Run,run,run,run,run,run,run,run,run,run,run away

More health and fitness life updates! (yes! You know are you freakishly excited!)

Is masochism a pre-req for personal trainers, do you think? Or does it just develop over time within the profession? Because my personal trainer is EVIL and enjoys seeing me SUFFER. (yes, all caps was called for in both of those).Today; after every painful thing, he would say "see? that was cake" and then say "Don't worry, we've only got 3 sets left".

Today I did dumbbells and that thing where you push the bar with weights when you are laying on your back. Like legit gym stuff.

Evil. Evil. Evil.

On a positive note, I've lost a total of 109 lbs from my all time high, 20 something just since I've been going to the gym.I think I am developing what they call a 'transfer addiction'. I've given up sugar and caffeine and am now obsessed with working out. This is an addiction I can live with!

I am also obsessed with "the voice". It makes me mad when people get angry when 'the really good singers' are eliminated. Listen, I don't care if you are a vocal powerhouse. I want to feel a sense of connection and some entertainment, people. Also, once you wear feathers, I can't vote for you anymore.

That was kind of random.

This whole post is random. Maybe because I am writing it superfast in between my 8 APPOINTMENTS today.

I am back in that crazy phase where I am overbooking and oh my gosh I wish it were Friday at 5 pm already.

So I could be done for the week and go work out:)

Lori Ann

We take increased devotion

It's Memorial Day.

And I am in my office before 7 am.

I don't have to work today but something about having the day off inspires me to come in and get work done. Which is; of course, the opposite of how I feel on days when I am actually at work.

I have a lot of random life updates. But I will fill you in another day.

 Because it's Memorial Day. One of the most important days of the year.

As I have gotten older I have come to appreciate Memorial Day more. Maybe because I am increasingly aware of how rare a thing true freedom really is or because I'm old enough to be the mother of a lot of the soldiers that gave their lives for this country.

I couldn't imagine having my son sent home to me in a pine box. How do you live through something like that? That kind of sacrifice is; for me, unfathomable.

But it does remind me, as Memorial Day always does, that being an American is more than just a privilege but a responsibility.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

Lori Ann

Ps- this is a picture of my grandpa Hinsdale( far left)and two of his brothers. All WW2 vets. (and very handsome... I can't believe how young they look!)

Same old song

Ok, so you know when blogs start to get all themey? And tedious?

That's totally the direction this blog is going in.

TSC's new theme is health and fitness, baby!

Yesterday; after work, I walked 2.2 miles. In a dress and sneakers.

Today; before work, I walked for a total of an hour (2.5 miles) and did my strength training.

I have lost 6 lbs this week.

I will admit that I do have a kind of manic tendency to get fixated on something and then burn out.

Like making wreathes out of felt.

Watching Harry Potter movies over and over.

The Brokeback Mountain obsession of 07.

Making my own soup when I lived in NC.

The election.

Glitter.

Adding the word b@$*ches to the end of all of my sentences.

Hummus.

All of these obsessions have come and gone.

But I'm hoping this one..this "I've got to work out somehow today" obsession doesn't burn out.

We'll see...b@$*ches!

Lori Ann

I don't want to be a pretty girl

Sooo....

I lost 3 more lbs. That's 103 for all of you keeping count. And since I avoided the camera like a plague when I was at my all time high (in 2009-2010 ish) the only before picture that I have is of my license. Brace yourselves. 

Yikes. 

This is my current after picture- I still have a long way to go. 

So..that's my progress so far. (this was for you, Tyler!)

On a related note, I went walking at the park today. 2.2 miles. I always tell my clients to do something that is rejuvenating for them. For me, walking in PA is the ultimate in rejuvenation. I don't know why but no place compares to here. I love the trees. They are just the right shade of green. I love the rainy spring days and the chilly fall nights and absolutely everything in between. (ok..except for the humidity in summer... I wish I could live in Colorado every summer)

Anyway, just walking, listening to my crazy mix of music and being outside makes me feel like I can do anything. Here are my favorite parts of the trail that I walk. 

And lastly, on a completely unrelated note, I am trying to find quotes to hang up in my office. Another thing that is rejuvenating for me is surrounding myself with quotes and song lyrics. Does anyone have a favorite? Something that you would like to see on the wall of your therapists office?

Thanks for listening to me ramble!!

Lori Ann

I felt like a caged elf

Random Updates on a weird Saturday afternoon.

Erin visited this week. She is half pot stirrer, half therapist. It's always so much fun to have her home though. 

I can't stop listening to "My name is" by Eminem. It's straight up late 90's in this house right now. 

I went to Walmart at 6 am this morning. To buy crunch n' munch and a pink camisole. I bet they thought I was high. All I needed to add to my cart was some tuna and a fake pumpkin or something.

Oh no..MacArthur Park just came up on the iTunes shuffle. This song makes me feel crazy!

I have been thinking about writing my book again. I have to do it. I just really want to be rich and buy a stone farmhouse in the PA country side. With a pool and a theater room. And a wrap around porch.

So far the only character I have for my book is an orange cat named Captain Jack. 

I have been working out a few times a week for a little while now. My trainer is nuts. But I think (knock on wood) that it is really starting to click with me that I have the power to change my body and change my life. I dread going to the gym a little less each time.

Anyway, I am going to post something in the "live your life" series this week. I don't know what. But I (or maybe 'we'- me and my sister's kids) are going to LIVE OUR LIVES (somehow)! 

Lori Ann

100

It's official.

I have lost 100 lbs from my all time high. (which was only 120 to begin with so...yeah, I'm 20 lbs now)

I want to thank the following people and things:

My parents- for dealing with the craziness and always making me jello and delicious  (small) servings of chicken

Diet coke- for finally relinquishing the strange hold of obsession you've had over me the last 20 years

Tory- my trainer. He's bald, scrappy, and kind of like a therapist but who makes you do bench dips and keeps yelling "one more set!"

My sisters- For celebrating every single pound along the way.

People and things I DO NOT want to thank:

The scale- which tried to lie to me today. Good thing I stepped on it 3 times until it told me what I wanted.

Jr- for bringing an ever whirling array of carbs and sugar into my life

My wholesome pilgrim genetic code which interprets one missed meal as a reason to hold onto every single calorie like it's about to be winter in Jamestown all over again.

That is all.

Lori "it's ok to hate me even more now" Ann

There's nothing left to talk about

So...

Anti-Mothers Week has been a raving success for me so far.

I thought about calling it "I'm not a mom but I want to celebrate myself, don't judge me, devils! week" but felt that Anti-Mothers Week had a more provocative and angsty vibe to it.

Speaking of provoking, I am always plotting to post about controversial topics on this blog to drive up my readership. But then I think "ehhh...."

So, if you came here looking for some controversy, you are going to have to get your fix somewhere else, gossip mongers!

Today I walked 2.2. miles AND THEN went to the gym. It's official. I am one of 'those people'. Do not show your face at the SNAP fitness in Quakertown, PA..because I will sneer at you. All I really need to get to finalize my gym cred is a weight belt. (and muscles and stuff, but I can't focus on that when I have a weight belt acquisition to worry about)

Lori Ann

Que el cielo y tu madre cuidan de ti

You guys...if you look at the history of my blog, every May you will see about a weeks worth of posts dedicated to my mother. It is; after all, "Mother's Week". (my mother never has a 'day'- its always a 'week'- birth week, mothers week, etc, etc)

And my mother deserves a million posts, trust me. But this year I am taking the Chronicles in a slightly new direction.

This week I am going to write a few posts celebrating myself. And everything that I love about not being a mom.

I think most people probably have the idea that spinsterhood and not being a mom are trials that us single girls are called to bear. And while there is a hint of truth to that...*it would be so nice to have someone to rant "My mother told me not to marry you" at, a crazy daughter to dress up, and all the, sweet, sweet Mormon societal acceptance that comes with it*... it is sometimes just a crazy awesome blessing to be free.

Not being a mom means:

That I can sleep in EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND

That I can 'play mom' (aka being an Aunt) and just laugh merrily through all of the fun and then go home and eat chocolate and watch scary movies all night on my netflix app because...once again...I don't have to wake up early or deal with the fallout of the sugar high I created.

I can get in and out of my car in 30 seconds flat.

I get to have the following conversation with myself every day "What do you feel like doing tonight, Lori?..Nothing? That sounds great"

I do laundry about every two weeks

I still have a fairly firm grip on my sanity.

Lori Ann

p.s.- It should be obvious but let me add a disclaimer anyway. This post isn't meant to be offensive. It's meant to entertain me as I begin to increasingly dread the wilted pity carnation I am sure to be handed by the young men at church this week.