My Blogging World

Unsurprisingly, I am once again out of town for work. Actually, I was a bit surprised to get this assignment since the summer months are extremely slow in my line of work. Fortunately, I'm an organized person and although I can shop and spend with the best of them, I always make sure that there's enough money in the bank to get me through until October when the pay cheques start flowing again.

So here I am, blogging once again from a hotel in the home town of Spunky Suzi. Sorry I didn't get in touch, Suzi. Our schedules just don't mesh although I'm hopeful that we will finally meet when I'm back again in September.

This is a three-day gig, so I've been out to supper twice with my colleague. We've been having a great time, working hard in the morning and then shopping and exercising in the afternoon. Yesterday, we spent the whole afternoon in a little village called St. Jacobs. Its small main street is chock-full of great stores. I bought a little antique footstool so I can sit more comfortably and read in our newly renovated sunroom and I also bought a few pieces of clothing. My new, slightly slimmer self has really been enjoying buying clothes...perhaps a bit too much. This time, thankfully, I didn't really go overboard and just bought a few pieces on sale, including a great little blouse that I was SURE would not fit but I tried it on anyway and, to my great surprise, it did fit!



Today, we went to the St. Jacobs farmers' market. Such beautiful, fresh local food. It was a real delight. After the market, we went to the gym and I did the elliptical trainer (20 minutes!!) and some yoga. I had a funny thought while doing the elliptical: while so many of my weight loss blogger friends need to stick close to home when it comes to eating, I feel that way about gym equipment. I really missed my Tunturi elliptical trainer. I swear they made it for tiny people like me. Even the floor mats at the gym weren't the kind that I like for my yoga practice. However, I did my best and am quite pleased that I made the effort. Tomorrow at noon, I'm driving home (it's about 1 1/2 hours drive) and going straight to a yoga lesson. My lessons are sacred.

Over supper tonight, I was talking to my colleague about my blogging and the weight-loss community I've met on-line. She thought it was all extremely weird. She can't see why people bare their souls on the internet and I certainly didn't try to convince her that everyone should do it. In fact, my blogging is actually a very private act. Some people who know me in the "real" world know that I'm a weight-loss blogger, but none of them even have the address for my blog. I don't offer it and they don't ask. Not even my husband. He also blogs, but in a totally different field and he is quite well know in his own blogging world. He blogs on topics that concern his profession and rarely mentions anything personal (he did mention his mother's death recently and blogged about a conference that he took our older son to, but that's about it for personal comments).

I am very happy to have made a number of friends in the weight-loss community. When it comes to this part of my life, I feel that my virtual friends and readers understand me a lot better and certainly provide me with much more support than any of my friends, family or colleagues. As I write this, it sounds a bit sad, but that's not at all how I see it. It's just a part of my life that I share with a select group of people: you!

I have to admit, I wish my husband were a bit more "on board". He and I have gained weight together over the past twenty years and I'd be really happy if he shed some of that weight. He's turning 47 in the fall--it's a dangerous time for men. Of course, he hasn't ever gone to a doctor since we've been together (thank goodness, he does go to the dentist regularly) and though he rarely gets ill, I worry about his weight, his cholesterol, his BP. I guess the only thing I can do is set a good example myself and maybe, maybe one day he'll come around.

So here I am: blogging and reading others' blogs, learning and trying to give support to others too. No profound words on weight loss today, just a hello to everyone out there as I sit typing in my hotel room, listening to the cars going by on the highway.

Now, I'm off to do one last exercise for my knee!