Day 22

So apparently, my little walk yesterday earned me two fierce blisters, one on each of my middle toes. Ouch. Didn't slow me down, though, and you know why? Because I'm stubborn as hell, that's why!

My workouts were nice today, and oddly enough I did all four without Mom. She usually joins me for at least two, but today she had other stuff that had to get done. It was kinda odd doing everything on my own, but also kinda nice - I missed driving my own self everywhere, and I got to do that all day! I did an 8 am sculpt class (which I am getting much better at, I can do the full sets of squats now and my weight-work is giving my arms some awesome definition!), and then 9 am water aerobics. Then, later on in the day, I did my solo yoga routine and hit CCC for a good hard cardio.

The spread-out schedule meant I got some time off this morning and afternoon! I showered after my workouts and headed downtown to meet Mom and Dad for lunch. Yeah, lunch out - and not as a free meal, but eating properly, even! We went to a little diner called EJ's that's down the street from Dad's office; it was pretty damn good! I had half a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread and a fruit cup instead of EJ's amazing homemade potato chips (hard choice, but Mom did let me have a couple of hers, so that was alright). It felt good, to be able to go out to lunch and order something I enjoy, yet something that is still in keeping with my new lifestyle.

Then, of course, I got to spend some time at the bank and see some of Dad's colleagues. They were all so glad to see me, and so excited to hear about my future plans and my boot camp success, and they all left me feeling pretty good about myself. I also heard some really cool news: an advertising colleague of Dad's had me edit a campagin proposal battling the construction of a new coal plant in Arkansas. It was a big 50-page chunk of a proposal, but I edited the whole thing as a favor - fixing grammar, cleaning up the occasional rushed paragraph, and got it back to him about two weeks ago. Today, I found out that the coal plant's been denied their application! It's a huge setback - the plans for the plant are not dead, but they're on the way out. And I helped! I feel so professional and helpful!

Highlight of my day, though, was definitely going to Barnes and Noble. I've got a handful of books to read for my category fiction class next semester, but right now I just want some good, reliable junk fiction. So I started browsing the sci-fi section, and it's just me and this other guy looking at the same shelf. He takes a book off and goes, "Hmm, this looks kinda cool ..." ... and it was one of Mel's books! The first book in his Hellgate: London trilogy! It took everything I had not to jump up and down and go, "I know that guy! He's my writing mentor! We BS about sci-fi and Shadowrun all the time!!" Instead, I took a copy for myself and told the guy that he should really check out that author's work. I'm only about a chapter into the book so far, but I love it. This is the kind of fun fiction I needed to unwind at the end of the day.

So I think I may have officially scooted off my plateau. I haven't weighed yet (I'm behaving!), but I definitely feel a change. I'm able to do more in my classes than usual, and I don't look as off-kilter or unfortunate in the mirrored studio anymore. Used to be I couldn't shimmy my hips or my chest without most of the rest of me joining in; now, there's still a little extra ripple in my hips, but it's a huge difference. I can use my core to isolate my hips, or my shoulders, or whatever, and just move what I wanna! I can't wait to get back to Norman and hit Club 101 (although, with my ladies gone, it'd be too skeevy for my tastes there ...)

Tomorrow's gonna be great - some good workouts planned, and my laptop gets shipped, but most importantly, my friend Nate's coming out to LR to chill with me for a few days! I'm so excited, I've really been missing my close friends lately, and it's a huge pick-me-up to know one of them is gonna come kick it with me! I doubt I can convince him to hit water aerobics with me, but climbing Pinnacle? Walking the Big Dam Bridge? Yes we can! ^^