Saw Sweet Home Alabama this afternoon. It was a fun way to pass a couple of hours. But unless you are a big Reese Witherspoon fan, or are a sucker for breezy, forgettable romantic films, I'd wait for the video on this one. Imagine a bunch of actors, playing Alabama rednecks, saying something like "Well, look who's back in town! Little Miss New York City!" about 20 times. Then throw in some romantic conundrums, a bunch of nasty comments about Southerners from R.W. herself, and you've got the gist of the movie. Oh yeah, and it ends just like you'd expect it to.
They set the thing in Greenville, Ala., however, which surprised me, since Greenville is a real town. And they mentioned Tuscaloosa - where I just moved from!
Right now, Mark is watching Lord of the Rings in the living room. I tried watching it for an hour, but I just couldn't get into it. Fantasy and magic is not my kinda thing. Probably explains why I never read a single Harry Potter book. We also rented In the Bedroom, with Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei, and that's supposed to be really good. I don't think we'll have time to see it before tomorrow, though. And I'm movied out anyway.
Oh yeah - I finally got my copy of Jaws of Satan, courtesy of a guy on Ebay. It's basically a B-grade horror flick, with Christina Applegate in her feature film debut. But lest you think I'm a huge Kelly Bundy fan, I'll let you know that I bought it because most of it was filmed in Alabama, and some of it was filmed in the Kirkwood mansion, a gorgeous home about 45 minutes outside of Tuscaloosa. I've seen every room of the place, and it is spectacular. I'm going to buy it someday when I make my fortune.
I did manage to squeeze in a workout today at Gold's, and that was great. I really gave it my all this time, instead of phoning in my standard 40 minutes of cardio. I used the incline on the treadmill; I went up to level 9 on the bike. I increased the resistance on the weight machines so that I had to struggle to lift it by the last set. It was great. I am fully expecting to be sore tomorrow.
Didn't have time to go to the gym this morning. I've got to get some clothes shopping done today, go to the movies at 2:30 and then I'll probably hit Gold's this evening. I'm bringing my gym clothes in the car with me so I can go straight from shopping. But I was really hoping to get it done this morning, so I wouldn't have to take 2 baths today. Oh well.
Last night Mark and I went to his friend's house to play Trivial Pursuit with a bunch of people. His friend and his friend's fiancee are all right and nice and stuff, but they are not really my kind of people. I had always suspected this but it became apparent when they started talking about how much they like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and how they like playing Dungeons & Dragons. Okay, I'm thinking, remembering how much I enjoy art-house films, classical literature and theater. I don't think we could ever be really good "couple friends" with these people.
I have no idea what I am going to eat for lunch today, since i'm heading to the mall like right now. I don't want to wait & eat movie popcorn at the theater, and I don't want Chick-Fil-A in the food court. Hmm. Maybe a visit to Subway is in order...
For years we've been thinking that everyone needed at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day for optimum health, right? Well, think again. A small story in this week's Newsweek quotes someone from the National Cancer Institute as saying that most people need even more than that. The woman, Lorelei DiSogra, says that five servings is OK for children, but women need about seven and men need nine.
This floored me. Every day I beat myself up for a split second for not getting five a day, and here comes some broad telling me I need SEVEN? Not cool. DiSogra says that this isn't anything new, either; apparently, the USDA's food pyramid has recommended five to nine servings for more than a decade. But a serving is only about 1/2 a cup of fruits and vegetables, so maybe it's attainable. I figure I'm getting at least 3 servings whenever I eat one of my homemade salads.
But today - for shame - I think I've only gotten 2. I had one Granny Smith apple with lunch today. So that leaves 5 to get in between now and bedtime. Better walk down to 7-11 again for a banana...
I've been seeing a lot more movies here than I did when I was a newspaper reporter in Alabama. In Tuscaloosa, I think I saw A Beautiful Mind. And that was all I saw the whole year. Living with someone and living off two incomes rocks. Oh yeah, and having a job that pays way more than your last one rocks, too.
So far this year, I have seen (as far as I can remember): K-19: The Widowmaker (this was at Mark's insistence), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (this sucked), Signs (pretty cool), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (very good), and One Hour Photo (also good). I'm sure there have been some others, but damn me if I can't remember them. Tomorrow my aunt wants to go see Sweet Home Alabama. My mom and I agree that it looks kind of hokey, but hey, it's about 'Bama, baby. And Reese Witherspoon is entertaining.
Last night I didn't go to the gym. Yesterday was my skip day. But today it looks like I'm gonna have to go. I really want to do some group exercise today, since I'm not really motivated, but the last class ends at 5:30. Boo.
Eats:
2 slices toast & 1 glass milk, 300 cals
1 cookie, small sqaure pumpkin cake (it was birthday day at the office), 400 cals
It's not just your imagination.CNN is reporting that the number of obese adults is on the rise...still. After all this information we have about the inherent evil of Extra Value Meals and Twinkies.
My take? Something is fundamentally wrong with the lifestyles of (many) Americans. This fat problem is not as widespread in ANY OTHER country but the U.S. And while I am grateful for the conveniences that we have here, I think that it gets to be a little out of hand sometimes. Our consumer culture is just feeding into the clutches of corporate America. Just think about it. Most people who live in a city of any significant size can be at a drive-thru in less than 10 minutes and have a 2,000-calorie heart attack in a bag sitting on the passenger seat. It's just become a little too easy to get fat. While watching TV in the evenings, we're bombarded with images of swirling chocolate, drizzling gravy, thick ice cream. On the road, we see billboards for McDonald's: "Next right! Left at light! Double cheeseburger only 99 cents." The bad foods are tasty, and they're advertised about 300 percent more than the Shredded Wheat and produce we should all be eating.Plus, they're extremely cheap - it costs more than $5 to get a side salad and grilled chicken sandwich at Wendy's, but a cheeseburger and fries are about $3.
But this is not to say that I'm blaming the corporations. You won't see me filing a lawsuit against Burger King. We carry just as much guilt, if not more. For years, scientists and researchers have been telling us that eating better and exercising more are the keys to avoiding heart attacks and maybe even cancer. But we continue to line up at the drive-thru. Or when our extra flab gets to be embarrassing and damaging to our vanity, we look for fast fixes - low carb diets, Atkins methods where you eat bacon and eggs every morning. Who cares about cholesterol, or health in general? As long as we can slip into those size-6 pants, boy, we're happy.
I'm sad to say that I lived for years as a fast-food addict. When I was hungry and pressed for time, I'd pop into Arby's and get a beef n' cheddar with curly fries. And a few packets of Horsey Sauce to dip the fries in. When I cooked, I'd make macaroni and cheese and eat the whole box, or make a Freschetta pizza and eat half of it. That wasn't so long ago. Looking back, I can't believe my eating habits. I can't believe I managed to stay at a remotely healthy weight (I was in the 120s-140s during college).
Sorry for the rant. But it makes me sad to think that so many Americans could escape death by heart attack, simply by a few lifestyle changes.
Eats:
Lean Cuisine Chicken Chow Mein (this was bland, I don't recommend it): 300 cals
Bang. I was stepping out of the tub last night and putting on my robe when a firecracker kind of sound came from the east. I walked across the house and found Mark. "Did you hear that gunshot?" he asked. "That was a GUNSHOT?" I said, totally disbelieving him. No way gunshots could come from this place. We live about a foot away from the ritziest neighborhood in town...
But after a few minutes, I got a little concerned that maybe that was the sound of someone being killed or something (there are some punk high school kids and a mom who's never there living on the first floor), so I called the police department's non-emergency number.
"I heard gunshots coming from somewhere in my complex," I told the guy who picked up.
He acted all concerned and stuff, which kind of shocked me, since back in Tuscaloosa the police would have just sighed exasperatedly. Gunshots were a nightly occurrence there. "How many gunshots did you hear?" he asked.
"Just one."
"What's your apartment complex name?"
I told him.
"What's your name?"
"Oh, I really don't need you guys to stop by or anything," I said, remembering how grody my ready-for-bed self looked. "I just wanted to let you know."
The guy paused. "Can we stop by if we need to?" he asked.
"Sure, I guess."
"Okay, ma'am. Thank you."
Mark and I went on with what was left of our night - it was about 10:45 by that time. We were watching That '70s Show or something when the knock came. On the other side of the door was a young, bright eyed, pretty good-looking police officer. I opened the door about halfway, so he wouldn't see that I was wearing a bathrobe with a hole in the armpit.
"Were you the one who reported a gunshot?"
"Yeah."
"So where did it come from?" he asked. "Over that way," I said, pointing toward the back of the apartment. By that time Mark had come to the door as well, and he filled the officer in on the whole thing. He was in the computer room when it happened, so he was much closer to it than me.
"Well, we'll hang out here a little while and make sure nothing else happens," the guy said. I couldn't tell whether he was grateful over actually having something to do, or pissed because I'd interrupted his bull session with the guy in the other squad car.
But anyway, that was the high point of my night. Before that, I went to the gym and did 45 minutes of cardio. I was going to do some weight training, but I brought a magazine with me last night, and forgot my combination lock for the locker, so I didn't. I hate having to drag the magazine around to all the machines and worry about it in addition to my keys, water bottle and towel. I normally read Better Homes and Gardens or whatever they've got there, and put it back before I do weights. But the magazines have really sucked lately. On the rack last night was CIO Magazine and a copy of a pamphlet called The Federalist or something. Once they had a Mother Jones there, and that was cool. There must be someone there stealing all the copies of Cosmo and Fitness. I have NEVER stolen a magazine from there, though once I did rip a recipe out. It was good.
So last night our kitchen sink got backed up. Actually, it's probably been backed up since Monday night, when Mark shoved about half a pound of leftover beef brisket down the garbage disposal. But whatever. So I give up on making dinner that night (how can you cook when you can't wash dishes or even use the dishwasher?) and we go to Randalls. We buy a ridiculously overpriced bottle of Liquid Plumr and a plunger, stop by Mickey D's for dinner, and go to town.
We got nowhere. Plunging did nothing but transfer the smelly, caustic Drano water from one side of the sink to the other. Obviously, the drain unclogger stuff didn't work either. So we gave up and started bailing the water out with a plastic bucket. I would have left the water there, but Dude and Oscar were starting to get curious about it and dip their paws in, and I really didn't want to find any dead cats in the morning. After bailing the water out I got worried that there might be some Drano residue on the counters and sink (Drano's great at getting coffee stains off white countertops, I found out), so I hauled out the Pine Sol and wiped everything down - twice.
My hands are STILL dry from all that, despite copious applications of Bath & Body Works' Cool Citrus Basil lotion. Plus there are some rough patches on my fingers from putting a death grip on the plunger handle. I gave up on being Ms. Handyman and called the maintenance office this morning, figurative tail between legs, to get them to fix it. The property manager answered it instead of the little sales flunkies, which I appreciated, because she's the one who actually gets stuff done. Talking to those peons is like talking to a brick wall.
On the creative front - I started my novel last night! I think starting a novel is one of the hardest parts about being an author. But I was inspired last night, and I went home and wrote about 1,000 words of the first chapter before going to the gym. And the whole time I was running, in my head I'm thinking of new plot twists and character developments for the novel. You know when you've got some kind of creative idea and you KNOW it's good, and you get all excited in your stomach because you know other people are going to like it too? That's the feeling I got. I just need to write this mother before someone else thinks of my idea.
Now I have officially joined the ranks of the journalists-slash-wannabe authors. Ever since college, I've been warned that one day I'll just sit down and start writing my book. And now it's happened. Cool.
On the gym front, I did 40 minutes of cardio, no weights because I was already sore from Monday night, and I've heard that you aren't supposed to work the same muscles two days in a row if they're sore. To make up for the McDonald's last night, I'm cutting down my calories today and doing an extra 10 minutes of cardio. I was going to skip the gym today and make Wednesday my day off, but looks like that isn't going to happen.
From the 'Wildest Dreams' files - I have entered the National Novel Writing Month contest. I just came up with a stupendous idea for a novel today and I'm hoping this will be a kickstart for me. No way am I telling what it's about here. Too many unscrupulous people out there. But trust me, it's good. I would read it.
I'm doubtful that I can get the novel ready for publication within a month - but I do hope to have a rough draft by Nov. 30. Wish me luck.
Oh, I almost forgot - Mark and I went to see One Hour Photo at the movies on Saturday. It was really good. Robin Williams at his creepiest. It was well-acted too, and suspenseful. However, the family that Williams' character is obsessed with aren't developed well enough; we hardly know anything about them.
Last night I SO did not want to go to the gym. It was raining and all kinds of nasty outside. But I did it. It was less crowded than normal for a Monday, so that was nice. By the time I was finishing up with my final weight sets, about 40 percent of the patrons had cleared out. I ended up doing 30 minutes on the treadmill and bike, and about 15 minutes of weights. I have really been neglecting my strength training lately. But I hate it. Sweating through aerobic exercise I can handle, but it's no fun trying to coax your muscles into lifting 50 pounds when they just don't want to.
From the 'more than you ever wanted to know' file - I've got an appointment with the doctor in a couple of weeks. In case you're wondering what kind of doctor, let's just say this: Men are never patients.
Now all I have to do is find a good dentist and I'm set.
I'm back, you all. Had a GREAT time in Lajitas - those 70-year-old cowboys really know how to party! I'm ashamed to report that I started drinking at 11 a.m. most days while at the conference - but I only went to bed slap drunk one night. And I went to the gym both Saturday and Sunday to make up for my eating habits. It's kind of hard to eat healthily when there's only 2 restaurants within walking distance (a deli and a regular restaurant) and neither of them have anything good for you. I went in the restaurant one day for lunch and they informed me that they were only serving a buffet - greasy ribs, buttery corn kernels (nutritional value nil) and sopapillas with honey. Great.
I did a journal entry in my notepad one night and I'll transcribe it sometime this week, so you guys can get a feel for my mindset while I was out there. I really hated it the first night, since the women I came with were really cliquish and didn't invite me to go out to the bar or anything with them. So I sat in my hotel room bored stiff that night.
There were no exercise facilities at this place, or else I would have used them. Instead, I did a little walking but didn't last long since temps were about 100 degrees that week. I used some of the strength exercises listed in the Health magazine I brought with me, using Dasani water bottles as weights. So I did make an effort.
It's nice to be back in the land of the living, though. I enjoy cooking my own meals and going to the gym every day.
Name: Jen Location: DFW, TX Occupation: Journalist WHY this stupid blog?: To lose the 20 pounds I've packed on since high school and to entertain you with stories about my fabulous life. Current Weight: 138 My Goal Weight: 115 Pounds to Go: 23
