Road Trip Redux

Hitting the road...after the road hit back

I'm baaaaaack! I had a fan-freakin-tastic time on my road trip. We headed out a bit late on Saturday with hopes of blue skies and clear roads. There were two motorcycles with us, so fair weather was key. Um...yeah...that didn't happen so much. A little ways down the road the heavens opened up and dumped on us. The bikers got soaked to the bone (no rain gear!). Quick stop in Chilliwack and a Wal-Mart for rain pants and we were back at 'er. Couldn't get much worse than torrential rain, right? Wrong...so very wrong. As we went up in elevation the temperature dropped and before I could say, "Hey, look there's snow on the ground here," the first flakes were hitting our windshield. Luckily there's a lodge in the middle of nowheresville in this place called Manning Park. But, bad news, the lodge is booked for a wedding! Bu,t good news, there's a hostel across the highway with open rooms. Sweet!

The moment I slapped eyes on our accommodations, I said, "Oh, so this is where I'll be murdered."

It was this boxy, slightly run-down looking building painted a dreary unmemorable colour. The trees surrounding it were sparse and looked slightly diseased. It looked like the scene for a horror movie.

***

EXT. HOSTEL - NIGHT

Honda Civic pulls up and unsuspecting 30-somethings begin to unload their gear into the HOSTEL OF THE DAMNED.

***

To top it off, the caretaker, whom we nicknamed Stryder, looked like a slightly rehabilitated ex-mental patient. Super nice guy...umm...yes.

We settled in and hit the restaurant for dinner. While there, we found out the bar was closed for the wedding reception. Well, fuck! Luckily, Traci made friends with the sister of the bride in the bathroom and got us an in for later. Back to the building of the damned for drinks and some hilarity.

We made our way to the bar late...like 11 or so. The reception was still going, but we were told our "in" had gone off to bed. Not to be daunted by such trivialities, we asked if the bride or groom might let us in. Turns out the groom was a helluva guy, and not only did he let us in, but he also gave us free drink tickets! Score! We partied with the wedding guests and shut the bar down at around 3:30. By then we'd made friends with our Jack Black-lookin' bartender and were getting free drinks all over the place. Somewhere during the night we lost our room key, so upon returning to our .00005 star room, we had to get the scary caretaker guy up to let us in. He came to the door in his boxers...*brrrgggh* and then discovered his key didn't work. We thought we were doomed, but then Mike, who installs and maintains automatic doors, emerged like a bear woken to early from hibernation. We told him our dilemma and he pinballed his way down the hall and out the door. When he came back he had a screwdriver in hand. Mike went for the door, and this ensued:

Stryder: Woah, what are you doing?!

Mike: Don't worry, I'm a door guy.

Stryder: (relaxes) Oh, ok.

Two seconds later, Mike had the door open.

No problemo.

He's a door guy.

What made me laugh was just how instantly Stryder was reassured by Mike's statement that he was "a door guy." Like, what does that mean? Apparently it was all Stryder needed to hear to let a guest go at a door with a screwdriver!

The next day we had brekkie with a bunch of hungover wedding guests. And then it was back on the road.

That emergency stop in the middle of nowhere was the highlight of the entire trip. So. Much. Fun! Plus, with the not murdering, I survived scary hostel!

Here some pictorial highlights for you...

Couple o' sexy bitches ready to get the party started

Ssss...hot ass! And our .00005 star room!

Cory...and not his real hair. Hair hat=Chet!

Sober- a state soon remedied!

This was our customer service questionnaire. Yep, filled out with red crayon complete with little drawings of a stick figure with muscles (a.k.a. arm boobies) and labeled "Gun Show".

Some drinks were consumed...

...and some "packages" were licked.
This poster was "relocated" from the bathroom to above Chrystie's bed. Because, well, the packages!

You takin a pisher of me?!

Crazy peeps.

Crazier peeps!

Wedding crashing with plastic glasses o' booze in hand. Classy.

How many drinks did I HAVE?!

Ghost Rider? Is that you??!?

This sign is hilarious...obviously written by someone who speaks English poorly. But the doorbell adds that touch o' surreal.

Taken from a moving vehicle.

Some of the scenification on the way.

Car shot!

The lovely and talented Chrystie did my hairs for me....love it!

Somethin's funny don't take the pic yet! Ohhh.

Passing the Chet hair around...is it just me or do we all look like lesbians?

How YOU doin?

You know you want some!

Cory catchin me with mouthful of banana, and NO that's not chewing tobacco in my pocket!

"Tourist pic" 1

"Tourist pic" 2 (when I saw this, I thought OMG I look THIN!)

Laughing at Cory up on the balcony

My helmut is shpeshel

Car shot #2! (that's my room key in my bra- hey didn't wanna lose a second key!)

Well, that's it for pics, and if you made it this far, good on ya!

I was brave enough to weigh myself today (Wed.) and I haven't gained ANY weight! Yeahhhh! No working out, and eating road food and drinking and no weight gain is a bloody road trip miracle.

I will work out tomorrow and get back on the running wagon. I am scared of losing all the ground I've gained now! I may just try a 20 min. run to start, and then go up from there. I also want to get my eating under control. I'm giving in to extras and treats way too easily these days. It's a slippery slope, and I gotta start clawing my way back up the hill towards willpower. It's so true that the more you say "no" to things, the easier it is to keep saying no, and the more you give in, the easier it is to give in the next time. BLARGH! Stupid psychology!

I am finally going to post this behemoth that I've been writing for two days! Yeah!

I'm Trippin'

Road trippin' that is! Yeahhhh! I'm heading out on a little road trip with some friends tomorrow. You betcha there will be pictures (and perhaps some drinking...not gonna lie). I am really excited to get away, but at the same time bummed because hubby is staying home. :( He really wants to do some tiling in the bathroom and doesn't feel like he can put it off another weekend. Blah. I feel bad abandoning him, but I really want to go away!

I also feel bad that I didn't run today. Booooo! My leg was hurting all freakin day long, and I couldn't bring myself to run on it. Just couldn't do it. I am hoping to run on the weekend at some pt. though, if not on Monday.

Also have to tell you that I am one lucky girly. My sweet, sweet hubby bought me the cutest necklace for our five year anniversary! I got him a Canucks jersey that he really, really wanted, so he wanted to get me something special. It's not officially our anniversary until the 29th, but he didn't want to wait to give it to me (cute!).

Apple for the teacher!

Stay tuned for pictures and stories from the road trip! Ohhh my liver gonna be hurtin'!

Who's a crazy bitch?? Oh yeah, ME!

I ran in the rain today, and I came to two realizations.

First, I may have mentioned before that, in my pre-running days, when I saw someone running in the rain, I'd always think, "What a crazy bastard," or some such thing. To me, that kind of hardcore, weather-be-damned kind of attitude was akin to insanity. I couldn't comprehend what would drive a person to go out and do something as unpleasant as running in the first place, let alone in terrible weather!

And that brings me to my realization. I have now run in the rain four times. I am one of those hardcore insanorama running people! And I have to say, as I ran with driving rain pelting my face, water dripping off my hat, my clothes soaked through, and watched as all these people drove past me in their comfy, warm, dry cars, or walked by huddled under an umbrella, I felt totally, comepletely badass.

It felt good.

It kept me going when my legs hurt, and I wanted to stop.

And I wondered, how many of those people drove by and saw my soaking wet ass slogging through the rain, and thought, "What a crazy bitch!"


Yeah, I kinda am.



And I like it.


The second thing I realized was that now that I'm not gasping and blowing like an exhausted farm animal, which caused various fluids to try to escape my body via my nose/mouth, I actually like running in the rain. Say what now? Yes, you read that right! I find it much easier than running when it's even mildly warm out. Plus, I got that whole badassery thing going for me to keep my legs pumping.

So I took this pic to show my feelings about running in the rain:

Note the wet hair and hat- yet- the SMILE is there!

And then I was inspired to write a card for Jack Sh*t's W.I.D.T.H. (Why I Do This Here) thing. He's inspired a ton (no not a weight joke!) of people to write why they are doing this changing lifestyle, weight-loss thing. I realized one of my motivations was this now:





Hells yes. Get out the white coat that does up the back 'cause this crazy bitch is running in the rain with a smile on her face!

Comment away!

Blargh! I don't know what the delio is...maybe the blogger gods objected to my new layout, but it seems my comments weren't working for the last two posts. Thank you to Amy, kind follower, who let me know before I developed a complex and started to collect my nail clipping in altoids containers. And here I thought y'all just didn't love me. So I deleted my new layout, thinking THAT was the prob, but no. Old layout same problem. I decided to try a different comment option and now it seems to be working!

So if you had an unfulfilled burning desire to comment on my last two posts...GO FOR IT!

Pictures: bathing suit and various body parts...

Ack! Bathing suit pictures? Really? I mean REALLY?!?! Am I crazy? Yes, perhaps. Am I asking too many rhetorical questions? Definitely.

So I decided to take some pics of me in the suit. But before I did that, I tried to capture my lovely "two pack" I am sporting these days.

Ta da!

D0 you see it? You may have to squint a little...maybe tilt your head to the side? It's there dammit!!

K, then there's the leg muscle I'm sporting these days...

Unflexed

Flexed (and blurry...yeah sorry)

And did I say something about a bathing suit? Well, here's peek!

p.s.

It's really really hard to post these pictures. Be gentle.

I was feeling purple flowery...it happens.

The old blog has a new look! I finally took some steps to make it look a bit more interesting. Unless you hate purple flowers. If so, then...well, I got nothin.

I am having a KILLER raging desire to make chocolate chip cookies. I want to eat a carbolicious cookie smoking hot and gooey from the oven. Right. Freakin. Now.

Hold me.

Good news I am not gonna do it. Mostly because I don't have chocolate chips. THANK GOD. It's a good thing, too, because I've eaten pretty well today. Instead of soup or something for lunch I had a giant salad with tex-mex chicken and tomatoes. It wasn't so filling, but it was tasty! I had a Kashi pumkin spice bar later and a handful of almonds because I was starving before dinner. Dinner was tacos with extra-lean ground beef, lotsa tomato, onion and lettuce with a sprinkling of reduced fat cheddar and salsa. Mmmm.

I did my 25 minute run to finish up Week 6 of the Couch to 5k. Sucked. A lot. I came home all red-faced and sooo sweaty. I tried to mitigate the misery of running for so long without stopping with some music and a route through a lovely park by my house. The route helped, but it still sucked. I don't like running...yet. I am hoping the more I do it and the better I get, the less I will want to get my head examined for doing this shit. Good news is I may have a running partner sometime this week. My friend Cory said he was thinking of heading my way to run with me, so here's hoping. (You hear that Cory? Get your ass over here and run with me! I know you are reading this!).

Anyway, this is what I looked like after my run. The flash doesn't do my red face justice. And it looks like I'm wearing lipstick, but nope. Just all the blood rushing to my face, I guess!

This is annoying 'cause my face looked SO red, but you barely tell.

I'm having a bit of knee pain now that my runs are longer. I tried icing them afterwards to see if that helped...not sure if it did anything. I still have some twinges in the left knee. Why am I doing this again? OH YES...I want to run that 10k Underwear Affair! Check out my previous post for that info. I've managed to raise $335 so far. I'm going for $500, so if you even have $5 to donate, it would be very much appreciated! MWAH!

Loves ya!

I need some help!

As some of you may remember, I mentioned I will be entering a run to raise money for cancer research in July. It is called the Underwear Affair and it is put on by the B.C. Cancer Foundation. You can click here for more information. Maybe there is an Affair going on in YOUR city!

That being said, I need your help! I must raise a minimum of $300 to enter the race. I am very happy to do this for such a worthy cause and because, sadly, most of us have been touched by cancer in some way. I lost my dad to cancer four years ago. Any donation, from $5 dollars to whatever would be very, very appreciated. I am so grateful my generous friends who have already donated $150! I would love to obliterate that $300 minimum! Also, it's a really fun run because we wear underwear to show our support because the focus is on cancers below the waist. My team is called the "Going Commandos" and we have a military theme. Fun!

If you would like to donate, it's super easy...just click here!

I am seriously thinking of trying the 10k run rather than just doing 5k, too!

Open those wallets people, and I will wear some underwear for my run! Oh yes, there will be pictures!

Crap eating...yup, I did it.

This weekend sucked the fat hairy balls for eating. Huh...now that image could put me off my food. Where was that two days ago?! Blargh. It started with dinner out and a movie on Friday. Chicken stromboli and a nice salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. Hmm...well, at least there was a salad. Movie time...mumble pieces of licorice, a few handfuls of popcorn and a couple m&ms. Saturday was mama's day lunch at the beach and greasy, greasy fish and chips...yup ate it all WITH tartar sauce. Later, couldn't leave without an ice-cream cone. Hubby and I both felt like kaka poopie later that afternoon. The greasy food was not sitting well. We grabbed some buns and deli meat for a light dinner at his mom's house. I had a ham sandwich for a belated dinner...and potato chips. Maybe a small bag's worth. Blah. Then dessert was these little coffee cakes with caramel inside. Had two. Wanted three.

Yup, those were some really stellar food choices! Luckily such eating is NOT the norm for me, and I am back to normal now. I ran today, and I will work out with trainer-girl tomorrow.

The beach was gorgeous...so of course, pictures for you!

Standing in front of the giant white rock on the beach
which gives the town its name, "White Rock"

Some talented individual created this, so the ladies had to get a pic!
That's mom with the doggy. :)

Love walking the boardwalk!

Morose Man
(He was sad because the Canucks lost a bunch o' games...but he's better now!)

Niece Alyssa, sister Carroll et moi!

In other news, I did something that strikes fear in the hearts of women the world over. The days are getting warmer, summer is approaching, do you feel that little curl of fear in your belly? Do you feel the prickle of sweat breaking out over your body? Is the dread seeping its way down into your bones? Yup...it's BATHING SUIT BUYING TIME! And I did it. I bought one. It's a sort of royal purple tankini. The bottoms are blah, but I like the top. I think it fits well, and contains the girls properly. Gotta say most bathing suit tops are laughably inadequate. Unless that's the look you are going for. I saw one labeled "D", and I had to try it. Yup, it fit! So mayyybe I will be brave and let you see a pic one of these days. Stay tuned!

I've come to a not-so-startling revelation: I still hate running. It's not fun. Or exhilarating. Or fun. I am doing this Couch to 5k step-by-step like a good little trainee, but it SUCKS. I am running alone now, so it's boring and hard. What a fantastical combo! Like going to the dentist and being made to do math at the same time (sorry if you like math. Weirdo).


Later y'all.

A conversation with myself

(and my bitches)

Lazy Bitch: I don't want to run. Let's just sit on the couch and surf the net. Maybe eat somethin' sugary and nasty.

Running Bitch: Ohh c'mon, just get your friggin' shoes on and let's get it done! You'll feel better after it's over with.

Lazy Bitch: Ha! Feel better? Nice try, Running Bitch, if you mean feel better as in wanna heave my lungs all over the floor. Couch now.

Running Bitch: You get your ass up NOW and we're going to RUN!

Lazy Bitch: FINE. You clean up the lung hork then.

Running Bitch: Hey, where are our shoes? *slaps forehead* OMG, Forgetful Bitch you left our shoes at school!

Forgetful Bitch: Wha? What did I do now? Did we have a dentist's appointment or somethin?

Lazy Bitch: Well, I'm not going to get them.

Running Bitch: Yes you are...we're going. Bloody hell having to deal with you bitches.


Luckily, Running Bitch won in the end and we all dragged our asses out to run that dreaded twenty minutes.

Know what?

I DID IT!

Yes, sure, I did want to hurl my lungs out onto the floor at the end, and I was sooo overheated (thank you very much universe for making this the hottest friggin day of the year, btw). AND I still feel a bit lightheaded 1/2 hr. later, but

I DID IT!

This Running Bitch ran twenty minutes with zero walking. Who would have ever thought it possible. Not me. No way.

Oh, and I have a bone to pick with one of you! Someone was my 6000 visitor and did not comment and tell me! Frack, man! I ask so little of you! I will get over it...someday. Maybe I'll try again at 7000.

Gonna go pass out now. Buh bye!

Week 5 Day 3 can kiss my grits.

Couch to 5k update: I put the WK5 D2 eight minute run x 2 down like it was my bitch, yo. Yeahhhh. But tomorrow is the super-scary, turn-your-bowels-to-water TWENTY FRIGGIN MINUTE RUN. Which leads me to my rant (if you are offended by the word fuck, well, hope you stopped reading a few words back):

What the fuck Couch to 5k? Seriously, what the hell are you thinking? I ran eight measly minutes last time, and that was HARD. Now you expect me to run my ass twenty?!? What crack were you smoking when you came up with that nonsense? Up until now it's been nice, doable 3 minute increases week by week. Then WHAM you slap me with TWELVE more?! Kiss my ass Couch to 5k. You suck.

Psst! Hey!

This is for you:

Ahhh I feel better now. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna run that bitch tomorrow, but don't think I won't be cursing the mastermind behind this program with every belabored step!

Other than that, I feel like eating everything. I remember this feeling from when I first started this weight loss thang. I ate more "normally" for a while when I thought I was only 2lbs from my goal or so (curse that scale directly to hades). I managed to maintain my weight for 2 months or so, which is super-duper keen and all, but then I discovered I was 10 lbs heavier than I thought, and I have been "trying" to lose it. Ha. And ha again. What I've been doing is eating exactly the way I was eating in maintenance, and maybe even more. I've been ravenous every day! It may be an effect of the running and weight training, but man. Empty stomach feeling all the time. Hungry every few hrs. So no weight is leaving me since I'm snacking and eating all the friggin time. Not that I'm eating crap exactly, just more food that normal. Blargh. I am going to try the carrot thing again. If you were with me at the beginning, you will remember I ate carrots all the time to curb the hunger. Carrots and baby greens and water will be my staples. I have been mixing some cooked chicken with my greens for some added protein, too. Maybe I'll add a small portion of hummus for my carrots. I hope this will pass as it did before. It's rather depressing to be feeling this way again over a year after I started this. Blargh again.

I don't really have any pics for ya...hmm. Maybe one I can share. If only I could feel this serene before doing my 20 minute run tomorrow!



OH! And I noticed that I'm only forty people or so away from getting 6000 hits on my blog. Maybe if YOU are #6000 you could say hi, and tell me how you found me! :)

Check the counter wayyy at the bottom there to see what number you are! And thanks for visiting. :)

One last thing! I forgot to add this to my original post due to my swiss cheese brain. Tricia, the fabulous author of Fight Fat Phobia is trying to get to 300 followers. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading her mighty fine hilarious blog styling, do so now, and FOLLOW her!

Also, I recently stumbled upon the Jessica, a fantastic blogger with wayyy too small a following for her pure awesomeness (seriously, she posted a pic of her booty- she is a god in my books!). So check her out too!