Surprise!

Well, it's not all that cold out this morning, so I made a pot of coffee, dumped it in a carafe and ventured over here to the garage/office in the dark. Because there's really not much to do in the house at 6:30 a.m.

I still have to install a keyboard tray, because the surface we put the computer on is too high for comfort. The tray has been purchased and put together. I'm at a stopping point for want of a drill. I've made it to my mid-50s without one, and it's not likely I'm going to need one again soon. I'm going to see if I can borrow one from a neighbor. Perhaps he'll take pity on me and actually drill the holes as well.

It's been four weeks since my last official weigh-in. I weigh myself daily, but if I reported daily or even weekly numbers it would be too depressing for both you and me. Monthly accountability is the best I can do, and I'm shocked and thrilled to say that I lost 2.5 pounds in January. That's two-thirds of a pound per week, which is better than I expected.

If I keep this up, I'll be at a comfortable weight by St. Patrick's Day of 2009. And since my 40-year high-school reunion will be that summer, I think the timing is perfect. I wouldn't want to get to goal too soon; I might gain it back before the big party. Heh.

I promised I would do monthly progress photos, but February's is going to be late. Mr. Shrinking Knitter and I are taking a little trip to the sunny south – blog break alert! [Sob! There go my stats!] I'll either take a picture while we're gone or as soon as we get home again.

We've had this trip planned for a couple of months. Serendipitously, my dad, whom we're going to visit, is getting out of the hospital today. Hopefully we'll be of some help to him and his wife. He needed a long weekend of IV antibiotic therapy.

If ever there were an in-your-face reason to keep plugging away at this healthy body stuff, it would be my dad. He is obese, has Type II diabetes and has had bilateral knee replacements. He takes a handful of medications four times a day, as well as a daily injection, to manage his blood sugar, blood pressure, pain and probably some other stuff I don't know about.

He's also the best example I know of how to face adversity with grace and good humor. And he's the first one to tell you that if he'd known he was going to live this long, he'd have taken better care of himself.

As much as I get discouraged about my slow downward progress, I will keep plugging away. If I were to quit, all I need to do is look at him to see my future.

My running schedule is a little wacky this week. Yesterday's easy run was great – I was able to run outdoors, I ran three miles instead of the prescribed two and my pace was faster than the suggested 13:25. Tomorrow is speedwork day, but I'm going to do it today. We'll be driving for two days, but on Friday and Sunday I'll be able to run in Florida! Flat land! Warm weather! Gentle breezes! Palm trees!

That's probably enough exclamation points for one post. Maybe even five. Heh.

Y'all play nice while I'm gone …