Incriminating Evidence

She's white, but her cheeks are smeared in guilt.
Word to the wise: Make sure to thoroughly rinse out your spaghetti sauce pans before you put them in the sink.

Walk For Autism

I was thinking about doing this walk out at Presque Isle this April with my husband, and I saw an ad for it on TV. I was almost positive they said there would be information on YourErie.com, but I can't find anything anywhere. I'm either looking in the wrong places or they never updated their site to include it. I'd like to sign up, but it's kind of hard if I can't find any info. All I've been able to find is archived from 2005, which helps about zero. Anyone have any information on this? Dennis?¹

In other news, I suppose I should update you all on our trip down to Cape Canaveral, Florida for the shuttle launch. I'm not sure what to say about it other than that it was amazing. You just had to be there to see it. What was even cooler was that it was a night launch, so the whole sky just lit up like the high-noon sun rose all in a matter of two seconds. The whole ground shook, and it sounded like we were standing in the middle of a thunderstorm--only without the rain. You can catch the video here [If you just hold your mouse over the Snapshot, you can view it without clicking out to YouTube.]. I feel privileged to have seen one of the last shuttle launches.

Afterwards (the next day, of course), we got to tour around Kennedy Space Center for the entire day, which was really neat. I got to see my first IMAX movie...and it was 3D! I have to say I felt like an idiot every time I flinched when there was debris flying at the screen. My brain can't grasp the fact that it's not really flying into my face. I'm a rookie 3D movie viewer, apparently.
We were also able to go visit the ocean on Cocoa Beach, which was just beautiful. I'd never been to the ocean, so it was a nice addition to the trip. Even though I didn't swim in it, I at least stuck my hand in to feel it, which was enough for me. I grabbed some sea shells as souvenirs before leaving.

As beautiful as Florida is, I wouldn't want to live there. I'm still a die-hard Tennessee fan. Thankfully, we got to spend a little time there even though our trip was cut short by a day because of the two feet of snow we got in Erie the day we were supposed to leave. It was supposed to be a little early anniversary trip for me and my husband since we weren't going to be getting down there this year. I was disappointed that we couldn't keep our original chalet (we had this for our honeymoon) that first weekend since we couldn't make it there for Saturday night, but I'm glad we at least spent a little time down there and visited Ripley's Aquarium as we do every year.

Being back in Erie has given me a cabin fever that no amount of cowbell can cure. I just wonder when it's going to be warm again so I can be out running and/or riding my bike. Summer, come soon! If it doesn't rain and is in the 50's on Saturday, I may bust out the cycle and get some outdoor exercise in. I hope, I hope...

¹Nevermind. I answered my own question by accident. I hope to see some of you participate. It's $15, and the link for the form can be found here, and it needs to be in by April 1st. The walk is April 26th at 11:00am, starting at Beach One.

I'm Taking the Dive

Hey, there, folks, and a happy Good Thursday to all of you. Ok, there's no such thing, but it's going to have to suffice for tonight for the sake of my blog. I'm a day too early to say Good Friday. Anyway, I spent--you know--a week out in Tennessee (a sort of faux, early wedding anniversary get-away) and Florida (for the space shuttle launch) last week, and I haven't yet blogged about it. Well, you're going to have to wait another day. I don't really have the time or motivation to go ahead and do that tonight, but I will tomorrow since I have a nice, long, 4-day weekend for Easter [Work for Catholics...you get lots of holidays off.].

Instead, I'd like to talk more about my P90X progress. I've found a couple people (not many) that have shown some interest in my journey, and I feel like entertaining that right now. First, I'd like to say I get a kick out of all the people I encounter that laugh when I turn down candy/donuts/popcorn/etc. and say I'm on a diet: "You don't need to be on a diet, skinny bones! Now eat some sugar!" Yes, I'm thin and have--at times--been quite a bit underweight, but that doesn't mean I can't be on a diet. Many people automatically associate the word "diet" with "LOSE WEIGHT!!" How about a diet that's meant to keep you healthy and in shape? It exists, you know. Isn't that essentially what a diet is supposed to do anyway?

I can't say I don't cheat on occasion (nothing over-the-top though) because I do. I try to slim it down to once a month because if there's one thing I've learned from my very fitness-conscious husband, cheating isn't all bad. In fact, you should do it every so often (in moderation, of course). That doesn't mean I grab a double whopper from Burger King or a dozen Krispy Kremes; just things in the not-so-good-for-you-but-acceptable-in-moderation category.
So do those of you who laugh and/or scoff at my dieting understand now? I'm not trying to lose weight. In fact, I haven't really lost weight at all since I've been doing this program. Well, I dropped some fat weight and replaced it with muscle weight. Really, I'm hanging in the same range; perhaps a little higher.

With that said, let's move on to my progress. I just hit my halfway point of my first round of P90X on Wednesday, and I took some pictures. Now I think I just may be brave enough to show the world my 45-day progress--all in the name of exercise. Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good comparative pictures from the first day, so I grabbed a day 3 photo to throw next to yesterday's. I've been taking pictures mainly of my abs because that's the area I want to see the most progress [Join the club, right?]. My arms and shoulders are generally at the level I want them because I used to work them all the time at the gym; perhaps too much (they don't call me Trizilla for nothing). My goal is to get Dreya Weber abs by next summer (or at least something comparable). Now I know some of you think that's a fleeting motivation, but that's not the entire reason I'm doing this program. I do it because it makes me feel good and gives me more energy. It's all interconnected with my goal. Naysayers, wise up. Anyway, check it out below (unfortunately, the camera seems to wash out the definition):


Constructive criticism is welcome. Creepy and/or sexist comments are not.

Scammer Alert

You would think with the Do Not Call list we wouldn't have this problem, but the government isn't up on this too well, I'm guessing. The other day I got a phone call from (239) 263-5860. I didn't pick up because I was at work, and I usually don't anyway if I don't recognize the number. They never left a message, so I figured it was just someone that got the wrong number. After doing a little research online, I found this number originates from Naples, Florida and is part of a scam. The past few weeks, they've been calling people's cell phones across the country (including ones on the Do Not Call list) and offering to lower their interest rates on their credit cards or claiming that their auto warranty is running out. When asked what cards they're referring to or what company they're from, they hang up.

If you get this call, either don't pick up or hang up on them. I should hope none of you would be foolish enough to give them personal information, but just a heads-up.

Side note: If you try to call the number, it says it's disconnected, but it's really just their automated recording; not a regulated message. I don't think I need to repeat the obvious with this one.

P90X...You There?

So some of you are wondering how the heck I'm doing with the P90X program. Did I still stick with it? If you've seen me on Facebook or MySpace or have talked to me in the past week (you know who you are...Tam and ron), you know the answer to that question. Yes, I have stuck with it, and I am losing fat and some weight; not a lot of weight, of course, because I didn't weigh much to begin with, and some is being replaced by muscle weight.

As some of you may know, my husband, sister-in-law, and I are heading out to Tennessee for the weekend and Florida through Thursday so we can watch the shuttle launch Monday night. I've never been to Florida, so this should be exciting, and I'm definitely looking forward to getting away from all this snow and cold for a while. It's starting to wear on me. This leaves the question, "Am I sticking with P90X during my vacation?" Heck, yeah. Tony Horton is vacationing with me. There's no way I'm giving it up for a week. Can you say "waste of time"? The whole month I've been doing this would practically go down the drain if I did that. So Mr. Bowflex, check out my dedication and discipline [I know, I'm going link-crazy here, so I apologize.].

Along with this exercise, I've been getting pretty strict with my diet--much to the amusement of my coworkers since they connect diet with someone who is overweight. Just because I'm not fat doesn't mean I don't have to eat healthy. It would still catch up to me. In fact, I'm pretty sure all that Burger King and Taco Bell was starting to take its toll. I don't need Dunlop Disease: my belly done-lop over (props to my father-in-law for that diamond).

Anyway, I'm sure I've bored you all with my exercise talk, but it excites me and has made me feel good about myself for the first time in my life. I can't say that's a bad feeling. I hope to have a fairly drastic change from when I started last month to when this lean program ends in May. I know I've already seen some changes. I've been taking progress pictures, so if you've seen them on my profiles, then you know. If not...well, we'll see if you're not too creepy to show them to.