Monday, July 23, 2007

Back In the Saddle On the Treadmill

[Contains NO Spoilers. Reading is safe. There are allusions to the previous books, but I've tried to make it safe and welcoming to those who haven't been Harry Potter-mad.]

Only halfway through Deathly Hallows (and still hoping against hope that [1]Snape is good at the end and [2] that the Deathly Hallows does turn out to be a band).

This weekend wasn't the most ... conducive for my attempt at getting back into shape. The last time I ran (before today) was Thursday.

So I ran .8 miles ... then weighed myself (since I'm trying to track part of my progress with facing that evil wench the hard facts of the scale once a week (Like Garfield, I now am developing a bit of a dislike for Mondays).

The good news: my butt and thighs are bouncing less as I use the treadmill.
The bad, bad, terrible, horrible, no-good news: I gained THREE pounds.

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH.

In other news, Bucket's talking more. She can identify nearly all her body parts (as in, I ask "Where's your ___?" and she'll point to it). The one I like best is this exchange:

Me: Where's your butt?
Bucket: *slaps butt with the cheekiness of the captain of a cheerleading squad*
Me: *erupts into delighted giggling* Good job!

(Yes, I am that bad. It's part of my rebellion. If you don't know this rebellion, email me. I'll tell you. It's a really stupid rebellion ... but it's what I do. ^_^)

Bruise is still the strong silent type. If he happens to get up before Bucket and is hanging with me, just the two (or three, if Michael's here) of us, he'll be a little more loquacious. His pronunciation still needs a little more effort ... but I'm not too worried. Boys (especially in a set of multiples) usually don't pick up all the verbal skills as quickly as the female of the species. Besides, Bucket tries her best to talk for him nearly all the time. And to discipline him when he's gotten himself in trouble ... which leads me to another overhead tidbit in this house:

Me: *sternly* [Bucket], Mommy is the one who disciplines [Bruise]. You are not the mommy. Mommy is the mommy. And I have the stretch marks to prove it.

Yeah, there's parenting at it's finest. Look and learn, y'all. Look and learn. *rolls eyes*

So what have I been doing lately? Besides neglecting my fitness goal this weekend? Let's see...
My mom came up and we had a fine time.
Michael and I saw "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" -- I think it's the best movie thus far. Really. Even though I didn't like the book as much as Goblet of Fire ... probably because I was sobbing too hard to finish reading it aloud for the last quarter of it. But I was prepared. And i didn't cry. You SHOULD be so proud.
My stepdad got sick, so Mom headed home a few hours earlier than we expected. (don't worry, he's okay now. It's all cool. My mom takes really good care of him.)
We received our copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, took our shower and started reading as soon as we got dressed. (We've made a tradition just about the time that Goblet of Fire came out to read the Harry Potter books aloud together. Before HP&GOF came out, we were able to speed through the first three books. We read GOF and waited and waited and waited (and waited) for the fifth book. We devoured that together (as soon as Michael got home from work in the after noons, we'd read and read aloud for a few hours). Then came the waiting for book six - The Half-Blood Prince - and then the requisite rabid reading of that (Trickier, since we had to time it around nursing infants). Now, we have to work the reading between naptimes and bedtimes so that we'll have very few distractions. Wish us luck ... since Michael works long hours, it adds another obstacle.
With any luck (since we also have to watch SYTYCD), we'll wrap up the reading by this weekend. Hopefully.
We went to the birthday party of one of our nieces.
Had a family reunion (my side of the family). I got to see one of my cousins, which was excellent. Bruise and Bucket had a good time with her. ^_^ It was great to see the family. I never get to see them much anymore. *sigh* And the food's always good at the reunion. I need to make one of those Jell-O fruit and cream salads ... Or not, looking at the fact that I GAINED. THREE. POUNDS!!!! Ugh!

(Can I just tell myself that it's water weight? Or that it's muscle? Or that the scale is a perturbed little bint?)

So, as Michael and I are reading ... I've gotten very self-conscious that I read for comprehension and not content (teacher-friends will get what I mean. For those of you not in education ... or needing a refresher, here's what I mean: I won't always read aloud exactly word-for-word. But I usually DO, as I'm reading quickly, choose words that are equivalent and make sense in the sentence. Like I see "everyone" and say "everybody" ... Sometimes my brain doesn't pick the right type of word, though ... and Michael will the catch me [usually while we're driving and he can't see the word I've botched] and that's usually when I notice it) ... And so, now, I'm a lot more insecure about reading out loud.
Well, that and Michael's talked about my "Hagrid-voice" being like a pirate's ... and now, I'm nervous enough about it that Michael's sad that I don't do the Hagrid-voice. (I can't do it ... I've forgotten how. Really!)

BUT, as I was going to say in the first place (then why didn't I?), I got to the point where I was making too many mistakes as I read aloud ... that and the spells in their quasi-Latin are HARD for me to pronounce. And I wasn't very good as reading the German very well. Oops. So I made Michael read while I took a breather.

Michael agrees that it's a very hard book to read aloud. And told me that I've done a remarkable job.

I think I'll keep him. :P
Since he's catered to my vanity and pets my hair and all. ^_^

Still, if you try to give me any spoilers, that offer of kicking you in the head still stands.
Just so you're informed.

1 comment:

Kari said...

That's totally normal to gain weight when you're exercising. Especially in the beginning. You're gaining muscle and that weighs more than fat. Good job! That means you're making progress. I always gain weight when I start exercising again. Props to you! Take it as a good thing. :)