New Goals & New Toys

I'm excited because Zach, my friends Heather and Mike, and I are making a small writing circle.  It's nothing particularly fancy, especially at the moment, but it is something to get the proverbial creative juices flowing.  Each week we are to submit a one-page (minimum) piece; they do not have to be part of one story -- they can be stand alone projects.  For the most part, there is no theme for the week's writing, but I think it would be a neat idea to incorporate one on the occasion.  It's just a place to stretch your creative muscle; we read each others work and give constructive criticism and the like.  I was so excited that I made a new blog for it last week and made my first post the day before yesterday.  If you're interested in my writing blog, feel free to check out Owl Quills & Squid Ink.

I posted on my Facebook yesterday that, now that I have started writing again, I want to be able to draw.  I don't think I have ever really been a terrible drawer, per se, but I don't think my drawings are quite good.  I can look at a picture and draw based on it, which normally comes out decent, but when it's something just from my imagination, it never seems to work that well.  I end up tracing an outline of something and then altering it.  Sigh.  I feel kind of bad admitting that, but it's true.  So yesterday, I made a new DeviantArt account, Jeshil2draw, which is going to be where I favorite all of the drawing tutorials that I find useful.  I didn't want it clogging up my steampunk DA account. Most of the stuff that I have found tutorial-wise have been for digital drawing, but all I have is a mouse... Sigh. Pencil and paper it is, right?

Yesterday, I drew this flower based on this tutorial.  I know it's not great, but it's a start, right?  I love the old-school tattoo-esque rose. (Click for a bigger picture, as always.)

Now then.  As you may have noticed by now, I am a nerd.  Sorry to blow your minds, those of you who hadn't noticed yet, but it's true.  But, as they say, "I am a product of my own environment."  My father was always super into computers; I actually grew up sitting in his lap as he used the computer.  Yes, I am old because I remember when computers were first made for home use, but this is neither here nor there.  My maternal uncles are both huge nerds.  Rob, the oldest, is always upgrading his computer, which now looks like an ammunition case.  He has packages almost daily from Amazon.  He buys a lot of video games, etc. and always likes having the newest, shiniest things in geekware.  He is going to school for programming, mainly in the area of software and video games.  Brent, the youngest at 29, loves video games almost strictly.  He has to have the newest consoles and games literally as soon as they come out. 

I tell you that to tell you this:  The other week, Rob had bought a new Wacom Bamboo tablet and was showing me some of the things he had drawn with it.  At first I was all, "Oh, that's really neat!  I've always wanted to play with one of those."  But when I decided I wanted to learn how to draw, my only thought was, "I wonder if Rob bought a newer, shinier one so that I can have --borrow-- his old one..."  Because I am cheap and don't like to spend my money.  I had looked online and found one off-brand for $40, but it was out of stock.  The next cheapest one jumped to $80 and it didn't seem much different than the cheapest one.   (I did not know until right now that $80 was what he spent on the original tablet.)

So, we go over to my grandparents' for dinner last night, and I ask him where he got it.  He said "Which one?"  I didn't know there were more than one!  He plugged in his new Intuos5 Wacom tablet that cost $350 to let me play with while he packed up the Bamboo one.  He also let me borrow some of the software he had gotten for it.  So boom.  That's the story of how I acquired a new, $80 Wacom tablet free.  I am installing the software after I finish this post.  I'll upload anything I draw that is decent and link it.

A quick weight loss update before I go. I went to the doctor on Wednesday, and as of then, I had lost 22 lbs.  He also told me that my health was much better; all of my blood-related tests were perfect (glucose, red cells, white cells, liver, kidney, etc.).  Actually, he downed my thyroid medicine because my thyroid is now working better than it should.  I'm disappointed that I only lost like 3 lbs in February, but I feel like I'm going to make up for it.  I can tell I've lost inches, which is more important.  I've convinced myself that I haven't lost as much because I am gaining muscle due to my piloxing class.  22 lbs down, 68 lbs to go, 5 months and one week to go.  Wow, that actually seems manageable when I read it like that... Maybe I'll actually make my goal.

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Water Fasting Results :: Edit 3/16/12

Don't worry -- this won't be a very long post. Just a little overview of how my water fasting went.

I knew before Sunday that it would be my last day eating until Thursday (in theory), so I splurged calorie-wise and had Taco Bell for dinner.  This was partially one reason, but the Locos Tacos had just come out also and I wanted to try one so bad.  They're pretty amazing, just so you know.  With a full belly and a determined attitude, I began.

The first day went great; Mondays are usually quite hellish for me since I have to do observations on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as go to class.  Mondays are particularly terrible because my classes go from 2:20 until 8:20 with pretty much only ten minutes between each.  To top it all off, I have about a 45 minute drive to get home and was in a fight with my boyfriend (which, actually caused me to skip that 5:30-8:20 class).  Needless to say, I had plenty to distract me from being hungry.  My normal observation day breakfast is a Nature Valley trail mix bar...I wasn't missing much.  Lunchtime rolled around and my stomach growled once.  I shot it an angry look and promptly drowned it.  Due to fighting, my stomach didn't even care about dinner.  I ended up losing a pound the first day.

Day two was also pretty good.  My biggest concern was that Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to the gym, and Tuesdays are my piloxing classes.  She's told us recently that you burn anywhere from 600 to 900 calories during the workout, so, naturally, I was worried about over-stressing my body.  I did notice a difference, too.  I was a little more tired than usual about fifteen minutes into the class; when I started feeling a little weak, I toned down my intensity.  I normally go about 5 miles on the elliptical afterwards, but I was afraid to, so I just walked the track at a nice pace for about a mile to cool down.  After my shower, I felt completely back to normal.  It growled twice at lunchtime so loudly that I thought it echoed in the room -- of course, that may have been because we were in the quiet Honors Lounge where several people study.  My friend scolded me for not eating, which is precisely why I had not chosen to tell many people about my decision.  Dinnertime, I retired to my room, away from the distractions of food, to drink water and play WoW.  At the end of day two, I hadn't lost any weight and was disappointed.

Day three was tough.  On my hour long drive to my observation school, I started feeling really weak and nauseous.  I drank a little bit and felt a little better, but it was still obvious that I did not feel well.  We stopped in the teachers lounge for my friend to use the restroom and there was a huge spread of breakfast foods.  My nausea attacked once more and I scanned the table.  There were pastries, breakfast casseroles, and sweets -- nothing I was too keen on breaking my fast for.  Then I saw a bunch of bananas.  I broke one off and ate it, as much as I hate to admit it.  After that, though, I felt much, much better, but I knew my body did not want day three to happen at all.  I did fine skipping lunch; I had a lot of lesson plans and papers to keep me distracted from my hunger.  Unfortunately, the universe had a different plan for me.  There was food everywhere and somehow, it kept getting offered to me.  I resisted until I got home, when Zach suggested getting McDonald's Shamrock Shakes.  I felt light-headed and sick again; I knew I had to eat something.  So, I broke my fast prematurely.

Today, I weighed and I had lost another two pounds.  I lost a total of 3 lbs, which puts me at down 18 lbs.  Still not quite on schedule, but it's better than nothing.  I am disappointed that a broke my water fast before time, but I knew my body was telling me that I had to eat something.  On the other hand, I was extremely proud of myself for sticking with it as long as I did, and my efforts were rewarded with weight loss.  To be honest, I didn't expect to be able to make it two days without eating, but I had no problem with it at all.  Just to be safe, I kept an emergency Slim Fast shake in my bag the whole time.  Now, I know that next time I water fast, I will be able to do the entire three days.  Hopefully that will result in more weight loss and feeling much better.  I have had more energy during the day, I believe, which seems a bit contradictory...72 lbs to go. I got this.

Ahem. I weighed this morning and lost two more pounds.  That means I've lost 20 lbs so far and have 60 to go. I'm on my way.

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School & Weight Loss

Man, it seems like forever since I have posted here. Oh, it's been about two months... That explains it.  But with being in our last block of classes before our student teaching, things have gotten a bit hectic.  For example, yesterday I had to take the Praxis II, a standardized test that pretty much determines if you can teach or not.  It's similar to the bar in law school. You can always re-take it, but it costs $130 per test.  To top it off, the head of our department just informed us that elementary education majors have to take a second Praxis test before our internship.  She told us this last week; most of us were taking our tests yesterday.  Apparently, a neighboring college had informed their students on November 11th of last year.  As a friend said, "It's not like it's our futures or anything."  Oh well. It has to be done, right?  (At least that's what I keep telling myself.)  Just a few more hoops to jump through and I'll be done. 9 months until graduation.

As far as my weight loss is concerned, I have lost a depressing amount compared to January.  In January, I lost 10 lbs.  In February, I only lost 4 lbs.  I know that I should be proud that I've lost 14 lbs, but it's hard to be proud when it's decreased so much...  I'm still doing my Piloxing class at school, as well as 5 miles on the elliptical.  Tuesday, I swam after my Piloxing class thinking it would feel relaxing on my muscles, but still work them.  I was very sore the next day.  I've pretty much stuck to my diet; I only have one cheat day a week.  There are a few times at night where I sneak a little something, but I do that in moderation, too.  One day at school, I splurged and got a slice of pizza for lunch; my brain and body felt so guilty that I only had a granola bar for dinner.  Surprisingly, I'm not hungry any more like I was the first month.  On average, I take in less than 1,000 calories a day and I feel fine.  I'm going to start exercising more throughout the week, though. I've gotten a few workout DVDs (because Zach made fun, I won't say what they are).

That being said, I thought I might try water fasting.  I hadn't heard of it until I was looking up a yoga video on YouTube and it was in the related searches.  Unfortunately, I could not find a clear "how to" to save my life.  From what I understand of it, you determine how many days you want to fast and balance that with how many days you eat.  For example, I'm going to try a 3 day water fast.  Because I have eaten over the weekend, I am going to go Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday without eating -- only drinking water.  If I feel a little weak, I'm going to have some juice.  Then, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I will eat again and the cycle starts over.  I'm starting small because I have to work on willpower and building myself up to an extended fast.  During this fast, you're supposed to lose half a pound to two pounds a day.  We'll see how I fare.

My goal was to lose about 80 or 90 pounds by August. 14 lbs down, 76 lbs to go. 5 months and 20 days (if I can count) to go.  I can do this.

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