Guest Post Memorial Day

Mister has served in a tactical PSYOP company in the US Army for 11 years. He has deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and South America.

Memorial Day means a lot to me because it honors service members who make sacrifices for their country. Much of the public feels that those sacrifices are in vain when they don’t agree with the political reasons for committing troops to foreign lands. Many soldiers feel the same way, yet pack their bags, and make the best of it. It’s touching to see the ways that soldiers try to have a positive impact wherever they’re sent. They pass out school supplies and soccer balls to show the local families that they care. This impact is evident when bombs explode, and local children run to US soldiers for protection.

Political debates will continue concerning the deployment to US troops overseas, but these debates have a special meaning to those who serve. In many places overseas, soldiers encounter individuals who are covered in scar tissue from torture they’ve sustained for expressing dislike for a current regime, or political views that are contrary to the party in power. These images make a significant impact, and cause soldiers to appreciate the freedoms we have at home, even when faced with protest of their service upon returning home from war.

Holiday weekend!

Tomorrow is an early day (I get off work at three...actually I get off work at three every friday until Labor Day...yippee!) and then I'm packing a suitcase and heading to the North Pole, or what is better known as Utah. While I'm sad I have to pack my winter clothes, I'm excited to spend the long weekend in a "cabin" in the middle of nowhere with my family. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a bet to see how long Mister lasts in a house full of kiddos. And I get to try the waffles and frites at Bruges, and eat my dads scones (deep fried, dipped in butter and syrup), and at least one meal from a restaurant on my laundry list of restaurants I desperately miss in Utah. Needless to say, I think my 22 pound weight loss will be more like an 15 pound weight loss by the time this weekend is over. But really, it will be worth it. I also can't wait to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's special Memorial Day broadcast and cry when 1) Mister stands up with all of the other Veterans and 2) when I hear bagpipes (does anyone else react to bagpipes this way or is it just me).  It will be a great weekend. Also, I have secured my first (and probably only) guest blogger to post on Monday. Any guesses as to who it might be?

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend!

toot toot

You know what that is a picture of? SUCCESS! Although I kind of feel like a toddler being rewarded for going pee pee in the potty with all of those stickers, I'm proud of my accomplishment! What does all of that mean? That I have lost 21.8 pounds and reached my first goal of 10%! In eleven weeks! I'm a total rockstar. Sadly though, I still have 20 or so more pounds to go. (Yeah, that's how far I let myself go). However, I'm now (approx.) back to my wedding weight, certainly back to the weight I was when I left DC, so unless you live in Houston, or saw the unfortunate fatty picture of me on Misters FB page that I refused to tag, I probably don't look any different. But I FEEL different. Yay me! Let's all cross our fingers that the next 20 pounds will be as easy as the last.

PS, the same day I was rewarded with my 10% keychain, one woman received a 5 pound star bringing her total weight loss to 115 pounds. (talk about stealing my thunder) How amazing is that?!

The day hell froze over

I hate country. Country music makes me gag (literally...it's an involuntary reaction), as do wrangler jeans, belt buckles, and everything else associated with country music. Well, except for the dancing. That I do like, but only with my two steppin' husband. At one point in his life, he was an avid Texas two-stepper and he had the whole get-up; hat, starched shirt, flashy belt, wrangler jeans and cowboy boots. All of which he has since worn out or given away (to my relief).

This weekend we drove up to Dallas to see our people. On the docket was a trip to Cavender's Boot Shop to look for a hat for Tara and then dancing at Billy Bob's, the worlds largest honky-tonk.

When we were getting ready for the day, Mister realized he forgot his dance appropriate shoes, so he wanted to look for some cowboy boots while we were at Cavender's. Tara and I left him in the cowboy boots section and went on to find Tara not only a new hat, but new boots as well. Next thing I know, I look over and I see this:

like a kid in a candy store

I guess he decided that it was high time he returned to his Texas roots and bought not only cowboy boots, but a hat, starched shirt, flashy belt and wrangler jeans. (I'm gagging just thinking about it).

Billy Bob's was fun. Rick Springfield was the main act, so the country music was at a minimum, just enough for Mister to take Tara, Holly and me out for a spin or two around the dance floor.

I'm having a real hard time absorbing the fact that I'm married to someone who owns a pair of wranglers. It goes against everything I stand for. At least I'm married to a hot "cowboy" (or so the crowd of women Mister passed on the way to the restroom said).

And just because I'm a supportive wife, I let him buy me a pair of boots. Hell has frozen over my friends.

Miracle

+

=

almost 1 mile of running NON-STOP!!!

I didn't really plan on running at all last night because of my bum legs but when Mister jogged past me I felt like tagging along for my typical 3 light posts and ended up running the entire stretch of road! I didn't think I was mentally capable of that. Woohoo! In full disclosure though, the rest of the run (well walk) pretty much sucked, but still. Go me!

I also had a rad playlist this time. Check it out:

1. Oasis vs. U2 - Electrosound
2. Star - Erasure
3. American Boy Around the World (Daft Punk vs. Kanye West) - Pheugoo
4. Bulletproof - La Roux
5. Love & Wonder (Maroon 5) - DJ Earworm
6. Gifted (feat. Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke Li) - N.A.S.A.
7. Who Wants to Be Alone (feat. Nelly Furtado) - Tiesto
8. Lonesome Human (The Killers vs. Polarkreis 18 ) - DJ Clivester
9. Nothing Better (styrofoam Remix) - The Postal Service
10. Children Divide (Linkin Park vs. Robert Miles) - Gauffie
11. Deboutonner (feat. Siriusmo) - Modeselektor
12. Symphony 1 In the Barrel of a Gun - Emily Wells

Bulletpoints

-Remember that time I mentioned driving past the Tiki Bar car that the Mayor talked about in that episode of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me? Here it is:

-Here's another of the kabillion art cars in the Houston area as seen during the art car fesival. Those things hanging inside are all little disco balls and crystals. So sparkly! I would imagine it would be hard to see out the windshield on a bright day.

-Ever since reading the book Born to Run I have been a bit obsessed with barefoot running. Not quite willing to actually go running barefoot, I bought some Nike Free Run+ shoes yesterday. They're so light and PURPLE! No more boring running shoes for me.

-I took them to the park for a test drive and when they got all dusty from the dirt path I "run" on, I cleaned them with a wash cloth. Is that weird that I'm cleaning my running shoes?

-While I've been to the park almost every day for the past two weeks, I've started to get some pain in my calves. Brian diagnosed it as shin splints. Suck-o-rama. Luckily I have a crap load of KT Tape (and Tiger Balm) ready to help make it feel better. Don't worry, I'll be careful. I plan on walking ONLY for the next little bit. Damn these little setbacks!

-But this picture makes me feel better. I can almost see the younger, fit, thin me here. I think it's the fact that you can see a hint of a collar bone. Whatever it is, I'll take it!

-We're driving up to Dallas for the weekend so I can spend time with not one, but two friends who will be in town. Woohoo!!

-We're going to Utah over Memorial Day to see my family. Can't wait to see all of my babies!!

-A Tasti D-lite opened up in the tunnel downtown and inspired by my mom who tried every single item on the menu when the new Cafe Rio opened up in her neighborhood, my friends and I are on a mission to try every single flavor (all 120 of them) they offer. The best part about it is that it's guilt free! A small serving is only 100 calories or less!

-My friend and I were discussing cockroaches and I was trying to tell her that I think the worst thing about them are their crazy antennae, but just thinking about it was making me gag. It took me a good 5 minutes to actually get the word "antenna" out of my mouth.

-I'm so glad it's Thursday. Hope you have a great weekend!

A dream, realized

While most people idolize and strive to be like world leaders, sports figures ('I wanna be like Mike') and the like, when my husband first saw '24', he decided he wanted to be Jack Bauer. You read that right, he didn't just want to emulate him, he wanted to BE him. Among other things, he purchased the exact same satchel Jack carried and pursued his dream of becoming a federal agent.

Fast forward to yesterday. He's in El Paso for work and had spent the morning participating in an awesome, straight from the movies arrest. As he's sitting in the same vehicle that Jack drives, wearing the same utility shirt that he does, his phone rings...yes...even the same ring tone and it hits him. He IS Jack Bauer.

I'm happy he's fulfilled his dream, but doesn't Jack Bauer's wife die at the end of season one?

Routine

When I lived in DC, I had a running routine. I would come home from work every day, throw on my running clothes and run (quite literally) out the door to run a three mile loop in my neighborhood. Saturdays were the exception when I would roll out of bed, drive to either the W & OD or Mt. Vernon trails and get a nice long run in. Those were the good old days. I miss the ridiculous hill at the bottom of my street, I miss the fireflies I'd see surrounding the lush bushes along the W & OD when I ran in the cool(ish) summer evenings, the monuments reflected on the Potomac river along Mt. Vernon. It was easy to be a runner in DC.

Houston isn't really a runners city. Around my hood you basically have three options: the Allen Parkway trail, which smells like bat guano (YUCK) but is practically in our back yard, Memorial Park, which is fine but dusty and so busy that parking (and the trails) are often a mess of people, or the treadmill (zzzzzzzzzzzzz). I spent the last month or two "running" on the treadmill, but not as consistently as my C25K program called for, and I got bored and stopped. I just can't get myself to give Allen Parkway another shot. It seriously stinks. Memorial Park was also a challenge because Mister likes to join me when I run outdoors, but I hold him back, big time. Once we went and he ran 5 feet behind me the whole time so he didn't create a traffic jam on the trail, which was very considerate of him, but he naturally runs much faster than me, not to mention it made me feel like I was being followed by the secret service (which wasn't too much of a stretch, considering his work responsibilities are similar and he was armed at the time). So we gave up on that. Until last week! My friend had convinced me to go home, get dressed and immediately drive to the park, Mister be DAMNED! The trick was that Mister wanted to go, but I felt guilty making him "run" with me. After a big debate, we agreed that he would run at his own pace, and then walk back to find me. It was awesome! He gets his workout in, and so do I, minus the guilt. He asked to go the next day (and the next). We've been consistent for the past week and I don't see that changing, especially for me, considering I really would like to run the Houston marathon in January and am in no condition yet to even think about that. I need to work at running more than three light poles at a time and wittling down my time from 15min/mile to 10-11m/m, but I'm moving in the right direction. So, I'm back in a routine. It feels good, and I feel strangely more productive in my life as a whole. Now if only the scenery was as beautiful as it is in DC.

PS: Guess what? I'm down 17 pounds in 7 weeks! Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!