Sweaty (Schweddy) Bands

OK, maybe the title wasn't totally necessary, but seriously...I saw an opportunity to reference Schweddy Balls, and I went with it! We're not talking about ball, however...we're talking about bands, Sweaty Bands to be exact, and why I love them! (Follow the link for a little about their story.)

Taken today, post run.

I bought my first Sweaty Band at my gym, in the spring, when I started training for my 5k (using the couch to 5k program). Additionally in the Boston area, I know they're available at both Marathon Sports and City Sports, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

My hair is rather short, here's a recent picture of the length it's been hanging out a little more than a year.

Pretty short for a pony tail, huh? Well...pretty short for a functional with running pony tail given I don't want to use a can of hair spray and a full card of bobby pins every time I run. Enter the sweaty band: heavy fabric on the top, a no-slip velvety fabric for the under side, and some elastic for the base of you neck....GENIUS!

Top

Under-belly

It doesn't slip, it doesn't move, it doesn't pinch, it actually (shocker of shocker) DOES ITS JOB!

I've decided to make the Sweaty Bands my "trophies" for the 5ks that I've been doing. The pink and blue was for Spectacle Island 5k and the iridescent white shimmery thing was for the Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5k.

Now it's time to start shopping for the ones I will wear for October's events (Yes. I said eventS!!!) First, the Boston Walk for Animals and then The Blacklight Run a week later.

This is where you come in, beloved readers! Time to help me pick a Sweaty Band for each of the events!!!! All you need to do is pick one choice for Boston Walk for Animals and one for The Blacklight Run, and tell me your two choices in the comments. Simple, huh?!?!? Here are there choices....

For Boston Walk for Animals.... 1) Bite Me in green and pink, 2) Slow and Steady Wins the Race in green and blue, 3) Rabbits or 4) This Little Piggy.

For The Blacklight Run... 1) Strut Your Stuff, 2) Ghost in the Graveyard, 3) Out of This World, 4) Fabulosity in Gold or 4) Getting Groovy in black, yellow, pink, and blue.

Just so you know, you'll have until Sunday, September 8th to put in you comments. Happy choosing for me! :-D

Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5K

The beauty in my own "back yard".

HUZZAH! My second 5K is complete!! For several hours there I thought it wasn't going to happen, as a crowned tooth giving me FITS over the night before (I'll be seeing my dentist on Friday to see what's going on. Thankfully, I'm in MUCH less pain now.) I guess that sleep deprivation actually works for me.

This 5K was a COMPLETE different vibe from my first 5K: the Spectacle Island 5K. For Spectacle, I had to take the Green line to the Blue line, to a ferry to an island. For Chestnut Hill Reservoir, all I had to do is walk the 2-ish block that I normally walk. Chestnut Hill Reservoir is where I normally run.

Pre Race

This 5K was a lot less structured and much more lax of a race. There were no announcements and we all just kinda herded together towards the start. According to my race, the GPS ended up being 3.4 miles instead of 3.1...oh well.

I love running at the reservoir. The gravel is soft (yet it ALWAYS gets in my socks), there's fun wild life to watch, the people are always friendly, there's water nearby (given it's a...you know...reservoir), and it is quite literally in my back yard.

Holy geewillekers did I sweat! It wasn't all that HOT, but it was super sunny and I was DRENCHED afterwards. (As drenched as one can get in New England.) Thankfully, I remembered to wear sunscreen this time and escaped free from a Spectacle-esque sunburn.

Post Race

If I look super happy, it's because I am...and here's why: Spectacle Island 5K time - 50:06, Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5K time 44:57!!! That's 5 whole flippin' minutes. I didn't do anything "special" to improve my time, I just ran more. I still run like a turtle, but I'm a consistently improving turtle. Plus, if I take that much time off every 5k that I run, I would be a VERY happy camper. However, something tells more it's going to take a bit more than just "running more." A plan to be made later....

After the race was over...what I WANTED was brunch like booze...but since it was 9am, and we weren't in the city center, there would be none of that. Instead, we "settled"for breakfast at Eagles Deli. (On the way home, we picked up mimosa making supplies from the local liquor store and 7-11 and had the bottle of champagne polished off by noon. Hey! I head earned it!)

Pancakes with Nutella and fresh strawberries. YUM!

Since I have been overtly interested in running play lists and how they affect your performance, here was mine for this particular 5K:

1) It's Time - Imagine Dragons
2) Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
3) Come Around - M.I.A.
4) Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
5) A Little Party Never Killed Nobody - Fergie
6) The New Workout Plan - Kanye West
7) Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
8) Can't Hold Us - Macklemore
9) Land of 1,000 Dances - Wilson Pickett
10) Titanium - David Guetta
11) Sandstorm - Darude
12) Infinity Guitars - Sleigh Bells
13) Thunderstruck - AC/DC

So what's next? It's the Blacklight Run on October 26th at Osgood Landing out in Andover. I think Mr. & Mrs. H-Bomb will be joining along with a very special guest. STAY TUNED!

Just Keep Moving On

"I chose, and my world was shaken - So what?

The choice may have been mistaken,

The choosing was not

You have to move on

Look at what you want,

Not at where you are,

Not at what you'll be..."

Don't you just want to give Mandy Patinkin a big ol' bear hug?!?

 Sorry for the long blogging absence, but life & work have been PRETTY hectic this month, but I am back. :) I'm back and have something actually not weight loss related to talk about: starting September 3rd I am OFFICIALLY headed back to school and couldn't be more excited.

That being said, the process of getting ready to go back to school both mentally, emotionally and tactically has been a bit of a doozey. Once I was finally registered for my class, "Move On" from Sunday in the Park with George immediately popped into my brain. "What the heck?", I thought.... but after a little more pondering, it came to mind...it was very sage advice, from a trusted mentor...finally registering some 3 and a half years later.

Something that I've learned about myself, and probably has a large deal to do with why I write this blog...is my overwhelming desire to help people, to make a difference...and to sound TOTALLY cheesy, to leave this world a better place than I found it. (Doesn't that actually have a name? I think it's a Hebrew term...cookie goes to someone who can tell me what it is...)

Could I have done that by being a musician? Yes. Being a music educator? Absolutely! In my current job? To some small extent, I surmise. As a nurse? ABOSO-FUCKING-LUTLEY!

(Oh, yeah...in case you've spent ZERO time around me or have no knowledge of anything I write on an social media outlet...I'm going back to school to first get my prerequisites and then go to Nursing School for an accelerated BS in Nursing. Right now I THINK I want to work in a hospital in either ER, OR, or Mental Health, but then again...I'm not naive enough to think that I'll go through ALL of my nursing program with the same wants, or that's where my job search will take me. For now, however, those are the goals.)

This is a long way from what my 18 year old self thought I was going to do. Eighteen is when you go to college, when you decide "what you're going to be", right? That's such a stupid notion, seriously...how is an eighteen year old supposed to be equipped to answer that? In many instances, our youth are asked to answer this question MUCH younger than 18. Shouldn't kids just be...oh, I don't know...riding their bikes or gossiping about boys...? You get my drift.

But I digress. I know that my circumstance is not an exclusively unique position, but it is unique in my little circle of friends: I have several friends looking for first time employment in their given field, one looking for new employment in the same field, one starting her doctoral degree and a husband who is employed in a field FAR from from his college degree.

I think I relish this territory. I get to figure this out on my own. This can be mine. 

At the same time, this really isn't all that unique. We take our life experiences -- our strengths, our weaknesses, our lessons learned, our battles fought and carry them around with ourselves every single day, into every single circumstance.

I think that's what I love most about life -- it is never EVER static. It's dynamic even when it seemingly at its most placid. Perhaps that's why I love the water so. It's a great metaphor for life. Honestly, have you every seen water be 100% still for more than a nano-second.

Life's about the journey, not the destination. This is true. Also, it's less about "what" you are and "who" you are. Why don't they teach that in public school curriculum? Yay! You got into a good school, but you act as a wretched human being... Please do not mistake what I am talking about...I'm talking about CHARACTER, not morality or religion. I don't know if character can be taught, but certainly it can be shaped...or nudged along.

Yet again, I digress. 

I do wonder what it's going to be like to walk into the first Human Biology class. Am I'm going to be noticeably and significantly younger than everyone, will they annoy me, will I find the class easy, will it be difficult? All this not knowing is simultaneously exciting and petrifying. If you know me well, you know that I thrive on the dichotomous existence. 

When I started my undergrad, I remember my mother telling me, "watch out for the middle aged ladies in your classes. They'll blow your curve."

Now I think I'm that middle aged lady. Woo-hoo!!!!

This whole going back to school thing has me excited, introspective, little nervous, proud. If I had to pick some emotions I'd be down with being for quite some time...those would be fine by me.

...Just keep moving on

Anything you do

Let it come from you

Then it will be new

Give us more to see..."

Running Playlist

Hello lovely readers! My apologies for my absence of late. Between my actual vacation, my mom and my sister visiting for ten days, and my bit of a hectic return to work....well, No Disassemble Charlie No. 5 had to take a little time on the back burner. Never fear...we're back!!!!

Something's fun on the horizon: The Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5k will be here in a mere fifteen days. I'm pretty excited about this race! I can walk to it from my house, as it is at the reservoir where I always run. It's a absolutely GORGEOUS place to run!! That being said, I really don't LIKE to run. I am learning to LOVE to run though...if that makes any sense. I love when I get to the point when my mind goes blank, I love that I'm doing that LAST possible form of exercise I'd EVER thought I'd be doing. That being said, how do I bridge the gab from "like" to "love"? Very simple: MUSIC!

Here's my list, that keeps me going....in no particular order.

1) You Can Do It by Ice Cube

2) Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce'

3) Draw a Crowd by Ben Folds Five

4) Extraordinary by Liz Phair

5) Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry

6) Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J

7) Survivor by Destiny's Child

8) Thunderstruck by AC/DC

9) Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leopard

10) Do It Anyway by Ben Folds Five

11) Free Your Mind by En Vogue

12) Starships by Nicki Minaj

13) Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett

14) It's My Life by No Doubt

15) Titanium by David Guetta & Sia

16) Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

17) Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson

18) Comfortably Numb by Scissor Sisters

19) Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin

20) Epic by Faith No More

21) Come Around by M.I.A. feat Timbaland

22) Riot Rhythm by Sleigh Bells

23) Soul Man by The Blues Brothers

24) Hall of Fame by The Script

25) Ducky Done Gun by M.I.A.

26) Lose Yourself by Eminem

27) Show Me How You Burlesque by Christina Aguilera

28) Infinity Guitars by Sleigh Bells

29) Breakin' Dishes by Rihanna

30) How You Like Me Now by The Heavy

31) This is the New Year by A Great Big World

32) A/B Machines by Sleigh Bells

33) Boyz by M.I.A.

34) Army by Ben Folds Five

35) Bang Bang by will.i.am

36) 99 Problems by Jay-Z

37) Fighter by Christina Aguilera

38) It's Time by Imagine Dragons

39) The New Workout Plan by Kayne West

40) It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N Roll) by AC/DC

41) Vanity by Christina Aguilera

42) Can't Hold Us Down by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

43) On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

44) Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

45) The State of Massachusetts by Dropkick Murphys

46) For Boston by Dropkick Murphys

47) Bulls On Parade by Rage Against the Machine

48) Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

49) Tell 'Em by Sleigh Bells

50) Girl on Fire (Inferno Version) by Alicia Keys feat. Nicki Minaj

51) Hearts On Fire by John Cafferty

52) Fly by Nicki Minaj & Rihanna

53) I Love It by Icona Pop

54) A Little Party Never Killed Nobody by Fergie


That's it folks!!! Does my list line up with any of yours? Is there anything awesome I'm missing? Anything you're stealing from me? Let me know in the comments!

Swim Across America - Nantasket Beach

"Long have you timidly waded holding a plank by the shore,

Now I will you to be a bold swimmer,

to jump off in the midst of the sea, rise again, not to me, shout,

and laughingly dash your hair." - Ovid

I don't know if I laughingly dashed my hair, but on some level I was a bold swimmer. That was, without a doubt, the HARDEST thing I have ever done in my life!!! Both physically and mentally, but I'm so glad I did it and finished. (No matter how many times I wanted to bail while I was out there.)

Chop man, chop. But more on that later.

I have to say that Swim Across America is an AMAZING organization! The event was run so well, everyone was so nice, and the whole experience was incredibly uplifting. I urge you, if you live near where one of the swims are held at the very least volunteer, find a swimmer you know and donate, or hell...SWIM! I'm trying to find FIVE people to do it with me next year. Yes, I got tossed around like a piece of dead kelp and I cant wait to train harder, smarter and get back out there next summer and raise even more money!

Speaking of raising money, with the very generous support of my friends, family and colleagues I raised $1,115!!!! That made me the 8th highest individual fundraiser for the event. And here I was afraid I wouldn't be able to raise the $250 that I had to to be allowed to swim. The people I associate with and surround myself with ROCK! With the Boston Harbor Relay swim (google it and have your mind blown) and the Nantasket Beach swim combined, SAA raised $300,000!!!! $150,000 each was given to The David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The MassGeneral Hospital for Children Cancer Center. It makes me smile to think of all the amazing work your dollars are going to do.

That all being said, this swim kicked my ass! (Remember, dead kelp?) It wasn't the darkness/deepness of the water, it wasn't extreme saltiness of the water (for what it's worth, the New England coast is WAY saltier the the Gulf Of Mexico), it wasn't the mass of people, it wasn't necessarily the waves, it was the chop and the current. See, most of the swim was done past the breakers, you should have been golden. "Golden" being a relative term. Let me backtrack.

I know that I trained well for this event and that I am a very capable swimmer. I also know that I did everything in MY power to get ready for this event. (With the exception of going to a beach and swimming, but doing that alone is just madness. What was I going to do, have my husband treat water and act as I buoy? I enjoy being married....) Now, if you're all, "pft! how hard could it be?" Here's what you do....go out in the ocean (still water won't work for this) make it through the breakers and then turn and swim parallel to the shore in a straight line and report back to me. Do this all while wearing something so tight, it will make you feel sorry for the rice in boudain.

I should have known that this wasn't going to be beach swimming business as usual when 1) they wouldn't let the mile swimmer do their full distance and cut it back to a 1/2 mile for everyone, 2) they completely changed the coarse and 3) the event kept getting delayed. By a grand total of 45 minutes (I think).

This'll explain things for you. I would swim, with someone on my left ahead of me about a body length. I would swim five strokes, he'd be on my right. I'd look up to site and I'd be FACING the shore. Insert "expletive deleted here."

The important thing is I swam out, and I know I'll do it again, and do it better! I also know that I wouldn't have been able to do it had it not been for the help of a Swim Angel named Trevor and a life guard name Allie. If y'all ever run across this blog and are reading this, I know I already told you a few times, but...thank you, thank you, thank you! 

I did get some "free" technique advice out there. One of the other swim angels was hanging about and said, "Hey, you're a REALLY strong swimmer. Did you know you're pulling REALLY hard with your right hand?" "Funny," I said, "because I'm left handed and was try to compensate. Guess I'm over compensating." I was very aware of this in the pool this morning.

Favorite part of the swim? Allie had asked me why I decided to do this swim, you know who was I swimming for? She asked me this as I was clinging onto her surf board & engaged in some very negative self talk. "For my mother in law and my Dad. She passed away from her second bout with breast cancer a few years ago. My Dad, he's fine now....but he had to have a third of his tongue removed. They both loved/love the water, so it's rather fitting that I'm....ok...we're swimming now."

People battle and succumb and survive cancer every single day. I could let the Atlantic Ocean bitch slap me around for a few more minutes. I made sure I swam until my finger tips scraped sand and made sure I ran through the finish line. No matter how much help I needed to get there. I finished on my own.

I WILL be back next year. Who's swimming/volunteering with me!?!

So maybe I'm not exactly Ovid's "bold swimmer", but I will be. For the moment, I choose to take Emerson's warmer and fuzzier approach....

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Before I launch into picture-palooza....three more things....

1) I have to publicly say thank you to my husband throughout this little endeavor. From the endless swim talk to carting my ass out to Walden Pond he's been awesome. Nothing says let's work a full work day and then stand on the shore while your wife swims lines in a lake where some dude wrote some poetry. Also, he's been wet suit putter oner extraordinaire.

2) Also, thank you to my friend....let's call her InkyLady and Mr. InkyLady for coming out to Nantasket and supporting me during my swim. It was great to see your pretty face and I can't wait until we run a 5K together!

3) Speaking of 5K's that's what is next. The Chestnut Hill Reservoir 5K. This one is pretty much in my back yard, so time so loose a bit of my sea legs!! Before that, it's already time to start thinking of open water season for next year. I emailed Coach Bill of Breakwater Sports Training, explained my current swimming "issues", what my short term and long term swimming goals are, and I have a video evaluation this Wednesday evening in Watertown (appropriate) where we can look at my stroke together and come up with a plan. How exciting! I feel like a "real" athlete!

*** Biggest "I wish I had" take away, and great advice for anyone about to do any type of open water swimming or triathlon...I wish I had clear goggles. All I had were mirrored and tinted blue. With the grey skies and chop, I REALLY wish I had clear goggles. I'll be ordering some with my next pay check. Have options! We cannot control nor accurately predict the weather.

Now....THE PICTURES!!!!!

My swimming pool / ass kicker for the morning

My "Rookie" tattoo!

Why I swim.

Setting up the course

I considered my Carolina Blue swim cap a good omen, as that's where my husband went to school and he proposed on campus.

Ready to rock 'n roll! (or be rolled around by the chop...)

The "mile men" now "1/2 mile men" waiting to start.

Walking down the the start

Waiting to start. I'm somewhere in there. The blue caps are the 1/2 mile swimmers and the while caps are the swim angels.

I'm somewhere in there....

The Angel Swimmers

Presenting the checks to Doctors from Dana Farber (he swam!) and MGH Children's.

Proud of my towel. Proud of myself. Proud of the money we raised. Proud to be part of such an AWESOME organization. Shallowly proud of how good my arms look!

Tales from Walden Pond Open Water Swimming

All it takes is a quick 30 minute drive out of Boston, and you're in Concord at Walden Pond. Thoreau did stuff the and wrote...yadda, yadda, yadda, but to tell the truth, that didn't interested me AT ALL this time. I was on a mission.

Open water swimming!

For the record, I must state....that I am VERY grateful to Kosher Biker for pushing me to get some open water swim time in before the Swim Across America event. I learned some very important lessons.

Sunday was the first trip out. Al and I got there relatively early so we could get one of the limited parking spaces. The pond told us via twitter that it had been filling up a lot late. Did you know that ponds have twitter these days? Well, they do!

As it was a summer weekend the pond was quite busy. Lots of families, lots of screaming kids, a few open water swimmers dotting the pond, three or four kayaks, and one small aluminum boat.

I was super excited! I quickly got into my wet suit, found my stop to start my triangular 1/2 mile route and plunged into the water.

This shows exactly why one should wear a BRIGHT swim cap for OWSing.

Swim, swim, swim, swim.....this is kinda hard....wow it's REALLY dark down there....swim, swim, swim....this wetsuit feels so tight around my chest....swim, swim, swim....I'm really moving fast...how fast am I going?.....swim, swim, swim....STOP...how the F%CK did I get in the middle of the lake so fast....wow...I'm in the middle of the lake....alone. F&CK! F#CK! F*CK & PANIC!

This would be a good time to mention that "swimming outside the lines" at Walden is 100% "swim at your own risk."

This is going to sound really strange when I say this, but I'm so glad that this was not my first panic attack. Spending a good portion of my life as a rather anxious person, I've had my share of panic attacks. I haven't had one in a good two and 1/2 years, but at least I knew what I was experiencing. Had I not had this knowledge under my belt on Sunday, I'm pretty sure I would have thought I was dying and that would have been a lot worse.

Just when I was starting to REALLY panic another open water swimmer was coming in from a swim across the pond longways. He was toting a safety float around his waist. Once I got his attention, he offered to swim in slowly and offered me use of his safety float to get back to the shore.

I was shaken.

I was humiliated.

I've NEVER...EVER...gotten scared in the water in my life. What the HELL was this all about? I'll explain more later.

The swimmer that helped me in was very nice to me, asked what was going on... What WAS going on? I think the biggest thing that got to me was the realization that I was ALONE and if something really bad DID happen, I was screwed beyond belief.

He reassured me that he had a very similar situation happen to him during his first OWS, which was why he swam w/ the safety float. He also encouraged me to get out the again and give it a try.

Giving it another go!

 I ditched my wetsuit this time, I really wanted the reassuring feel of the water against my legs...and was honestly thinking that the wetsuit was weighing me down. I swam just outside of the designated swimming area where my best guess the depth is 7-9 and I was cognisant of the bottom and couldn't "see" it. I was still a little shaky from my panic attack and could never get into a smooth rhythm like I know I am capable of, but I got back out there and shook off the earlier debacle off. All in all I think I swam somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 a mile.

I told myself, well....you maybe flailed a bit, but you weren't a quitter and you were smart and didn't repeatedly put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation.

Leaving the pond I was more ravenously hungry and more sore than I have been since I started swimming in February. Adrenaline is amazing, isn't it?

Al and I quickly made plans to get back out to Walden after work on Tuesday. I had to get a 100% positive OWSing experience under my belt before Nantasket. Firth though, what really contributed to my panic attack.

There are a lot of things I could have done A LOT better...and that's the main reason I'm penning this blog entry.

1) Biggest thing - I really shouldn't have gone out that far alone on my first time out. Never in any race or OW event are you completely flying solo. Hell, even people that swim the English Channel have a boat super close to them and sometimes even a ghost swimmer to give them company. That feeling of being 100% alone. It's much more daunting that I EVER expected. Lesson learned. Solution? Either joining an OWS group or Al falls desperately in love with kayaking. The make inflatable kayaks now, you know. Totally perfect for apartment dwelling & I could take it on the T!

2) Lack of pacing - When I swim in the pool, I know exactly where my body should be for each breath to not tire myself out for the length that I'm swimming for any given workout. This wasn't to easy in open water. Add that to the adrenaline of being in the open water....no wonder I booked it to the middle of the pond and wondered how the hell I got there so fast. Solution? Through some "swim math", Al determined when swimming the 1/2 mile I take a stroke on average each 1.5 seconds. If I sing a march in my head and sing just a TAD fast and stroke every other beat, I can keep pace. As I result, I just sing "Stars and Stripes Forever" over and over and OVER again as I swim. Why just that march? Well, it's been awhile since my march playing days and I'm starting to forget a lot of the orders the strains come in for a lot of marches. This just pisses me off in the water and I'll stop swimming and float until I can remember what comes next and continue swimming. Totally efficient, right? "Stars and Stripes" it is!

3) I just jumped right in - This covers a multitude of sins committed. I always, ALWAYS stretch before I swim....I didn't do that Sunday at Walden. Also, I didn't take time to acclimate to the water. I didn't let any water into my wetsuit to help it expand a bit. I didn't get a feel for myself, in my wetsuit, in that particular body of water, on that day. Maybe that sounds a little bit metaphysical to actually be a thing, but I really think there is some truth to that.

4) Millimeters matter - Just as in clarinet playing, they matter in wetsuit donning. Wetsuit wearing really does have a learning curve. I feel like you can just say, "there's always more" room to be found. Take you time, and get it on RIGHT. Once it's on correctly, (I've learned) that swimming in a wetsuit can be FUN and actually give you a secure feeling.

Monday I did a 1/2 mile swim in my wetsuit in the pool and it went awesomely! I started to really understand the wetsuit and enjoy it. I shaved my 1/2 mile time from 27 to 24!

Tuesday it was back to Walden. I had a SMALL window though, was able to take the train to Al's work and leaving the Boston area at 5:15 and had to be back from a work meeting in the Back Bay at 8. (Eating had to happen at some point as well.) Al and I decided while still in the car that at 6:50 he would signal for me to get out of the water and and HAD to get out of the water at that time. No discussion.

Things went MUCH better at Walden on Tuesday.

The vibe was a lot different. There was ONE family, one dude just lounging, a lady randomly playing the ukulele, and a good deal of open water swimmer. I stretched, I eased into things, and then I started swimming close-ish to the shore. I didn't want to do anything stupid.

I. Love. This. Picture!!!

 This was a much better and much more fun experience than Sunday. The water a lot less murky than it had been on Sunday. (Which makes zero sense to me as Sunday was sunny and Tuesday was cloudy.) I enjoyed and sometimes got a little distracted checking out the fish down there. There was what was either a really large perch or really small trout that hung out around me. I named him Bob. Yesterday on the T I wondered to myself, "I wonder how Bob's doing today?

I have one more easy swim workout to go before Saturday. I can't believe it's almost here! I'm getting really excited!!!! I just keep telling myself any time I get nervous, stop and think about WHY I'm doing this and it puts in ALL into perspective. 

Speaking of which! It's not too late to make a donate! Just follow this link.

BTW....Al made friends with the Walden ducks on Tuesday!

QUACK!!!!

Metaphorical Carrots v 6.0

This was a big one! My official "You Are Half Way Done With Your Weight Loss Goal" metaphorical carrot. I didn't want something I'd grow out of. I wanted something that would be part of my every day life. I had been thinking of getting a right hand ring. So, on my dinner break today...I headed over to Sikara Jewelry and visit my friend....we'll call her Turbi....to pick out my little treat to myself!

Here's what I ended up with....

A stunningly beautiful, yet simple Capri moonstone ring from the Italian Collection. :) Shiny, pretty new things make this girl happy! What do y'all think? Appropriate way to commemorate the milestone?