Snow shoe hike

We went out for a snow shoe hike yesterday, the weather was absolutely perfect. We hiked up and down the hills, lots of intervals, lots of work! Snow shoeing is a good time. It's a nice distraction from the trainer. . . . .easier to hit higher heart rates without even trying!

This one was CASHED when we were done. Gotta love the frozen whiskers!

Quote

"Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress."
-- Nicholas M. Butler, American Philosopher

I found this to be an interesting quote. Especially since I don't have any optimism as of recently, at least in regards to my fitness, my body composition and my training. Maybe that's what's holding me up. Maybe I just need to be optimistic. . . . .OR maybe I need to stop eating ice cream and Christmas cookies and start burning a HELL of a lot more calories.

Trying to be fit SUCKS. That's all I have to say about that.

YEAH!!!!

Michelle won. THANK GOODNESS!!

While I don't like Vickie, I'm still happy that she was able to take off all that weight. I just hope she did it for the right reasons, like her HEALTH, vs just trying to win $250,000.

Losing weight isn't easy. Those of us who have tried know. And while some of us don't have as much to lose as others. . . .it's still a constant battle. Then if you're lucky enough to actually GET it off, it can creep back in an INSTANT if you're not watching every single move you make. THAT sucks. Especially if you're an active person who's already working out a decent amount of hours per week.

Oh well. I guess a few extra pounds is nothing compared to what some of these people had to go through. Awesome job to them. . . . .and to everyone who has had to WORK at being "healthy".

Announcing

The newest member of the Swart Family.

Evan Bradley Swart. Born Friday, 12-5-08. 5 lbs, 10oz, 19 inches long.





Congratulations Ben & Kerri (aka The General & The Virgin).

Wow

How did it get to be almost Friday already?

What a week. Our AA is gone at the office (for 2 weeks) and I'm her fill in. That would be fine except this week everyone decided to WORK and there are a crap load of new listings. So those of you who think the real estate market is tanking, you are incorrect. In fact, did you SEE the rates today? Last time I looked they were at 5.125% for a 30 YEAR CONVENTIONAL LOAN. Holy shit!

But I digress. . . . . on top of all that, my dogs decided they were going to give me a heart attack and almost KILL each other tonight. T-Dog actually fought back when the mean, nearly 16 year old, almost blind, totally deaf dog attacked her for getting to close to some ice cubes which she thought was food. They went at it good. SO good we could hardly separate them. They were literally intertwined. Bill pulled the T-Dog off the old timer and she literally came with. Thunder had SUCH a death grip on Bear's neck that when he lifted her off, her paws actually pulled Bear off the ground. It was a little scary for me.

I can't believe Bear would attack Thunder because of an ice cube. That's messed up. She doesn't even LIKE ice cubes! Between that and pi$$ing and crapping every 30 minutes, that dog is wearing on our last nerves. I think there is a reason most dogs don't live to be this old.

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day. I hope it's a better one too. It should be. . . . .we're expecting the arrival of the newest member of our "circle of peeps" some time VERY soon. Stay tuned.

Thursday I frantically worked to get the house ready for our Thanksgiving feast. I decided to try a new recipe to take by Bill's family (we were supposed to bring a dessert). My cake turned out ok, but when I went to prepare the frosting, I realized I did not purchase enough of the heavy whipping cream that I needed. After wasting about 45 minutes trying to figure out how to create my own, I hopped in the car to head back to the store. Yeah, I should have done that in the first place. It was all worth it though. The side by side comparison turned out ok.


I don't like chocolate cake, but I'm told it was pretty good.

Somehow I even found enough time to get the table set all pretty.


Then we had to dart out of the house to get to Bill's family's celebration, where we spent the first half of the day. Stuff our faces, rush home, finish the last minute prep for my family, put on a second Thanksgiving feast, stuff our faces again, clean up that mess, have a baby. . . . . .


Catch our breath, go to bed and get ready for another crazy weekend.

Friday Bill had to work ALL day, he didn't even get home until after 8:30. While I spent the morning working myself, I took a bit of time to get the T-Dog for a little hike in the afternoon. She LOVES snow. I think she's really a sled dog.

Friday night we decided to finally try a bowling outing. We always talk about doing that, never actually do it. . .this time we did it. It was actually fun. Of course my team sucked (sorry guys, but it's true). Bill's team had a nice close competition for points. Not bad for someone who never bowls. I did crack 100 by the way. . . every game. And yes, I even have my own bowling ball AND shoes!




Saturday was the Spin Party. About a dozen people were there. It was a lot of fun. I got a little over 3 hours in the saddle. For some strange reason I felt like I could have ridden all day.





Sunday morning we watched some Christmas movies, headed out for Brunch with the family, finished the exterior illumination project and then hit the West Bend Christmas parade where we were part of the First Weber float.

Yeah, I don't really understand the dinosaur either. . . . but it was cute.

Come home Sunday night, catch some down time and wake up to a HECK of a lot of snow, a lot of stuff to do, and not a lot of energy. Mondays are tough. Really tough.