Day 41: Deep Thoughts and Random Observations

Coupla random observations to share with y'all:

1) I think I cleared the 100 jump hurdle merely by counting my sets by 200 this week. (Thanks for your ideas and responses, all.) Funny how the mind works! It makes a big difference having only 7 stones to keep track of now. Even though the overall time hasn't changed too drastically, I'm not getting so frustrated by how long. it. takes. to. get. thru. all. the. sets. And, of course, my body is totally willing to jump 2oox - or more - in a row now that my mind is willing to allow it. Tomorrow, I'm going to do 5 sets of 300 jumps. No biggie, right? RIGHT!

2)Speaking of the ol' rope...here's what 41 day of jumping has done to mine:

Torn and frayed!

"And his coat is torn and frayed
It's seen much better days
Just as long as the guitar plays
Let it steal your heart away
Let it steal your heart away"

Let's go in for a close-up, shall we?
The blue outer layer wore away a few weeks ago, leaving what seemed to be a sturdy thick rope underneath. But this morning I noticed that the white rope was almost non-existent, just threads covering a third, smaller rope inside. Needless to say, the ol' rope, she is no longer swingin' the way she did when she was young. She used to swing like a dream, like a Stones guitar lick, stealin' my heart away. Now she's all over the place, sloppy and feather-weight when I need her to be steady and strong. So I broke down today and purchased this:
To be honest, I'm scared of this thing. What with all the tripping that goes on, I'm afraid I'm going to end up getting whipped with 40 lashes! But - if it's durable, strong and steady, and if I can adjust it to the right length (as the package says I can), then a few lash marks now and then might be worth it?? I don't know - will report back tomorrow.

3)It occurred to me today, as I was out and about running errands with the kids, that my days now are all about consistently resisting temptation. This week, I'm really starting to see where I would normally turn to food in response to whatever stress or boredom presents itself in the day-to-day. Day camp is over, the kids are with me all day, there's no routine or structure to our days, and I'm trying to get a bunch of stuff accomplished before we go off to the beach for two weeks while keeping the kids from causing damage to themselves or the dog. Sometimes, I feel stressed by all of this. Yesterday was one of those days, today was not. So I watched myself wandering into the kitchen, either out of stress and boredom, really wanting to put a handful of something in my mouth. Or coming so close to eating a slice of Stella's muffin when I took them out to the coffeeshop - because I was hungry, because it was there. But I didn't cave! I saw what was happening, I saw the emotions behind the urge to eat, and I made a choice. RESIST!! IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!

Also, I know that the slippery slope is a very steep and icy one. I just don't want to tempt fate by sliding down there even a little bit. I could so easily go "off the reservation" like many of you have blogged about. It's totally possible that I still might! But for now, I don't know - I'm finding out how strong my will-power really is, I guess. I keep going back to, this is only for 90 days. I can do - or NOT do - anything for 90 days. It's the blink of an eye, really, in the grand scheme of things.

4)Speaking of staying the course even while out and about...I don't know how many of you in the States have a Whole Foods near you? (Aside: I have mixed feelings about this place - some of my friends call it Whole Paycheck, but still shop there, which kinda sums it up.) I discovered today that this is the very best place to grab a totally kosher PCP lunch! They have an amazing salad bar/prepared foods bar where I was able to get a big bowl of cooked grains, pieces of simply prepared turkey breast, topped with loads of fresh veggies/yummy salads - they even had balsamic vinegar alongside the dressings. No, I didn't have my scale with me, but I'm getting pretty good at estimating amounts. I will admit that I drove kinda out of my way to eat there with the kids...but we had more errands to finish afterward and had reached the point of MOM I'M STARVING!!! So it was worth it.

Anyhow, stay strong, PCP compatriots! Show yer ass who's bad!!!

XOXO