Mo and Will's nontraditional Christmas

We'd had enough of the blizzard conditions in NYC and decided that this year, we didn't want to spend the holiday watching everyone else's kids open their gifts while longing for children of our own. So we checked Ms. Moxie into a puppy spa/boot camp and headed out of town for an unconventional Christmas. Instead of the usual holiday activities, we've spent our day snorkeling and swimming. It's been a nice way to reclaim the holidays.

We hope you are having a very, very happy holiday - and look forward to sharing 2010 with you all.

Mo and Will

Moxter in the snow

Bounding around with a big stick up in the country

Running with Mo (notice Moxie's blue boots!) beneath the railroad tracks after the blizzard

Bambi on ice. Or more accurately, boxer on ice

Mo's shape up plan: week 5: back on track

I've been so good this week! Worked out a bunch, ate right. Felt so so good to get things back under control and especially to be on top of exercising. Big news this week is that I've dropped enough weight to hit a weight that ends in zero. That means only 10-15 or so pounds to go to be back at a weight where I feel good and happy with my body. God, wouldn't that be nice?

Total exercise this week: 6 hours aerobic
1.5 hours on elliptical
4.5 hours running on treadmill

Diet: I was SO well behaved this week, sometimes probably actually not eating enough, in part because I have had a family emergency going on that has pretty much squelched my appetite. But I'll take it. Trying to be healthy in the choices I am making.

Items of clothing earned: 2 (another grey sweater, black pencil skirt. Hey, I live in Manhattan. Must wear black, grey, and brown to the exclusion of all else.)

Weight lost this week: 2.6 lbs

Weight lost overall so far: 8 lbs!!!!

Total body fat lost (based on gizmo on my scale that I only half believe): 3.38 lbs.

Mo

Sundays of grace #21

What am I grateful for?

1. First big snowstorm of the season. Snow everywhere! Love to see it lying in pillows on the fire escape, each tree limb blanketed with a layer of whiteness, the park filled with sledders, the city quiet beneath all the white.

2. Puppy in a blizzard!!! Moxie has been so excited to run and romp in the snow. She has blue rubber booties because all the salt on the pavement is tough on her paws. When she walks down the street, they make this thwack thwack sound, like she's a little four-legged duck.

3. Almost one-fourth of the way through my master's degree. I have not been so excited about getting another degree on top of the master's and PhD I already have (this one was a requirement of the two-year grant I received to do my research. Bleh). But it seems that the time is flying by. Three more semesters to go and then hopefully, no more school ever!

Mo

Hallmark Reject #8

Shape up plan: week 4: SLIP!

This past week was a tough one. I didn't exercise as much as I meant to - not even close - and I let the stresses of final exams and work get the better of me (can we all say pan of homemade fudge?) Yikes. That said, the damage seems to have been fairly limited.

At the time of this writing, I'm two days into rectifying things, and so far, so good. I'm really glad I'm not letting a chocolate binge derail the overall plan - which is to try to consistently eat less. No giving up here. Just something to learn from and keep on going

Total exercise this week: 3 hours (feels like almost nothing compared to what I've been doing, but every little bit counts for something, right?)
2 spinning classes
1 hour on elliptical
(we were active all weekend hiking in the snow with our pupster, but no full-out aerobic exercise, so I'm not counting it)

Diet: Started out with just a little bit of some extra snack or helping of food here and there, which by last Thursday ballooned into making a pan of fudge...and EATING HALF OF IT! (the other half was given to our awesome dog walker for Hanukkah). Very yummy, but not in line with the weight loss goal. Plus, did I really have to eat so much of it?! REALLY?! Doesn't feel good to feel out of control.

Items of clothing earned: 0. Bummer. I want those clothes!

Weight lost this week: .4 lbs (Could be worse, right?)

Weight lost overall so far: 5.4 lbs

Total body fat lost (based on gizmo on my scale that I only half believe): .1 lbs

Stresses and finals continue but I am committed to doing my very best to stay on track as much as possible.

I vow to do better this week.

Any words of advice on how to get this plan back on the rails? Encouragement welcome. Got the criticism thing going on pretty well all by myself.

Mo

My how she's grown!

Our puppy Moxie has grown amazingly in the two months since we've gotten her.

First, here is a picture of her sleeping in her bedding when we first got her at eight weeks, snuggling with her little lamb.

Just for comparison purposes, the other day, we had her lay down in this same bed again with her lamb, and look - she's gargantuan!

But still our little cutie.

We are so in love.

Mo

Sundays of grace #20

1. We had dinner with a coworker's family this week, and I was struck by her three children, ages 18 mos, 5 yo, and 6 yo. They live in New Jersey in a home not much bigger than our apartment and so all three kids share one of the two bedrooms. I was amazed at these children, how kind and generous they were with each other and with us, how gentle. I hope that when we finally figure out how to have children come into our lives we will be able to help them learn to be this openhearted, this loving.

2. We are visiting my in-laws upstate this weekend, which means little Moxie is seeing some serious snow for the first time in her life. It has been such a pleasure to watch her progress from absolute terror of the slippery whiteness to a sense of wonder and curiosity about it. And who knew, but our puppy loves to venture out on the frozen pond in pursuit of a thrown stick, running at breaknet speed and then sliding the final distance toward - and sometimes past - the stick, before getting it firmly in her mouth and bounding back to Will and I cheering for her on the bank. Go Moxie!!! Yeah!!

3. The clear December night sky up at my in-laws. So completely black, so filled with a thousand stars, each a bright point of light in the darkness. Beautiful to be up in the country blanketed by a sky of stars in the coldness. Makes everything seem in perspective: me, my husband, my puppy just tiny life forms on a single planet. Insignificantly small. Just hoping for the best in our small corner of the universe.

Mo