8:45 AM: Working from home today. It will be nose to the grindstone for 8+ hours.... I've got a lot to get accomplished before we leave next Friday... so it's time to get crackin'. The only other task to get accomplished today is nails. It's been 5 full weeks, and my nails are too long to type. Need to get them done... TODAY. No workout, as I am very sore in specific regions. Not all over sore, but my butt and hips are killing me, as are my shoulders, triceps and middle back muscles. I suppose that pretty much sounds like everywhere... but it's not. I am feeling it very specifically. I see George again tomorrow, and I need to recover a bit so I have at least a chance of executing whatever it is he's going to have me do. 

11:32 AM: Damn! My nail guy isn't in today, and I refuse to leave my nails in anyone else's charge. I have had to schedule the appointment for Saturday. Looks like Saturday will be a day full of Whizzzzzmaintenance. I've got nails and toes at 10 followed by hair highlights at 1:30. I will be dazzling by Saturday night. Simply dazzling.  

It's WEDDING WEDNESDAY on THURSDAY! How unique! Oh my! How exciting! How thrilling! Dare I say "Spine Tingling???" Does that go too far? Can it go too far? 

Anyway, without further ado... RECEPTION GOOFINESS/DANCING!:

We learned a line dance for Whitney's wedding, July 13, 1996. Check out the moves on us!

Some sort of "bride in the middle" circle dance @ AmyJo & Craig's wedding. That's me and my hair on the left, and Kristin (LazyMarathoner) on the right, giving instructions on HOW IT'S DONE!

The tightest hug EVER. I will squeeze you to death and you will like it! My friend Kim and me at Dara's wedding, November 27, 2004. 

And the "circle of love" as coined by our good friend ^^ Vik. A big group of our Masters swimmers @ Jana's wedding... 3/10/2012, and one unknown girl in glasses. 

I haven't forgotten about WEDDING WEDNESDAY... but I got up early, showered, and got to work early, so I didn't have time to put it together this morning... and the photos I want to use are on my home computer, not my work computer. So, you will have to wait til tonight, when I can get myself together and post them. Maniac-Vibramwearing-George tonight @ 5pm. Lord help me.

Until then, please take this cat in a wedding dress + veil.

Meow.

In other news my butt is sore. SORE SORE SORE! My middle/upperback is sore too... We did these things called Rainbows with that Viper thing and they destroyed my shoulder muscles and upper/middle back muscles. I know this isn't really possible, but I feel slimmer and more fit already. Probably because I feel like I used some muscles.

9:21 AM: So, I got up and swam this morning. I have my assessment this afternoon at lunchtime. In addition to assessing my talents and limitations, I believe we will be doing an actual workout today, so I'm ready for that.

Take a gander at the torture tube... the VIPR.

Today mine weighed 30 lbs and 15 lbs. I used two different ones...

I've got a crap ton of stuff to do this weekend:

1. Run?
2. Break down the cardboard boxes in the basement. Recycle same. 
3. Vacuum. Dust. Clean bathrooms.  Vacuuming and dusting done. 1 bathroom done. 2 more to go. 
4. Start reading HUNGER GAMES. (When was the last time I read a book? It's been a long time)
5. Look for a larger cork @ Hobby Lobby?  Might just skip this entirely because it's not that important. I have a cork that should suffice. 
6. Carwash if it's not raining. 
7. Drop off clothes @ Goodwill Box. 
8. Go to Dominicks. Cream/butter/salad stuff
9. Target  = New toilet seat + those gel stamp things for inside the toilet (I've seen commercials for them and they look innovative and just exactly like what I need)
10. Hair. Condition/color (Yes. I color my hair. Don't act like you didn't know)
11. Clean Keyboard. 

9:37 PM: So the plan is to head over to XSport tomorrow after work and sign up with a personal trainer. I'm going to sign up for 3x a week for a couple of weeks, and then see what kind of program they put me on. I'm very specific in terms of what I can and cannot do but I'm open to a change, and I'm open to trying to do whatever it is I don't know if I can do. I'm interested to see how it all shakes out, as well. XSport has a whole BEFORE and AFTER gallery full of success stories of people that have reached their goals... whatever they were. 

I don't need to lose 50-60 lbs. What I do need (and want) is a program that will inspire me, help me see results, build some muscle, and maybe melt off my rapidly accumulating chub layer. I weighed myself today and I'm not gaining weight, per se, but I'll tell you in no uncertain terms, my ass is growing. My stomach is pooching. I clearly do not have my Ironman body anymore, and I don't look or feel "fit". Blagh. I'm hoping that a cash outlay + a different program will spark my interest enough to get things rolling again for me. Let's see how we do. 

I've got a crap ton of stuff to do this weekend:

1. Figure out how to make a slideshow for the wedding... including music. (Starting this now... Saturday 3/31 @ 8:53 AM)
2. Make a slideshow for the wedding... without actual wedding photos... have most of it ready to roll...then wedding photos will be added in later. (SHAZZAM!!!! I have Aperture on my Mac and it seems really complicated, but it's not. I didn't even crack an instruction manual or ask for help. I just did it. It's a little bit out of order and the soundtrack needs to be fine tuned, but... 3 hours later I'm waaaaaaay ahead of the game.Wow. That was fun and easier than I thought it would be!) Now! To take a shower and get my ass over to the jewelry store!/Also WalMart/Dry Cleaner/Mall (return bustier!)/Hobby Lobby.
3. Ride bike? Maybe? 
4. Run?
5. Go to jewelry store and have them polish & clean my ring. Also pick up the charms I purchased as the bridesmaid gift. (I got one too!) I did this, sort of... went to the jewelry store and had to drop off the bracelets for them to attach the charms I bought. For both of us... myself and Rachael. So at least that's in process and should be finished finished finished by the middle of next week. I have to drop off the ring to have it polished, etc... and I think I'm just going to skip that. 
6. Break down the cardboard boxes in the basement. Recycle same. 
7. Vacuum. Dust. Clean bathrooms. 
8. Start reading HUNGER GAMES. (When was the last time I read a book? It's been a long time)
9. Return unused bustier to Victoria's Secret. Accomplished! And I used the rest of my gift certificate from my Non-bachelorette party and got a miracle bra and some jammies. I was $12.00 over but that's still a great deal. 
10. New rugs for litterbox area downstairs and upstairs. (These fcukers keep peeing on them!) Also got a new (deep pan) litterbox for upstairs. Having that litterbox upstairs is making me mental but there's no place else to put one so that Orbit has a guaranteed place to pee. I hate having cat litter in the carpet... despite the runner or pad or carpet remnants or whatever I put down... these feline fcukers manage to kick litter all over the room. I don't think a deep pan litterbox will alleviate the issue completely, but maybe it will help contain it. The walls are pretty tall. So I threw away the other set up entirely and we're going to see how this pans out. No pun intended. Really. 
11. Pick up Chris' suit @ Men's Warehouse. Chris wants to try it on first. So this was a no go. 
12. Look for a larger cork @ Hobby Lobby?
13. Carwash if it's not raining. 
14. Dry Cleaner. Pick up + drop off. (Dress, to have hems taken down...) Done! 

I have to write this stuff down or I will forget it's even on the radar. Even after writing this list I walked out the door without the dry cleaning. Lucky for me I wrote a backup list and checked it twice (a la Santa Claus) and marched my ass back into the house to get the dry cleaning, which I left in the living room when I got distracted and stopped to pet Orbit. Shiny! Furry! Kitty! Yay! Wait, what?

4:58 PM: What a super productive day I've had. Going to put away some stuff now and then get started on the vacuuming/dusting/bathrooms part of today's chore list. 

6:40 PM: Got sucked into organizing my closet. Refining the purge. Actually put some stuff back, and gave up some stuff that survived earlier. Now packing it all up into piles that go to Clothes Mentor and piles that go to Goodwill. Might just send it all to Goodwill... even the nice stuff. Just cuz. 

7:39 AM: I'm at an all time motivational low. I can't get out of bed in the morning to swim... or God forbid bike or run. I don't see the point if I'm not racing this year... you know? I am still interested in maintaining some shred of fitness, though... I just wonder if S/B/R is the way to go? I've kicked around the idea of hiring a personal trainer and going that route... maybe a more generalized fitness approach and less S/B/R specific. All I know is I need to do something. I just don't know what. And I don't know how to motivate myself without an end game on the horizon. (an Ironman for example...) 

There just seems to be so much other stuff that I could be doing. There's so much laundry, housework, cleaning, errands... a butt load of OTHER things I feel like I need to be doing. We are going to be putting this house up on the market in June. In between we've got a wedding, a honeymoon and a great big party. That's a lot of "stuff".

Not that any of that "stuff" should preclude exercise. It shouldn't. But when you add all of that to the fact that I'm not planning to race this year... *and* we're going to be trying to get pregnant, *POOF* there goes my training motivation. 

That's why I'm thinking that a more general approach to fitness might be what I need at this point in time. Maybe have a couple of sessions a week with a personal trainer for a while... take some classes... and supplement all of that that with bike rides and what not. 

I don't know. 

Suggestions? I'll take suggestions. 

12:47 PM: I've had something in my eye all morning... It's been giving me a headache and driving me crazy. Dug around in my eye and pulled out a fiber that was literally 3-4 inches long and was all bunched up, hanging out in my eye socket. I feel 700% better. (That's a lot!)

I've got a crap ton of stuff to do this weekend:

1. Figure out how to make a slideshow for the wedding... including music. 
2. Make a slideshow for the wedding... without actual wedding photos... have most of it ready to roll...then wedding photos will be added in later. 
3. Ride bike? Maybe? 
4. Run?
5. Go to jewelry store and have them polish & clean my ring. Also pick up the charms I purchased as the bridesmaid gift. (I got one too!)
6. Do 700 loads of laundry. (When Chris moved in, the laundry didn't double, it quintupled. I have no idea where all of these clothes are coming from) Folded lots of laundry last night, and finished the rest of the washing today!
7. Break down the cardboard boxes in the basement. Recycle same. 
8. Vacuum. Dust. Clean. 
9. Start reading HUNGER GAMES. (When was the last time I read a book? It's been a long time)
10. Return damaged belt to the Limited.  (It wasn't damaged, I'm just an idiot. I don't need another belt anyway, so I returned it.)
11. Return unused bustier to Victoria's Secret.
12. New rugs for litterbox area downstairs and upstairs. (These fcukers keep peeing on them!) 
13. Pick up Chris' suit @ Men's Warehouse.
14. Look for a larger cork @ Hobby Lobby?
15. Carwash if it's not raining.