i’ve got a goal…

…of sorts.

Regarding my whole “striving towards fitness” thing I’ve got going, I mean.

Sure, I want to be stronger and healthier. I’m looking forward to continuing the increased stamina I’m experiencing and hoping that I’ll be able to participate in stair walks around the city. These are my primary reasons for working my ass off (figuratively speaking, of course; an ass this large and shapely will never go away entirely — for that, I am grateful).

But I’d be lying if I said I had no concept of what I want to look like when I reach my goal. I have a very clear visual of the body I’m aiming to achieve:

Or…

I mean…damn! Those are some fine looking women.

I have no desire to be skinny. Even if it were possible (my bone structure precludes me getting down to a size 0 or 2 or 4), I just don’t think it’s a look that would work for me.

But I would like to rediscover my hourglass figure. One that has significantly less sand in the bottom than the one I have now.

I recently realized that I was actually happy with most of my body — except for my rather prominent tummy. However, since it’s absolutely impossible to spot reduce without liposuction (not to mention that whole strength and stamina thing I’m aiming for), I’m doing cardio and strength training to strengthen my core and endeavoring to eat better to lose some of my fat. I’ll be happy at 200 lbs – I have about 49 lbs to go.

And then, baby, my hourglass is gonna be stopping traffic and turning heads!

i’ve finally done it…

…I’ve taken the plunge and started New Rules of Lifting for Life.

I’ve had the book for almost two months. I read it cover to cover the night that I bought it. Within a few days I copied the exercises that I would be doing, as well as the blank training logs, and placed them in a pressboard three-ring binder so that I would have something easy to use to take with me to the gym in the basement of the building where I work.

And the binder sat on my desk at JPL for close to two months.

Oh, in that time I’ve been working out almost every day: walking, treadmill, elliptical. A couple of weeks ago I started using the weight machines. High weights, low reps. I definitely worked hard. Sweating and pushing myself. But I realized that, well, I wasn’t as sore the next day as I should’ve been.

Not that I enjoy being sore. I am no masochist. But having been a bit of a gym rat in my 20s  – and going through spurts of activity in the 20+ years since, including a failed training for a half-marathon that left me with injured ankles due to crappy shoes – I knew that I should be pretty sore for at least 12-24 hours afterwards.

Monday (6/3/13) was my first Pilates class, taken through our fitness classes at work (JPL is a big believer in promoting wellness). It was tough because parts of me just don’t stretch and bend like that (yet), but I made it through. I felt better for it.

I tried to do NRoL4L yesterday during my usual lunchtime workout, but I just didn’t have the time, so I started again after work. Though there were times I really, really wanted to stop, I pressed on and finished the workout.

I am certainly feeling it today. So very sore, but not to the point where I couldn’t get out of bed. And not to the point where I couldn’t walk my usual mile from my car to my work building. It’s the good kind of sore – the kind where my terribly underused muscles got the wake-up call they desperately needed.

I’m looking forward to Pilates today to stretch out those muscles. Then I’ll be ready for Round Two of NRoL4L tomorrow.

Bring it on.

music to kick ass by

Like many people, I find that I need music when doing damned near anything. I find it especially motivating when trying to do things around the house or dealing with intensely stressful and busy days at work (like this whole month, for instance).

Yesterday, I finally put together a playlist on my Android phone: Music to Kick Ass By.

For me, that just means music with a driving beat that always manages to get my ample butt in gear and, well, kick some productive ass.

The attached photos show the 37 songs I’ve placed in my playlist, mostly still just in alphabetical order for now (though “This is Gallifrey/Vale Decem” segues really well into “I Am The Doctor.”) I’ll take the time arrange them in a more aurally pleasing order when I get more than a moment to do so.

So tell me, dear readers, what music gets you motivated to kick ass? Are there any songs that you might think would be a fine addition to my playlist?

new kitten alert…

So, in my last entry, I mentioned a new cat that I acquired in 2012. I wasn’t looking to get another cat, as Edison seemed to really enjoy being an only cat and HotScienceGuy and I were talking about me moving into his place. But fate had other ideas, and here’s what I wrote on Facebook in late July:

I have a new house guest – tiny calico kitten!

Long story how she came into my life: yesterday I was on my way to meet HotScienceGuy for our every other week Game Night with friends. When stopped at a light, several bystanders pointed at my car. I opened my window and they yelled, “There’s a cat on your wheel!”

Horrified, I thought they meant I had run over a cat, so I very slowly pulled over and got out. That’s when they said it was a kitten and she had been sitting on my tire. We didn’t see the kitten, so I popped my hood and there she was!

The two bystanders (much younger and quicker than me) were poised to catch the kitten, who exited my engine and was sitting next to my tire. I reached for her and she ran off – under a fence and under a City of L.A. Street Lighting Bureau truck, which was parked in a lot nearby. She refused to come out. I went to get some food and water and brought it back, where my new friends were still waiting. The kitten had climbed up into the truck and wasn’t coming out, dammit.

We all had to go off to our respective plans for the evening, but on my way home I stopped by the truck and she was still there, meowing up a storm. She hadn’t touched the water or food and there was no way I was going to be able to get her. I went on home, called animal control and they recommended I try in the morning, when they could send out a field officer.

Back out there this morning, I discovered she was still there. Luckily there was a security guard and her supervisor. I called Animal Control, waited for a long time while the supervisor tried catch the kitten. After an hour, I called AC again, but that’s when they told me that they were unable to send anyone out – the area field officer was responding to an injured deer call in the Hollywood Hills.

At that point the supervisor and security guard allowed me in the lot and with a lot of hard work, we were able to coax the kitten out of the tire that she had crawled into and I brought her home with me.

This afternoon HotScienceGuy and I will be taking her to my vet for an exam and vaccines if she’s old enough for them (she looks like she’s about six weeks old).

Edison knows she’s here – he’s seen her and heard her very loud meowing – but I’m not going to get them near each other until she’s checked out. Edison is living with cancer and heart disease right now (but his meds are keeping everything in check and he’s doing amazingly – he’s my strong, stubborn boy!) – I don’t want to risk any possible disease transmission.

So, yeah, it looks like I may have a new kitty…

The little kitten was determined to be about a month old when I took her to the vet that day and remarkably healthy, except for fleas and the attendant worms (which were all gotten rid of, of course). It took about a week before her name presented itself, thanks to HSG: Vin, from the Brandon Sanderson series. It just seemed to fit her (especially the street urchin part). It’s a name that confuses most people, but I’m okay with that – people seem to think Edison is named for Thomas Edison (as if!), wwhen he’s really named after Edison Carter.

She’s nearly seven months old now and quite the energetic little kitten. It’s the first time I’ve had either a calico or a female, but I’m up for the challenge (I think). And she really is an adorable sweetheart – when she’s sleepy and open to petting.

After this, though – no more cats. At least not for about five to seven years…

Kitten Vin, the day she came home.

A recent photo of Hufflepuff & Vin in the new place.

fickle cats…

When I moved in with HotScienceGuy, I brought two cats: grumpy old man Edison and energetic little kitten Vin (a story I must tell here soon). HSG has his own cats, so our feline household grew to a number which is manageable, but still a wee bit more than I’m used to dealing with.

The cats are, for the most part, tolerating each other, at the very least and, in Vin’s case, actually bonding with others, which is nice to see. She’s turning into that charming yet annoying little kid that you kind of wish would leave you alone, but you can’t help but be caught up in her enthusiasm.

The funny thing is, when HSG is hanging out on one level of the condo and I’m hanging out on the other level, his cats invariably end up staying with him and my cats stay with me.

We may be a combined household but, for the moment, we’re still not a blended household.

Vin, Loki, Hufflepuff and Edison

wanna write, wanna write, wanna write…

…but come up short when presented with a blank screen. Gah!

Much as I love Sondheim, I can no longer agree with his sentiment of, “White. A blank page or canvas. His favorite – so many possibilities.” (The last line in my favorite musical of all time, Sunday in the Park with George.)

This is, of course, why I’ve been such a crappy blogger the last few years. And I miss looking forward to the blank page and/or screen. But what’s a permanently blocked girl to do? Seems like I’ve written about my tendencies for blocks ad nauseum, so obviously writing about it isn’t knocking anything loose. Blech.

Anywho, it’s a new year (says Mistress Pays-Attention-To-Calendars) and I’m starting it off in a pretty stellar way: living with HotScienceGuy.

I moved in at the beginning of December and, as of today, most of my stuff is still in the garage because the condo is small and we have no idea where anything is going. Some of it is going to be gotten rid of via Craigslist and some of it will be permanently stored in the garage. Thankfully it’s a two car garage, so I can park my car in there – he doesn’t have a car by choice and we live within walking distance of his workplace, so we’ll probably be a one car household for the foreseeable future.

We’re still doing the, “What’s the best way to live together without wanting to commit homicide?” dance that two stubborn people set in their ways tend to do, but for the most part it’s going well and I’m very happy I made the move and am living with my man. And it’s soooo nice to be living closer to JPL – I can be there in about fifteen minutes or less. Yay!

Christmas Day was spent with his father, step-mother and about fifteen of his extended family members at his father’s place near San Jose, with Boxing Day at his mom’s place with his mom, step-father and half-siblings (they’re about twenty years younger) about forty-five minutes away from his dad’s place. Though I was a tad bit overwhelmed at times and had to dash to the restroom for a moment alone, I really had a good time. His family all seem to pretty cool and, from what I could tell, I executed no horrific faux pas that would make them hiss at the sight of me, so I count that as a win.

Unfortunately, the schedules of my own family precluded us from heading to Fresno, so I’ll have to find a way to see them this year before the holidays roll around again.

A serious ankle sprain in November put me out of commission for awhile, right as I was starting to move things from my old East Hollywood apartment to HSG’s condo, so that delayed things a bit, but I was up and around enough by Thanksgiving to invite Sarriah and CuteFilmNerd to join HSG and me for T-Day dinner at Doomie’s Home Cookin’ and dessert/drinks back at the apartment, which was very nice.

Of course more things happened in 2012 – things I never got around to writing about – but I figure that’ll do for now. The writing joints are creaky and the muscles are stiff, so I’ll ease back into it so I don’t snap off a limb in the process.

Hope y’all have an amazing 2013!

we’re NASA and we know it…

Looking at the unfinished entries sitting in my Drafts and wondering why the hell I never finished this one back in August:

Damn right, we’re NASA and we know it!

head, brick wall. brick wall, head.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m subconsciously seeking a concussion. Because I keep willingly slamming my head against the brick walls that are people who identify as right-of-center/those with Obama Derangment Syndrome.

who are you and what have you done with carol elaine?

Oh G-d, I’m one of them now.

One of what?

A calorie counter.

I’m actually paying attention to my calorie intake and expenditures.

I’ve been working on bettering my stamina and activity level for about a year now. Being the hard-headed person that I am, I really had no desire to lose weight because, well, I am who I am – a big girl – and if you don’t like it, that’s your problem, not mine. If I lost weight as a result of my efforts, that’s fine with me. It’s just my body doing what it was meant to do. But it was never a focus. I’ve had some success with improving my stamina. I have a long way to go, but in general I do feel healthier.

But earlier this year I realized my knees were aching a bit more than I would have liked. This did not please me. I’ve known people who, due to excess weight, have had serious knee problems. Having been forced to use a cane last year after pulling my calf muscle in a freak bowling incident, I knew I absolutely didn’t want to rely on anything like that if it were within my control to avoid it. So I decided that maybe losing some weight might be a good thing after all.

My goal weight is 200 pounds. I know for some that’s a starting point, but when I was 200 pounds I liked the way I looked and felt. I felt healthy and liked being curvy. Plus staying around that weight satisfies the contrarian in me that refuses to let anyone tell me that I’m not sexy and attractive unless I’m a waif (which, frankly, I could never be – my bone structure isn’t built for waifdom).

Luckily HotScienceGuy – who thinks I’m outrageously sexy just the way I am – is okay with my new focus. Not that I would stop if he weren’t, but it’s nice to know that he sees my point of view regarding improving my health. Besides, he’s already started…reaping the benefits of my improved stamina and flexibility (ahem), so he realizes this is a win-win for everyone, even if he thinks my desire to exercise is more than a little weird.

And so. Here I am, 12 pounds lighter since April, thanks to my fitbit and MyFitnessPal and the support of various friends. I’ve got another 49 pounds to go before I hit my desired number and I know it’s going to take awhile, but I am determined to see this through.

Wait, did someone say cake?

a moment of science…

Last week a gorgeous comic was making the rounds of the interwebs: Welcome to Science. It’s the type of thing that makes me completely and utterly happy. Today the author of the speech upon which the comic is based – Phil Plait (aka The Bad Astronomer) – asked, “What was your moment of science?” I was moved to comment:

I’m not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV, but I’ve always been fascinated by space and the universe. I loved reading from the very moment I picked up a book and was able to make sense of the characters that made up words and sentences and paragraphs. During this very formative time, I read everything I could. Luckily my parents had a series of very simple books that were about the sciences – I was drawn to the one about astronomy. While I read all of those books repeatedly, “Astronomy” was the one that I could never get enough of, no matter how many times I read it. From there I went on to devour everything I could about the space program – it was a truly magical time for me.

Here it is, 40 years later, and I’m working as a staff assistant in the Astronomy and Physics Directorate at JPL, supporting the people who work on all those cool things that help us to discover the universe. It was a long and very circuitous route that brought me here – one that wound through entertainment and politics and furniture manufacturing – but I feel as if I’ve come full circle. Once again, I’m living in a magical time – the magic of science, which is all the magic I need.

So, dear readers, I have to know: What was your moment of science?