Today was the first day of the contest. I've got to keep track of my calories, exercise, drink an enormous amount of water, and weigh in once a week. This morning I did my before pictures. I'm going to post them as a motivation to post better ones in 12 weeks when the competition ends.

I'm not going to tell you what my starting weight is, but I'll tell you my goals:
To lose 20 pounds.
To exercise daily without dragging my feet.
To look super cute in a dress, which I will purchase as soon as my body deserves a cute dress.

Here's my plan:
No more Pinterest. All those pictures of desserts is just making me want to eat.
Lots of gum.
Long walks pushing the kids in the stroller. (I did it with all 3 kids in the double jogger--it was super crowded--and it was a good workout for sure.)
Smoothies, smoothies, smoothies.

There you have it. I will post my after pictures in 12 weeks. Wish me luck! (I want to win! I could use some sweet cash for skinny girl clothes.)

Can It Be December Now?

I need to vent.  First of all, I'm addicted to Facebook.  Who isn't, these days?  Oh, that's right.  People with a life.  But I digress.  I accept the fact that, due to my choice as a stay-at-home mom with 3 little guys to take care of, there are days when my only contact with other grown-ups is through Facebook.  I admit to checking it about 300 times a day, just in case someone said something funny.  But I'm about ready to take a Facebook hiatus until after the elections are over in November.  I get that Facebook is a place to share political ideas and to try to educate people on the way to elections.  But I am FED UP with the insane amount of candidate bashing that is going on.  Seriously.  I'm not going to say which party, because to a degree it's both parties.  But is it really necessary to post 6 status updates in 10 minutes about how much you hate that one guy?  Without saying anything redeeming about the guy you're supporting?  I'd love to hear why you're going to vote for your guy.  You've made it clear you're not going to vote for the other guy, but going on a hate campaign isn't useful, it doesn't enlighten anyone about what's really going on, and 200 words on why the other guy stinks isn't going to influence my decision.  My question is, what's all that hate attempting to accomplish?  Are you trying to swing my vote?  Are you trying to make sure everyone on Facebook knows that you are voting for that one guy?  Are you trying to convince me that the other guy you hate so much is narrow minded and hateful?  Because if all you're posting on Facebook is mudslinging, I'm convinced someone's being narrow-minded and hateful, but it's not that other guy.  If you're going to go all political on Facebook, why don't you just tell me, without bashing the other guy, what makes your guy so stinking awesome.  Give me a rational, detailed list of reasons why you are voting for your guy.  Don't give me a list of reasons you're not voting for the other guy.  That's all.

P.S.  I'm serious about a hiatus.  Maybe.  I might get the shakes and cold sweats.  I heard on the radio the other day that going cold turkey off of Facebook is the same as quitting crack cold turkey.

A Little Older and Happier than Ever

It has been ages since I've posted.  I'm guessing no one's sitting in front of their computer, thinking, Man, I wish Rachel would post something new.  But I have been thinking, Man, I should post something.  This is kind of like my journal.  Well, I've been busy.  But, with all that's happened, I've neglected to do something really important, and that is to brag a little about having married an amazing man 10 years ago.  We celebrated the big 10 on July 2nd, and I sure am happy about it.  Here's how I still see us:

 Super young and skinny.  Here is our life 10 years later (thanks, Stacie, for this awesome picture):

We may be older, chubbier, and a little more tired-looking, but look at those boys we've gotten along the way!  10 years have been good to us.  A lot of people go on fabulous trips for their 10th anniversaries, but, since the littlest guy is still dependent on me for some of his nourishment (was that discreet enough?), we bought this little honey instead:

It was my dream car in high school, and now we have one.  That is a 1992 Miata.  I have been learning how to drive stick, under the patient tutelage of my husband, and much to the amusement of my friends.  We also went on a date that included dinner and bowling.  My bowling arm is still sore 3 days later.  So I may see myself as a youthful 24-year-old, but my body feels much more like the almost-35-year-old that I actually am.  But I digress.  This week has had its sorrows, but there has been much to celebrate as well.

Speaking of feeling my 35 years, we went water skiing yesterday.  I'm sore in places I didn't know existed.  I remember going to Lake Powell 15 years ago and water skiing for hours without feeling a thing.  Inspiration to exercise more, I guess.  The good news was that my body allowed me to get up on the skis at all.

Happy 10 years to my hubs, and happy summer to all y'all!