Week 7 Weigh-In & Word Diarrhea

Breakfast: cherry yogurt
Lunch: Chinese buffet
Dinner: romaine and spinach salad w/dried cranberries, feta cheese, and light raspberry vinaigrette
Exercise: basement cleaning for 2-3 hours

I am realizing more and more that I've had diarrhea of the mouth (or, in this case, fingers) lately... I have been updating a lot more and the posts have been getting longer and longer. I also realize that most blogs that are far more professional than this one (considering this one's, well, not professional in the slightest) write posts ahead of time and save them for later, when they're not feeling as inspired.

Well, like I said... This isn't one of those blogs. When I get the inspiration for a post, I don't want to wait to post it later... I want to post it now! I want other people to know what's going on in my head, and I want to know what you think about it.

Therefore, blog friends, I apologize for a silly amount of posts, pictures, and updates lately. Just remember (fondly) those weeks and months where I didn't have anything to say. The time will come when I have nothing to say again, I promise you (we can only pray).

This isn't one of those times, though. Because I've got a lot to share with you today!
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Stats for Week 7 Weigh-In with Biggest Loser:
Starting Weight for 2012: 262.2
Previous Weight: 245.6
Current Weight: 243.4

Goodbye, 2 lbs! This week's loss felt earned. I didn't always make good decisions, but I made more good decisions than bad and as I've been saying the past few days, I'm trying to reinvent my attitude towards this whole process and get "guilt" and "failure" out of my vocabulary. My shortcut to getting off track with healthy choices always begins with an attitude of guilt and failure when I make bad decisions regarding food/exercise. I realize you have to stay on top of yourself, to an extent, but I really take it too far and then I get in a place where I tell myself, "Well, I already messed up today, so what's the point of exercising?" That kind of thinking won't get me very far, in the long run. 

The point of all that is to say I'm proud of this week's loss. I didn't always make healthy decisions, like I said, but I got my butt moving every day to stay active. This week's activities included: water aerobics, walking the dogs, hot yoga class, yard work, and house deep-cleaning. Some structured exercise and some practical things I need to do that I usually avoid at all costs because it requires energy and will power (things I'm pushing myself to have more of). 

This picture is an illusion, but I love it anyway. I don't know why I look so narrow, because I promise my hips are not that tiny.

SEE! Proof. But I don't care. Large hips or not, I'm gettin' there!

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Oh, and activities that keep me busy... 

This is what my basement looked like earlier today, after taking everything out of the closet:

Basically, the closet exploded.

 And this is the closet now:

Nice and tidy (albeit, packed).

Okay, so it's not beautiful. But what you don't see is how much stuff we threw away and how much we're donating/selling. Basically all that went back in that closet is empty tote bags and luggage, a cooler, three boxes of encyclopedias, a box of clothes, a box of miscellaneous electronics, a bin of frames, a bin of my childhood memorabilia, two sleeping bags, and two comforter sets. 

Um, well, okay... that sounds like a lot of stuff when I type it out. But whatever. It's a storage closet, people!

I also didn't take pictures of the other parts of the basement we cleaned (and by "we" I mostly mean "me" because Husband left halfway through the process). There's another room adjacent to this closet where we are hoping to move the washer/dryer to and turn it into The World's Most Fantastic Laundry Room (or something like it). My father-in-law is coming next weekend to help BDR move the washer/dryer hookups down to that room, since currently there are none, so we had to make sure and clean up that room today. There wasn't really much in there to begin with (only 2 TVs, an exercise bike, and some tools), so we mostly just swept out the room. There's a foyer off of this room leading to the backyard that had been covered in dust and leaves because the storm door hasn't been able to shut since we moved in two years ago (thus, it stays open 24/7). So I raked/swept out the dirt and somehow managed to fix the door. Whoever installed it had screwed spacers in between the door jam and where the door connects to the jam. (I am aware that made no sense, and I apologize). Anyway, there were two spacers, I took out one... Voila. We have a closed storm door now:

Can you see the puppies waiting patiently to be let in?

By the way, I just called that a "foyer" because I can't figure out what else to call it. Apparently a "foyer" is an entrance to a building, and even though this technically is an entrance, it's a back door... So "foyer" doesn't seem appropriate. So I looked up "vestibule" which is "an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building" which seems like the appropriate term to use... But "vestibule" seems like an awkward word to use in a blog. Maybe because when I think "vestibule", I think "laryngeal vestibule" which is the part of the larynx about the vocal folds (thank you, graduate school). 

See what I mean about the "diarrhea of the mouth/fingers" thing?

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Oh, and speaking of puppies (wait, I wasn't speaking about puppies?), mine have been awfully cute lately. And I don't have children to gush and post pictures about yet (just you wait...) so you'll have to deal with dogs. 

I know it looks like I'm crushing her, but I promise I'm not. Well, maybe I am.. But only a little.

So she's not the best heeler...

She kicks butt at cuddling though, and isn't that more important? (Oh, and I promise I don't wear that robe all the time... Okay, maybe I do.)

Luke sportin' his pink Valentine's Day collar (handmade by my MIL, by the way)

They might be in love.

Oh, by the way, I love my dogs. 

We took them for a walk the other day. Our vet's office happens to be 6-7 blocks from the house, and I was curious about how big Luke has gotten since our last visit so we stopped by. Luke is now 88.5 lbs and Leia is 13.2. Big puppies! I'm so proud of my babies. They're both in such better shape than I've ever been in my life. I am so good at managing their diet and making sure they get plenty of exercise. You'd think that would translate into my own habits. Hm. Something to ponder...

Or not.

'Night y'all!