Weekly Update x3

Hi everybody!  It's been awhile.  It's been so long, Blogger added these nifty templates, so I decided to spruce things up around here.

Since my last update...

Under the Sea! 

(The gala party shrimp trays and tuna salad sandwiches sort of reminds me 

of the surreal fare at a company party I went to at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  

Picture tables of sushi and pans of paella next to the kelp forest tank...)

We completed the 3-day marathon that is Thing 1 and Thing 2's dance recital, "Under the Sea," inspired by The Little Mermaid.  (1 night of dress rehearsal + 2 performances)  I appreciate so much that the dance teacher does her best to make sure the younger dancers (elementary school and younger) spend as little time as possible waiting backstage, and actually get a chance to see most of the show.  Especially since the backstage room heats up quickly, and we had warmer weather than we usually do.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 did a fine job and had a lot of fun.  Thing 2 was a sailor and a very pink flamingo, and Thing 1 played Grimsby and a frog.  Wish I could show you pictures of the preschoolers; imagine tiny girls in black leotards and tights wearing sea creatures; the snails were adorable with sparkly cloth "shells" that looked like little sleeping bags rolled up on their backs.

The Flamingo Princess and The Frog

I did the "Tri the Coast" sprint triathlon bike leg; my friends did the swim and the run. I owe you a race report...

Pubsgal, Biker Babe!

We attended two birthday parties, same weekend as all of the above.  (I felt sorry for the folks that had to clean up the blue icing ravages of 20+ children under the age of 9...)

Surf's up!  (And so, too, will be the cleaning deposit on this party room, I imagine!)

We also made it through the end-of-the-school-year frenzy.  We enjoyed the school picnic and fund run (same day as dance performance #1).  I chaperoned and drove on Thing 2's zoo field trip on the Monday after that weekend.  One of the moms at our school is a zoo insider, so we got a special tour.  And I realized my life-long dream of PETTING A KOALA BEAR!  *squeeeeee!!!*  Yes, they are very soft. (Coincidentally, this was the same day as we said goodbye to our Bela.  Who, for the record, was softer than a koala bear.) Thing 1's class had a picnic and swim party the day after the zoo trip. Hurrah for tag-team parenting!

Pubsgal with Lollipop, a koala of great forbearance (har har), and the koala keeper.

According to her keeper, koalas in general don't like much contact, even with each other.  

Which begs the question: why do they look so darn cute?!?

(And how old are we in this picture, little girl?)

We also enjoyed our trip to Tucson in the summer time, with temperatures in the 100s.  We spent a ton of time in my dad and step-mom's swimming pool, but we also enjoyed lots of fun outings and a very nice Father's Day.  (Most pix on my other camera, so not much here.)

 "3 Peds Cured"

(C'mon, Debby!  All the cool kids are getting pedi's!) 

Mine are the purple toes...yes, I had a little help from Thing 2 in choosing the color.

In addition to all of the above, there were hairy work deadlines, several graduations of family and friends, a company-client dinner, and a farewell dinner (sadly) for our excellent next-door neighbors.

Progress This Month


[Oh, that's RIGHT!  This is a HEALTH-related blog!]

30-day blood glucose average: 104 (met goal of less than 120)
30-day fasting blood glucose average: 103 (met goal of less than 120)

Weight goals:  Since 6/2, I am down 1 pound.  "Summer of Sustaining," baby! <-Lookie there, I found the link to Lynn Haraldson-Bering's marvelous post on "Refuse to Regain," in which she discusses "maintenance" vs. "sustaining."  Which led me to recently dub this my "Summer of Sustaining," because I really wasn't feeling up to "challenges" anymore.  Although, yeah, I made an exception for Charlotte Hilton Andersen's June experiment of "Eating Like a Normal Person".  Because it's called an "experiment."  That makes all the difference, right? 

Food goals: Well, I stopped tracking during the crazy-busy weekend, and it has actually been kind of nice to not track.  I don't know how that will work when going back to the usual routine, because "if you bite it, write it" can be rather effective when I'm inclined to eat from being bored or stressed.  Jill's post today on The Sassy Pear, "I don't have a weight problem, I have an eating problem," really rang a bell for me.  When I'm happily busy, I don't feel the need to self-soothe with food.  When I'm stressed and/or bored, I do that.  Part of why I haven't regained seems to be a combination of exercise, the mental/emotional support of blogging, and the kind of foods I've been using to self-soothe.  I've gotten dangerously clever about the "what," but I've learned that binging isn't about the what, or sometimes even about the how much:  it's the out-of-control mental state.  Yuck.

Fiber: No idea.  I'm guessing I'm averaging about 20 grams/day, since I am eating my chia and lots of veggies, but I didn't have chia on my trip.  That's about the only drawback I've found with not tracking.

Exercise goals: I'll spare you three weeks of details.  But between workouts and playouts, I met my goal of 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.

Teeth: [Insert "who me?" whistling soundbyte here]
Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night most nights, especially if you count the sybaritic slumbers of my recent vacation.

Goals for Next Week

7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or progress.

Food goals:
* Apply the "7 Guidelines", aiming for high fiber.  I think I'll give myself one more week of not tracking, and see how it goes.

Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week, tracking through Daily Mile.

Misc. goals:
* 7 or more hours sleep/night.

* Use the time I'm spending NOT food tracking to establish daily tooth flossing.