Sunday, December 23, 2007

Day 37

Mother Nature is supporting me on my quest. Yes, just when you thought I'd be doing this on my own, Mother Nature steps in to kick it up a notch.

I live in the North, where ice is outside, not just in a glass. Last year, the snow didn't land until Boxing Day. This year, there is so much snow that I doubt we'll be able to leave the garage to hunt for Boxing Day sales. Anyway, you get the picture....there's lots of snow!

Each year, I like to build a skating rink in the backyard for the kids (and me :-) to play on. It's a decent size (46' x 26'). With all the snow that's fallen in the last several weeks, the rink is way behind schedule. The other night, my wife got the bright idea that it was time to carve out the rink, so we bundled up warm and ventured out. It was hilarious when we actually stepped into the backyard and almost disappeared in a snowbank! Drifts of snow were up to our waist, and it was clear that shovelling a rink in this stuff was going to be hard work. To her credit, my wife stayed at it for almost 2 hours, until she finally gave up and left the rest for me to finish. When I was done, I had a nicely defined rink area and a body full of sore muscles. Since I had my measuring tape with me to plot out the rink, I decided to measure the average depth. It was a full 2' deep. Doing the math (we LOVE math by now, don't we?), 46 * 26 * 2 = 2,392 cubic feet of snow that we shovelled that night. I'm sure I dropped a few pounds from the exercise.

Mother Nature wasn't finished yet. Today she jacked up the temperature and dumped a ton of rain on us. Unfortunately, the rain turned my driveway into a slushy/icy mess, and I got stuck just trying to drive into my garage. Before my wife got home from shopping (for my Christmas presents I hope!), I had to remove all the slush from the driveway and salt it down. I live in the country and have a rather large driveway (at least that's what I tell all the ladies ;-) so it took quite the effort to get it clear. Mission accomplished, as we were able to get my wife's car safely into the garage. Tonight, there is a 'flash freeze' warning, so the cars might be staying in the garage for a while.

All in all, some good outdoor exercise does wonders for overall fitness, so I kept thinking on the bright side as I slogged snow and slush for hours on end.

Day 37
Current Weight: 191.5
Weight Lost To Date: 14.5

I've been asked why I record everything in "Pounds", and it's simply because my bathroom scaled only shows it that way. However, I'm happy to report that 14.5 Pounds is just over 1 "Stone" for my UK readers. It also equals 6.57708 Kilograms, 32,915 Carats, 403 Ticals, 176 Mommes, 101,578 Grains, etc. Most importantly, it equals 37 days of diet and exercise, which is all I really care about at the moment.

The Christmas season is upon us, with Santa's big night just around the corner. I intend to plow through the pending food-fest as best I can. Turkey is good for me anyway. No, I won't be taking a break during the holidays (I can't believe you even considered it, Caroline!), but it will certainly be a bit more difficult than it's been so far. Keep sending me your words of encouragement, and I'll keep fighting the good fight.

Happy Holidays!

Don