Actual vs. Emotional Hunger

Tonight’s Breaking through Barrier’s class was about listening to your body to see if you are feeling actual vs. emotional hunger. Which later in evening turned out to be a very appropriate topic! We talked about the signs of actual hunger – stomach hollow, stomach growling etc. And, a 10 point hunger scale ranging from feeling faint as a 1 to feeling overfull to the point of feeling sick as a 10. And, how if you are thinking you are hungry and you are not at like at three or four on that scale then it may just be that you are thinking of emotional eating. Boy, do I know all about this! I have been known in the past to eat for a wide range of emotions from resentment, anger and frustration to boredom, relaxing and even happiness. Tonight was the perfect example – something happened and someone upset me. So what did I want to do? You guessed it – eat a big bowl of pasta and drink a couple of big glasses of wine. But, then I took a few minutes to calm down, and a few deep breaths, and asked myself, “Do you really need to eat that?” I was actually hungry at the time too – making the situation a little more difficult to manage. But, I made a lean cuisine frozen dinner – I know not the best, but low in calories – and ate that instead of having a few big glasses of wines and a big meal. And, you know what I feel great now – good about myself and good about how I handled this situation. I am proud of myself! Now I just need to incorporate this into my life every time I get the urge to eat for emotional reasons. Looks like I will be using the hunger scale a lot and learning to take 10 deep breaths for awhile! At least until I master this actual vs. emotional hunger conundrum.

Just for Today Post-it

I guess after golfing and Pilates yesterday, and my very hard workout and dancing today I am tired, sore and achy. I guess that is what you get when you take almost a week off of exercising to be in a funk. I guess I’m learning my lesson! Today all is good! Good workouts and good eating. I did a Just for Today post-it that said. “Just for today I will eat 1500 calories” – and I did it. I will be adding that to my arsenal of new good habits. This morning my workout turned out to also be a great counseling session. Marc really helped me put some things in my life into perspective and gave me a new way to look at some situations in my life. Our talk during my difficult workout really helped me realize a couple things about myself and others. It was great! Tomorrow I have another conference call on Breaking through Barriers – that should be interesting too. All is good, but I am taking this sore, achy, weary body to bed early tonight.

Golfing, Pilates and Princesses...and a some work

This morning I got up at played golf at 6:37 a.m.with Diane. Is that crazy or what? I burned 1263 calories during my golf adventure. I know this thanks to my handy GofitWear band - very motivating. Maybe I should play everyday - chasing all my bad shots around. LOL! Then off to my Prosperity Princess meeting - at my house - I barely made it home before the ladies arrived. So, still in my golf attire - baseball cap and all we had the meeting at my house. Where one of the things we talked about was how our beliefs affect our thoughts about whether or not we can achieve our goals. Hmmmmm....Now how weird is that? Didn't I just write about that yesterday? I'd say the Universe is trying to tell me something, don't you think? I better get on that belief list, and fast! Then it was off to Pilates, took Cleo for a walk, and then some work. It was a pretty busy day for me - all good. And, tomorrow I will go to my workout at 7 a.m. I'm thinking my beliefs are changing for the better! Watch out world! LOL!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. -Walt Disney

Courage. Great quote!

The conference call on Breaking Through Barriers was awesome. Tara Costa one of the contestants on the Biggest Loser was on the call giving her insight about her weight loss journey - she lost 155 pounds. Here are some of her suggestions and insights:

She also suggested doing a "Just for today..." post-it - that says just for today I will...eat right, exercise, eat 1200 calories, be kind to myself...whatever it is you want to do that day. Makes sense - you can do anything for one day, right?

Also, we talked about self talk and beliefs, and our patterns of thinking about fitness, food and our bodies, and how this affects how we relate to food and our bodies. For example, if we think food is comfort, then we will eat to be comforted. I'm going to make a list of my beliefs and whether they are supporting or holding me back in my weight release efforts.

She also suggested taking photos of yourself every week to see your progress.

Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch your actions, they become your habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character for it will become your destiny!

Interesting stuff!

Baptism and Italian Food

Today was baby Ben's baptism, Steve's first grandson. So, it was a big day in the family. He is such a little cutie! We went to the baptism and then on to Buca di Beppo, or as I call it Buca di Burpo. LOL! Not the best place to try to eat healthy. I had a little bit of everything - it was a little tough to resist. They have the best thin crust pizza - at least it WAS thin crust and it was vegetarian! I guess you have to just do the best you can in those situations. Tomorrow I am going to do a little gardening and listen to the first conference call from the Biggest Loser Resort Breaking Through Barriers Session. It will be interesting to see what they have to say that can help me in my journey.

Back on track...

Today I woke up and said I will eat healthy - so far so good. I decided today was going to be a good day - and it has been, except that my cell phone died. But, I was calm about it and just figured I'd get a break from phone calls this weekend - my new phone should be here Monday. I'm making chicken on the grill, green beans, and garlic potatoes for dinner. And, I took Cleo on a longer walk this afternoon, which made her happy! I'm running out of exciting things to write about. Hopefully creative inspiration will dawn on me soon!

Very off track...

Obviously, I didn't even post yesterday. It has been a bad week for me so far – way too much food and no exercise, and bad thought patterns. It seems like I have this pattern of doing well and then doing poorly. Well, now I am in doing poorly phase. I know I have all the tools I need to release this weight. But, why do I keep sabotaging myself? Tomorrow is another day. I'm going to make it a great one. I won't look back at today and yesterday - only forward! I just realized that I probably had a bad week because it was Father's Day last Sunday. And, I miss my Dad so much. But, I know he wouldn't want me to get off track and be in this funk. So, no more of this!

Work, work, work....

I know I rarely even allude to the fact that I work. LOL! Today I was so busy though that I didn't get a chance to workout at all. But, I sure did accomplish a lot of work.

"Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do." Don Galer

I just signed up for an eight week group seminar on “Breaking Through Weight Loss Barriers” with Kwentin, the counselors from the Biggest Loser Resort, and Erik, one of the winners of The Biggest Loser. They should know what I need to do to break through this and do this thing by my birthday in November. I think I am going to plan a big reveal party on my birthday. Hmmmm….That is an idea that might just really motivate me!

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.” Henry Ford

I love that quote! It is so true. I am in a little bit of downturn on the biorhythm front. So, I am going to get up and do my gratitude journal and my intentions and get my day started right tomorrow. My trainer just called to say he can’t make it tomorrow – I’ll have to buck up and get my butt to the gym myself tomorrow. LOL!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads

That was pretty much the theme of today. We went to lunch at a bar-b-que restaurant - per my husband's request. So, you can imagine there weren't too many good food choices on the menu. I tried bar-b-que shrimp with cheesy grits and collard greens. I know cheese grits  - not so good on the calorie front. It was pretty tasty though - who would think grits and greens would go with shrimp. So, tomorrow I will be hitting the exercise trail hard - you know the calories in vs. calories out scenario. Well, today my calorie intake was more than my output. But, hey it was Father's Day, right?

Gardening my day away...

Loving it! Best exercise ever - picking veggies, pulling weeds, watering - that is how I am spending my day. How about you?

The Dirty Dozen

Sounds like a movie, huh? Well, it is a 1967 World War II movie. You might be asking what does this have to do with releasing weight and fitness. It doesn't really have anything to do with it, but there is another Dirty Dozen to be afraid of. I am talking about the fruits and vegetables known to contain the most pesticides.

The Dirty Dozen:
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach, kale and collard greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce

The following information is taken from a CNN Report entitled "Toxic America" :

If you eat any of the dozen, you just might be ingesting 67 pesticides with it, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group. The group, a nonprofit focused on public health, scoured nearly 100,000 produce pesticide reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to determine what fruits and vegetables we eat have the highest, and lowest, amounts of chemical residue.

Most alarming are the fruits and vegetables dubbed the “Dirty Dozen,” which contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving. These foods are believed to be most susceptible because they have soft skin that tends to absorb more pesticides. “It’s critical people know what they are consuming,” according to the Environmental Working Group. “The list is based on pesticide tests conducted after the produce was washed with USDA high-power pressure water system. The numbers reflect the closest thing to what consumers are buying at the store.”
The Dirty Dozen:
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach, kale and collard greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce

The group suggests limiting consumption of pesticides by purchasing organic for the 12 fruits and vegetables. You can reduce your exposure to pesticides by up to 80 percent by buying the organic version of the Dirty Dozen according to the report.

Not all non-organic fruits and vegetables have a high pesticide level. Some produce has a strong outer layer that provides a defense against pesticide contamination. The group found a number of non-organic fruits and vegetables dubbed the “Clean 15″ that contained little to no pesticides.

The Clean 15:
Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes
Sweet onions

What is a pesticide?
A pesticide is a mixture of chemical substances used on farms to destroy or prevent pests, diseases and weeds from affecting crops. According to the USDA, 45 percent of the world’s crops are lost to damage or spoilage, so many farmers count on pesticides. The Environmental Protection Agency, the FDA and the USDA work together to monitor and set limits as to how much pesticide can be used on farms and how much is safe to remain on the produce once it hits grocery store shelves.
“In setting the tolerance amount, the EPA must make a safety finding that the pesticide can be used with ‘reasonable certainty of no harm.’ The EPA ensures that the tolerance selected will be safe,” according the EPA’s website. Although the President’s Cancer Panel recently recommended that consumers eat produce without pesticides to reduce their risk of getting cancer and other diseases, the low levels of pesticides found on even the Dirty Dozen are government-approved amounts.

Can small amounts of pesticides hurt you?
The government says that consuming pesticides in low amounts doesn’t harm you, but some studies show an association between pesticides and health problems such as cancer, attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder and nervous system disorders and say exposure could weaken immune systems.

The Environmental Working Group acknowledges that data from long-term studies aren’t available but warns consumers of the potential dangers.
Pesticides are designed to kill things. Why wait for 20 years to discover they are bad for us? Some doctors warn that children’s growing brains are the most vulnerable to pesticides in food. "A kid’s brain goes through extraordinary development, and if pesticides get into the brain, it can cause damage,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Can pesticides be washed away?
Not necessarily. The pesticide tests mentioned above were conducted after the food had been power-washed by the USDA. Also, although some pesticides are found on the surface of foods, other pesticides may be taken up through the roots and into the plant and cannot be removed. “We’ve found that washing doesn’t do much,” Rosenthal said. “Peeling can help, although you have to take into account that the pesticides are in the water, so they can be inside the fruit because of the soil.”
All fresh produce, whether it’s grown with or without pesticides, should be washed with water to remove dirt and potentially harmful bacteria. And health experts agree that when it comes to the Dirty Dozen list, choose organic if it’s available.
“To the extent you can afford to do so, [parents] should simply buy organic, because there have been some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides [in their body] in two weeks,” Landrigan said. Here is the link to the article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen.produce.pesticide/index.html

Something to think about.  I don't know about you but I am not going to buy any of the dirty dozen unless they are organic and I am going to try to grow many in my garden. I think I'm going to buy the clean 15 organic also. If you are interested in starting your own garden, but you don't know where to start, I have a friend, Karen, who has a company called groOrganic that can help you have a beautiful organic garden in your back yard. www.gro-Organic.com.  Here is a photo of my garden. My grass is a little dead because my sprinkers were broken for awhile - some gardner I am. LOL!  A  couple of days ago I also posted some photos of the bounty from my garden so far this season. I'm growing apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines, avocados, Brussel sprouts, lettuce, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, corn, oranges, limes, lemons, strawberries, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, spaghetti squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, onions and artichokes. WOW! I didn't realize there were so many until I started listing them!  They are all in various stages of growth. It is so rewarding and so much fun to garden. I love it!

Chinese Fire Drill this morning...and a recipe

My workout is at 7:15 every Tuesday, Thursday and some Fridays - but today I woke up at 7 a.m. That didn't give me enough time to even wake up - I usually get up at 6 a.m. to have some coffee and read my emails, and now do my gratitude journal, intentions and declarations. But, some how this morning I slept through not one, but two alarms! I woke up at 5:45 and thought, I have 15 more minutes of sleep - yippeee! But, I guess I ignored my two alarms. LOL! Anyway, I did make it to my workout, but I was tired and groggy - not the best way to workout. I guess I need that time to wake up in the morning. LOL That was about the excitment for the day. I did make some awesome turkey chili for dinner though.

Here is the recipe (I made it up!):
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 15 ounce can black beans
1 15 ounce can kidney beans
1 15 ounce can cannelli beans (white kidney beans)
1 pepper diced (I put in two peppers from my garden one purple and one green. Told you I'd find something to do with them.)
1 onion diced
About 5 cloves of garlic, chopped (I love garlic.)
1 shallot, chopped
1 T Chipolte Chili Powder
1 T Chili powder
1 t Oregano
1 t Cumin
1 t Corriander
1 t salt

I put it over 1/2 cup of brown rice and topped it with a little soy cheese.
It was pretty spicy - it need the rice to calm the spice down. Steve, loved it - it made his eyes water. So, if you don't like that much spice cut down on the Chili powder. Enjoy!!! Delish! - as Racheal Ray would say!

Blue Butterflies and other cool things...

This morning I did my manifesting journal again. And, I also remembered that on Monday at Prosperity Princesses we had all said we would manifest a blue butterfly this week. I wasn't really thinking about it too much today - actually I guess I was a little. And, imagine this....I was walking behind Makayla while we were walking Cleo this afternoon....and look what I saw...besides a beautiful little girl!

All I could think was WOW - I’m thinking this DOES work. Today was a lovely day of feeling good, flexibility (I tried to go to a movie at the wrong time, but just called to find another one and went to that one instead of having a melt down. Beautiful!), relaxation and calmness, love, lots of energy and most importantly being present in the moment! Life is good! And, my shorts felt like they were falling off today! Woo Hoo!

         

 And, today Makayla and I picked my first three juicy red tomatoes, a couple of zucchini, some green beans, a purple pepper, and a green one too, and some Swiss chard, and some crazy looking apricots. Now I 'm going to go fix some dinner with my bounty. I think I am going to sauté the Swiss chard and make some fried (oven fried, that is) zucchini tonight. I'll find look for a recipe for the green beans, tomatoes and peppers in the next couple of days. I'm going to have to find a lot of recipes to make with all my vegetables, especially tomatoes and zucchini.  Life is good!

Flexibility

This morning I did my gratitude journal, my intentions for the day and my declarations. One of my intentions was to be flexible. And, no sooner than I went to my workout did I have to be just that. The power was out at the gym - so as I drove up I noticed Marc standing at the front door, only to come up to my car and tell me we couldn't work out today. So, at first I thought "Oh great I can just go home and go about my day." Then I realized that wasn't what I needed to do. I toyed with the idea of not working out today and then I realized I needed to be flexible in my plans and do my workout. So, after working for a few hours I went to the gym and did a workout on my own. Thanks to my intentions for the day! Later we went to our dance lesson for the first time in about seven weeks. We took a little break - but it was great to be back. I forgot what a good calorie burner dancing is! Then my Makalya came over to spend the night and we took Cleo on a long walk. So, I did my fair share of calorie burning today. I just topped off the night with a healthy peach cobbler that I made from some fresh peaches I had on hand. It was nummy! So, the theme of the day is Flexibility! And, of course, start the day with gratitude and good intentions.

Manifesting

Today at my Prosperity Princesses meeting we learned about Manifesting. I have listen to many CDs on the subject and read many, many books on the subject. But, today for some reason it really made sense to me. This is the simplified version of how it works. There are four steps to manifesting - or getting whatever you want in life. Each step is to be done on a daily basis, or nearly daily basis. The first step is Gratitude - you write down 10 things that you are grateful for. The second step is Intentions - you write down your intentions for the day - things like I intend to be happy, joyous, creative and so on and so on. The next step i Declaration - you write down your declarations - the things you would like out of life - you write them as id you all ready have them. And, the last step is Contribution - contribute to someone or something or give of your time. I have had this really nice notebook sitting on my desk for a month or two. Now I know why I bought it - it is now my manifesting journal. I'll keep you posted on my success with this process! I'll be manifesting me at a healthy fit weight for sure!

Ethereal Wedding

Today my stepdaughter, Monica, was married to Scott. It was a beautiful day - a small intimate wedding in Mount Baldy and then a lovely reception at their home. She looked so beautiful - I really felt happy for them and even shed some tears at this ethereal event for these two delightful souls. Do you know what ethereal means? Well, all day today I used this adjective to describe the day, and guess what I was right on with this description. Here is the defintition: characterized by lightness and as impalpable or intangible as air; of heaven or the spirit; characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy. And, that is exactly the feeling of today! And yes – delightful is the perfect word to describe them as a couple – delightful in every way! So, today was one of those days where I completely lived in the moment and enjoyed every moment of the day. I noticed things like the sunlight on her hair, the joy in his words, the laughter of the children, and the extraordinarily vivid colors of the flowers. Love is quite the wonderful thing – I really believe this! All you need is love - pure, unconditional love to be happy in this life. The good news is you don't have to wait for someone else to give it to you. We should all love ourselves, as the way we are. Surround ourselves with love. And, "Broadcast" love. You don't have to do it alone either. Ask angels to help you. Those are my thoughts for the day. Let’s just all love each other and ourselves. Peace out!

Great Boxing Workout This Morning

Great Boxing workout this morning. Then a little work, and off to a rehearsal for Monica's wedding. And, then out to dinner - Mexican food. I only ate half - that is a start. I didn't pick the restaurant. LOL! Anyway, tomorrow is the wedding. So, a little walk or workout in the morning and then off to the wedding.

Emotional Mastery

Completely back on track - I had a little talk with myself - and the Biggest Loser Counselor, Kwentin - and realized that how I deal with my feelings has been the cause of my emotional eating. Years of stuffing my feelings down and not acknowledging or expressing them has lead to my stuffing my face, emotional eating and self sabotage. This morning we talked about The Seven Steps to Emotional Mastery and I had an epiphany that I need to identify my feelings, face my feelings, express my feelings, learn from my feelings, and then liberate my feelings. Journaling, poetry, creative writing, and painting were all avenues that he indicated would be great ways to effectively express emotion. I think this Blog is part of expressing and liberating my feelings – which is why I have stayed on this journey far longer than I ever would have in the past. By now I would have definitely completely given up - not exercised at all and ate crummy for about a month before I would get back on track. From now on I plan to get up each day and decide that it will be a good day. And, when I do have challenging feelings about something – which is bound to happen – I will use these seven steps to create new habits for coping, instead of emotional eating and sabotage. I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my back! YAY!

Taking a little break....

After my very ambitious and tremendously successful last two weeks, this week is turning out to be a disaster. I can't seem to get back on track with food, even though I know the calorie in calorie out scenario. I'm just going to give myself a couple of days off from everything and prepare to hit it on Monday. Don't worry. I am not going to go totally crazy - I'm just not going to wear my GofitWear monitor or log my food for a few days. I think I need a little break after my lofty last two weeks.

Need a new goal....

Today I ate and ate and ate - first Chinese food and then taco salad and some brownies that I made. I haven’t done anything like that in months. I don't know if it was because I was hungry after all the physical exertion on the weekend or if I was emotional eating. I guess it is okay since I burned a ton of calories at the Mud Run. Tomorrow I will be back on my plan. I guess a girl needs a little comfort food every now and then. Then goal is to stay on the path and to not get off track, right? I feel like I need another physical goal. After planning and prepping and dreaming about going to the Biggest Loser Resort and doing the Mud Run for the last five months, I feel a little lost now. It is a strange feeling. That is it – I will have to pick another goal!

I didn't know I had so many muscles....

The theme of today is ouch. Ouch when I get up, ouch when I rolled over in bed last night, ouch when I bent over today, ouch when I sat up - just ouch! I guess yesterday wore me out. Surprise! I had a massage this morning and that was great, but just made me realize that every one of my muscles hurt. LOL. I rested the rest of the day and then Steve and I went to a movie and to dinner - very low key day. Mexican food - don't I deserve it? I actually only ate half and brought the rest home. Tomorrow I will be on it again - I have a goal to reach, right? I had vision of the river all day today and also realized that I had Déjà vu yesterday when I was leaving the run. I was so tired and sore yesterday that I didn't realize it until today. I had been there before leaving that race in that place, near that lake walking back to my car after the event – in a dream. I'm sure that means I am on the right path! Don't you think so?

The Mud Experience - otherwise known as the Camp Pendleton Mud Run

I’m alive! Here is the whole long story of the day – of the Camp Pendleton Mud Run, that is. After taking my Melatonin, Calcium and Magnesium, and some Valerian Root, I went to bed early last night – I figured I needed to make sure I got some sleep before the big day so I loaded up on these natural sleep aids. The good news it that the worked! I woke up this morning at 5 a.m., had some coffee and an egg and toast. Then I made the hour drive to my friend Cathi’s house in San Juan Capistrano. We piled in her SUV with my overloaded, heavy duffle bag filled with all the things that I decided I might need at a Mud Run – first aid and blister kits, a towel, a change of clothes, flip flops and my oh so ugly Crocs, camera, phone, you get the picture a big heavy bag full of stuff. This is important later. Then we are off to pick up Cathi’s friends, our friend Sue is meeting us at the run. On the way to pick up her friends, Gail and Kim, she mentions that one is an avid runner and the other is a personal trainer. I think to myself, “Oh my goodness what I have I gotten myself into.” We pick up the girls and they are very nice ladies – and fit as can be! Then we drive down to Oceanside and on to the Marine Base – it is very crowded and it takes us about an hour just to get to the place where we park. Then they tell me we have to walk about a half a mile to the start of the race and I think to myself, “I can’t waste my precious steps walking to the start. I’ve got to make it through 6.2 miles of unknown probably horribly hard terrain still.” But, I walk. We come upon a village like setting with a bevy of different tents with food, shirts, hats, water, etc. We find the area to check our bags and pin our race numbers on our backs. There are reportedly 10,000 people at the race. So, you can imagine what that was like. All sorts of people, some wearing outlandish costumes – Viking hats, Sombreros, guys in short tops and Dolphin shorts (remember those, well they looked like those anyway. LOL) – you get the picture. Then they told us to line up the team race was beginning. I thought to myself –sounds like I did way too much thinking today - “I am going to get trampled by all these real runners.” So, as you can see I was very anxious. Then the horn goes off and the race starts. I had to at least jog or I felt like I actually would get trampled. Then we slowed down a bit – a log jam type situation. Then off again and there was the first water – a fire truck on the side of the road spaying everyone with a ton of water. I have to admit it felt kind of good to get wet. Then another log jam, and over a bridge. I kept wondering what was next. It seemed like things were going to be okay – a little jogging and a little walking. Then another log jam. I was glad I got a chance to rest a little. If I had only known the fun was just beginning. LOL! A little stream to wade through – it was about 6-8 inches deep, a muddy path and then another little stream. I thought, I can handle this. The streams are getting bigger – the next one was up to my knees. I trudged along the path some more, my friend Sue saying, “Let’s run a little – so I did.” The other ladies were long gone and far ahead of us by this time. We rounded the corner and I saw it – it being the longest steepest looking road that looked like the Great Wall of China to me a the time. So, I walked, and I walked, and I walked – it seemed to get steeper and steeper. I thought I was at the top and then I rounded the corner and there was another leg of the journey. By this time my friend Sue was long gone trotting up the hill – or at least I think she was. More hill, more turns – after about three miles finally the top. Argh! Oh and along the way every mile or so there was a water/Gatorade station. I partook of at least one cup of each at every station. The only way I knew how much further I had to go was the refreshment stations. Someone told me they were about every mile, so that was my only gage of my progress. Each Marine we passed would cheer us on and say, “You are almost there.” I finally figured out they were saying that from mile one. Duh! Then the down hill decent began – not so good on the knees. I kept wondering where these big obstacles were. As I got to the bottom of the hill I saw my friends Cathi and Sue waiting for me. I thought I better jog a little. Cathi said the river and a climbing wall were next. We heard gun fire in the background reminding us of where we were. Oh no! The river, besides the fact that it was a muddy mess, was the best part of the day. The water came up to my chin, but I was able to hop swim – yes hop swim across. Not to bad! Then back on land and soggy as hell. Up another hill and across the street. Then I saw another mud pit and some tunnels. Oh my goodness! Got past those, through a nice area like a nature park – but by that time I could barely see where I was going. LOL! I turned another corner and in the distance I could see what looked like a giant wall of mud. I could see a people being drenched with water from a fire truck as they scrambled up the steep hill – way steeper that the first long hill! There were ropes on the sides so I thought I’d hold on to those and make my way up. But, no! A Marine said to me, “Ma’am (they all called you Ma’am!) it is easier if you go in the river.” The river was a crevice in the hill anywhere from a couple of inches to almost a foot deep. It was literally a flowing river. The water felt good from above, but made the hill more treacherous – to me anyway. I kept thinking I was going to misstep and slide down the hill taking out all the other Mud Runners behind me out. That would have been a sight to see! But, thank goodness I made it up this ‘slippery hill,’ as they called it. At the top my friends were waiting – did I mention that Cathi does mini Triathlons and is training for a Marathon? I felt like I was going to puke – yes indeed I did feel that way. Thank goodness I was able to walk it off. A little more to go – or so one Marine’s said – up another hill and down another hill. I could hear the cheering below and see the Village. I was almost there. Then the crawl through the mud pitts. The end was near. I could see the finish line – I started to jog right to the finish line. I was done. I had done it! We walked back to the Village area to pick up our bags and try to have a shower – no luck on the shower the lines were at least 30 people deep – all 30 co-ed one of them. So, we walked back to the SUV – yes another half mile or so. That darn duffle bag was so heavy now – it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Argh! I was tired. I am tired. But, I did it! I am so happy I made it! My goal is that much closer now. Tonight I will have a nice meal and a good sleep. I’m sure I won’t need my natural sleep aids tonight! On to the next challenge – it will be hard to top this one!

Big Mud Run Day Tomorrow....

Oh dear! This is it. Wish me well and send me good wishes, strength, endurance, etc. tomorrow morning between 9 a.m. and noon. Please! I will be going to bed early tonight to get some rest and then up at 5 a.m. to drive down to my friend Cathi's house, and then on to Camp Pendleton. It should be a blast - yeah a blast of water and mud. Oh boy! LOL. Today I went to the game show audition - it was cool! I'm not sure how we did as a team though - or how I did. It was hard to tell. It was more difficult to answer questions when you were being taped and watched. We shall see. If I do get picked -which I should because I did put it in my dream book! LOL! You never know! - the prize is more than one million dollars split between the six contestants. Maybe it is six million? Hmmmm..... The name of the show is Six Minds!

One more day until the Mud Run

Great boxing workout this morning. Then I helped my stepdaughter plant some plants in her yard for her upcoming wedding - that was a bit of a workout too - but lots of fun! Then some work and now I am filling out my application for the game show - who would think they would ask so many questions to be on a game show! I will rest tomorrow - no working out - to get ready for the big day at the Mud Run. I think it will be fun! I hope so anyway! LOL!

Only two more days until the Mud Run

Oh my gosh. There are only two more days until the Mud Run. I am so anxious about it. I have looked at photos on the website and it looks brutal. Today I did a 3 mile walk/run which is half the distance of the Mud Run - but the Mud Run also includes some crazy obstacles. Oh dear! Oh well, if I am the last one over the finish line that is fine with me. The goal is to just finish. LOL! I will be so glad when it is about 1 p.m. on Saturday. Please send me some strength and endurance on Saturday morning from about 9 a.m. to noon - I will need it! A little more about the game show. A friend of mine, Julie, invited me to participate with a group of people to audition for a game show called Six Minds. On Friday morning we will be going to audition - so that day I will need some brain power vs. the brawn I will need on Saturday. LOL! It would be cool if we we chosen to be on the show. We will see how it goes. I'll keep you posted!

Game show...

I am auditioning for a game show on Friday.