KOKO

The first time I saw the KOKO acronym, I had to puzzle it out for a minute before I realized what it meant. I'm the type of e-mail user who would rather write 'granddaughter' than DGD. I don't text-message at all, or I might see the advantage of electronic shorthand. Basically, though, I like to be clear.

Oh, and I love to type.

So. KOKO means keep on keepin' on. Looking at the letters reminds me of that old cereal commercial where the animated character declares he's "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" [What a sorry-ass excuse for a breakfast food Cocoa Puffs are, eh?]

But I digress.

I haven't been KOKO-ing very well lately. In spite of my determination to get back on the horse many times this past year – most recently just 16 days ago – I'm still standing in the barn with a saddle blanket in my hands, wondering which direction the posse went.

On November 27, I vowed to do a light weight-training routine every day. I think I did it twice, and I haven't touched a dumbbell since. I have promised myself – and you – I would follow the eDiets menu precisely. The truth is, I start off with a bang and end with a whimper.

Every morning is the morning.

I wouldn't blame you a bit if you didn't believe me this time, either. But ohmygoodness, how I hope that this morning really is The One that gets me back on track, right down the beam, on the straight and narrow.

Saddled up.

Friday Quote Day

Merry Christmas

from the Shrinking Knitter!

How about a non-motivational quote today? We don't always have to be about inspiration and hard work and KOKO-ing, do we?

In case you don't have anything better to do in this busy-busy time of year, you can click on the image and save it, print it on card stock and cut it out. You could even embellish it with glitter or sequins or a tassle! Punch a hole at the top and string a piece of ribbon or yarn through it and hang it on your tree.

The color scheme goes perfectly with my girly-girl, pink-and-silver tree.

In my continuing obsession with the pedometer, I got wild and crazy yesterday and wore both of them. I was quite the little fashion plate, clacking around the Middle of Nowhere with pedometers clipped to both shoes. [The new shoes, by the way, felt good on my walk. Perhaps I'm destined to buy cheap shoes frequently, rather than expensive shoes three or four times a year.]

The Great Pedometer Experiment was prompted by two things. First, I'm not sure if a step is one foot stepping forward, or a right-left stride. I've burned many a calorie Googling for this information, but I'm stumped for the correct terminology, as I'm not getting a definitive answer. And second, I wanted to know which of the two pedometers is accurate ends up with the higher number of steps.

Here are the results:
The one on the left is kind of hard to see, but it says 7333. The one on the right, which is the one I bought last weekend and the one I've tested as more accurate, says 11,164. Now that seems like too many steps for the amount of activity I actually did yesterday – a 3.6-mile walk outside, cut short by rain, and not much else in the way of "normal" activity. [I'm ready to start the neck ribbing on the modified Wallaby – that's an indication of how much time I spent on my ass yesterday.]

I think I'll continue wearing the smaller one, partly because of its size, but also because I don't have to flip up a cover to see the tally and it's much quieter than the older, larger model. But maybe I should be shooting for 15,000 steps. You know … to cover my ass. Heh.

Friday Quote Day

"The only thing that stands between a [wo]man and what s/he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible."

~ Richard M DeVos

Of course you know those little changes in gender are mine. I'm sure Richard won't mind.

Isn't this appropriate after yesterday's discussion about hanging in there in spite of no progress? It's that old KOKO again, which is a theme to which I frequently return. Because, um, if I weren't KOKOing I'd be fat again. Heh.

I soooo appreciate the thoughts and comments you left yesterday. It's always good to know I'm not hanging out on this plateau all alone, and it's especially good to focus on the positives, which you always, always point out to me.

So far this week I've run 20 miles. I have to do my first 10-miler tomorrow [and from the forecast I might be running in the rain]. That's 30 miles! The last time I did 30 miles in one week was at least 10 years ago, when I was at my very highest level of fitness as an adult. I'm pretty psyched about doing it again. Today, however, we rest.

Completely unrelated but strangely interesting, I've read about bento lunches twice already this morning – once here, and once in the comments here. Do you bento? I don't pack my lunch, so I can only admire the X-treme cuteness of it from afar. I don't want to go look for a job just so I can bento.

Okay, this is going to sound kind of vain, but you know when you're kind of relaxed and stretched out on the couch and your calves are kind of just blobbing out there with a mind of their own? Mine don't do that any more! My calves, while larger than I'd like, are solid, whether they're flexed or relaxed.

Just thought I'd share. Heh.

And now, we interrupt this fitness blog for some knitting content.

Sometimes knitting projects just don't work out. Most of the time you can rip it out and start over – at least the yarn is salvageable, unlike a botched sewing project. Once the fabric is cut incorrectly you're usually screwed.

The times when knitting projects don't work out is when you intentionally shrink them. Technically that's called "fulling," but most folks nowadays call it "felting." Last time I visited my daughter I bought a Noni pattern called the Rather Large Carpet Bag, which is supposed to look like that very cool bag on the right.

Here's the before-and-after of my Rather Sorry-Looking and Very Huge Carpet Bag:

On the left, it is a piano-bench cozy. On the right, it is a too-wide and not-deep-enough mass of wrinkled, misshapen wool.

I guess I could cut the sides off and use the remaining fabric for something else. Coasters, maybe? Hot pads? Purple is soooo not a part of my kitchen/dining room [or any other room in my house] décor.

But to tie this failed knitting project back to today's quote, I am absolutely convinced it is possible to make a cool and perfectly proportioned, carpetbag-sized purse. Others have done it; you can Google for scads of photos of completed projects. I just need to try again. And believe it can happen.

And maybe I should double-check my gauge.

Thirty-six days until race day.

The countdown continues

Only one more day until the college bowl season begins! The schedule kicks off with the prestigious and much-anticipated contest between Northern Illinois and Texas Christian University at the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Don't miss all the action – tomorrow night, 8 p.m., ESPN2.

Heh.

Mr. Shrinking Knitter and I were fortunate to get a little college football action in over the weekend, unexpectedly, when my son and his wife discovered that a sneak preview of the soon-to-be-released We Are Marshall was showing Saturday night.

We had hoped we'd get to see the movie sometime during the holidays, but theatres – like everything else in the Middle of Nowhere – are few and far. We're rather hermit-like when we're home together, and might have talked ourselves out of going. But to be able to hop in the car, drive less than a mile and get to see it before everyone else does? A no-brainer.

If you like sports movies, you'll want to be sure to see this one. Even if you don't particularly like sports movies, it's a well-told story, full of drama and courage and heart.

I tried to find out about Cory Helms, who wrote the story. IMDB didn't have anything; here's what Entertainment Weekly has on their site.

We exchanged gifts with my son and his wife, and I wanted to show you the handmade vase my daughter-in-law found for me. It's unusual and clever and I really like it.

Food over the weekend was perfect. My son made vegetarian chili [I meant to get the recipe] Friday night, and we ate out the rest of the time, but I was able to make good choices for each meal. I didn't expect to lose any weight this week, and am happy to report that I didn't gain any either.

Staying the same is getting kind of boring. But at least I know it's possible, over several weeks, to maintain one weight without being hungry and without killing myself working out.

Not killing oneself is a Good Thing.

Thanks for all the comments Friday. That was a nice treat to come home to. "J" from San Fran also commented about The Biggest Loser last week, and I've been thinking about that a lot. Here's part of the comment:

What they seem to be promoting is the idea that the MOST DRAMATIC changes are the ones worth applauding. In other words, its laudable to lose 100+ pounds. (And the more pounds per week/day the better).

Anyone losing just 10% of their bodyweight might not "show" any such dramatic changes in their external experience. But if they did that in a healthy (i.e. slow and manageable way) without an audience of millions, it would probably be harder, and therefore a greater accomplishment.

I absolutely agree with everything you say. But you have to admit, it wouldn't make great television.

I guess what inspires me about the program is those final before-and-after transformations. The fact that they accomplished such dramatic losses in a relatively short amount of time really goes against the conventional 'slow-and-steady' wisdom. I had previously lost nearly 50 pounds in five months – not an especially fast rate of loss, actually – but wasn't able to maintain it for more than a couple of months. I gained back about seven pounds and kept that off for about two years, I think. And by the end of last year was nearly at my all-time highest weight again.

The fact that it can be done is what pushes me to KOKO. I've done it before. The Biggest Loser contestants do it every week and every season. And, of course, all you other weight-loss bloggers continue to inspire and motivate me. I sure do thank you for that.