Day Twenty-Three: Make You Wanna Jump, Jump

The 1,050 jumpropes today made me feel like a bobblehead.

Day Twenty-One: I Run A Tidy Bakery

I don't know that I've ever had abs, especially as Patrick described in his PCP post today. In fact, I can honestly say that has never, ever been a fitness goal of mine. Am I missing out?

I've wanted toner arms. A trimmer frame. A smaller butt. Abs were an afterthought and, after a pregnancy and emergency C-section that sliced me open like a tauntaun, a fantasy. Like winning the lottery. Confession: I totally kept some maternity shirts in rotation way longer than acceptable for a non-pregnant woman because they hid my food baby. (Don't worry they're gone now)

Even now, I can't say that abs are on my wishlist(not that they aren't), but I can say what I would like to disappear. Remember the best part of the muffin ... is the top. Sing it!

Day Nineteen: Back on Track

I am proud to say I caught up with Day 18 exercises this a.m. and then did my Day 19 exercises this p.m. despite my cankle, which is on the mend. There were voices within that argued with me to bail. Grr! I got mad.

This evening, I tried like last week to take the kid and her BFF to the playground down the street. They ride bikes and climb on the playground apparatus while I jump rope, etc. But when we got there, a wicked storm was coming off the foothills and the skeeters were hungry, so I attempted a pull-up (uber fail) and then cranked out my inclined pull-ups. And then we scampered back home, where the girls played indoors and I attempted to finish my exercise on the driveway. Let me tell you: with lightning and dark clouds and high wind to my south, I was reminded of the movie Caddyshack as I jumped rope at all costs (when the priest plays on, despite the inclement weather, because it's his best golf game ever? YEAH. Was hoping God wouldn't smite me. Thanks, God!). I didn't want to stop because I was in the zone, ya know? I knew if I stopped, I wouldn't finish it later. That's not how I roll.

I also cooked up some steaks on the grill, and they turned out amazing! I used a marinade of mustard, balsamic, oil, rosemary and pepper (salt is typically used but was omitted for PCP reasons). I also broke out my new rice cooker/steamer. There are two camps: people who swear by rice cookers, and those who swear by boiling water in a pot. I've tried for years to make rice the "real" way and it's always been ... crunchy or mushy but always shitty. Today's batch of brown rice was just ... right. Nom nom nom.

Day Sixteen: Can I Get an Amen?

I drank the Kool-Aid.

No, not actual Kool-Aid (though it seems the perfect summertime non-boozy beverage; I prefer black cherry. You?) but the proverbial Kool-Aid. The PCP Kool-Aid. This is what I say in my head when people ask me about the PCP, and I try to explain with a simple statement: "Oh, it's this exercise/diet/blog thing I'm doing to get into shape." But then they ask more questions, and before you know it, I sound like a PCP apostle evangelizing about real food and exercising using your own body weight and that you can do it anywhere! No excuses! And that it's tough but I believe, I just have to keep the faith ... blah bla bla.

Then people seem to have this simultaneous look of admiration and fear in their eyes as they listen. I could never do that, they tell me. Or Good for you! That's inspiring! And as much as I'm telling them, I'm telling myself why I'm doing this, why I'm committed (or rather should be committed coz I know it might seem kooky) and why I can't ~ no, why I choose not to ~ eat the pizza or the scone or the brownie or the usual camping food for an upcoming trip, and why I choose to get up and crank out hundreds of jumpropes and other exercises and then blog about it for all seven of you to read the mental workings on someone hellbent on a higher calling. What I do choose is me. My best self. And I'll drink to that! (well, at least come late September. Kool-Aid, anyone?)