Obesity in America

So I know I was stressing about the whole weight thing yesterday more than I should have. But then I had a dream last night... more like a nightmare.

I dreamt that I was sitting on the couch watching the news. The news caster was giving the top story on the newest obesity study in the US. Cut to general footage of the bottom half of fat people sitting and walking on city streets. Then I see it... The 'fat' person walking across the screen is ME!!! I recognized my tattoo on my ankle.

YIKES!!!!!

What does this mean?

It's official...

I. AM. FAT!

Its true. I've tipped the scale. I think that some time between the ages of 24 and 25 my metabolism woke up one day and said, "I'm tired! I've been working your ass off for 24ish years! I've been makin' sure you can eat what ever you want and you don't have to exercise. I'm tired and I don't want to work anymore! You're on your own."

There are lost of things that can account for the weight gain...
1. I have a job where I'm around food all day. Its good food and I make it myself.
2. I haven't really exercised in over a year.
3. I recently tried a new birth control that has a side effect of weight gain.
4. I only work 8 hours a day so the rest of my day is spent sitting on the couch.
5. I have been drinking A LOT more since moving here.
6. I do indulge in eating farm fresh bacon, every day... I have to make sure its of good quality, for the customer of course.

The battle of the bulge began last summer. I noticed that my jeans were getting tighter. It was hard but I gave away my size 2 jeans and bought some that fit. Then we took a trip to Las Vegas and I knew we would spend some time at the pool. My bikini still fit but I didn't look my best. I figured I'd just stay in the water and no one would notice. Later in the year we went to Keystone, CO. I had to, at this point, squeeze my self into that same bikini and then sit in a hot tub with some of Gordon's co-workers. Not my best bikini moment. This was the beginning of the 'roll' down hill for me. So since I've been here I have gone up another pant size... now 2 sizes larger than I was last summer. I noticed in some of the pictures from when Gordon's parents were here how bad it has really gotten.

I leave for Chicago in a few days so there isn't enough time to slim down before I see my friends. BUT, when I get back things are gonna change. They have to.

Grillin'

I want to live in this neighborhood!

What's on the old boob tube.

Quantum Leap

....Striving to put right what once went wrong.

I'm sure most of you remember this show. I have fond memories of this program. I remember it use to air on Thursday nights and we would have to record (on tape) the episodes because my mom was in a bowling league and she would miss the show. My sister and I would watch the show when it was on and then again when my mom got home. It was always funny to see Sam dressed as a woman and try to put on makeup or walk in high heals.

In our latest cable upgrade we got a new channel I had never heard of, ION. Its kinda like Pax (if anyone remembers that channel). They show re-runs of older TV shows. I stumbled across Quantum Leap in the guide and was thrilled. I have now replaced my obsessive watching of Law & Order SVU with Quantum Leap. It's a more touching, feel-good way to spend the evening. Plus, a lot of the episodes that have been on lately I don't remember ever watching.

Weeds
....There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one. And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

We got into this show a little late. We don't have Showtime so we are not current on the show. But, we have been watching via Blockbuster online. We spent two weeks watching the first two seasons in preparation for the release of season three on DVD. We are still waiting to get season three but once we are done watching that it's gonna be hard to wait for season four. Its such an awesome show!!! It is so funny in a very sarcastic matter of fact kind of way. I've always loved Mary Louise Parker and she does an amazing job in her role as drug dealing/small business owning/twice widow/mother of 2. If you haven't seen this show, get it on Netflix or Blockbuster Online and spend a weekend watching it.

Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood

Again, I came upon this show late. Oxygen is another channel we got in the cable upgrade. I got hooked on Tori & Dean: Inn Love marathon leading up to the premiere of Home Sweet Hollywood. They are so cute together. It's refreshing to see a couple so in love and have it all together. Liam is a super cute 'little monkey'. Tori works so hard to take care of her family and have a life different from what she knew growing up. Love this show. Gordon only watched the show for a few minutes the other day and all he had to say about it was, "His glasses are awesome!". So, if anyone out there knows what brad Dean's glasses are please let me know so I can try to get them for Gordon.

Everyone's doing it...

This applies to many things.



1. My blog: After reading a friend's blog I am compelled to finish telling my stories from when I was too busy to post. (Thank you Kathryn for your LA update. I can't wait for more.) So here I am filling you in on all the happenings. When I first moved to Philadelphia things weren't looking so good. It was kinda depressing not knowing anyone and not knowing where anything was. Things have really picked up in the last few months. I have made a lot of friends. I have ventured out and walked the streets of Philadelphia finding parks, shops, bars, and restaurants. Philadelphia is a beautiful city. Its got little hidden streets that cars can't drive down. Its so old and rich in history. It actually makes me miss Chicago more. I wish I had this much free time when I lived there; especially in the summer. I would be at the beach almost every day.



2. Craig's List: Sure its a great place to job search, find a cool apartment, or a second had bike. But, did you know you could get friend's there too? Seriously, normal people too, just like you. They are out there. They need friend's too. You never really think about it till you're put in the situation of not knowing anyone. Your friend's are built into your life. As a child you make friends at school playing kick ball or four square. When you get to high school you change it up a bit, maybe start smoking with the cool kids or pick up a new sport. When you go to college its the people in the same major, at the coffee house, or have the same interests in music and politics. Then there are your work friends, couple friends, married friends, and friends with children. But when you lift your life out of that world and plop it in a place where the only person that knows anything about you is the person you live with you find yourself wondering, now where do I go get friends? Answer: Craig's list. I started to look for classes; yoga, pilates, quilting, or art. I came across a book club. Joined it, and found that everyone was new to Philly with in the last 9 months or so. All fun people from different walks of life, different parts of the country, and with different occupations. So I started looking again, always with the goal of finding a quilting circle. Instead I found a 'Women's Group'. It sounds like a bunch of old ladies talking about arthritis and stuff... quite the opposite. Its a bunch of gals in their late 20s, also all new to Philly, that like to drink. So far we have hung out every Thursday or Friday for the last 4 weeks and got drunk on beer, wine, and good conversation. It's been a blast.



3. Shitting on Sidewalks: This may sound a little strange to you. I promise you it is but it is also very real. Philadelphia has a homeless problem. There really is no place for these people to go. Every major city has it's homeless but its really bad here. They are everywhere all hours of the day and night. They sleep on steam vents to stay warm in winter, in door ways to get out of the rain, and on the side street next to our building. On average I walk past 2-4 sleeping guys every morning on Filbert. About a month after moving here I noticed a pile of shit on the sidewalk. Everyone knows what dog poop looks like, this was not from a dog. YUCK! It took over a month for it to decompose in the rain. Double yuck! Gordon had a similar incident at work where someone defecated in a corner of the entrance of his office building. They used news papers to wipe with flew around in the wind, thus spreading shit everywhere. Then we noticed that our 'neighbors' on Filbert were using a turned over milk crate pushed into an alcove as a make shift toilet. Shit begins to pile up, literally. By now it is getting warmer out and the smell is becoming more noticeable. Not that piles of shit on the sidewalk wasn't noticeable enough. The latest heap was left the other morning. It was fresh, still glistening in the light peaking through the buildings as it rose over the city. This is where I live and these are the things I see everyday.

Sick Day

And its not one of the fun ones.

I went to work this morning and I had a bit of a tummy ache. No biggie, I can work though it. Then I started to get dizzy. So I made my self something to eat, the luxury of working in a kitchen. That didn't help. Now its worse, and the dizziness is bordering on fainting. So I drink some OJ... that will bring up the blood sugar and help a little, right? WRONG! All of a sudden I lost it. Running down the stairs to the employee bathroom... thank GOD it was just cleaned! I got sick for about 30 minutes. When I came back to the kitchen Kevin, the owner, said that he was gonna call someone else in and I could go home when they got there. He joked that it was morning sickness. I guaranteed him that it was not. Maybe it was the milk I drank last night... The date on the container was the 26th and I didn't notice it until I was throwing the carton away and my glass of milk was almost gone.

I struggled through the rest of breakfast. It got really busy for a little bit and I was a bit shaky from before. When Sarah got there I left. I walked home and crawled back into bed. It woke Gordon up and he was a bit confused as to why I was getting back in bed at 11am when I should be at work. I slept for a few more hours. I'm feeling a little bit better but still shaky.