Worth a Thousand Words

That's me, circa. 1988!

I met Kristine Pringle a few months after I started my "journey".  She had documented the McIntire Park Fireworks on the 4th of July for the Newsplex and subsequently appeared as a guest on C'ville Plugged In with me.  I was in awe of how she captured not just the beauty of that event, but also the feelings surrounding it.  After the segment I made a plan to contact her in the fall, when I'd hoped to have lost "a few pounds" (like 40).  

For years I've put off getting family photos taken because of my weight. Documenting it  would've forced me to accept it.  Denial was much easier.  I coveted, however,  the beautiful family portraits my friends had covering their walls, and knew I was depriving my children of years of laughter in their adulthood (the hair in that pic above was cool when the photo was taken, I swear.) by not getting them done.  I made that vow that every overweight person makes -  I'd do them "once I lost weight".

September came and went and I found myself only at -20. I had planned to use these photos for our Christmas cards, but was I really ready to show 150 of our "closest" friends what I beast I still was?  Not really, but I decided I'd trade my pride for the beauty of a Charlottesville fall and gave Kristine a call.

You will see from the photos below that Kristine has mad photography skills. Sadly, however,  I still found it hard to look at myself.  I immediately started picking apart my flaws and was mad at myself for not losing more weight.  I hate that.  

The longer I looked, however, the more credit I began to give to myself.  I've come a long way from the fat girl, sleeping on a lawn chair on the beach last spring.  Once I recognized that, calmed down and added "be kinder to myself" to my growing list of New Year's Resolutions I saw just how beautiful these photos are.   Even more importantly than that, however, was how Kristine managed to really capture who we are - even though she barely knew us.  That's talent, people, pure talent.

We did what Kristine calls a "countrypolitan" shoot - 

Urban shots downtown Charlottesville...

...and a little country at Jefferson Vineyards. 

(And yes, we drank a bottle of Viognier during the shoot)

Goofy picture of me, but I love that we are running together!

 

Can you believe this is my baby?

Messy hair, playing in the grass, absolutely beautiful...

SO Maggie.

And this, of course, is my favorite.

You can see more of our photo session with Kristine, as well as other examples of her talent at http://www.pringleblog.com.  

Unintended Consequences

The first time I sat down with Hyam it was simply to interview her for a story for SuzySaid.  A friend had tried out one of her classes and thought it would make a good story so I checked it out.  Less than 30 minutes in to our conversation I knew my life was going to change. At the time, however, I believed those changes would be limited to my own personal journey back to health.  I had no clue I'd be blessed with so much more.

December marked the end of my latest 12 week session at Clay.  To celebrate our success, as well as Hyam's (surely you read the Daily Progress article about Clay's upward expansion into the former Bel Rio space?) two of my classmates had us all over for dinner.

On the way to their house I gave the Spicy Chicken a run down on the names of people he hadn't met.  As I started telling him about each individual it dawned on me what an amazing group of people they were and how highly I thought of each person.  

Whether they realize it or not each of them has guided me on my journey in their own way. Sure our workouts consisted of some really intense training, but somewhere between the curling & crunching, skipping & jumping and squatting & lunging there was a whole lot of smiling, supporting, laughing, encouraging and inspiring going on.  

Twelve weeks later I've lost few pounds and added a few new friends.  I'll take those unintended consequences any day.

Pretty Cool

I got an e-mail from a colleague the other day that stated "And by the way, I saw you were named as C Magazine's "blogs we love" - congratulations!"

What?  SuzySaid was mentioned in C Magazine?  That's awesome!

I had actually picked up a copy of C Magazine (C-Ville Weekly's quarterly style supplement) that day but I hadn't had a chance to look at it. I immediately tore it open to find that it wasn't SuzySaid, but rather Finding Amy...Again - this blog - that they were talking about!  I was floored.

My childhood friends like to tease me about my "celebrity status" in Charlottesville.   I remind them that while Charlottesville might be nationally known because we're home to things like UVA and Monticello, it's actually fairly small. Being a "celebrity" is kind of like being WBLAHS Homecoming Queen (which I was not, btw). 

But I have to admit that getting noted in C Magazine - a trendy, hip publication - felt pretty cool.

Thanks, Caite White - you made my day.

Back to Reality

Getting back to reality after visiting my parents is always hard.  I feel so incredibly relaxed when I'm home that I even manage to sleep well (when I don't wear five layers of running clothes and my shoes to bed).  I'm blessed with really easy going parents we don't have those stereotypical stress-laden family holidays.  Even when we're really busy (as we were this past trip) it still feels really relaxing. (Starting cocktail hour at 3pm always helps, too).

Unfortunately the Spicy Chicken and I both wound up with killer chest colds upon our return.  Neither of us could breath well enough on Monday morning to run up the stairs to wake the girls, let alone make it through an hour with Hyam.  Fortunately for us (unfortunately for her) she also caught some crud over the holidays so we got off easy.

If you've been reading this blog fairly regularly you might be thinking "This girl's a freakin' hypochondriac!" But I swear I'm not.  Somehow I've had more stupid colds in the past 3 months than I've had in the past 3 years! It's frustrating because missing that many days (the week I was in MN plus a few extra since I've been home) sets you back a few steps, whether you realize it or nor. 


And let me tell you - I realized it Friday when I finally got back in the studio.  W-O-W - it was tough.  On the other hand, Saturday morning's cycling class felt so good I was almost disappointed when she said it was our last song...Almost.

Breakfast Is Back

A week or so ago I posted that I was struggling with eating in the morning and therefore, struggling through my workout.  I got some great feedback both here and on my Facebook Page about how others rev themselves up in the morning, and it really rejuvenated me.  I have a tendency to get stuck in a rut when it comes to eating healthy, so a few new ideas (or reminding me of old ideas) helped me get back on track.

The first thing I embraced was oatmeal. I'd forgotten how much I like oatmeal and just how filling it is. For extra nutrition and the protein I really need to sustain a killer session at Clay I add in a handful of nuts (I prefer almonds) and some blueberries.  Berries are pretty expensive this time of year so I'm probably going to have to go to frozen soon, but KK and M love them too and they pack so much nutrition into a small package that it seems worth the expense for now.

I also renewed my love for greek yogurt this week.  Apparently eating the same thing every day for months will tire you of it - who knew?  But after a few weeks vacation yogurt and I are back on good terms.  On workout days I get crazy and add in a little granola. It's pretty high in fat and calories, but a little goes a long way so I don't feel too guilty.  My favorite is Bear Naked's Fit Vanilla Almond Crunch.  One serving (1/4 cup) has 120 calories, 2.5 g of fat, 2 g of fiber and just 4 g of sugar.  I stir about an 1/8 cup in and it fuels me for the morning.  Hyam would prefer that I eat the plain and sweeten it with honey, but I haven't quite come around to that taste yet. 

Finally, I decided to take the bagel off the "Devil List".  Don't get excited - I realize these days most bagels could feed an entire small country for a week.  They can, however, also be a decent source for breakfast if you do it right.  No super-sized shmear of cream cheese  here - just a half a whole wheat bagel topped with a tablespoon of peanut butter and banana slices.  It's a good start to the day - and you've got your carb craving curbed before 9am!