Operation Tiny Pants - Update

After months of self sabotage, broken promises, and disappointment upon trying to squeeze into pair of pants that I swear I could fit into last month, I finally had enough of my own BS.

At work I was instructing patients how to eat heart healthy and yet I was eating my way through life without regard for what it was doing to my body and mind. The realization that I had not been doing many of the things I was teaching, made me feel like a complete hypocrite.

So I started practicing what I preached.

In no particular order:

• I drank water like it was my job
• I made one plate for dinner and refrained from heading back for seconds (or thirds in some cases)
• I cursed
• I bypassed the Italian buffet at lunch and opted for the salad bar (with dressing on the side)
• I walked to and from my car instead of taking the shuttle - about a ten minute jaunt
• I cursed while I was walking to and from my car

For a while I wondered what I was doing. Perhaps I could blame the weight gain on my aging metabolism and slink back in to the comfort of my sweatpants.

But then I saw results. At first it was half a pound. Whoop-de-doo-da.

Then it was one pound. Better, but still nothing to write home about.

Then two.

I got overly excited and tried to put on a pair of pants that hadn't seen the light of day in quite a while. It wasn't pretty. I couldn't even pull them all the way up. Bad plan.

So I worked harder. It was frustrating, difficult, and if I saw a small child with a milkshake I may have tried to fight them for it. It got bad.

Today I'd like to report great success. I am 8 lbs down and feel better than I have in a long time. This morning the pants that mocked me for years actually fit.

Now my biggest challenge is complacency. I need to sustain the willpower that for two months has kept me from covering everything with cheese.

Today I will give myself a high five. Tomorrow I start the battle all over again.

Happy holidays!

(And don't forget to keep voting! Y'all have gotten me from 3000th place to 94th in just a few days! THANK YOU!)

Fabulous Pet Names Sponsored by The Limited

Vote for Deming's story!

The Limited is sponsoring a contest for pets and how they got their names. I figured it was only appropriate to enter Deming!

From now until December 28th, you can vote for Deming's story on The Limited's website once a day per computer or cell phone. I only have to be in the top 250 to have a shot at winning.

The winner gets a $500 gift certificate to The Limited, an iPod, some music, a photo shoot, and the best part is that they donate $5000 to the ASPCA .

Just click and vote. Then get your co-workers to vote. And your grandma.

Fabulous Pet Names Sponsored by The Limited

Thanks for all of your support!

Christmas Kitty

Well, it's been a year since Deming came into our lives. For those of you who don't know the story, here it is as I wrote it one year ago:

"A few months ago at our apartment complex in Savannah, Georgia, a little cat began to come around. Those who are from there know that there are stray cats EVERYWHERE and they normally are just obnoxious.

I don't usually like cats much, but this one was cute. The neighbor across the hall started feeding her. And with that, came all of the other strays in the area. She said she would take her inside, but her dog wasn't having it.

Adam shook his head every time we walked by the kitty area in disagreement with cat-lady's tactics. Meanwhile I would sit on the cement outside of our apartment and play with her occasionally. Adam would ask me, "You know she can't come inside, right?" I always nodded in agreement.

I resorted to calling her "kitty." I couldn't give her a real name because I knew that she wasn't my cat and she would never be my cat. In fact, we were leaving Savannah soon and I wouldn't ever see her again.

Adam chose to call her names that I shouldn't repeat here. She was always in his way. Between his feet, on his truck, in his truck. She drove him nuts.

Fast forward to December 19, 2008. We were moving out of the apartment and trying to shove everything we owned in our two vehicles. Kitty was having a great time. She was running around us, playing in the leaves, just all over the place. Adam had to remove the cat from the backseat of his truck at one point and I had to shoo her from inside our apt.

We packed up, and head out to Phoenix, Arizona. I have the radio cranked up so I stay alert. I thought to myself, thank heavens no one is here to hear me sing off key. We stopped in Alabama, then again in Abiliene, Texas (where it was sooooo cold). We left in the morning and somewhere along the first part of the day, I walkie talkied Adam and asked him if he was making weird noises. Like a baby crying. He thinks I am bonkers.

Now it's about 5:30 pm. I turn my radio down for some quiet time. And I hear that noise again. This time it sounds more like a cat. Again, I radio Adam and ask him if he is making noises. When he tells me no again, I say, "Ok, we HAVE to pull over, I think I am going crazy."

In Deming, New Mexico we stop at a gas station. I'm looking in the back seat. Then I pop the trunk. Adam opens it and we both jump back. A tarp fell out. I start laughing and then Adam looks closer. There was something moving behind the carpet on the side of my trunk. He peels it back and Kitty is peering at us through the darkness.

I take off like a bat out of hell to get this poor thing some food and water from the gas station. Adam's holding on to her. We couldn't just leave her there. So I volunteer to just let her go in my car. We've got about 5 hours til Phoenix. Poor Kitty. She has no idea where she is at and now while I am driving, she wants to explore. The steering column seems like the best place to be. As well as the dash board in front of my face. And my shoulders.

We stopped at a KMart somewhere about an hour later and get her in a carrier. By the time I get to Phoenix, I am so attached to this stupid cat, I am about in tears when Adam tells me we just have to let her go outside. "She'll be back," he told me.

All day long I waited for her. Adam and I were outside for quite sometime playing the game, Does This Smell Like Cat Pee? She was nowhere. Then last night in the rain, she comes back. I was so happy.

Last night we named her Deming (though I will call her Demi). The litter box will be purchased today. And we now have a Christmas addition to the family.

Stupid cat. :)"

Life brings the unexpected and Deming is no exception. This holiday season as I reflect upon the things I am most grateful for, the hitchhiking kitty lands near the top of the list.




Happy holidays.

Going up?

While helping staff the inpatient pharmacy last night, I got a somewhat frantic phone call from my co-resident, Virginia. "Our flight has been canceled," she said. Say what? We were supposed to be on our way to Las Vegas on late Friday afternoon for a convention and I was in no mood to reschedule flights. I went through the headache of being placed on hold forever and was told that I had 2 options: I could leave at 6:30 Friday morning or I would have to wait until Sunday. Neither option sounded fantastic. I hadn't even begun to think about packing, but on the other hand I really didn't want to wait until Sunday.

I decided to choose the super early option which meant I had a lot to do in a few hours. I flew out the door of the pharmacy and hustled to the parking structure elevator. My mind was racing as I pressed the button for level B. Was my suit clean? Did I have time to go to the bank?

The door closed and the elevator started going down. It passed level B and continued onto level C. Huh. Weird. The elevator hit bottom then started going up again. Once again it passed level B. Um, ok. This was not working out so well. I pushed the lobby button just wanting to get off anywhere at this point. Stopping was not something this elevator wanted to do and my request was denied. I was stuck on a moving elevator.

After about 2 minutes of up and down, I started to mildly panic. As I got close to the lobby level I could hear muffled voices outside. Do I yell for help? I felt kind of stupid yelling so I looked around for the emergency phone. There wasn't one. Great. I pressed the emergency alarm button. Surely someone heard that. As each minute went by my stress level increased. I started to feel really sweaty. The winter coat came off and I clawed through my purse searching for my cell phone. Success! One signal bar was flickering on and off. I prayed that it would be enough to get through to someone.

I called the pharmacy and heard the best thing ever on the other end of the line - a voice! The connection was horrible and Bonnie's voice fade in and out. I tried to keep it simple. "Bonnie. It's Bri. Elevator. Stuck. Send help." All I heard on the other end was laughter (I would have laughed at me too) and "Ok, I'll call for help." Then I waited.

A few more minutes went by and finally the elevator stopped. It was like a scene from a movie. I saw fingers come through the door seam and then it was pried open by a police officer. I burst off the elevator legs feeling like jello. I put my hands on my knees and took deep breaths. Ten minutes of ups and downs was not good for my stomach. "I have never seen that happen," said the officer. Of course he hadn't. This crap doesn't happen to most people.

The officer was nice enough to make sure I got down the other elevator safely. After getting my feet firmly planted on level B I walked to my car and then threw up. Fanfreakingtastic.

Let's hope my luck is better in Vegas.