Cannonball! Book #7 is V.G. Read!

CANNONBALL READ 2011
BOOK #7: Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding

It's going to sound cliche, but Bridget Jones' Diary is a book every woman should read. Unless, of course, you're a total stick insect who has never not been in a relationship and spends her weekends lunching in Europe with her perfect millionaire boyfriend. Bitches.

But, seriously! While Bridget has her over-the-top moments, she is an extremely relatable character: her constant battles with impossible weight loss, crappy boyfriends, and soul-sucking jobs are fights with which we are all familiar. Her boozy-but-always-there-for-her friends are also something that we can connect with--any woman in her 20's or 30's can't deny that there are some problems that can only be solved with the help of good wine and good pals.

Stereotypical? Yes. Based in truth? You bet your ass.

That could also be said about the book itself: Fielding's Diary is cliched and character-y and all sorts of fluffy nonsense, but it's also honest and heartwarming and a wonderful read.

Bloody brilliant, really.

Tea Wisdom

So, I'm back to real food--and forever hesitant to try Colombian food again. Stupid bad cheese.

But, I'm feeling fabulous now, especially since I'm back on track with my "Get Healthy" plan. Here's another little tip I learned, and it's oh so simple and awesome: Feeling "hungry" but not actually hungry? Have a lovely mug of hot water! Ok, ok, you can make it tea--but seriously! The combination of water (you're usually thirsty rather than hungry) and heat (you'll take your time drinking it, thus giving your body the time to realize it's full) can do wonders for the system!

I'm trying to always have a cup of tea with my breakfast now, as it not only supports the "most important meal of the day," but it also fills me up for longer, giving me the energy to get through the first half of the day.

Plus, tea is delicious! And mine comes with positive phrases on the tag. Today's message:
"Be great, feel great, and act great."

Yes, yes, and yes.

Bad Cheese, Very Bad

Sorry about the lack of updates--but, it's not from my slacking off!

No, no. This comes from having the worst food poisoning I have ever had, which started on Thursday and left me dehydrated until yesterday (Sunday). Yeah, not awesome at all (though I did lose 6 pounds after the first 15 hours or so...nope, still not awesome). My appetite is finally back, though I'm really mostly craving eggs for some odd reason...

Eggs. Either I'm turning into a dinosaur or I need to reset my protein levels.

Yeah, probably dinosaur.

What's Next?

I'm really eager to start training again. For something. Anything!

While searching for inspiration, I have had recommended to me quite a few interesting challenges I should attempt: the Iditarod, the Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, triathlons, etc.

While I do enjoy hot dogs, I fear the annual eating contest might set me back, as far as a weight loss goal goes :) That, my friends, is one of my upcoming goals--this will be elaborated in my next post.

There is a yoga studio not too far from where I live that has a 30-day Bikram Yoga challenge, which I'm very interested in trying (though perhaps I should do one day's worth to see if I like Bikram, first)!

Aside from weight-loss goals and yoga challenges, I really am very interested in new races I can attempt. I came across a great site the other day, Running In the USA, where you can search by state, month, type of race, etc. It's a wonderful resource if you're looking to find something nearby, or are planning a vacation and want a marathon in the middle of it. For the fun.

Seriously, though: my sister and I are definitely signing up for the Peachtree Road Race in July (the world's largest 10k road race), and I'm looking into the Inaugural Wine and Dine Half Marathon in October. I encourage you to check out Running In the USA, just to see what races are near you--you might be surprised at how many are going on!

Oh! And here's some exciting news: I am typing this entry on my new computer, whee! It's a happy little laptop I've decided to name "Thinky." Yes, folks, anthropomorphizing inanimate objects is fun. And see how many big words I just used? "Thinky" is making me smarter already.
Cheerio!