Salem, Here I come!

I feel like I haven't been keeping up on this as much as I once was. I've been in a continuous stride mode with everything health related. I'm not losing and I'm not gaining. The good news about this is that I have definitely adjusted my lifestyle around a lower weight even if it's not the weight I want to be.

I've had two variables that have pushed me out of my complacency slightly. One is dragon boating and the other is the boy we have boarding with us.

I have been busting my butt with my dragon boating team so that I can race in Salem. I probably didn't have to prove myself to be allowed to race but I felt like I did anyway. I've been giving myself mental pep talks whilst out paddling. Most of these are to the effect of "this is only an hour of your 24 hour day...you can breathe as soon as you're done....the strain and pain you feel in your muscles is your physical proof that you're going to get stronger" and so on. I've also started to get to know my team better and I think that's going to really help me stay motivated to contribute to my team. The last two practices I sat nearer the front of the boat where some of the best paddlers are usually seated and it really helped me to not only have good technique modeled for me but to also feel like I needed to prove that I should be there as well. So a week from Sunday I will get to be a Portland Fire Dragon in Salem!

A few years ago a family allowed me to rent a room from them and really helped make it possible for me to be able to move out of my parents and learn what it was going to take to be out on my  own. I have always felt like this was such a huge and generous favor and it really helped make it possible for me to grow up. So now I get to pay it forward with a kid who's starting college this fall. He's renting our spare bedroom from us to help us with our bills and we're helping him by charging him minimal rent for a decent living space. That's the short version of the story anyway! At any rate, he's a bit obsessed with diet and exercise, enough so that it's actually effective for him. I think it will be a good thing for me because it's always helpful to have a permanent cheerleader living with you.

So that's where things are for right now. I'm not terribly concerned with losing more weight, but I'm at least picking up where I left off with taking care of myself again. I will consider this latest bout of apathy over!