FMM: Summertime

Happy Monday, Everyone! I haven’t participated in a FMM in weeks, but this one is right up my alley, since I have the entire summer off!

A quick weekend update first – I’m proud to share that this weekend I was incredibly active.  Saturday I went to a fantastic (and really sweaty!) Zumba class and then headed straight to a gentle yoga class afterward.  I plan to make this my Saturday routine through the first Saturday in August (when my yoga pass expires).  I’d burned 1576 calories before 2pm!  Saturday was also the day that I drank 17 glasses of water!  All that exercise makes me really thirsty, plus it was a HOT day, so the water went down really easy.  I also made a new recipe – grilled tofu – that was a huge hit!!  Yesterday I took a semi-rest day, but I did take Sofi for a long walk and did some housework.  The highlight was going to see Woody Allen’s new movie, To Rome With Love, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was all the things that make a great Woody Allen movie – highly entertaining, semi-ridiculous, quirky, hilarious, and a satire of modern society: culture and celebrity.  I loved the Italian actors in the movie, they stole the show, especially Roberto Benigni. But I thought most of the Americans were terribly miscast, except Woody Allen (naturally) and Alec Baldwin.  And of course seeing Rome, the Eternal City, was the best part of all.  It’s been 17 years since my sister and I were there, but it looks just as beautiful as I remember it.  If you enjoy the offbeat storylines that are in all Woody Allen movies, I’m sure you’ll like this one, too.

I also want to wish ScaleWarfare a very happy birthday today.  If you haven’t read her blog, go and check it out. ScaleWarfare has lost over 110 pounds, and is on her way to reaching her goal weight.  She has transformed her life as well as her body, and is such an inspiration to me.  She and I have never met in person, but she is one of my best friends in the world.  She is one of my biggest cheerleaders, and I know that I can count on her for support, advice, and friendship.  She’s the best!!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Summertime

1. What is your favorite thing about summer? I get two months off of work to rest, relax, and spend time doing anything I please.  Summer allows me to get back to myself and let go of the stress of the school year.  My birthday is also in the summer, so that’s a nice thing.  Summertime brings warm weather, positive attitudes, and lots of opportunities to be outside.

2. What is your favorite outdoor activity? Swimming, by far.  Although taking Sofi for a walk is right up there, as is riding my beach cruiser.

3. If you had to choose, would you prefer to be too hot or too cold? You can always put more clothes on, so too cold would be the preference.

4. Does your appetite increase or decrease during warmer months? Does it stay the same? In general, my appetite decreases because I’m out and about and more active, so I think about food/eating less.  Plus, the warm weather makes me want lighter food, so I make healthier choices.

5. What is your favorite seasonal summer fruit? This is too difficult to choose – I love all the fruits of summer.  Berries, melon, peaches, nectarines, plums – how can I choose just one?  Not to mention all the amazing veggies that are in season in the summer: zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers – and those are just in our garden!

6. Would you prefer to spend a hot summer day at the mall or at a swimming pool? The pool, for sure!  Although Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale is on July 20, so maybe just for that day…

7. Are you more likely to tan or sunburn? Tan.  I’m bronze May through October.

8. How does your routine change when summer begins? My routine changes completely!  I can make my own schedule, get up whenever I want to, don’t have to commute anywhere, no work, no papers to grade, no stress.  This summer I’m building my daily schedule around my workouts, which has been fun.

9. What is the temperature outside where you are today? This morning was a bit overcast and foggy, so at 9:49am, the sun is just beginning to peek out.  It’s currently 59 degrees, with an expected high of 82.  Perfect.

10.  What is your favorite summer holiday? My birthday….Oh, wait, you mean a holiday that everyone celebrates?  The 4th of July, of course!

Now it’s your turn to share. Don’t forget to go back to Kenlie’s blog to link up in the comments!

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#Reverb10, Day 16: Friendship

For the month of December, I’ll be participating in Reverb 10. Each day gives a new prompt, which is a chance to reflect on 2010 and manifest what’s next in 2011.

December 16 – Friendship
How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst? (Author: Martha Mihalick)

Throughout 2010 ScaleWarfare and I have been sending each other daily emails containing our food journals, concerns, suggestions, recipes, and encouragements.  We started it as a way to be accountable to someone else in an effort to curb our nighttime snacking, but it has morphed into something completely different.

I look forward to our daily exchanges because I know that someone I’ve never met in person is out there, on the opposite coast of the country, cheering me on.  And I strive to do the same for her.  That kind of support really helps me make  good choices, think twice about indulgences, and just gives me that “warm fuzzy” feeling having made such a great friend.

Our friendship has gotten to the point where we send each other birthday and Christmas gifts, as well as little gifts “just because.”  Most recently SW wanted to show how proud she was of me for my new-found vigor with setting my calories to 1400 and for becoming a non-smoker, so she sent me this:

We’re both Philosophy Girls, so she knew I’d love it.  And more than the invigorating, spa-like scent, I love the sentiment written on the bottle:

if you really want to be somebody, you don’t have to be great, you only have to be good. good people live by the golden rule, and in doing so, they become somebody to everybody. great people live by their own rules, which too often become self serving. therefore, don’t be great, just be good. and if you’ve got to be great, then for goodness sake, do something good.”

What started out as a kinship with a fellow weight loss blogger whom I had a lot in common with (scarily so, sometimes) has turned into a very real friendship.  And though we’ve never met in person, I’m  closer to SW than I am to many of my real life friends who live in my city.  That’s the power of a shared experience.

So SW, I thank you for being you.  For being such a positive influence on my life.  For never judging me.  For being my friend. My life has been changed for the better for having you in it.

In 2011 I hope to be that kind of friend for someone new so that I can touch their life as much as mine has been touched.

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