Baby Time

So as many of you know, I am so looking forward to my three weeks in May as chief child care provider for my then three month old niece. I love spending time with little babies. They are just so sweet, and unlike my three year nephew (whom I love!!!!) they don't need so much active attention and can't talk. But they can listen. My niece is an especially gifted listener. She stares and makes cooing noises and looks so damned earnest. I will have her on Friday for a few hours while my brother and sister-in-law deal with a small medical procedure. I plan to bring her to campus and introduce her to the office. We'll see.
We have been talking about possibly having our own little baby. Right now simply would not be convenient. I want to be able to enjoy my niece and nephew and not have to split time with my own kid. Also, I have a young and crazy puppy who would not do well with a baby. Not sure he ever would. I am about to turn 35 and realize that my clock is ticking, but I am not about to panic and rush something that I am comfortable without right now.

Only Me...

Funny thing happened to me last week. I accidentally signed up to participate in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. The Relay is held from 6pm to 6am Friday night into Saturday. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am asleep on Friday before 9pm. I start to get crabby and need to lie down around 8. But, not this Friday! This Friday my butt will be walking around the Parade Grounds in support of my dear friend who has the cancer. (That's right, the cancer.) I believe I have signed up for the critical 2am - 6:30am shift. I figure this way, since I am going to be miserable and crabby, I might as well have gotten at least some sleep... 8pm -1:30am is a good 5 hours.
So, how does one accidentally sign up for a relay? Only I could do such a thing. I wanted to give money so I clicked "Join Me" - thinking I was joining my friend's team by giving her money. Yes, I am an idiot. I did not realize until the site was talking about a tee-shirt and my $10 entrance fee that I had in fact signed up to relay. It would be bad karma to back away from this so I won't. Besides, this gives me an excuse to eat pizza this week. I am excited about supporting my friend with the cancer by being up with her and walking for 4.5 hours. The girl is on chemo - if she can do that and be there - I can not be lazy and grumpy for a night. I am actually glad that I accidentally did this. We'll see how I feel at 7am on Saturday.

Fat Stuffs

So, I have been getting mixed comments to my battle for my body. While I love hearing that I am gorgeous and don't need to lose weight, the reality is that I do. And it is only partially about looks. I admit that I want back the hot, toned body of my youth. I realize that things like gravity and age will make that impossible without surgical intervention - and no, I am not going there. I simply want to stop lugging around the extra 50 pounds (yes 50 frickin pounds) and be healthy. I don't want to be super thin. I simply want to be the correct BMI for my height and have a healthy fat index. I should not be made out of 40% blubber. Muscles are good. However, simply building muscle mass is not equating to loss of fat. (I so wish it would!) Hence, I am reducing my calories and increasing my cardio. Once I get to a healthy place where my body is no longer storing up for the famine, I hope to be able to enjoy increased calories again. In the meantime, I am thinking healthy thoughts and willing myself to a fitter body.