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I received my third order from Nutrisystem this week and what did I find nestled in with the breakfast entrées and dessert/snacks? My very own, bright red, Nutri-bear commemorating my loosing 10 lbs! I wasn’t even expecting it — how cool is that?
(I don’t know where she got the image, but this picture of Pound, the Nutri-Bear, is from Ashar Edith’s blog.)

In other thoughts, for the past couple of weekends, I’ve been watching a groundhog rummage around one of my neighbor’s yards. From a distance, groundhogs are quite cute. So I took out my trusty Bushnell binoculars and took a closer look.

Still cute.

Then it turned around and looked in my direction, like it knew it was being watched.

(Image from thoughtdistillery.com)

It’s face was almost badger-like and it looked mean and angry. I put down the binoculars and went about my business.

Which brings me to bats — I know, I know, but I’ve already warned you that mind is random. It amazes me how an event so small, like a bat crawling under my tire and hissing at me when I thought it was a rock, can impact me for years.

It’s been almost two years since I had my bat-run-in, and I still think of that poor little creature. To some degree, I feel like it was calling out for help and that I let it down. Maybe I should have taken to a local bat rescue, rather than leave it up to Maintenance. Then again, maybe it was going die anyway and it wanted me to help it die with dignity. I didn’t do that either. It died in a box in a maintenance closet.

Thinking about bats, makes me think about that new ringtone that most people over the age of twenty can’t hear. Well, apparently I’m not most people. Not only can I hear it, but it hurts quite a bit. After a co-worker kept playing it (partly to watch me react), my ears rang for a couple of hours. The sound makes me feel like my eardrums are liquefying. Kind of like how I feel when a U2 song comes on. I wonder if Bono Vox emits a similar frequency when he sings? (Image from www.nps.gov.)

For more information:

Groundhogs (aka Woodchucks):
www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/abwoodchuck.html

Bats:
Discover Maryland’s Bats: www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/bats/nhpbatintro.asp
Bat World NOVA: www.batworld.org/batworld_centers/novarescue.html

Ringtone:
“Students Find Ring Tone Adults Can’t Hear,” ABC News: abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2065488
MP3: graphics.nytimes.com/packages/audio/nyregion/20060610_RINGTONE.mp3

Friday morning, the day I weigh in, was great! I stepped on the scale to find I had lost two pounds that week, adding my total weight lost since I started NutriSystem to 15 pounds!

But it gets better.

For several months now, the only trousers I could wear were knit pajama pants I purchased at BJs (I have them in black and charcoal). They have a drawstring waist. I couldn’t fit into any of my jeans, even my large size 18 pair. And the few elastic waist trousers I had were now floods because by big butt pulled the length up.

Not any more.

On Thursday, I had noticed that the pajama pants were fitting a little loosely; the crotch was hanging a bit low and the waist kept dropping, even I when I tied it tighter. So, Friday morning I went into my walk-in closet, dug out my teal, size 18 jeans and tried them on.

Just a couple months before, I couldn’t even bring the waist together to button them. Now the waist was actually loose! The thighs fit just loosely enough for comfort. The only thing is, they are a little tight in the butt. (The image here is not me — my jeans are a little darker and I’m not that thin … yet.)

I proudly wore them to work that day and modeled them off to my co-workers who are privy to my struggle. I felt fantastic!

This little feat has opened a whole new wardrobe for work to me. There are blouses in my closet that fit, but wouldn’t look right with the pajama pants. So they hung there in my closet forlorn and unused. No more! Brushed silk blouses, here I come!