Starting Monday…a journey to the finish…

…to help clean out the fridge, and start fresh on plan, is there? Yup, us Chicagoans had the worst storm this past Thursday, and were without power until 7:30pm Sunday evening. What a lovely 4 days that was…seriously…we don’t realize how much we completey rely on today’s technologies, and conveniences until they aren’t there. On the flip side, this storm brought out all the neighbors from the cozy shell of their homes, and we were forced to interact with one another. Everybody was outside doing manual labor, getting fresh air, some sun…and most importantly, exercise. It was odd…when you looked down my block…it looked like we had a giant blizzard, but a blizzard of trees. This storm brought out the community in everybody, and we all worked together for the common good. I think what I appreciated most about this experience was that fact that we were forced to get off the couch and move around…breathe…get oxygen and exercise….and I loved it. Now don’t get me wrong…there’s nothing better than watching a great Seinfeld rerun every now and again…and just chilling out in front of the tube….but in moderation. I think this is the key factor that has brought on this extreme obesity epidemic in this country…Americans doing everything to extremes. It’s ok to sit and chill in front of the tv…but don’t do it for 4 hours at a time. Eat a few cookies…but only do it maybe once a week. And at the same time, balance out the “bad” with the “good.” I can’t even begin to tell you how great it felt to be outside these past few days doing work and getting exercise. Since we had no power, we were forced to work outside the house. Not only did I get up at 8am on a Sunday (unheard of usually) and go out and purchase a bicycle…but I rode it around the neighborhood looking at the carnage of the storm…and stopped to talk to some people along the way. I also mowed the lawn…something I haven’t done in…god..at least ten years. And you know what? It felt great. I never truly realized what an amazing cardio workout that is (I’m sure that since the grass was extremely long and wet due to the storm helped with that…but still.) In fact, if I get the remainder of my unpacking and sorting inside the house done while it’s still light out, you bet my happy ass is going to drag that lawnmower out and attack the front yard. (As soon as the lovely village hauls away the dozens of branches currently lying by the road. One thing at a time, I suppose.) I’m looking forward to it.

I apologize if this has been a total stream of consciousness post, but that’s how my mind is working this morning. This is my last day off before I return to work tomorrow, and I’m going to make the most of it..physically and mentally. My weight loss has been non-existent as of late, and I need something to jump start my motivation. I’m pretty confident that this power outage did the trick. 150 here I come!