M started his father's day celebration with a solo trip to Madison to walk through Allen Centennial and Olbrich Gardens. While I love to walk through those gardens, I do NOT like to go with him and try to avoid doing so whenever possible. He got to take his time, take 1000+ picture (I am not exaggerating here), and chat up everyone he knows in the gardening community without me giving him "the look" as I fantasize about shoving him.
His day continued to get better, as we squeezed in a trip to the library, and then the four of us (just the nuke family--rare for us) went out for lunch/dinner. We have been eager to try the new microbrew/vegan restaurant, Pig Minds Brewing, that opened in Machesney Park, and since beer and food are both in M's top three list, we went there.
The restaurant was very clean with a modern industrial look and had a nice outdoor seating area. M selected a beer to start with, and he let Dej and I each try it--we all liked it. We had to take far too long deciding what to order, because so many things looked really good. We finally made our selections and ordered. It was then that M noticed that he could order 5oz. beers, so he could taste a variety. The appetizers were delicious as were all of our meals. We left there with uncomfortably full stomachs, and Dej and I had half of our meals in To Go boxes.
M and I ordered the same entree, with different sides, as did L & Dej. These pictures by no means do justice to this incredibly yummy food! The girls ordered The Pig Mind, and we ordered Bruschetta Burger. M got a 64oz. bottle of his favorite beer to go, and each time we return, we can get the bottle refilled ($5 cheaper that way). I had the other half of my burger for lunch today and cannot wait to get another one. I wish Pig Minds were a bit closer, but we will definitely be going on a regular basis.
L is attending camp at Heartland Farm Sanctuary this week. When I dropped her off this morning, I got to meet Lola the pig, a new resident, as well as some old friends, and that was a great start to my day. I am looking forward to lots of pictures throughout the week, as L took her camera with her. I hope the kids and animals are able to stay cool enough to enjoy each other. As always, I'm extremely nervous and uncomfortable about her being in a different city than me, and without any immediate family or her grandma near. It doesn't bother her at all, but it still causes me a lot of distress. Only 4.25 days left. :)
I've been able to put lots of time into the garden this year, and it is so nice to be back in the dirt! Over half of the gardens are completely weeded and tidy. I still have a lot of work to do on the North side garden, but I can't work there until M gets the dog poop cleaned up. Even the smell of dog poop can make me vomit, so I won't garden in an area unless it's poo free. I got enough done this week that I can skip working in the garden for the next few very hot days. I have a few things that need to be planted yet, but I can get those done within a half hour or so, AFTER the sun goes down and it's a bit cooler.
Other than the weeding, planting, and other general maintenance tasks, we need to elevate all of the flagstone paths, as years of adding compost has left the garden higher than the path, which makes for a very messy path. Once the paths are elevated, then I can add the much-needed layer of mulch to the garden. In addition to that, we are slightly expanding one of the flagstone seating areas, and we're still toying with the idea of adding the pond this year.
The front garden is full of clematis, lilies and poppies right now and looks very bright and cheerful. Our fruit and veggie plants aren't doing much yet. We try to only water when absolutely necessary, and with the drought this year, our veggies are still on the small side, so we're going to have to water a bit more generously, I think. The sunflowers are starting to open already, and the cats and I are looking forward to watching the many finches that feast on them.
The damn Japanese beetles have arrived, and they always decimate the roses. I'm trying to get myself to spray the roses, as they've been destroyed for the last four years or so, but I can't quite bring myself to do it yet. Maybe this year. I hate the chemicals, but I will never be able to have roses without them, thanks to those nasty pests.
Without my gardening work this weekend, I will be forced to work on the much-less enjoyable housework that is always waiting for me. I have also committed to a couple of consulting projects this summer, so I need to put some major time in on one of my projects.
Interrupting my gardening time and my sleep, has been Delila on her latest grudge mission. She is normally a very calm, confident cat, who doesn't engage in fights or territory battles with anyone. She's pretty mellow and easy to get along with for the most part, except when she is crossed. We first noticed this phenomena with her and Charlie a few months ago. They had always played together and gotten along well, until Charlie did whatever unfortunate thing he did to anger Lila. For the next three weeks, she hunted him down and tormented him in a cruel and vicious way we had never seen from her before. She was relentless! We would run to rescue the screaming, trapped Charlie (who is much bigger than Lila) and reprimand her, only to have her take right off after him again. It was a brutal few weeks. Then she just magically got over it as quickly as it started.
About a week or two ago, she started the same crap with Mimosa, who had previously been her favorite playmate. Mimi is not a fighter, but she is definitely a screamer, so we can hear and go rescue her when Lila goes after her. I have to keep Mimi or Lila with me for a while to distract, or Lila goes right back after her. Several times, I've been out in the front yard gardening, only to hear the god-awful Mimi screams coming from the cat enclosure in the backyard. This morning, L and I were both awakened at 5:00 by Mimi's screams and Lila's ferocious growls. L. was in her bedroom with the door and windows all closed and still heard it! I really wish I knew what Charlie and Mimi had done to upset Lila, because it's so odd to see her behave this way. I'm very disappointed in her. She couldn't care less. I never would have guessed that the happy-go-lucky, friendly kitten I raised could turn into such a grudge-holding bitch! I hope she gets over this one before I lose what's left of my mind.
A few weeks ago, I met and exceeded my original weight loss goal, which was a very inexact target of where I thought I wanted to end up. I've dropped 35 pounds (of fat, though I've gained so much muscle). When I initially started this process, I intended to reach my goal weight and then adjust my workouts from 6 days a week down to 4, or even 3 days a week. How much things have changed in a few short months! I generally work out for about an hour each day, seven days a week. If something comes up and I don't have time to get my full workout in, I feel a loss and miss it. Still, it's not always easy to get started each night--especially when it's 8 pm, hot as hell, and I've had a long day working or gardening.
I am not anywhere near considering cutting back my workouts at this point--I have spent more time thinking about how I could squeeze more activity into my days, rather than cutting it back. I have a series of videos that I do six days a week, and they focus on strength and cardio, using high intensity interval training. I enjoy most of the workouts, and there are so many different ones that I don't get bored. I absolutely love trying to push myself a little farther each time and have so enjoyed seeing the changes in my body and feeling very strong. One day a week, my workout is Bhangra dancing, and that is a lot of fun, too. It is getting easier now that my feet are starting to build the necessary calluses, instead of blistering every week!
This is going to sound very dualistic, though I am definitely not a dualist. My body and I haven't had a good relationship for a very long time. Throughout my 30's my health issues became more and more severe, leaving me in pain, frustration, and anger. As my health degraded, I became more resentful of my body, and refused to care for it or treat it well, because it was weak and not supporting me in the way I wanted it to. I realize that doesn't seem like the most logical approach, and it's not, but when my body is weak, it infuriates me and makes me want to punish the uncooperative body. I've always been much more connected with my brain than my body, so it was easy for me to reach the point of wrapping myself up completely in my brain and brain-based activities, while alternately ignoring/resenting the defective "pile of meat" that my brain was forced to drag around with it. That outlook and lifestyle only served to make the problems worse.
The last five months has taken so much work but has been so worth it for the reintegration of my brain with my body. We have a good, healthy relationship going on now. It has been so long since I've felt well and seen my body as a competent, useful piece of equipment rather than a hindrance, that I only vaguely remember it. Body work is much harder and less enjoyable for me than brain work, though now I enjoy working with and using my body more than I ever have. I feel so much better about myself and life in general now.
It's that distance between me and my body that allowed all the extra weight to pile on without me really noticing. We never had a scale in the house. Neither Mark nor I were worried about being skinny or sticking at a particular weight, and we thought it better for the girls to not have a scale around for them to obsess over. I figured that my clothing would indicate if I was gaining too much weight, and since I had only gone up one size (which I have now learned is a result of vanity sizing--ugh!), I wasn't all that worried about it.
When I started this process several months ago, I never anticipated that there would be any negatives to achieving my goals, but there are. In my mind, I saw myself losing the fat, getting fit and healthy, and looking so much better in my clothes. I planned to reward myself with a few nice outfits once I reached my goal. Just as I didn't notice the amount of weight I had put on, I didn't have an accurate idea of how much different my body would be after that loss. None of my clothes fit. Some are so big that they simply can't be made to work; some I have been able to alter to fit, though my seamstress skills are quite rudimentary. I have been a bit depressed over the clothing situation. I need an entirely new wardrobe but don't have the money for a new wardrobe, let alone one that would replace what I had. I really, really like my clothes. For several years, I have only bought/kept clothes that I absolutely love and feel happy in. I miss those clothes!
Even items like underwear, bras, and my swimsuit had to be replaced as everything falls off, and that gets quickly expensive. I have a very paltry wardrobe and am working on trying to fill in the functional necessities. It will be a very long time before I can build up a wardrobe of the size and quality of the one I had, and that makes me sad. It also seems that lately, when I try to shop for this body, I keep finding clothing/styles that work well for my old body, but not that great for this one. There are times that I actually miss my old body (which I still think looked better in dresses than this very slim, muscular body does), and I certainly wasn't expecting any weird feelings like that. It's been very interesting to me to analyze my thoughts and feelings through this whole process.
Despite the wardrobe issues and the occasional longing to look better in a dress, there is absolutely no comparison between the quality of life before being healthy and fit and the quality of my life (and energy) now. It's hard not to proselytize to everybody about the need to become fit and active, though I try to keep my mouth shut as I know that can be very irritating.
L tends to be very much like me in preferring brain-based activities to body-based activities, and I have instituted a so-far unpopular rule that she must be active every day for at least a half hour. She can go for a dog walk, dance, or workout with me or on her own, but she needs movement every day. I want to prevent her from my bad/unhealthy choices and get her on a path that will keep her strong and healthy throughout her life. I'm hoping that eventually she will start to enjoy it as I have, though so far there is absolutely no danger of that happening.
A few weeks ago, my brother-in-law was here visiting, and Mark drafted him to help put up the newest set of three cat wall climber shelves. We now have a total of six shelves in our bedroom, and they are almost always in use. Vertical space is definitely the key to peace in this house! Most of the photos are of various cats enjoying their shelves. The short video is of Tica, who like Jasper, loves to scramble and skitter across, around, over, and under the shelves. They are so cute and acrobatic-looking.
We enjoyed watching the Kalaanjali School of Dance at their 2012 Annual Day yesterday. Luciana performed her first Alarippu (blossoming--her coming-out dance). It's much more technically complicated than any of the other dances she has performed. She's very annoyed that she "messed up" one part of the dance, but that happens. It was the group's first time performing this number, so they will get better at it and work the kinks out in future performances.
As always, the three-hour show was a treat to watch. It would have been more enjoyable if not for the obnoxious feral children behaving badly. I spent the last half of the show completely infuriated over the children who were allowed to scream through over a half hour of the show, and the particularly bratty little boy who spent the last hour or so of the show running around the auditorium, including across the front row, blocking the stage action and crashing repeatedly into the photographer who was trying to do his job in the aisle. It is unfathomable to me that anyone would allow their child to distract from and negatively impact an event that so many people worked so very hard on. Those dancers put their hearts into their performances and work so hard, and the lack of respect shown them yesterday pushed my temper almost to the breaking point. Here's a little advice to parents of youngsters: NOBODY THINKS YOUR KIDS ARE AS CUTE AS YOU DO, so if they don't know how to behave in public, get a fucking babysitter!
L has very little tolerance or patience for my picture taking, so I didn't get nearly the shots I was hoping for, and I didn't get any of us together.
Number of animals killed in the world by the meat, dairy and egg industries, since you opened this webpage. This counter does not include the billions of fish and sea animals killed annually.
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