five for tuesday

[lunabee34]

1. I'm reading a fantastic book that Executrix sent me about the way that American heiresses started invading Victorian England because they couldn't achieve social recognition or make good marriages in an American society ruled by stuffy old birds like Mrs. Astor. Anyway, fun factoid: kid gloves were worn by both men and women at society functions so that flesh never touched flesh while dancing; the gloves were thin and tight enough that the outline of the fingernails was visible through them, and they only lasted for a single use. Talk about disposable income.

2. I go to the gym most days, but I realized I was kind of half-assing my workouts. I know that exercising keeps me healthy, but it's hard to muster much enthusiasm for it when the good it's doing is so abstract and invisible. In short, I am coming to realize that I've been more depressed that I realized. It's been gradually building since August, and it's starting to feel a bit crushing. I think it has been affecting the intensity of my workouts. So, I've committed to committing to my workouts. Last week, I made sure I hit 400 calories burned during the cardio portion of my workouts; I upped it this week to 450, and next week, I'll make it 500. 600 calories is my ultimate daily goal with one weekend workout that hits 1000 calories burned. I realize that the calorie counters on the machines are not necessarily accurate, but they're one way to measure progress. I am definitely pushing myself and working as hard as I can, so I feel good about that.

3. So, changing the way I eat has been a mixed bag. I've done a good job of eating more salads and fruit and of being more thoughtful about what I'm eating. For example, when we went to the Mexican restaurant, I let Josh eat almost all the chips they brought out and then I just had three rather than devouring as many as I could the second they set them down. I didn't eat crackers or bread or potato salad with my gumbo tonight, and I only put one spoonful of rice in the bottom of my bowl. I'm having some success curtailing my night time snacking but nearly as much as I'd like.

4. So, we're going to a formal wedding in March, and the thought of trying to buy a cocktail dress fills me with despair. I suspect I'm going to have a hard time finding an appropriately formal and attractive dress in my size. I suspect that I will not be pleased with the fit or the look of whatever I manage to find that's large enough to fit me. And I double dog suspect that rifling through all the beautiful dresses I can't wear will ramp up that despair to the max. Thank god I'll get to stuff my face with champagne and foie gras while dancing in my taffeta mumu.

5. Getting to Know You Meme: Ask me a question, and I'll ask you one in return.

Comments

[zulu]

Dress shopping is the worst. You asked a while back what sort of narrative people were trying to make with their clothes, and I think mine is "as close to jeans and a t-shirt as I can get while appearing professional." So mostly black/dark slacks and blouses in bright, single colours. I was super-lucky to find my wedding dress on the first try, because other than that experience, it has always been a bust.

Hm. What's your favourite colour?

[archersangel]

is the book to marry an english lord? i read that. very interesting.

[china_shop]

Question meme: What do you do while you're exercising? Listen to music, watch TV, etc? And if the answer is consume media, which media? :-)