Welcome to hell.



OK, so it isn't THAT hot. But it sure feels like it.

We went out of town this past weekend. When I left the house on Friday afternoon, I noticed the air conditioner, a TV-sized brown metal box at the side of our house, was rattling. I thought perhaps something was loose, maybe a panel. When I pressed my hand on the side of the box, the rattling stopped. I didn't think anything of it.

Well, I have no proof that the rattling had anything to do with what happened over the weekend, but a momentary thought of "Boy, hope the air conditioner is OK" flitted through my mind. Perhaps I should have paid it more attention.

We got home Sunday afternoon at about 2 o'clock. It was hot, in the mid 90's, and we were looking forward to opening the front door and being greeted with a breath of cool air. Nope. Instead, an exhalation of hot, steamy, musty, humid hot air wheezed out of the door and smothered us where we stood. Even the dog didn't want to go inside.

Upon inspection, we determined that the air conditioner was still on, the little fan was spinning, and air was blowing out of the vents, but it was like the parlour of hell in our front room. At 2 p.m. the interior temperature was 97 degrees. We took action, running off to Walmart and purchasing some box fans (we used to have one, but it didn't make the purge of belongings that accompanied our move to this house). We thought about buying a free-standing air conditioner, but we couldn't stand the thought of shelling out $400.

So we came home and battled the heat. The dog lay on the dining room floor (hardwood), panting, and occasionally barking at us in frustration. He couldn't understand why we couldn't change the temperature. Barking usually gets him what he wants, but this time there was nothing we could do. We cranked up the fans, sat in front of them, and waited. But when there is no cooler air anywhere for the fans to circulate, the temperature simply cannot go down. Instead, it crept up. At 7 p.m. it was 104 in the house.

We escaped for dinner (leaving the poor dog in the house; there was nowhere else for him to go) and then came home and took the dog for a walk to our nearby ice cream stand. It was marginally cooler outside, and we tried to walk in the shade as much as possible. But eventually we had to go back to the house.

When the temperature had only receded to 102 by 8:30, we knew there was no way we'd be staying in the house overnight. We thought about knocking on our neighbor's door and asking if we could sleep over, but we weren't sure if they had an available bedroom after all their renovating for their two kids. So we packed up and went down the street to a motel. It seems ridiculous to be sleeping in a motel room a mile from our house, but we just couldn't stay there in that heat. We cranked the a/c in the motel room up, showered in cold water, and went to bed. It was actually cool enough in our room to sleep with a blanket on the bed, and the dog was comfortable enough to curl up in a ball on the extra pillows I laid out on the floor for him.

This morning we packed up and came back to the house. It is currently 87 degrees in the house, at 5 minutes to 9. I've called the landlord and left a message for him about the air conditioner. Let's hope this gets taken care of quickly. It's already unpleasant in here, and it's bound to get worse in a hurry.

Well, I hope that wherever you are, you are staying cool. I'll let you know if the a/c gets resurrected, or if we'll be spending another fabulous night at the Super 8.

6 lbs in one week!

That's right, you heard it here...I lost 6 lbs this week! When I returned from my CA trip, I weighed in at 185.8. This evening, when I got home from an afternoon paddling trip (kayaking, not kinky, for those of you who don't pay attention), I weighed in at 179.6! I've been good this week--limiting my calorie intake to about 1500, and working out at least once each day. Actually, this is three days in a row at 179.6. Some of that might have to do with the fact that my husband finally came home (we'd seen each other for one day out of the previous fourteen) and we celebrated by doing what has done such damage in the past...we went out to eat. We did try to keep the rest of our eating this weekend to a reasonable amount, but we splurged last night and went to an Italian place called Carrabbas (sp?). I had chicken parmigiana. Couldn't find that particular restaurant chain on Calorie King, but I checked The Olive Garden for a comparison, and the same dish there is 1300 calories. Eek. So I'm lucky to be under 180 lbs for the first time in years. Whoo hoo! I need to celebrate. Bring on the cheesecake! Aw, s***, just give me a cup of sugar-free Jello. *sigh*

First of all, for all of you who have never received a trip to Southern California paid for by your employer...





HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Sorry, had to be done. Anyway, I have returned from America's Finest City to America's...well...I really can't write that here; children might be reading. I must say, it is not at all pleasant being back. Nice to sleep in my own bed, but my husband had to fly to FL for the week, so I only got to see him for one day, and we hadn't seen each other for almost a week and a half. Bleah. So I'm sad and lonely, and of course the dog is holding me jointly responsible for being gone for a week and for driving Daddy away.

Well, I was correct in my assessment of the damage that would be done to my diet while on vacation. I came back with a four-pound weight gain. Eew. This morning I weighed in at 185 fat, er, flat (it was 187 on Sunday). I usually do my weigh-ins at night, when my hydration level and fat percentage are perhaps more accurate, but there is always food weight to consider. I don't really know the best time of day to weigh myself to be most accurate overall. So I started with a weigh-in this morning for a baseline, and I will take it from there.

Here's the deal: I have 30 days until the first day of school, just a little over four weeks. My goal is to be below 180 lbs (on a night weigh-in) by the time school starts. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Not for someone who hasn't lost any weight in 4 months. I went for an easy goal so it won't completely crush my spirit if I don't make it, you know? The plan is basic: eat less and exercise more. This week shouldn't be a problem with the eating less--I'm teaching summer school from 10-4 each day, putting me out of reach of all the food at home that has submarined me (ooo, sub sandwiches...sorry) all summer. I can only eat at school what I bring to school, which is usually just a couple granola bars and one of those 100-calorie bags of microwave popcorn. Of course, next week and the subsequent weeks I'll have to be careful and really cling to what willpower I have so I don't overeat at home. I won't be cooking for sure this week and possibly longer, because it is unbearably hot and humid (I won't even go out to the porch to grill anything), and I won't eat out because we're pretty broke, so it will be nothing but cereal, sandwiches, and salads for me for awhile. Hopefully that will help keep the calorie intake under control. Then there is the working out. Didn't work out this morning because I took my husband to the airport, but I plan to work out every weekday morning from now until the start of school (probably alternate swimming and *gasp* running). In the afternoons I will go back to the gym to meet up with my husband (not this week, sadly) for more cardio and weight lifting.

It sounds so easy, but it feels completely daunting. I just need to get back into a rhythm, I know, and then it will be easier. But it is so easy to sit around and do nothing at home! Why did God make it so easy to be lazy?

Well, my challenge has begun. 180 lbs by August 16. What consequences are there if I don't make my goal? Well, I'll have to feel terrible about myself as I gaze at all the skinny little 9th graders I'll be teaching this year. What a minute, that's what's going to happen anyway, weight loss or no weight loss... *sigh*

Man, this week is gonna kill my diet. I'm home (San Diego, for all you suckers who don't live in the Greatest City on Earth) for a conference on using computers in the educational realm. My parents, while supportive of my weight loss attempts, don't help and never have when it comes to my eating habits.

Let's see...when I got in at the airport, we stopped at a restaurant called Bread Bites (made by the same glorious people who created Pat and Oscars, so the food all tastes similar) and gorged on fried chicken, Greek salad, and the second greatest breadstick-things ever (the greatest are still at aforementioned Pat and Oscar's, and are probably trademarked or something, but these were similar). Too much food. Sunday, my mom treated me to a full-on turkey/mashed potatoes/dinner rolls/berry trifle kind of meal (nobody does turkey like mom). Again, way, way, way too much food. I tried to hold back, but I'm so rarely home for this kind of meal that I overdid it. Today, I'm attending the first day of my conference. We were given a fabulous lunch of chicken salad (very good), rolls, pasta salad, fruit, cookies, and chips, of which again I ate too much. Then we took a break and had more chips, more cookies, more fruit, and some lovely soul brought a bag of mini Snickers/Three Musketeers/Milky Way/Twix candies. Argh. Tomorrow night (after what I assume will be a similar food kind of day during the conference), they are taking all of us to Karl Strauss' (mmmm, beer). Mom keeps asking what foods I'm craving. I'm sure we'll go out with my brother and his girlfriend one evening. And Friday I expect to go out with one of my best friends from high school, which will probably involve food and/or alcohol (I promise I'll behave. I miss my snugglebear something dreadful already).

So you can see where my problem is going to develop. Lots of food. I'm thrown off of my "little meals, regular snacks" schedule. And I'm eating all kinds of wonderful things that you should never, ever eat. (Chicken and rice casserole with a can of cream of chicken soup and half a loaf of Velveeta cheese? Heaven!)

I did try to do something good. I went to the 24 Hour Fitness website and downloaded a ten-day trial membership, thinking I could just run down the street from where my parents live and work out. Well, when I went in to redeem it, I discovered that they REALLY want you to commit to a membership when you do this. I didn't want to. I have a club membership at home that I'm reasonably happy with, even though I don't use it as often as I should. So I sat through the guy's sales speech, lied through my teeth and said I'd "check with my husband about switching clubs and I'd call the guy back of come back down my nine o'clock" and then of course never did. I do have the ten-day membership card now, so I can go down there, but now I'm afraid of having to confont the sales guy with my fib and say no, I'm not interested. I at least did gerbil yesterday for 30 minutes. That had to help at least a little bit.

But I'm doomed. I was at 183 when I left home; we'll see what the damage is when I get back...