I'm out from under the show at last. My goodness, it's been a crazy couple of weeks, and this past week felt more like a month. Yesterday DH said "This is the most relaxed day we've had in a long time." And I said "Well, we had a really relaxed day on Easter. And that was only 6 days ago!"

The play had a great opening weekend and now I feel like life can return to something like normalcy.
I just caught up the QOTD Archive, thank goodness.
I had a few more quotes to post comments on a few days ago, but lost them in a computer freeze. Maybe I will go back and collect them again later. But to whomever it was that had had a really rough run and wondered if anyone else ever had days like that, I wanted to say this:
Everyone who runs has days like that. If someone says they haven't, they just haven't gotten to it yet. Sometimes it just all seems to fall apart at once and either you slog through or give up, but either way it's not very satisfying. The good news is that the next run after a "Stonker" (as those bad runs are often called) is usually pretty darned good.
Congratulations, Graduate!!!
Don't forget, bridal wear is usually sized pretty small. I don't know WHY they wouldn't go the other way and do some vanity sizing.... it would make every bride (and bridesmaid) feel GREAT! Anyhow, better too big than too small... it is far easier to take in than it is to let it out! You'll look great! Stand up straight, chest proud, belly tucked in, shoulders back and be PROUD of the progress you have made! (And maybe a pair of Spanx underneath might not hurt??

)
Seriously, I think that bridal gowns are the only clothes still using the sizes from the 50's. No clue why they don't change along with the rest of the industry, except that then they can charge more people more for "plus size" gowns, maybe??
Love this one! Today I am going to read
The Non-Runners Marathon Guide For Women: Get off your butt and on with your training!. I have read it before but need to go through it again. For all of you out there starting to run, if you haven't heard of this book...I highly recommend it. The book will make you laugh so hard as you can relate to all the challenges of running. It totally inspired me to think that I can be a runner. I am going to re-read it today to help inspire me to believe that I can keep increasing my miles and that I can run a 1/2 marathon in 8 weeks from now!
I have that book and I started to read it and realized I'd gotten it too late. I seriously thought: Oh man, I'm too far gone for this to be funny to me anymore.

Hope you enjoy your second read of it, though! And I believe you definitely can run a half in 8 weeks.
On an upnote, I ran an official 5K today! I finished in 42 minutes. I'm not speedy, but I did jog the entire time. And I never, ever looked behind me! Even when a couple parents with strollers passed me, I just kept focus on going forward. I repeated the WISH mantra of "Better Last Than Did Not Finish" repeatedly every time I wanted to look behind me. Once I got to the finish line, and saw DH and DDs, I grinned so big and put on an extra burst! It felt so good to have them there cheering me on! Once I cooled down a bit, I have to say, it was nice to look back at the finish corral area and see there were still plenty of people making there way in.
Congratulations on your official 5K! Great job finishing and running the whole time! I definitely think you should be proud of your time. Imagine how long it would have taken you to finish 5K before you started your training program!
It was quite the little conversation in my head! But, it was also rather eye-opening in that I had somehow gotten myself to subconsiously think that any treat eaten incognito was calorie-free! I consciously knew that wasn't the case, but when I mindlessly let myself stay in that pattern, it allowed me to eat pure junk guilt-free.
My gosh, you are not the only one by any means! It's so true that our bodies don't actually care if anyone else knows we've eaten something, but even now, when I'm alone, sometimes that thought pops up of "I'm alone! What can I eat??" I love the way you talked yourself around on this one.
And now for a huge pile of QOTD:
4/8 Thursday QOTD:Who is your all time favorite music group or singer?
I love the Beatles. DH and I actually don't have a "song" that is special to us as a couple, we have an entire Beatles album. We shared headphones and listened to the tape together on my walkman in high school After we broke up the first time, those songs were all completely ruined for me! Fortunately, we're back together for good and both still love "Let it Be" even if it is a weird sort of cobbled together unpolished album.
4/8 Thursday BONUS Question: What are you reading now? Do you prefer to read a book or listen to an audiobook?
I prefer to read a book and currently am in the middle of "The Good, Good Pig" and am reading aloud "Tunnels" to my older son. Not sure what book my younger son is on now, since I've been absent in the evenings the past week. I left off in the middle of Henry and Beezus, though.
4/9 Friday QOTD: I think that most of us have a future event that adds to our drive to lose weight or just look better. What is the event that you are working towards?.
I try not to diet for a specific event, but I do have several events in mind that I want to look good for and that can help me keep focus at times. I had in mind last year that I'd do the 2010 WDW Half looking completely different from how I looked in the 2009 WDW Half. That got me through a lot of tough times. Right now, I'm working on maintaining so that I look as good in the 2011 half as I did in 2010.

In the meantime, I am also looking forward to looking great for DH's 20th class reunion next month, several races and trips this summer, including my cousin's wedding in the Black Hills. The last family wedding I attended, I got caught by the camera looking larger than I do in any other photo. Even though it is four months away, I anticipate feeling free to enjoy the wedding without worrying about random cameras!
4/10 Saturday QOTD:What's your shoe of choice for Disney?
I usually wear retired running shoes at this point. Unless it is raining, threatening to rain OR my shoes got drenched by previous rain in which case, I wear my Cleo Crocs. I like them because they pack really FLAT.
4/11 Sunday QOTD: What is your clothing of choice for the Disney parks. I'm thinking bottoms.
Jeans if it's cold. Shorts if it is warm. I actually wore some skorts in Disneyland and they were great and cute....but I gave them away last week because they were a size I never want to wear again. I could stand some new skorts!
4/12 Monday QOTD: Part of the weight loss process if figuring out why we gained weight in the first place and figuring out strategies to avoid the causes. What was your weight loss catalyst and how do you manage or avoid the catalyst.
Oh man, I don't know if I want to dredge all this up again.

Lots of different stuff, but stress, grief, depression, anxiety, fear of being attractive, pregnancy and a feeling of "as long as I don't think about it, I can eat whatever I feel like" all contributed to my multiple weight gains.
I wonder if the question is "What was your weight
gain catalyst - I avoid going back to gaining by admitting that I am never going to be able to NOT make food choices without concern for my weight and health. I am always going to need to choose wisely and to some degree, at least, track what I'm eating. I can't avoid the scale - if I gain a few pounds and have to lose them again, I can do that, but if I ignore it until it is 10, 20 or 50 pounds again, it will be much harder.
Of course there are some things outside our control and that I am not contending with right now. Grief - I'm not experiencing fresh grief right now, so I don't know how I will deal with that when it comes. I can plan to be aware, make good choices etc. But the fact is, Grief hits me like a tsunami and I don't know that I'll have the wherewithal to avoid gaining at that point. Likewise, depression - I am not currently depressed, but if I were to become depressed again, it's well and good to think of how I'd behave, but the fact is, it would depend on a lot of factors, I'm sure. My main tactic is to plan to get in the habit of eating well and caring about myself and my body now while things are fairly positive, so that when the tough times come, healthy will feel normal and will be easier to revert to when I am able, if need be.
Oh, I think that might have been a little incoherent.
