FootGaming! More than just playing Footsie...

A bunch of us techie types gathered at our local McMenamin's brew pub the other night to listen to Judy Shasek talk about her latest invention, FootGaming. I said wow, and cool and this will change the world of casual gaming, in a good way. Plus, we got lots of good shoe pictures out of the entertaining evening, too.


We are a game geek family at our house. The husband was a video game designer for years, until he figured out the biggest game of all, the stock market. He began applying the speed, accuracy and kick-ass user interface skills he learned in the game world to create software based on behavioral finance theory and modern portfolio theory, to help you figure out your 401K. He makes it look way easier than beating the boss at the highest level (patent pending, available soon, commercial over, but feel free to contact me if you want to invest!)

So anyway, our kids got the game gene, and spend far more time than their mother deems necessary in front of screens absorbing flickers of light through their eyes, which are controlled by their hands. I know their brains are activated, but their bodies just sit their, quietly while they stare at their games in a trance like state. They probably burn more calories in their dreams. But if they're dreaming of video games? Argh.

Thank goodness for Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Fit, and Eye Toy, all games which get them up and moving, and help ease my mommy guilt somewhat. Of course, I say all of this as I sit here typing on my screen, when I should be running up some hills outside. The guilt is alive and well, everywhere.

Judy gets this mommy guilt, and she gets the bigger problem too: we are all getting lumpier and lumpier while we sit and stare at screens all day. Judy is an educator at heart, she spent years in the classroom, and years doing research on how kids and adults learn. Turns out they learn better when they're active. Something about blood flowing to the brain and movement connecting the learning dots. What a surprise. Who'd a thunk? It's like rocket science, I tell you.

Judy and her resident geek guy now hold the patents on FootGaming technology, which let's people turn their hand mouse into a foot mouse for playing games.

So, instead of sitting in front of your game, you stand up on this pad, and you use your feet to move the mouse to play games. You engage your brain in a different way, and you burn more calories, too. Kids, adults, and old people can all use this technology. It's easy and fun.

Judy says "Everything a mouse can do the FootPOWR pad can do. In addition, it can log your steps, translate your moves to calories used, miles "walked" and even deliver extra FootGaming points to your favorite casual games. Imagine really "walking, running or flying" using whole body activity while in Second Life. Imagine kids exploring Club Penguin or Webkinz while logging the equivalent of miles walked. Bejeweled, Peggle - even Solataire - become calorie using opportunities with FootGaming. Comments or questions? E-Mail us."

This is cool stuff. Judy's going for first round VC funding now, and hopes to take this to the masses. She's already partnered with Clearchoice Health Care and other folks interested in getting FootGaming into the schools and the work place for better health and fitness for students and employees.

Check out FootGaming, and use your feet for good, people!

New Best Derfwad Friend

It's not that I'm too lazy to write my own post today, it's just that this one is so much funnier than the Chubby Mommy Goes Bowling post I was planning on writing.

Mrs. G over at Derfwad Manor is my new best middle-aged mommy friend. I met her online. She read my blog, so I read hers. I love her. She's a crack up, as in she cracks me up. Talk about Laugh Out Loud, Mrs. G has the patent on LOL, I swear.

Read this post for her take on peri-menopause, called Bigger Love Episode 41, the HBO version.

Thank you Mrs. G, and I was wondering, can Johnny Yum-Yum Depp come over and play?

juliejulie and the Cupcake

Check out the sweet little article about me and my cupcake friends, written by Anna Sowa, in today's Bend Bulletin. You'll have to actually buy a paper, you can't see it online. It is quite a silly arrangement, we know, since most of you don't live in Bend, Oregon. Perhaps I can clip out a hard copy and mail it to you. Send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope please.

Sigh. Let us not waste precious blog space talking how small town, traditional newspapers are having a hard time adjusting to the brave new world of online media. That would be silly. It would make us roll our eyes and frown. We do not want to waste any time frowning today.

Let us, instead, focus on this lovely chocolate cupcake with orange icing from our favorite cupcake shop Le Cakery. It was such a fine summer day in the park, and a nice day for a meeting with my WoTech posse and friends.

Yum.

Cupcake memories are the best kind of memories.

Who's Shoes?

Many companies are represented here via these shoes. A few government employees, who'd rather not be identified. I think they are spies, but they will not admit it. Send me your shoes, and will tell the world who you are, unless you would rather remain top secret.

Meeting Fawn and RunGeeksRun

I met her, in real life. I met Fawn, the "real" runner who reads my blog and talks of things with "K" on the end, like 5K and 10K, while I speak of cupcakes and vodka.


I was scared of Fawn for awhile, because she wanted me to start a real club, and I was feeling lazy about all the running that would probably happen in a real club. But a few friends said maybe we could just walk instead, so I agreed and we got regular with our walking, and it is fun.
But Fawn has a busy life with a baby and a husband and a new job and hasn't been able to walk with us, so she has remained elusive and mysterious, hidden behind the internets. Until Friday, that is.

A bunch of us met downtown for lunch and a melding of bloggers and tech women and various and assorted friends welcomed Fawn to our table with open arms. Well, I hugged her at least. And she hugged me back. We are friends now, I'm sure of it.

Turns out Fawn is taller than I envisoned. Plus I thought she would be really quiet and shy, maybe because she's named Fawn. But she seems quite outgoing and funny and sparkly, which is always nice. I adore quiet people, I live with a few, but sometimes I just need some other wacky people around so I don't dominate the lunch table every minute. I think Fawn has a wacky gene, which is about the most fabulous kind of gene to have, in my opinion.

By the way, have you ever had wacky cake? My mother-in-law makes it with my kids. We tell them it makes them more wacky. But I digress...

So I asked Fawn to volunteer for this new little running "club" I've volunteered to help facilitate. It's called http://www.rungeeksrun.com/ and it all started on Twitter and FriendFeed one day when a bunch of us were trying to convince Robert Scoble, a roving video journalist at Fast Company, to go running.

Several geeky strangers bonded right then and there in cyberspace, and we decided to start a club. Fawn and I are members in the RunBendRun group, so check us out, and join us. We're thinking of putting on a little 5K run for charity in November with a few corporate partners who are happy to support casual runners and walkers like me, along with serious runners like Fawn.

Stay tuned, and join us in Trying Not Crying, and making new friends.

Chubby Mommy Cupcake Club

Here's our friendly, Chubby Mommy Running Club friends up against a wall. We went to lunch yesterday, with some other FOJ's (friends of Julie's) where a reporter interviewed us about cupcakes.

Unrelated, anyone who wants to attend Cathy Sassin's nutrition lecture today at the Bend Athletic Club, I'll see you there at 10:00 a.m. It's free! I don't think she'll have cupcakes there, but if she did, they'd probably be mini-cupcakes with a dash of protein powder discreetly mixed into the frosting.

Today I am guest blogging on the Karen SugarPants blog Please check out my little ditty about Sugar and Pants, and my new hero, Frances Kaszubski.

And stay tuned for another post here. I met Fawn. I actually met her in real life, and I have the pictures to prove it, and I'll tell you all about it!

It's going to be a good day, I can tell already.

Icono Guy's Shoes

Here are Brian Hahn's shoes. He's a kick-ass graphic designer and cartoonist who lives in Eugene, Oregon. Check out his shoes, check out his site, follow him on Twitter!

Thanks for sending us your shoes, Brian. Run on man, run on.

Hard as a Rock - Pilates #3

You know those nice, cute Pilates teachers who look great in all things Lululemon? They'll get you every time. "Oh, you'll see," they say at the beginning, "this will be great, and you'll feel better afterwards..."

Uh huh. I felt better after I had all those babies, too, but I wasn't doing sit ups the next day, believe me.

I guess doing Pilates is not as hard as having a baby. And it's not as painful as strep throat (which I haven't had, but my husband swears it hurts more than having a baby probably does. Uh-huh. He actually said that.) And I do feel better after Pilates. Sort of taller, actually.

But I have to use all my muscles when I do Pilates, there's no getting around it.
Today, in the middle of the leg-spring exercise (turns out they're called leg springs, not stirrups) I said "why do my legs hurt?" I mean, I'm used to every muscle inside my belly being "awake" now, after three sessions, but the leg quads and hamstrings? Please.

"Because you're using those muscles!" she said, without laughing too much, which I appreciated.

"Oh," I said "I thought this was all about my core!"

"Well, yes, it is, but those other muscles have to work a little too."

Ah. I see. I did not read that part in the Pilates handbook. I don't recall it being anywhere on the website, either. I was thinking I could just magically turn lithe and long and lean by "thinking" about my core and holding my stomach in for a while.

Turns out there's a bit more to it then that.

I wonder if Gwyneth Paltrow's legs ever hurt after Pilates. I should ask her.

She's Just Not Into You -Icky Fish Food

I'm supposed to eat more fish. Everyone always tells me I should. All those Omegas, all those fatty acids, all those...fish oils.

Ick. I'm so not into fish. I've tried, believe me. I grew up fishing and camping, cooking Rainbow Trout over the open fire. My dad brought home fresh salmon and crab from the Pacific Ocean constantly, and we had a little smoker in the backyard. I mean, we even had salmon loaf for Christmas dinner once.

So, it seems like I should like eating fish. It seems like I should appreciate it. I don't.
It's not just the creepy, slimy bodies and faces of the dead fish that gets me, it's the actual taste.
It's just so...fishy.

Of course, top notch mild flavored restaurant fish, which is poached in butter and garlic and surrounded by super delicious side dishes is okay. I won't refuse it, and I've been known to eat a shrimp or two at a fancy cocktail party, especially if it's beautifully presented in a Martha Stewart way.

But I don't even know how to cook fish, and my husband has to leave the house if I try, since he doesn't like it either and no matter what, it smells like fish. I got the kids some fish sticks last week, in an attempt to be non-biased and introduce them to a varied diet.
They didn't like it either.

So I'm eating more flax seed, instead for my Omegas, or whatever for my health. Flax seed
doesn't have have to be caught, cleaned, and get it's head chopped off before I eat it.

I'm really into flax right now. Maybe I should move on to hemp, too. Yum.

Constantina and Dara - The Ultimate Fit Mommies

Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania crosses the finish line of the Olympic Women's Marathon first in 2 hours 26 minutes 44 seconds. The headline? "Romanian Mother, 38, Takes Gold in Marathon."

Constantina is not a Chubby Mommy. Neither is 41 year old Dara Torres, but they are both "middle aged" moms and inspiring. They actually work their butts off, and get gold and silver for their efforts.

I'm not sure I have the mental ability to push my body to get into the kind of Olympic shape that these Mommies are in, but I like to think I could if I needed to. Like, maybe as a back up career plan, or a hobby even, if this current lifestyle of mine stops working for me.

Let's just say that the business-technology-mommy blogger career doesn't pan out for me and I need to start at the beginning again. If I had to reinvent myself, and I could chose anything, besides artist, writer, movie star or Lady Who Lunches, I might choose super-athlete.

I'd have to get serious and learn to do a pull-up, I suppose, which is easier said than done. But I'd like to think I could it, if it was a job requirement. I mean, there are always things you hate to do in your job, but you do them anyway.

For instance, I really hate to update my Salesforce CRM records at work. It's just so...admin-ish, and I'd rather talk to people on the phone then type stuff. But I do it when my boss reminds me to. So I'd do some pull-ups if I had a coach reminding me. Especially if the coach said it in a nice tone, the way my boss does now when she reminds me to update my Salesforce.

So, maybe I could be the next Consatntina or Dara. You never know. It could happen.

Red Toes for Mommy

Shanlee's back to work Monday, after a short 12 weeks of maternity leave with her new baby boy. Here's her red toe-treat to herself, for a job well done. It's hard to be a working mommy, but it helps to have nice toes. Nice feet, and good luck on Monday, Shanlee!

Gladiator Quest: From Rib Eye to Tri-Tip

If I were a steak, I'd be a "well-marbled" one. Yum, marbles!

Of course, the marble of the steak refers to the fat that runs through it, and a well-marbled Rib Eye steak is good to eat, in that "tender, juicy" way, but it looks a little icky before you cook it, if you think about all that fat. Of course it tastes good in the end.

A Tri-Tip cut is lean, though. Not much fat there, so you have to cook it carefully, or it will be tough and chewy. But if you marinade it? Delicious.

I'm getting a tiny bit tougher these days, apparently, and I'm less marbled than I was a month ago when I started my sports nutrition program with Cathy Sassin, the former American Gladiator.

This is good news for me, I don't mind being a little tough. I'm also learning that a little marinade can go a long way, and that real progress takes time.

Turns out I've lost 2 pounds of fat already, although I gained one pound in the first 4 weeks. Cathy says I've gained one pound of lean muscle, according to her high-tech measuring devices and scientific scale. I'm impressed with myself, and with this new way of eating, since it seems to be working.

Here are my unscientific observations about my "Gladiator Diet":

1. I'm not as hungry any more, and I think the flax seed has something to do with it. Cutting out the crap (refined foods) and adding the "healthy" fats to my diet seems to really fill me up for much longer.


2. My clothes fit better and my skin looks better. Bonus points, always.


3. I seem to have lost my taste for alcohol, although I still drink some out of habit. Turns out I can only manage half a beer. Weird. I just don't crave it like I used to. This is probably because I'm regulating my blood sugar levels and don't crave sweets or carbs like before.


4. I don't care as much about coffee, either. I still drink it, but not as much. There's nothing wrong with coffee, but I don't "crash" as hard when my fix wears off, when I drink less.


5. It's easier to run faster and longer if you have more muscle, and drink less wine. Amazing, but true.

I'm on my way to a Chubby Mommy Runner "Fitness Makeover," I can just tell already. Every little step makes the big steps easier. I doubt I'll run a marathon, but I'm feeling like a tortoise now; slow and steady wins the race.

But it's a sweaty journey, I tell you. It takes some effort, about 50 minutes of serious exercise a day, to burn off these pounds of fat. I probably spent at least 50 minutes a day putting it on, though. At least.

If anyone in Bend is interested, Cathy is giving free nutrition lectures at the Athletic Club of Bend on Saturday, August 23rd at 10:00 a.m. You can email her for more info at cathy@intrafitt.com

Kate's Shoes

I believe we've found the secret to Kate's exceptional speed. She is the Queen of the Bend Area Chubby Mommy Fast Walk crowd, and these are her shoes.

Show Us Your Shoes

It’s not a fetish; really, it’s more of an interest. I love shoes, I’ve always loved them.

Send me your best shoe pictures, I'll post my favorites. Eventually, I’ll put them up for a public vote. I challenge you to get groups of friends and co-workers together and show me all of your shoes.

There are two ways to contribute:
1. Email them to julieanderson@hotmail.com, and put "CMRC Shoes" in the subject.
2. Join our Flickr group and add them to the pool.

We don’t want porn, so just don’t send it, please.

For prizes, we’ll give out virtual gold stars for now, and list your blog, your link, or your company name. Some day, when we get shirts or other cool schwag, we’ll send you a prize. If your company wants to donate cool shoe schwag prizes, let me know.

I’d sure love to see the Twitter team’s shoes! Hey, maybe Oprah will send us a picture of her shoes. In fact, tell me who’s shoes you want to see, and I’ll try to get them to send me a picture.

It could happen.

Gwenyth Paltrow Quest #1: Chubby Mommy Does Pilates

Okay, so I did it. I entered my first phase of Pilates training at Rebound Sports Performance Lab and let Debby Paltrow, I mean Debby Bowen, teach me how to figure out where my muscles are so I can get that long, lean, movie star look for myself, just in case I need to accept an Oscar for Best Screenplay for "Chubby Mommy Running Club, the Movie."

Hey, it could happen.

I met many of my muscles for the first time during this class, and they spoke to me afterwards, in sort of a "Hello! I'm awake now, thanks for noticing me!" kind of way. They were surprisingly friendly, not hurt or angry like I thought they might be. It's more like they've been sleeping for decades, and a nice prince kissed them awake yesterday.

Debby introduced me to the Pilates tables and straps and handles and stirrups on springs. Yes, stirrups, that you put your feet in. Yes, just like at the doctor's office. The women's doctor that you visit once a year.

But once you put your feet in these stirrups, you just push them to the opposite wall and do some leg circles. So it's not nearly as uncomfortable or mortifying as being at the doctor's, if you know what I mean; although I think she called that the "trap table" and I'm not sure why.

Anyway, we are just working on muscle awareness now, since I didn't realize I had any muscles near my pelvis. I hope this doesn't embarrass anyone, but there are a lot of muscles down there and apparently they're supposed to work with your abs to hold your spine straight. Or something like that. Oh, and the same goes for all those muscles around your belly button.

Personally, I had no idea there were muscles beneath my belly button, but I'm supposed to be aware of them now. And I'm supposed to think of my belly button pressing into the trap table without rocking my pelvis. Goodness!

It seems so complicated, but the way Debby explains it, it's not too hard, and it's more scientific than all that yoga talk. I'm all for yoga, Zen and spiritual enlightenment, but I liked how Debby's bone and muscle conversations seemed to be rather grounded, in a medical type way. I didn't hear as much chakkra talk, chanting, loud Darth Vader-type breathing or grunting going on in the Pilates studio, either. And I didn't smell any incense or excessive body odor at her studio, which was a relief. I'm so not into smelly exercise experiences.

We also worked on bone awareness, which sounds a bit PG-13, but it shouldn't. Debby got me thinking about my skeleton, and where my bones and joints connect, and how all the muscles work to move all the bones.

Learning about my body this way was quite interesting, like a science lecture, but without charts, power point presentations, or even a film strip for visual aid. She made me actually move my legs and arms around, in that "Pilates" sort of way which turns into exercise when you're actually doing it. Hands on learning, I guess. Hands on hips and belly buttons, trying to find muscles, that is.

I like Pilates, so far, but maybe Debby was going easy on me so she wouldn't scare me off. Maybe it gets harder. I get the feeling she couldn't scare anyone if she tried, though, unless she really is Gwyneth Paltrow in disguise, and is just acting like a nice Pilates teacher as research for her next movie. If so, she should win an Oscar, for sure.

But for the record, I don't think she Debby or Gwyneth could play me in the Chubby Mommy Running Club movie. Neither of them are chubby enough, and they both have blond hair.

Maybe Julia Roberts could play me. She could wear a chubby suit at the beginning of the movie, and then melt away into her regular size for the 2nd half, which is what I intend to do for my 2nd half of my life-movie.

I'll keep you posted.

Pilates Body - Preparing for Floppiness

Debby Bowen, who owns the Pilates studio at the Bend Rebound Sports Performance Lab, agreed to show me how to do Pilates, the right way, so I can write about it and spread the word.

Here's a good link to her website, and here's a picture of Debby in action, helping some ladies get Pilates Bodies

I'd like to get a Pilates Body, too. I have a feeling it takes a while. I start tomorrow, and I'm a little scared of Debby. My experience with Pilates has been mixed. If I actually had some abdominal muscles, it might make things easier.

I shouldn't be scared, since Debby seems so nice. She has one of those lovely Pilates Bodies (yes, it rhymes!) all long and lean and Gwenyth Paltrow-ish, so I know her methods must work.

I've already seen her instruct people on those machines, and her voice is so calm and encouraging, like she's coaching them through a zen meditation session, and they just need to breathe, while they're thinking of their core, and it will all work out.

I'm not sure she knows what she's getting in to with me. My core is hollow, I think.

Debby said she loves my blog because she has two "energetic" little boys and a puppy at home, and after a long day at work she enjoys reading my funny stories. The chronicles of my Chubby Mommy exercise escapades are hilarious, apparently. Odd. I thought I was being so Zen-like.

Rebound offers physical therapy, super technical training stuff for athletes (they train Olympians and professional athletes, too) and they're opening a new fitness center soon with trainers, nutrition experts, massage therapy, and...wait for it...a juice bar! A perfect place for Chubby Mommy Running Club to hang out, I think, so I'm quite excited to meet these people and see what they're all about.

I wonder if they'll have cupcakes.

Who is Miss juilejulie, really?

Welcome, new readers, to middle aged angst, personified.

Here's a little summary about me, just in case you don't have time to read the past two years of my blog today. Because I'm sure you would, if you had time. I know you would.

I have a company called Twist Pop Media. We tell stories, and connect companies with their clients. We like to use humor, because business is serious, but people are fun.

I'm also a 43 year old Chubby Mommy who needs to exercise, preferably outside, in the sunshine, when it’s about 72’ with a few scattered clouds, and I’m not too tired, crabby, stressed-out or in the middle of a nervous breakdown.

I love running because I feel better afterward, and I hate running because I have to get up and do it. It makes me breathe hard and sweat, my hair always gets in the way, and my legs itch at the beginning. But I keep doing it, and I'm thankful that my legs still work and my knees don’t hurt (this month) and my lungs do their job. I’ll keep going as long as I can.

I’ve done business development for IT consulting companies, I've dabbled in tech recruiting, have sold analytics and corporate event strategy, and business development services and sales programs. I also love to work with art galleries and artists.

I also volunteer to set up and facilitate interesting groups of tech people who appreciate my infusions of energy and whacky ideas.

On Twitter I am juliejulie, and I jabber on and on about nothing, and about everything, all day long, as you can see by the Twitter feed to your right.

My mantra? "Try not cry!"

"Just Do It!" seems so demanding.

Baby Boomer Nikes

I like these shoes. A 50-ish lady was wearing them downtown, and was happy to pose for me.

I can't decide if they're hip/retro or a little bit Middle-Aged-Mommy. Of course, they could be both. I know a lot of hip baby boomers.

I think if I saw Miranda Cosgrove or Jamie Lynn Spears wearing them, I'd think - wow, retro! I had some like that when I was in 7th grade! If I'd saved them, I'd be cool again!

But when a Baby Boomer wears them? I can't figure out if she just saved them from the first time around. I mean, she'd be cool if she did, like I'd be cool if I had, but...hmm...now I've blocked myself in a corner.

Anyway, I like them.

Send me some shoe pictures, people!

Body Image: I really am Chubby

Here's me, in all my chubby glory, skipping up Pilot Butte.

I am vain, always have been. So posting a less-than-flattering picture of myself is harder for me than it might seem. I have pictures of me from 5 years ago, 40 pounds lighter, that actually look pretty good, and reflect a more positive self-image.

But I'm not going to post old pictures of the thinner me, because that's not what I look like any more. This picture shows me how I really am, right now.

I'm posting this in response to people who see my head shot and say "you don't look chubby!" and to people who see me in real life, dressed in flattering clothing like skirts and lycra that hide some of the chub. Sometimes they are mad, or feel betrayed, as if I've been fooling them. Like I'm not authentic or real, or fat enough to understand their diet and exercise struggles.

And sometimes thin people get funny when they talk about fat. They want to be careful, don't want to offend you or hurt your feelings. As if you don't know you're fat, and if anyone says it out loud, it makes it suddenly real. Like being fat is worse than cancer. Which it's not.

The thing is, I'm chubby now. Look at me, I'm fat. And I'm tired of it, since I've been "not fat" before, so I'm plugging along, doing my thing, working on my nutrition and exercise and balancing my stress load to get in better shape.

But being fat or being thin isn't my whole life. I don't have cancer, I've never had it, and I'm so happy to have a healthy body. I'm embracing my chub, since it's on my body right now, but I'm encouraging it to burn off into the atmosphere so I can run faster and look cuter in clothes. And live longer, since I like living.

The point of posting this picture? I really am fat, but I'm still having fun, still goofing off, still skipping up the butte. Amazing, but true.

And if I got hit by a car tomorrow, my kids would cherish this picture of their goofball mommy who wasn't too vain, after all, to let everyone see this silly picture her friend took of her skipping up the butte. Because this is me, their Chubby Mommy. They still love me, and so do a lot of other people, no matter what I look like.

Thought for the day to everyone struggling with body image: stop crying, and start skipping.

Instant Gladiator - Not!

Sorry, this is not a picture of me. This is a picture of Cathy Sassin, my "Gladiator" nutritionist from Intrafitt. I call her a Gladiator because she was on American Gladiator, which I think is super cool and extremely impressive.

Cathy's friend Tony Dizinno took this picture. I don't know Tony. I doubt Tony has a reason to take a picture of me, really. I'm not sure Tony takes pictures of flabby wanna-be Gladiators. Not sure how that would help him grow his business.

As you can see, Cathy's in great shape. As you can guess, she works at it. I'm not sure I want to look as good as Cathy, since it seems like a lot of work and I'm sort of lazy.

I wouldn't mind looking half as good as Cathy, however. As Keith Partridge says "Halfway is better than no way."

I'm still following Cathy's nutritional plan she set up for me, for the most part, and still exercising, usually. I'm not as hungry as I used to be, and my clothes are looser, so I think I'm making progress.

I was supposed to go get my body fat numbers checked last night to see if I've burned off any chub, but we had some friends over, and, well, there was some beer and wine and sausages involved, and a few coconut macaroons and lemon sorbet, and the night just got away from me.

But it's okay, really. Cathy says don't freak out if you go off your plan, "you're only three or four hours away from your next meal, so you can jump back into your program the next time you eat. Your body probably won't even notice." Unless you drink beer and eat cookies at every meal, of course, then your body will notice.

So, I wonder how long 'til I look half as good? I guess I'll just have to keep trying, not crying, and wait and see.

Butte Kicks Butt

I finally hiked Pilot Butte. Holey Moley, the first leg of that hike is steep. I'm so glad I didn't carry my hand weights up with me. I might have flopped onto the ground from exhaustion, and said "go on without me, Jen, finish your quest, you've trained long and hard for this..."

I wouldn't have minded carrying some weights on the way down though, to get the most out of my 45 minutes of walking I can, in a multi-tasking way. Must keep that heart rate in the zone to burn the chub!

Maybe next time I could hire a Sherpa to carry the weights up, then I could carry them down. The Sherpa could spend their morning schlepping up and down the hill, ferrying weights.

I might pay someone a dollar to be a Schleper Sherpa. If they were fast and strong, and able to carry many weights for other Chubby Mommies, they could make a decent living. Maybe some day I could be a Schleper Sherpa myself.

It's good to have goals.

Sole Patrol

John Flannery owns Bend Cycle Cab. He pedals people around town, and sometimes back to their house if they're much too happy after happy hour.

These are John's shoes. The ladybug purse belonged to a passenger, who quickly jumped out of her seat when she saw the camera. Pity. She had good shoes, too.

I'm a Skipper...

I skipped the River Walk this morning. Skipped as in bailed out, didn't show up, flaked, etc. not as in I skipped around the river. Although that would be a fun idea.

We should do that! I wonder how much skipping I need to do to get in my fat-burning heart rate zone? Hmm...I will find out and report back. Who's in? I bet we could cause a real stir at the river.

Maybe those Adventure BootCamp girls who hang out at the park, running stairs and lifting weights will join us. We could have a big line of skippers. I bet we'd get in the paper, or on the news.

But anyway, sorry for skipping, people! It wasn't my fault. It was the puppy's fault. Except, when you're a puppy, nothing's really your fault, is it? Being a puppy is like being a baby. You get a free pass on bad behavior until you're old enough to understand time out.

The puppy had some tummy trouble last night. It started at 3:00 a.m. and went until about 7:15 a.m. It was a long night for both of us.

The good news is, I watched that Julia Roberts/Mel Gibson movie in the middle of the night between trips to get the Swiffer to clean up after the puppy. It was pretty good. I cried at the end, like usual. The puppy was concerned for me and licked away my tears. It was the least he could do.

So, when 6:15 a.m. rolled around, I just couldn't drag myself into the car to drive to the river to walk, or skip with my friends.

How 'bout we skip up the Butte on Wednesday morning?

Monday Morning River Walk

Bright and early, tomorrow morning! 6:15 a.m., Farewell Bend Park. Be there, crabby or not.

Here's another fun shoe pic. Gotta love those Chuck Taylors...

Shoes, Marvelous Shoes...

I took the kids down to another festival in downtown Bend a couple-a weeks ago. We asked people if we could take pictures of their shoes for this blog.

I'd like to start a shoe photo corner, where readers can submit their best shoe shot, and we can vote, and give out gold stars. Maybe even some real gold stars! Maybe even real prizes! A girl can dream...

This guy was from Hermiston, Oregon, which is a tiny little town in the middle of the state. He somehow ended up with these special edition Nike's, with hot pink laces, and was more than happy to show them off.

Send me your shoe pics, people!