Damp, damp, damp!

A very wet and slippery trail near the house.

Whew! It feels like ages since I've actually sat down and written a real post in here. Life has been in that state of not really busy, but of time flying and you can't really remember what you've been doing. We're still working on getting the house unpacked and sorted. Slowly but surely, it's happening.

I'm a bit baffled by the weather around here lately. The sky is perpetually grey. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw the sun. Perhaps sometime last week? And even then it was a brief glimpse. I'm not bothered by this, though. I had 14 years of constant sun in Arizona. I like the change. But what really confuses me is the damp. It hasn't really been raining exactly, but it looks like it has. The ground is wet, the grass is covered in little beads of moisture, as are the trees, leaves, berries and twigs. The cars are wet. I don't understand! It's just so damp. You can almost see the moisture in the air, coming down, but not as rain. I'm sure this all seems really normal and unextraordinary to you, but I'm completely nonplussed!

And now it's time for a confession. Sigh.
Last night Mick and I were watching a movie and a guy picked up a girl and spun her around. My heart sank. I've always struggled with my weight, but especially since I was about 18. I'm not one of those people you see walking down the street and go "whoooa!" (no offense to anybody who is, I don't mean to sound rude there). Not by any means, but I am definitely obese, clinically speaking. Anyway, last year I lost loads of weight, mostly due to depression, but once I got happy again, boom! It all came back. I've been talking about working out and eating right again for ages, making promises to myself and to Mick. He doesn't mind that I'm this size, but he supports that I want to be slimmer and healthier. So, when I saw this guy spinning this girl in circles, I made last night the last time I would ever consume an entire pack of anything that was more than a serving (Fig Newtons, in this case). It's not even that I eat horribly, or obscene amounts. I just have this ridiculous metabolism that makes it impossible for me to not gain weight unless I work out. So, it's time I start listening to my body instead of my lazy brain and do what it takes. So today, I woke up and MEASURED MY OATMEAL. Then I went for a jog/walk.
And I have to say... I feel better today than I have for a long time. I feel good about myself because running has always been something that I wanted to do. I envy people who can just throw on a pair of sneakers and get their workout without paying a gym membership or listening to Billy Blanks shout at me on his Tae Bo DVDs to do some ridiculous mixture of steps ONE MORE TIME. Yet he tells me to do it just ONE MORE TIME like FIFTY TIMES. Even though I walked more than I ran, I plan to shift that ratio. It'll just take some practice. So, yeah, my legs felt like wobbly jelly and it felt like I had a chunk of ice in my chest (it was cold out) when I was done, but I felt good about me. I guess I just have to remind myself of that feeling every time I tell myself that I don't feel like working out. And remember to stretch! So that by this time next year, Mick can easily pick me up and spin me around.

How do you motivate yourself to be active? How do you find ways to enjoy it?

And I'm going to leave you with this quote because I've found a few grey hairs in the past year or so (I blame middle school students!). And this sort of puts it in perspective...

"Worrying about gray hair when your weight's soaring out of control is like mowing your lawn when you house is on fire."
-Edward Ugel

This weekend should be good- Mick and I are going to dinner at a friends house. And then house-sitting for his dad again. 
Hope you're all well :)