Obsessed

You might be a tad obsessed with Harry Potter if:

1) Your boyfriend asks you where you want to walk the dogs and you say, "We should take Hannah to the Quidditch field to run around".

2) You start calling your Golden Retriever "Hermione"... by accident. (True story.)

3) You break people into two different categories: "Friends" and "Slytherines".

4) You watch the last 20 minutes of "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" so that you won't miss a minute of the premier of "HBO's First Look: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince".

5) You say "Lumos" whenever you flip the lights on.

If you are showing any or all of these symptoms...

You are awesome.

PS: There was no Fit or Fail post last week because my brother returned from a year abroad, and celebrating that was way more important that Fit or Fail.

PPS: There won't be a Fit or Fail post tomorrow as I have spent the last week SICK, therefore my workouts this past week have been loading the dishwasher and taking a shower. (Both of these activities resulted in a massive jump in my heart rate and a subsequent nap...)

Love Letter

Dear Mike,

Thanks for not laughing or rolling your eyes when I called you as you were leaving work to ask if you would get me some frozen yogurt on your way home.

And thanks for thinking that it was totally normal that I wanted Cap'n Crunch as my topping.

And thanks for watching Michael Jackson videos with me and then listening to me ramble about how he was a freakin' genius and how he essentially changed pop culture as we know it.

And thanks for making me spit out my water when you said that you were named after him.

And thanks for checking the backyard to find out what that scary noise was. Some people might have thought you looked silly with your head through the dog door to see if our neighbors were murdering someone, but I felt very safe looking at your torso stuck half inside/half outside the house.

Loves,

Ally B

The King

I used to watch this video over and over again.

No, it's not "Thriller".

Yes, it's the most expensive music video of all time.

(I've always had amazing taste.)

And, yes, I kinda wish my brother and I had come up with more synchronized choreography in leather pants...

(It's too late now; my brother has broken knees and I can't fit into tight leather pants... oh, what could have been...)

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Fit or Fail: Apathetic Edition

I didn't write a Fit or Fail post yesterday because a bee stung Bonnie and sent the poor dog into anaphylactic shock. (She's fine today.)

Sooooo, writing about my adventures in fitness land was not really something I wanted to do while waiting for a call from the Doggy ER that told me we could go get her.

(The call came at 2 AM. The doctor kindly informed me that it would be great if we could pick her up as soon as possible because Bonnie "really wants to come home". The doc quickly told me that Bonnie wasn't being "bad, per se... she just wants to leave"... I'm kind of wondering what Bonnie really did...)

But here I am, with a sleeping Bonnie next to me (she's still doped up on Benadryl), thinking about my fitness. And I am realizing that I have reached that place where I always fail:

I have little to no motivation.

I have little to no desire to workout.

I have trouble keeping track of what I'm eating.

I don't want to go to the gym.

It would help if I had some amazing results to motivate me to continue. But? I have none. No great results. Nothing to help convince me that my goals are in reach.

Now, I'm hoping that by telling you all this, it will inspire me to be FIT and not let this lead to a FAIL. I have not missed one of my scheduled workouts (FIT!), and I don't plan on it. I plan on beating this apathy, because I don't want to start over again.

But, man, it blows.

Nicknames

The following conversation occurred completely randomly:

Mike: What do you think would be a good nickname for me?

Me: Thunder.

Mike: No... I'm thinking something cooler... like "Pickles".

Me: How is THAT cooler than "Thunder"?

Mike: Or another vegetable... like "Onion" or "Shallot".

Me: Nope... you're "Pickles", Pickles.

Mike: No, I changed my mind.

Me: Now, Pickles, I tried to give you a cool name like "Thunder" -

Mike: But I'm trying to find a serious name...

Me: So you picked "Pickles"?

Mike: It sounded better in my head.

Me: Fine, Pickles.

Mike: Stop calling me that.

I continued to call him Pickles and he almost left me... so yeah... don't try it on him... Pickles be pissed.

Fit or Fail: Squats are not for Sissies Edition

Mike decided that he would try the same strength moves as me.

The moves that caused me to waddle around like a broken down duck for a week straight.

When we did the squats, push-ups, and other death moves, Mike said that he was surprised that it was so difficult, but he seemed to do okay.

But soon...

HE was the one with the waddle.

HE was the one who almost threw up his protein shake.

HE was the one who whimpered every time he bent down to fill up the dog's water bowl.

(Though he did get over it much faster than me... and honestly, he didn't bitch NEARLY as much... and then he went and climbed a mountain...but still...)

And even though I would NEVER wish that pain on the man I love... it still felt kinda awesome.

In other news, I've continued the same workout program as last week and I'm getting better. I'm still sore, but not immobile. I'm sure it will get worse once I add weight and different moves, but for now I'm happy I can get into my car without weeping.

Selective Hearing

Over the last few days I've thought that there's something wrong with Bonnie.

She's been shaking her head, scratching her ears, and not coming in the house when I call her.

I cleaned out her ears, but none of the gunk that comes with ear infections was there.

I asked Mike if something was wrong with her.

She was sitting on the back of couch (where she is NOT allowed), staring outside, head perked up and eyes darting over the street, guarding her precious house.

"Bonnie?"

No response.

"Bonnie!"

No response.

Uh-oh. What do we do with a deaf dog? Can I teach her sign language? Are there classes for dogs like this?

Then a dog (three houses away) barked.

And Bonnie jumped off the back of the couch and outside, barking and growling the whole way.

She heard THAT just fine.

So yeah... she doesn't need sign language... she needs obedience lessons... damn dog.