So sad. Mark's grandmother died yesterday morning. She had been ill with cancer for the past 7 months. Originally, they had told her that she would be dead by Christmas. She held on for a long time past that, and she was in pretty bad condition, from what I've been told. She had been semi-comatose for about a week and a half, and yesterday morning she just stopped breathing. It was quiet and peaceful. Everyone is sad, but nobody is really regretful about it, first of all because we've been expecting it, and second because she had been in such pain.


We're not going home for the funeral. The wake is today. If we left this afternoon we'd get home at about 3 a.m., which would be just enough time to sleep for a few hours, go to the service and then go right back to Texas. I just ordered an arrangement that's going to be sent to the funeral home. It's the least I can do, since we're not going to be there.


And it's especially sad because this could have been prevented. The cancer started in her breast, and she hadn't gotten a mammogram in more than 30 years. So it went unchecked for a long time - probably more than a year before she was diagnosed. So ladies, get those tests. Regularly. It could save your life.


In other news...I didn't do yoga last night. I think Mark needed someone to be there with him, so we went to the park and walked and played Frisbee. It was nice, and we got our butts moving so it was exercise. Tonight I'm back on the treadmill, though, burning fat. Gotta keep that size-8 ass.

Jen from nowhere @ 11:23 AM

I think I may take tonight off from working out. Yesterday, as I was pounding along on the treadmill, I really felt some strain in my muscles and in my right foot - the way I used to feel back in Tuscaloosa, when I ran with my friend Tom on the hard-ass concrete sidewalks. After a few weeks of doing that my joints were so aggravated that I felt like a senior citizen. So now it's only dirt tracks, pro tracks with that squishy black stuff, or treadmills. But that's not the point. The point is, I'm not going to work out tonight. I just feel like my muscles need a rest, so when I get back to it on Thursday I'll be all restored and ready to kick some yoga ass (as well as cardio ass).


Today I worked my ass off doing some stuff for my company at the Capitol. They had free BBQ for government people and their staff, but of course half of Austin also showed up to get theirs. So there was none left for us, the hard workers who made it all possible. We ended up going for Thai on our own dime. I hate people.

Jen from nowhere @ 3:28 PM

I can't believe that I actually want to go to this. I feel about 65 years old.

Jen from nowhere @ 9:16 AM

So I broke down and got the Clinique gift from Dillard's. The temptation was just too great, so I toodled down there on Saturday and bought an eyeliner and lipliner. I've never owned Clinique before and it seems cool. The gift is nice too: some kind of face cream, some face wash, a cool colored gloss in a little tubey thing, a blush, a vial of Happy and a lipstick, all in a bright pink bag. Score.


And on Sunday I dragged Mark down to Neiman Marcus Last Call, where I got a cool mauve sleeveless shirt. Neiman Marcus Last Call is, as you might guess, a closeout center for the real Neiman Marcuses in Houston, Dallas, etc. So you can get designer clothes for a fraction of the price. Seriously, I saw a bunch of Michael Kors stuff there for $50 or less...the shirt I ended up buying was once $84, and I paid $22. Lots of cashmere sweaters there too.


Oh yeah, and while clothes shopping this weekend I made this discovery: I am officially a size 8 now. Well, I guess it's not "official" - I haven't bought any new 8s yet - but almost everything I tried on in a 10 was too big. If I put one of my hands on top of the other and inserted them in the waistband of most of those 10s, they would fit easily. So I'm ecstatic. Only problem: While these clothes were too big in the waistband, they were slightly tighter around the hips, which makes me think that I'm a bit disproportionate around there. I've always had wide-set hips, and unfortunately no amount of diet and exercise will move my hipbones inward. Oh well, c'est la vie...


I worked out yesterday even though I didn't want to. I did 45 minutes of cardio, which was nice and a bit longer than most of the cardio workouts I've been doing. I did a 5-minute sprint at one point; that surprised me because normally I poop out at 3 minutes or so. I've found that resting a day between cardio workouts increases my endurance. I ought to look into that some more. Tonight is yoga night again - I want to get back into doing yoga on Mondays and Thursdays, and eventually work up to doing it 3 times a week. Most of my instructors have said that you won't see physical results until you do it 3x/week...


But for now, work calls. And Starbucks. Must have nonfat extra-hot caramel macchiato...

Jen from nowhere @ 8:34 AM