It has been almost 4 months since I've posted here; and I'm currently doing no better in my battle of the bulge. I haven't weighed myself in weeks because last time I did, I wanted to cry...

But tomorrow is August 1st - the start of a new month. AND it's a MONDAY. What a perfect way to start fresh and try again. So tonight I'll eat whatever I want; and tomorrow I'll try to get motivate to STOP THE FLUFFINESS!!!

Are you with me????

I SUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!

I forced myself onto the scale this morning and was absolutely HORRIFIED by the number I saw. I can't even write it, it's so awful.

I'm hoping this is a motivator and not a "might as well eat cookies" moment... Because I'm so not happy with myself right now.

Maybe I should do TWO workout DVDs today. I'd ride outside but the wind is howling...

HELP!!!???? Is there someone out there with advice on how to deal with traveling and eating in restaurants every day??? I'm heading out of town again Wednesday for NINE NIGHTS. What to do??????????????????

I haven't been on the scale in a long, long time. Afraid to see the number. I've been a miserable failure with my weight loss, in spite of the fact that I feel very successful in my strength and endurance conditioning between the Insanity and Hip Hop Abs DVDs and occasionally getting on my bike.

I guess the temptation for sweets and other yummy unhealthy "food" is what's keeping me fluffy and unsuccessful with my weight loss goals. That and eating out 90% of the time. Restaurants suck. Except Mimi's Cafe. They have small portion selections on their menu; and the food is pretty good. And it's enough. My problem in other restaurants is knowing when is enough. STOP. PUSH THE PLATE AWAY. LET THE WAITRESS TAKE THE PLATE even if there's a french fry still on it.

I could, but I don't, eat only part of what is served to me at a restaurant. Take home a "doggy" bag. Well, I don't have a "doggy," and lately we leave the restaurant and go to a hotel instead of home. So there's no place for leftovers. And dang it! I paid for all that food! Might as well eat it now. So I do. So I'm fat. There. I said it. I'm fat.

But I have great muscles now under all this fat.

Maybe I need to spend a couple of weeks at the Biggest Loser spa. If only I had a couple of weeks where I didn't have to be somewhere else...

OK, I confess... I'm officially addicted to workout DVDs.

Since there aren't enough hours in a day for me to actually go outside to exercise, my consolation prize is to pop in a disk and work out at home, or in a hotel room, with Shaun T shouting encouragement through my computer screen.

Yes, I'm still doing Insanity. And I've actually improved a lot. I can make it through nearly all of the workouts without having to rest, and without feeling like I'm going to pass out. I have just one more rotation of the first series of workouts before moving on to set two. I'm excited about that, because the truth is, it gets a little boring doing the same routine over and over again.

To avoid monotony I picked up a copy of "Hip Hop Abs." Love it. But man! I definitely Do NOT have the moves. Sometimes I watch with my mough agape and think "HUH???" My hips, butt and shoulders don't coordinate to move like that, especially that fast. But I'm working on my form. And because it's new, it's fun. Not nearly as challenging as Insanity, so it's sort of like a day off with a just enough exercise to avoid feeling guilty.

As for my fluff, well, it's about the same. Weeks ago I broke my promise to myself about getting on the scale. Mostly because I wasn't getting anywhere, and I can tell that by how my jeans fit and (duh) looking at myself in the mirror. So what's the point of looking at the number in between my feet and feeling depressed about that???

I'm going to try to get back on board with the diet and weight loss thing next week. First of April. Always good to start at the beginning of a week, a month, a year. Ah, the circle of life...

Yeah, yeah, yeah....

I know I owe a post here...
But things have been absolutely INSANELY BUSY. I'm exhausted, worn out, running around like a chicken with its head cut off, and there just aren't enough hours in the day right now to complain too much about my FATNESS.

But I promise to take a deep breath, do a couple of sit-ups, and get back to you shortly...

We're finally home after 11 days on the road. Dang! That felt like 11 months! What a crazy trip! I'm absolutely exhausted! But at least I didn't gain weight. I didn't lose any either... But considering how hard it is to eat well while you're traveling - especially in San Antonio, Texas, where in spite of our efforts we didn't find a single decent eating establishment - staying the same is fine.

Thank heavens for the Insanity Workout. Yes! I really did take the DVDs with me. And no, they didn't sit idle in my computer bag on the couch the entire time... I actually did four workouts at super high intensity, grunting and sweating and pushing myself to the point of nausea. It's hard to motivate sometimes. But MAN oh MAN, I'm seeing progress. My abs, glutes, quads, calves, shoulders, biceps and triceps are getting strong and defined. Of course, it's hard to see that under all this fluff... But once the fat goes, you'll see. Muscles of steal. I'm not joking!

I guess they mean it when they say you have to do the workouts AND eat a healthy, lower calorie diet if you want to see the best results. DARN! For me, it's easier to work myself to exhaustion than it is to step away from the cupcakes.

Speaking of cupcakes, Saturday Lynn, the originator of the idea to replace "fat" for "fluff," brought me red velvet cupcakes and orange cranberry scones. SABOTEUR!!! Lynn makes the BEST baked goodies. Those cupcakes ROCKED! Tell me you wouldn't drool over a red velvet cupcake with mini chocolate chips baked in! Heaven on Earth! I ate two and gave the others to Brian. But I didn't share either of the two scones, which are better than the best scones you ever had. Softer and yummier. Perfection! I ate all the treats that night! That way I only had to feel guilty once, and promise myself to get back on track the next day.

But the truth is, I didn't feel guilty. Not for one second.

I'm finally feeling like I'm getting back in shape. I went for a nice ride today, and noticed increased quad strength gained, no doubt, from the Insanity workouts. Feeling fit makes me feel like eating well, controlling my portions, and staying on track. So I'm very motivated at the moment.

I say "at the moment" because we're heading out on the road again tomorrow. I'm chip timing a 5k race in So Cal on Sunday morning, then joining Brian in San Antonio Sunday night for the Running USA Conference where we hope to bag some BIG clients... We return to So Cal Wednesday, pack and shop for our first Planet Ultra double of the season on Thursday, then host the event, also in So Cal, on Saturday. We'll likely drive home a week from Sunday.

During those ten days of traveling, meals are going to be a challenge. Eating in restaurants means I have to do one of three things:
1. Convince Brian to share (rarely happens)
2. Leave lots of food on the plate (makes me wonder about starving children in ...???)
3. Eat too much and sabotage the success of the last few weeks.

I'm hoping for #1 - but it's only a glimmer of hope.

The next issue is exercise. I'm bringing my laptop and my Insanity DVDs and plan to work out in the hotel room every morning. PLAN is the key word. It's going to take a huge amount of will power; and I'm starting NOW to summon that up...

When we're in So Cal I'll have a bike with me; and will hopefully squeeze in a ride this Friday, and maybe a week from Thursday, Friday and maybe Sunday. We'll see. I'll let you know how that goes...

In the meantime, I now have to pack (again). I'm making a super healthy and delicious home cooked meal tonight. It's going to be the last one for awhile - so I'll savor ever bite...

Insanity Workout #3

After a few days of cycling and getting the blood flowing outdoors, I hit the Insanity DVDs again, and did workout #3, "Cardio Power and Resistance." I must've gotten stronger from the first two workouts - cuz it felt a little easier this time. When I say easier, I mean not SO freakin' HARD - but hard enough that I got a great workout. I sweated, did lots of heavy breathing, and feel the heat in my calves, quads and butt. Time to take a shower, don the magic pants - and get back to my daily activities, which right now means office work and getting ready for a timing event this weekend.

Life feels really hectic. Sometimes stress and craziness makes me want to EAT, sometimes I just get too busy to remember to eat. I'm feeling the latter; which is fine. I'm down a couple of pounds as of yesterday. I didn't weigh in today because I ate Red Velvet cake for dessert last night and I didn't want to feel too depressed about that... And anyway, Sundays are free days, calorie-wise... Right?

PS
Only ONE person emailed me to inquire what I meant by "magic pants." So I'm super curious as to what everyone else thinks I'm talking about???

I slept in my magic pants... And still woke up completely wrecked! No joke, I limped to the bathroom and had to put my hands on the seat to help myself sit down. Yep. Feeling those calves and quads. You'd think I ran a marathon or something. Geez.

I'm feeling a little better this evening after a 14 mile, pretty flat bike ride. Yes, the temperature rose above freezing today - and it was nice to get outside. I had to force myself though. I really wanted to just lay in bed moaning and groaning about over doing my Insanity workout yesterday. But I knew that if I didn't at least do some exercise - warm up the muscles, get the blood flowing, spin out the lactic acid buildup, and then stretch it out - I'd probably be in way worse shape tomorrow. So I'm proud of myself for getting out there; because I DO feel better. I'm going to ride again tomorrow and save the Insanity #3 for Sunday. In spite all the pain, I AM going to complete the Insanity Challenge. No matter how long it takes. Because I want to be fit. And ripped. Like the pretty people in the infomercial.

On top of all that, it has been a very stressful couple of days, and it's all I can do to not run out for a bag of oreos and eat the whole thing and wash it down with some ice cream and cake. Good thing my legs are too tired to "run" out even as far as the car. Getting in and out of the car is hard right now. So my waistline is benefiting. Good thing too. Binging makes me feel guilty. Guilt and stress don't go so well together, do they???

Reason wins!

Insanity Workout #2

Holy Schmoley! INSANITY is really, and I mean REALLY an accurate assessment of the nature of these workout DVDs. Seriously! When I woke up this morning I was SORE from the fit test! My calves and hamstrings were worked!

OK, I'm supposed to dig deep, to fight through the pain... So I pop in DVD #2, the "plyometric cardio circuit."

YOWZA!!! 45 minutes of heart pounding, calf burning, quad aching, ab squeezing HELL! Dang! That was so so so HARD! But I did it. I felt a bit light-headed and nauseous when it was over. But I did it! Workout #2 done!

The Insanity Workout is supposed to be completed in 60 days straight with one rest day a week. I can say definitively, right now, there's not a chance in hell that I'm physically fit or strong enough to do that. I'm barely going to be able to walk tomorrow... unless my magic pants (which, yes, I'm wearing NOW) pull off a miracle and heal my weak calves before morning.

So we'll see how tomorrow goes. I might have to wait a day or two to tackle "cardio power & resistance." I'm going to be realistic about it and be careful not to injure myself. Anyway, tomorrow it's supposed to warm up and I'll go for a ride outside.

I've been very, very good, food-wise. All week I've had oatmeal with berries and bananas for breakfast, and kept fueled throughout the day with small meals of fruit or light cheese and crackers every few hours until dinner, which I've been super good about eating a reasonable portion. I'm using a small salad plate and filling that up so it LOOKS like a lot of food on the plate. And no seconds. That's hard. Especially if it's something really yummy.

I feel like I'm on track again. Let's see if I can stick with it.

Anyone up to join me for the Insanity workouts???

Insanity Workout - Day #1

I got on the scale yesterday after having been out of town for the past two weeks. Back to square one. I completely sabotaged myself with poor eating, lots of sweets, and very little exercise that entire time.

I got on my bike twice during our Planet Ultra King of the Mountains Training Camp. Friday I rode up a hill I've done countless times over the many years I've been cycling. No joke: I struggled up it like it was the very first time. I could barely turn the pedals on the steepest part. Crap. Very discouraging. But slightly motivating too. Realizing how out-of-shape I am made me want to get serious again about my fitness. So Saturday I was excited to ride, thinking "day two - go go go." Well I got about 15 miles, mostly downhill, when my rear derailleur cable broke. Ride over. I had to call Brian to come pick me up; and I sat on the side of the road shivering for about 45 minutes. Bummer. With the bike out of commission, I actually dragged my fat #$@ down to the hotel gym Sunday morning and did the eliptical trainer for 40 minutes then the treadmill for 10. Felt good. Great tunes on the Ipod Shuffle helps.

Sunday I took possession of my 1/2 price on craigslist, new in box, Insanity workout dvds - and spent most of the six plus hour drive from So Cal home thinking about how the heck I'm going to motivate myself to get back in shape. Yesterday, I THOUGHT about starting the workout; but went for a walk outside instead. I did open the box, look at the brochures, charts and other interesting included information and decide that I'd do everything in my power to make sure Tonia was WRONG when she told me I'd never stick with the workout. Starting tomorrow. Which is today...

So... INSANITY WORKOUT - Day #1: Fit Test.
Egads. I'm terribly UN-fit. That was freakin' HARD!!! I know this isn't going to mean anything to you, but here's how I fared in the test:
Switch Kicks - 20
Power Jacks - 38
Power Knees - 59
Power Jumps - 20
Globe Jumps - 4
Suicide Jumps - 8
Push-Up Jacks - 10
Low Plank Oblique - 26

I'm supposed to do the fit test every 2 weeks. I'll put the results up so you can see how I do. Honestly, I'm not planning on making myself to the workout every day for 60 days. That's not realistic given our travel schedule and everything else we've got going on. But I'm going to do it as often as possible and complete the entire workout series in the order suggested. To help accomplish this goal, I'm going to get up earlier than I have been getting up and workout first thing in the morning. Once my day gets going I'm not good at exercising. So that's the plan. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So, Tonia... pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffft (that's me sticking my tongue out at you and making a silly noise)!

I'm still here!!! I didn't disappear! I certainly didn't get any skinnier either...

I've been on the road since January 18th - eating out (and yes, that typically includes dessert) and not getting any exercise at all. BAD. Very, very bad.

The other night I was laying in bed at a hotel in Kissimmee, Florida, once again having avoided the "fitness center," flipping channels, when BOOM! There it was! The miracle program! A way to get ripped abs, firm butt, toned thighs, sexy biceps - all in one 60 day program! No, NOT Zumba! But I had you there for a second, didn't I???

Did you really think for even ONE SECOND that at home, or on the road, I could get my man's man husband to do Zumba with me in front of the television? OK, it's an amusing thought... but ain't gonna happen. Not a chance.

But this... OH YES!!! THE INSANITY CHALLENGE!!! I was captivated! I was excited! I was motivated! But NO, of course I didn't "call in the next 15 minutes to take advantage of this one-time offer, free shipping, four easy payments of $39.99 and money back guarantee."

But I did think about it. And I thought about it the next day. And a little bit the next day too. And then I surfed the internet and reads lots of fun and interesting reviews about it. And then I looked on ebay. But the truth is, there are lots of doofuses on ebay who just love to pay full retail on ebay PLUS $15 shipping, so I passed on the auctions. It no longer tempts me to sit there counting down the minutes, entering my bid and waiting, waiting, waiting until 5 seconds to go and POW! Scoop someone out of their dream possession.

Nope. I went to straight to craigslist and found someone in the San Fernando Valley (which is not too far from where I am now) who got two Insanity Workouts for her birthday and was willing to part with one, new and sealed in the original package, for a little more than half price. And, she's willing to deliver it. Perfect.

Now I don't have to worry about what I eat for the remainder of this road trip. 'Cuz when I get home Monday, I'm going to start and commit to the Insanity Challenge: 60 days of intense workout. And I'm even going to take a "before" picture of myself in a (gasp) bathing suit; so when I'm ripped and lean and gorgeous I'll take an "after" picture and send it to Beach Bodies and get a free t-shirt.

YES!

Road trips are terrible for the waistline. It's simply not possible for someone with little to no willpower (like myself) to avoid snacking in the car. Or succumbing to poor food choices on the road. For example, and this is an actual example, not a hypothetical: Between St. George and Irvine, there are very few places to eat well, unless you've planned your travel around meal times AND you're willing to take an hour or more to sit down in a real restaurant.

We did neither of these things Wednesday. So dinner was the Mad Greek in Primm. As much as I enjoy Giros, healthy and nutritious they're not. Calorific and gluttonous they are. Did I eat every bite? You bet! YUM! At least, in the moment, YUM! Later, the YUM became laying in bed groaning and wishing I hadn't eaten that; which I knew was likely to happen - but that didn't stop me.

It was a quick road-trip, business oriented only, so we actually drove back Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill is not too bad of a meal choice, all things considered - especially when you have to eat in Barstow. Truck-stop food is pretty much the only alternative; so I think I did pretty well with a burrito. The problem was the fuel and bathroom stop at Flying J - with the endless variety of junk food. Brian likes sweets in the car, so he picked out a box of Mike & Ike's. When I got to the counter, the cashier just had to say, "these are 2 for $3 - do you want another box?" Want? NO! But such a deal!!! So Brian went back to the candy aisle and picked out a box of Dots. In the 3+ hours between Barstow and home, it's pretty easy for 2 people to eat 2 boxes of candy.

Calories don't count in the car, right?

I'm up a pound.

Serves me right.

Fighting the fluff is an even greater challenge when it's so darned cold outside. I have absolutely ZERO motivation to go outside on a day when it's cloudy and in the low 40s. Neither am I particularly inclined to spend money to join a gym I know I'll only wind up at a couple of times a year... So FLUFF wins. At least for the past few days.

The good thing is, I've figured out a way to at least manage the fluff. I've found a level of food consumption and enjoyment that allows me to stay the same. Without exercise I pretty much have to starve myself to lose weight. And the bottom line is, I'm not willing to do that.

Pray for sun, my friends!

I hate shopping. My entire life I've never been much of a girly-girl when it comes to shopping, mostly because I have zero fashion sense; but also because whenever I'm around clothing shops I think to myself, "I should wait until I'm thinner." Which I never seem to be... So all the new clothes I've worn in the last few years were gifts from my mall-loving husband or his shopaholic mother (both of whom I appreciate greatly).

So I've been hoarding birthday and Christmas money for the last decade or so. Today, when I fished around in my underwear drawer to find the hidden envelope, I realized I had just a tad over $1,000. So I went to the mall. Fluffy or not.

Buying pants is off limits when feeling fluffy... But I do desperately need more tops; so I literally tried on about 25 items - most of which I hated, of course. "Makes me look fat." "Makes my boobs look too big." Blah blah blah. But I did actually find FOUR - yes, FOUR shirts I actually, truly, whole-heartedly liked, and thought (and I could be wrong) they looked good on me.

So I BOUGHT ALL FOUR. And WOW! I spent a grand total of $41.36! HOW INCREDIBLY AWESOME ARE POST-SEASON SALES??? HOO-RAH FOR J.C. PENNEY! I just might have to go back to the mall and scour the sale racks at Dillards...

Obviously getting sufficient exercise is an essential element to fluff fighting. Since I'm an avid cyclist, this is something that's easy to do. Unless it's freezing cold outside; which it has been, pretty much since Thanksgiving.

From what I hear, this is about the coldest winter in St. George since, well, the lady that waxes my legs can remember - and she's lived here her whole life, which is probably somewhere around 22-26 years. So much for global warming and all... We've had SNOW ON THE GROUND that actually stayed for several days. In fact, there's still some in the shady part of our yard.

It has been in the 30s and 40s for about 6 weeks, with only a couple of days here and there where the thermometer topped 50. EGADS! The wind chill on a bike makes your ears, fingers and toes burn, and your face feel like you've been to the dentist and had not just your chin, but your entire face numbed with novacaine!

So we started taking walks. Did a few hikes and even went snowshoeing. I think that's partly why I shed the first few pounds so quickly; because my body isn't used to any of that - so I must have been working harder. It certainly felt like I was working harder. And it's humbling too... to be able to easily ride 40-50 miles even out of shape, but go for a 3 mile walk and feel wrecked. OY!

Walking, hiking and biking is a good combination, and my goal is to stick with that because it's no doubt healthier to cross-train and be fit for many different sports. It's safer too: Because sometimes (and hopefully on only very, very, very, very rare occasions) cycling is dangerous. Like having the three people in front of me hit a pothole and crash and, being unable to avoid the carnage, hitting a fallen cyclist, being launched into the air and landing entirely on my head... But that's a whole other story...

124.8.

A bit surprising to lose over 3 pounds in a week - but I'm certainly not complaining. I must've been retaining lots of water over the holidays...

What am I doing differently?

I'm cooking delicious and nutritious meals at home. I'll be honest, I'm a lousy cook. I don't know enough about spices and herbs and how to combine them to just whip something up. I'm not good at deciding what dish or what flavors are good in combination for a meal. I'm in awe of folks who can do that, and watching the Food Channel sometimes makes me feel horribly inadequate.

To give myself a tad bit of credit, I'm really, really good at following recipes. I love cookbooks and cooking magazines, and admit to spending more time than I should scouring the internet for potential meals when I should be working. This week, I've made 4 new dishes. A new taste sensation every night. Only one turned out to look better in the pretty picture than it actually tasted; but the meal was decent. Just not great. And I really like dinner to be great. Especially when they say that a way (at least one of the ways) to a man's heart is through his stomach. I admit, I really enjoy being a good wife; and I love when my husband enjoys and appreciates dinner. Things seem to get done around the house.
;-)

In addition to preparing wonderful food, I've been super careful with my portions. One plate. No seconds (as tempting as it is, especially when there's stuffed manicotti still in the pan - which, by the way, tasted even better for lunch the next day). I'm trying to take smaller bites, chew more, and simply enjoy a leisurely meal. So dinner is satisfying but I'm not stuffed. And when it's done, I've actually eaten about half the calories that I normally would have, so I have room, and allow myself a bit of dessert if I'm craving that (and I am usually craving that).

I've had a small home-baked treat each evening. One cookie. One piece of quick bread. I baked a lot over the holidays, so my freezer is well stocked. So I can take out just one, totally enjoy it, and feel like I've still been "good." Which I have. The scale says so.

I started the year ready to be healthy, fit, thin, beautiful (ok, that's pushing it)!

New Years Day I went snowshoeing in Zion with three other women and had a blast. Hiking in snowshoes is hard. But the scenery was wonderful so I didn't really notice my burning quads until later that evening.


I'm often very hungry after strenuous exercise... and since I hadn't taken anything out for dinner, my feeling of famished-ness led me to the poor dinner choice of a Red Robin bacon cheeseburger and fries. Hmmm... So much for all the calories I burned in the snow. I made those up, and then some.

As if one day of snowshoeing weren't enough, on January 2nd we trekked out to Pine Valley for more fun in the snow. And yes, another calorie-fest to follow, this time at Cafe Rio. Two tacos, rice and beans. YUM.

But that's okay. It was the weekend. And I'm never good about starting something new on the weekend; so as I'd already told myself, Monday is IT. The start of the new, better, me.

So now it's MONDAY.

I had NO SWEETS today. Not a one. I did make a strong effort to convince myself that eating a pear is the same as eating sweets. But it's not. It tastes nice. But it's FRUIT. Yummy, healthy, delicious fruit - which under no circumstances will I ever consider dessert.

Fruit just isn't dessert. Unless it's pie. Or a cherry turnover. Or a banana boat. But plain fruit? No way.

It's okay though. I'm feeling pretty good about today's food choices. I started out with a nice breakfast of hot cereal with half a banana and a few blueberries and raspberries. For lunch I had a half turkey sandwich with one bit of cheese. And for dinner I made stuffed manicotti and salad. It was delicious, and I wanted a second helping. But I was good. I ate the reasonable serving that was on my plate, and no more. I was satisfied physically. The mental part is the challenge. Portion control. Portion control. That will be my 2011 mantra.

Pretty healthy, huh? I'm feeling a little hungry now, at 8:50pm; but I think it's good to go to sleep on an empty stomach. So I'm staying out of the kitchen.

I weighed myself today as promised. The result pretty much sucked. But it is what it is and I am what I am - and all I can do is face each day and not think about banana boats too much.

I used to think that New Year's Resolutions were silly. After a surprisingly short time, all good intentions fall by the wayside... so why bother making a promise you're not going to keep anyway. Statistics show that 25% don't even make it past the first week of January... and only about 50% make it six months. Not great odds at success. Sad, especially since the #1 Resolution for adults is "Lose Weight."

Since statistics show that the majority of people who make resolutions fail, I guess I just won't make it a resolution. I'll simply set a goal.

117 pounds. There. I said it. No time frame. No pressure.

To help get there, I'm going to weigh myself every day. Many popular weight-loss programs, like Weight Watchers, don't recommend getting on the scale everyday. Since our weight fluctuates a bit every day, some folks believe daily weighing can lead to discouragement or diet sabotage if you see a higher number on the scale one day to the next. Wimps.

First of all, I'm not the discourage-able type. Second, since I'm not going to be on a diet, I can't resort to diet sabotage. Just thinking about the word diet is depressing. It connotes deprivation, hunger, bean sprouts. UGH.

I'm going to think about my goal as simply being healthy which will lead to a slim, fit, thin body. I'm not going to starve myself or deprive myself along the way. But I will get on the scale, and face the music every day.

Weighing every day means I have to be accountable. It also means I'll immediately see the consequences of eating an entire bag of Oreos; so maybe I won't do that.

Since it's not a resolution, I didn't pressure myself to start January 1st. Or the 2nd even. It's the weekend. Goals are best started on a Monday. Even though I've given myself one last day... I'm NOT going down to the kitchen for a last HOO-RAH. I guess I'm already well on the way...
:-)