A little bit of everything

The Tour

Y’all just throw your tomatoes now (as long as they’re home grown!), but I am not rooting for Lance in the Tour, and I was really bummed Saturday. I very much want Jan Ullrich to win. There you go. Also, what a gentleman Ivan Basso must be – I loved the way he was helping Zebriski Sunday. Very cool.

The weekend

Very nice. Got stuff done (cleaning, sewing, cook-out), but still feel rested.

Workouts were great – I like my new leg workout. Nice DOMS Sunday from Friday’s leg work – just the right amount of soreness. Did an entire upper body Saturday – turns out I had to do it quickly because the gym was closing in 30 minutes. But since I had the weight room to myself I could move quickly. Ran yesterday – the humidity was a killer! I think I’ll plan to do a shorter run and then ride the bike since I can’t seem to do a long run in this weather. And I grew up here! I could’ve done more from an aerobic perspective, but I was toast because of the weather.

Food was good too. A couple of treats (beer & a piece of pie), but nothing too outrageous. Lots of good exercise – walking, running, & lifting.

Girlfight

Not the best name maybe, but an excellent movie. An indie flick made long before “Million Dollar Baby”, it’s about an inner city teenager who finds the perfect outlet for her rage in the boxing ring. Not a Cinderella story like “Rocky”, but I thought the overall message was very good. Worth renting.

Marshmallow People

I read somewhere that Europeans refer to Americans as “marshmallow people.” (Thanks to Starbuck’s and McD’s they won’t be able to talk for much longer though – ha!) I saw a family Friday that made me believe it. It was a grandma, mom, & daughter out to eat together. All were overweight. At 12-13, the daughter was well on her weigh to obesity, if not there already. Mom reminded me of a starfish – she couldn’t put her arms next to her body or her legs straight because of the weight. I can’t tell you how much it made my heart hurt. For them, but also for a country where only the cheap hot dogs go on sale. I don't want to sound "holier than thou" because I've been 50 pounds overweight (ouch). And I still struggle. I don't pretend to understand what it means to be 100+ pounds overweight, but I do have empathy. I guess I had the whole weight thing on the brain after reading this e-mail from Flylady on Friday. She had received this from a reader:

Dear Flylady,

DD and I went to Walmart yesterday, and we stopped off at McDonalds
for an ice cream cone. As we were eating our ice cream cone, this mom
comes in with her 3 children. One of the younger children had said she
wanted a plain cheeseburger. The mom had then asked her if she wanted
a plain cheeseburger or a double cheeseburger?

Now keep in mind this little one must have been 4 years old. So the
little one says that she just wants the regular one. Then the other
kids said the same thing (approximate ages for the three
girls...10,7,4). The mom tells them that the regular cheeseburger is
almost as much as the double burger ( the regular is a few cents
cheaper than a double).

The kids insist they only want a regular but the mom proceeds to buy
double cheeseburgers for everyone. At this time I am asking myself why
she is pushing all this extra food on her little kids. Yes, you get
more food for your money and I am all for getting the best deal, but a
double cheeseburger for a 4 year old??? Any way I tell myself maybe
she is going to save part of it for later (after all there has to be
an explanation for this).

Much to my dismay, she then proceeds to get upset with the little
sweetie when she says she is full and doesn't want anymore. She tells
her that she has just wasted good money and she will not be getting an
ice cream with the rest of her sisters. She started to cry and said OK
mommy I will finish it, I just couldn't believe it!

I felt like pulling that little girl aside and giving her a big hug!
My heart was just crying with her.

I just had to tell someone who would get my frustration and heartache
over this.

Talk to you later,
C
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How did we ever let it all get so crazy?

It’s hard – hard when we live in a place that glorifies thinness but shows fried sandwich commercials every 10 seconds on tv. Hard when more is cheaper than what we want or need. I am thankful I can come to a virtual place where I can get support and understanding. I probably would have given up a long time ago without it.

Keep blogging.