Busy Busy Busy

So, I started work this week, which was lame. And I have finals next week, which is lamer. Plus I still haven't made my schedule for next summer/fall, which promises to even lamer.

I spent a good chunk of tonight writing thank you cards for wedding gifts. A truly enthralling way to spend a Friday night. I've got to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning to make it to Slidell in time for my first follow-up visit with the fat clinic. Hopefully they'll have some good news for me.

After that, I'm going to watch my little brother's baseball game. They're currently in the first round of the playoffs, and as of 10 minutes ago they lead the series 1-0 (it's best 2 of 3). If they lose the first game tomorrow, they immediately play the second game. So HOPEFULLY by this time tomorrow we'll be making plans to attend round 2 of the playoffs. HOPEFULLY. If not I plan to be totally inconsolable.

We've also got Samac's going away party at Keg and Barrell tomorrow night, which should be fun in a sad way (if that makes any sense).

Hopefully my weekend will be more eventful than my week and I'll have something interesting to way sometime in the next few days. Until then, au revoir

Sad Week

So, I've been AWOL the last several days because Nelso's grandfather passed away last week. We spent a few days 4 hours north with his family.

It was a pretty sad time, but we made it through. The day after the funeral, we decided to go see a movie. Without thinking, I suggested 'Death at a Funeral' (which is hilarious, by the way). It didn't occur to me until much later that this may have been insensitive, but Nelso says he didn't mind.

Oh, and today is my birthday. So there's that.

"P-word" Wagon

I've never had any strong ties to any particular nationality, other than American, of course. When I was in high school, my grandmother and some of her cronies traced our geneology back to some poor guy who came over from England in the 1600s. So, we've been American 400 years, give or take, and it's all I've ever known how to be.

So, I'm marrying an Irishman. Or, anyway, an American guy with Irish ancestory. So far I've really tried to embrace my soon-to-be heritage.

Last night, while watching some TV show about firemen, I heard a man of Irish descent referred to as a "Mick." This led me on an internet search of other Irish racial slurs, just for kicks. What I found was kind of disturbing.

"Paddy" is a derogatory term the English use for the Irish. From what I read, it has serious, SERIOUS negative connotations. Paddy wagon, as in a police van, is said to originate from the vans' most common use, picking up a load of unruly, drunken, Irishmen.

To be fair, the origins are disputed. Some say it's called a paddy wagon because so many Irish men were police officers (yeah right). But most sources believe it came into being after the Draft Riots of 1863. Rich people were allowed to buy their way out of the draft, and this really pissed off the poor, mostly Irish, population. They rioted and were picked up in "paddy wagons."

I was a little outraged at first, especially since I use the term "paddy wagon" whenever applicable. And I'm really upset that I've been ignorantly hurling racial epiteths.

So you can consider this blog my first act as self-appointed president of the Hattiesburg chapter of the Irish Anti-defamation League.

FINALLY got plane tickets

We're going to Costa Rica! I'm very, very excited.

We're leaving New Orleans at 6:00 AM on August 4th, which is going to be pretty hard (think waking up at 3 AM, at the latest). But we're getting into the Liberia airport at 11:00 AM, which should make it all worth it. Then we don't have to leave until 5 PM on the 11th, which will give us the morning to enjoy Costa Rica.

VERY very exciting!

Couch to 5k

So, yesterday Nelso and I started The Couch to 5k Running Plan. It went pretty well. My legs are a little sore today, but nothing too bad.

In case you're not familiar with the plan, it helps non-runners prepare for a 5k in 9 weeks. You start off really slow, then work your way up. Week One is a five minute walking warm-up, intervals of 90 seconds of walking then 60 seconds of running for 20 minutes, then a 5 minute cool down. Nelso and I wore ourselves out a little early so we shaved off 5 minutes of the running/jogging intervals. We might have to spend an extra week on Week One before we're ready to move on, which is perfectly ok according to the plan.

I think this is a great program for anyone interested in becoming more active. The first few phases are not intimidating at all, I don't see why they wouldn't work for anyone.

Has anyone else tried this program? What did you think?

Also, a weight update (like anybody cares)

So, this was a pretty hard weekend. We went out to eat 3 times in two days.

On Saturday we went to Mugshots. They're famous for their delicious, fatty, gigantic hamburgers. According to these huge banners they have hanging over the bar, they've been voted best burger in the state 3 years running. I just munched on appetizers there and limited my calories to about 225, not a bad lunch at all.

We went to Outback that night. I had 1/4 a loaf of their bread (50 calories) and the seared Ahi tuna appetizer for my meal (260 calories). So I got out of that having consumed only 310 calories.

Sunday after church we went to Olive Garden. I had 1/3 of a calamari appetizer, which was about 440 calories! (I couldn't believe it either!)But my meal was their minestone soup, which only has 100 calories per 8 oz bowl.In a true testament to my new found will power, I skipped the bread stick. However, I still left there with 540 calories, which is kind of a hell of a lot.

Still, it could have been much worse. And I was a pound lighter after the weekend than I was when I weighed in last Wednesday. So I'm still moving in the right direction.

My Little Brother

...turned 18 on Saturday.

We celebrated by watching him play baseball for 9 hours, then going out to eat at the Outback Steakhouse.

It was kind of a miserable day. Despite putting on SPF 85 sunblock, Nelso still got a funny sunburn on one side of his face (the funny part is that he was wearing sunglasses, so he has a white line across his face).

BUT my brother did hit home run, which was pretty fun to watch. And I think he was pretty glad we came.

So all in all maybe it wasn't such a bad day.

I HATE EVERYBODY!

That is all. Thank you for your time.

Bible studies for engaged couples

I've spent the better part of the morning looking for a Bible study or devotional that Nelso and I could do together. I've specifically been looking for one that is geared towards engaged couples.

I keep hitting walls on my search. First of all, Nelso and I have lived together for quite some time, and most of these books are about how hard it's going to be to live together for about the first six months. A lot of it is about money, which we already discuss frankly and often. I think we've already reached the milestones these books are trying to prepare couples for, and that they lack relevance to our relationship.

I know that a relationship, especially a marriage, is something that you have to work at. I really want us to start working now, before our relationship actually needs work. But I'm not sure where to turn for guidance.

What doesn't kill you...

Might just make you thinner.

As terrible as the fat clinic was, and as terrible as I've felt all week, I lost 6 lbs since last Friday. So even though I've got a long way to go, I'm definitely moving in the right direction. And moving there much more quickly than I had anticipated, which is a plus. Maybe I will be a skinny bride after all :)

Nelso and I watched a guy die at church yesterday.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. We just watched his heart stop.

Mr. Terry, the guy who's heart stopped, was sitting in the row behind us with his family. Suddenly, his wife started wailing. I turned around and saw him sitting with his head lolled back and his eyed rolled up into the back of his head. Seriously, you couldn't see anything but the whites of his eyes. It was really creepy. His wife and his son were shaking him and his wife was screaming his name the entire time.

My mother is amazing! She hopped right up and started CPR. I know CPR, but it never even occurred to me. I was just sitting there frozen. His wife was SCREAMING the entire time. It was blood curdling. Mr. Terry started breathing again after the first round of CPR, and by the time the ambulance got there he was sitting up and talking, but it was still pretty scary. I think I was still shaking three hours later.

So that was our Easter.

The Fat Clinic was awful!

But they did give me some prescription appetite suppressant thingies that seem to be working. Turns out modern medicine agrees with my mother, I am fat.

I'll tell you guys more about it later after I'm out of this shame spiral.

Weight Loss Clinic this afternoon!

So, as you could probably surmise from the title, my mother and I are going to the weight loss clinic this afternoon to see what they have to tell us.

I would seriously like to lose 30-40 lbs before the big day, which is like 120 days away. So that would be one pound every 3-4 days. Is that healthy? It seems like it might be healthy. But maybe it's not. I guess I'll find out today when I talk to the doctor and the nutritionist and have blood drawn and do a stress test just so they can tell me to eat less and exercise more.