Progress Report!

Since I wrote last week, the following things have happened:

[o] I've started hula hooping
[o] I've agreed to change my "show" month at the store to January if the January artist agrees to the trade, due to horrid planning and technical difficulties
[o] I've started hooping
[o] I've hit my weight loss goal
[o] I've met and talked to author Wally Lamb twice
[o] I've started hooping

The Photo Thing:
I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but back in October, I asked my boss about the possibility of having my photography up on a "show wall" in the back of our store. He said "You want December?" and I jumped at it. I then spent November freaking out about everything else in my life except the photography, and when it came down to the wire, I went over to Dad's house to select and print the photos...and his printer stopped working.

We bought a new one, but it isn't installed yet, plus finding the time to print them all and to drive to Hartford to get good but inexpensive frames has been completely impossible thus far (partly, again, due to my failure at planning). I told my boss that I would be very late at best, and is January taken? He groaned and said yes, he gave it to a customer named Jorge, but he would ask Jorge if he would be able to get his picture up and be willing to switch. I haven't heard back from Boss Man about that just yet, but I've been off the past two days, so that's not surprising.

The Wally Lamb Thing:
Not all of you reading may know who Wally Lamb is, so I'll tell you: he's an author from Connecticut, whose sons I went to school with, whose books have been on the New York Times Bestsellers list and Oprah's Book Club, whose books I devour and adore (despite my inherent belief that Mr. Lamb creates a long list of all the horrible things that can happen to his characters and then throws darts at it). His books are beyond absorbing, his characters are wondrously fleshed out, his use of language is magical, and, overall, reading his books is like falling into a movie, or a long-running TV show, or just into the character's life. He's written four wonderful and addictive books, has a wonderful and talented family, and, unless I'm mistaken, makes his living through his writing. In other words, he, as well as the other authors on my Top Five list, is who I want to be when I grow up.

And he came into my store. TWICE.

The first time, it was busy enough that I was taking names for each drink. When I asked him for his, he said "Wally," and I had a moment of "...Wait." I squinted at him, thought it might be him, wrote his name down while deciding I wasn't going to ask in case it wasn't and I embarrassed myself, decided to hell with it, and asked him. AND IT WAS HIM. And I immediately started gushing, I am such a huge fan of yours books, I've read them all, oh wow, smiling like an idiot, in case you couldn't tell from my writing right now I'm STILL really excited that I got to meet him. He told me it was sweet of me to tell him, and was very nice, and went on his way.

Then he came in again a few days later, AND HE REMEMBERED ME. He said "You were the one who likes my books, right? I have some out in the car, which one would you like?" I did that stupid gushy smile again and said "Oh, I think I have them all, unless there's another one that I've missed?" And he mentioned his Christmas one, and I was all oh yeah, my mother gave me that one for Christmas last year, and he smiled and was nice again and went on his merry way again and I realized half an hour later WAIT DID HE JUST OFFER ME A BOOK AND I WAS DUMB ENOUGH TO BASICALLY TURN HIM DOWN?

FOR EFFS SAKE RUTH.

Ahem. After the first time he came in, I went straight to my old room at my mom's house after work and got I Know This Much Is True off the shelf. I'm devouring it for I think the third time ever, and I plan on keeping it near the register every time I'm working from now on just in case he comes in again and I have the chance to ask for his signature. And tell him that he's basically one of my idols and I'm so glad he's nice and didn't shatter my dreams by being a jerk.

Okay. Done now. Man I hope he doesn't stumble on this somehow and think I'm a creepy stalker.

The Weight Thing:
I discovered this morning, not half an hour ago, that I hit my goal on the Wii Fit Plus a full three days ahead of schedule. Whee! I'm just shy off 155, in a healthy BMI range (at least according to the machine) (yes I know BMIs aren't a good form of measurement) (for the record I'm 5'6" go do your own calculations if you want), and my next goal is to love five pounds in the next month.

My goal with the exercising and eating better is not to lose a bunch of weight and be thin. All I really want is to be strong and flexible, to have energy and stamina, and just be healthy overall. I'm not going to lie and say that I wouldn't mind parts of me being a bit smaller, I do have some vanity when it comes to my tum and how clothes fit me and all that. But, again, the goal is not to be able to fit into a size 0 skinny jean and only eat croutons. I've been enjoying my new diet made up almost entirely by yogurt, fruit, and salad, with the occasional hunk of meat, slab of cheese, or glass of boozahol.

The Weight Thing is directly related to The Hooping Thing:
Dad gave me his old hula hoop about a month ago. It's not your typical hula hoop that you pick up at the toy store; he made this one himself from flexible plumber's pipe. It's a little bigger and a bit heavier than your average toy store hoop, which somehow makes it simultaneously easier and more physically demanding to get it spinning and keep it going. I started last Thursday, skipped Friday when I could feel a bruised ring around my waist, then started again on Saturday and haven't skipped a day since. Thursday through Monday were 10 minutes, Tuesday was 15 minutes, and yesterday was 20, plus at least half an hour in Mom's garage just trying to teach myself some simple hand tricks.

It makes me sweat from head to toe, works every muscle group from my shoulders down to my calves, and is SO. MUCH. FUN. It makes me wish I had more open indoor space to play in, though I am thankful that our living room, with the sofa pushed back is juuuuust enough room to do the basic hoop.

I'm addicted! And I plan on either decorating this one at the next get-together thrown by one of my Dad's friends/one of my regular customers, Cherese, or getting another one to decorate as this one is a bit beat up from being a practice hoop. I worked on some simple tricks yesterday, as I said, and I plan on watching more videos and practicing some more until I can purposefully hoop around my hips and knees, get it on and off me fluidly with it still spinning, learn how to step through it gracefully, etc and do it all without having to stop to fetch the hoop back from the other side of the room.

WHEE!

Yesterday was the Get Things Done Day Off, filled with laundry and shopping and other chores and errands. Some spilled into today, as will happen, but the basic plan for Effing Relax Day Off is:
[o] exercise
[o] shower
[o] eat
[o] Post Office
[o] Stephanie
[o] read more I Know This Much Is True to get myself in a good-writing groove
[o] settle down somewhere to whack at my story until Nacho time
([o] while keeping an eye on the weather)

Aaaaaand OFF I go!