I Found Something!

I've been finding things on my body lately that I have never had. Don't get worried about me though. They are muscles! No, really, Kristy has muscles! I started noticing a calf muscle a couple of weeks ago & then a bit of firmness on the top of my thighs.

I had great calf muscles when I was in college living in Fayetteville but these are different. My Fayetteville calves were one large bump from the back of my knee to about half way down my leg but these are different. There are two; one on the outer part & one on the inner with a little /\ in the middle. Definition, I like that. Then today I was resting my legs on my foot rest with my computer in my lap & I tensed up the tops of my legs & my computer nearly fell off my lap. I started looking at the top of my tensed up thigh & there was this big bump on top. Wow. I was very excited. I have also started noticing when I press in at the top of my abdomen I can feel ab muscles under all that flab & I'm starting to get that line on my arm showing I'm growing a bicep. This is all very exciting for me. I've never had muscles like this. It is amazing.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Last night Brandie & I went to Hellboy II: The Golden Army. I really enjoyed it. I wasn't really impressed with the first one but this one was pretty good.

It starts out with a LOTR-esque story, which I kind of felt was a sign of lack of creativity on the writers part but it was still good. I have never read the actual comic, or excuse me, graphic novel(s) but according to the Christianity Today review it is a bit different. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"In the original Hellboy, the villains were adversaries like demons, Nazis, gods of chaos, assassins and necromancers—characters understood to be evil more or less by nature or by definition, like orcs, vampires or witches. Hellboy II shifts from this kind of mythic good-vs-evil storytelling to something more like classical mythology, with variously flawed characters on all sides.

Except for an occasional cross or rosary, the vestigial Christian influence from Hellboy is virtually gone here. In its place is something a lot like a work of pagan imagination, at times partially reminiscent of the worlds of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, with his ambiguous antagonists and animistic spirit-creatures."

The CT review goes on to discuss how good & evil is not always black & white. Some really good people do really bad things & sometimes bad people do really good things. Also, sometimes people do good things with bad intentions or bad things for what they believe are good reasons. Life is not easy & this movie does demonstrate that to a point. It doesn't dwell on it. It is more of a "background noise" that most viewers will not pay much attention to.

I also agree with the CT review that the character development in both this one & the prequel is lacking. You start to get a look in on it in this film but it often feels like we were thrown into the middle of a story without really knowing who these characters really are, why they do what they do, & what is their main motivation.

It is obvious there will be more Hellboy's to come & by the prophesy from The Angel of Death. Which, as most prophesies from The Angel of Death goes, does not seem to be a happy one.

There are a couple of more things in the movie I would discuss but I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone. The CT article did have some discussion questions at the end, which is their usual format, that I will post at the end of this. So, if you see the movie, you might want to just consider these questions to help you to better critique the movie. I know what you are thinking, "I go to the movies for fun & to escape reality for a few hours. It's just a movie, I know what I believe, I don't need to over-analyze everything in life. I don't want to take homework to a movie. Kristy, you are taking life a little too seriously, just relax, enjoy the movie." I usually watch movies that way too, but I am trying to take a different approach. I want to start critically analyzing the things (movies, shows, books, music, etc...) that I expose myself to. We do not realize what an effect media has on our morality & the way we view life.

Last fall, I was watching entirely too much TV. I liked so many of the new shows but I started really paying attention to what I subjecting my unconscious mind to & realized that it probably wasn't the "true," "noble," "right," "pure," "lovely," "admirable," "excellent," or "praiseworthy" things that the Bible instructs use to dwell on. (Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. -- Philippians 4:8) The Bible also instructs us to "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:21-22).

So, I decided to purge my TiVo recording list. The only shows I left were Jericho, Heroes, The Office, Psych, & Monk (I also record some cooking shows, some fitness shows, some Brit Coms, & some PBS shows but most of those are not regular shows, they just play one or two every once in a while so I didn't count those; I was only counting the mainstream regular shows). Even though these shows may not also fit with in those verses they do have some redeemable qualities & compared to what is on TV today & what I was watching before, these are down right wholesome entertainment. Even though purging my playlist was difficult at first, I do not miss even one of those shows. The whole experience taught me than I need to be more attentive to what I am watching, reading, & listening to because, even though I did not notice it, those shows were affecting my though life, they way I viewed certain moral issues, & made me question many of my basic beliefs.

I don't mean to preach but I would suggest that you pay attention to what you subject yourself to. Some people are more impressionable than others & I am one of them so I have to be vigilant. I certainly did not mean to make this near as long as it has turned out but I got on a soapbox I guess.

Hellboy II Discussion Questions (from CT article):

1. How problematic is the notion of a "good demon" in a comic-book story? Consider the notion of a "good witch" like Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. How are they these the same? How are they different?

2. What might it mean to say that man was "created with a hole in his heart"? Is there more than one way to interpret this statement? In what sense might it be true? In what sense might it be false?

3. What does pregnancy mean for an unmarried couple? What should such a couple do? How is it different for a married couple?

4. Can you imagine being offered a choice like the one the Angel of Death offers Liz? Do you think her choice is defensible or not? Why or why not? What do you think you would do?

My new books

Last weekend I ordered several books that either as questions or ask you to make lists of certain things. I received one of the books today. It is called List Your Self: Listmaking as the Way to Self-Discovery. Now I am not one of those that believe in a lot of the new age psychobabble that is out there but I thought this would be an interesting way to get me to journal more. And, who knows, maybe I'll learn a little more about myself or at least how to articulate what I feel inside. Verbal expression is not necessarily one of my gifts. I always seem to come off as a snob, judgmental, angry, or just an old fashioned B. I've come to the realization, due mainly to a book I am doing in one of my church small groups (People Pleasing: How not to be an "approval junkie" by Lou Priolo) that I am, most definitely, a people pleaser, & this is not a good thing. In fact it is a sin, an expression of pride. So maybe these books will help me to convey my feelings & thoughts more clearly.

I actually got these books to help with my singles small group that a friend & I are trying to start at my church. I was telling another friend at work about these books the other day & she got very excited. Her brother is in jail, or prison, & she has started sending him questions that she wants him to consider & journal. She was excited that I was getting these books so she can now have more questions for him to answer. It makes me feel good that I may play a small role in helping my friend's brother. I don't know if he will take any of this seriously but it is worth a shot. Who knows, maybe me & some dude in prison somewhere on the east coast will be on a similar journey of self-discovery. Anything's possible.

Trying a new blogger

So, I've been using Xanga.com for a long time to blog but unless you have a xanga account you can't subscribe to my blog or comment. So I've decided to try this one. For a while I may keep blogging on xanga but copy & past the posts here but if I actually like this one then I may close my xanga account & just blog here. Ok, I know this is all to thrilling to read but I'm just giving it a try. I may copy & paste some of my old blogs to here just to see how it goes. Ok, that's all for now. Thanks.

"Make My Day"

Two things really made my day today. First, I kicked my butt at the gym today. I arrived about 20 min early (I meant to be there 30 min early but that didn't work out) so I could get some of my cardio in before my work out with my trainer. I had to use a different elliptical machine today (one with the swinging arm poles) because all the others were taken. I didn't think it would be that bad so I put it on "cross country" mode & went at it. Then the resistance jumped up. Now, until today I usually use only a resistance of 1 or 2 but I've been trying to work myself up to 3 & 4. When I do "interval training" mode I do get up to a resistance of 8 for about 4 min at a time & it really kicks me in the butt. However, this one jumped up to a resistance of 10 right away & continued to increase up to a resistance of 20! Holy crap! I didn't think I would make it. I never thought getting to a resistance of 10 would be the "easy" level. Toward the end it jumped back up to 20. I didn't think I could do it but right before it jumped up, I was like, "yes I can, I can do this." When it gets really hard for me I have been doing a little something most people would probably think is crazy but it works for me & I really believe it is what is happening too. I imagine Jesus standing right in front of the elliptical cheering me on. I didn't think I could finish it but I did. I got off & thought, I will never do something so evil to my body again. But, after a few min. I decided I probably would do it again sometime. Well, after my work out with my trainer I went & got back on that thing for another 20 mins. This time I tried the "hill climbing" mode. Again, it kicked my butt. But I did it. I succeeded. I conquered the hill.

The second thing that "made my day" was also at the gym. While I was doing the cool down on my first experiment with the new elliptical I saw one of my coworkers go over & talk to my trainer. After I got off I walked over to my trainer & he said, "I just me another one of your coworkers." I said, "Was that ____? I thought that was her." Then he said, "What, do they only hire good looking people there?" At this point I kind of stopped in my tracks. I wasn't really sure what he was saying. Was he saying he thought I was good looking? Surely not. There is no way someone as hot as him would ever think I was "good looking." I kind of mumbled some sort of incoherent agreement that the girl he had just met was quite beautiful. The he says, "Yeah, I mean, there is you, & ____, & now her." I was completely shaken. He did say I was pretty. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't for a second think that he is coming on to me or flirting with me or anything like that. We are just friends, really less than that, I'm his client. But it really made me feel good.

I love my gym.

Another week

I lost another 4 lbs this past week. Don't ask me how. I didn't get to work out like I normally do but I stayed way under my calories & drank a ton of water so maybe that helped.

I ended up having to work July 4th but it was actually a blessing. I was originally supposed to work on Christmas but the girl that was supposed to work on July 4th said she would rather work Christmas so we traded. Yay. So, for the first year in like 2 or 3 yrs I will actually be with my family on Christmas Day. Yipee! I may actually have to work Christmas Eve & just have to drive home on Christmas Day, but still, I'm excited. It will also be the first time in several years all 4 of us cousins will be together during Christmas. I'm hoping to get off the week after Christmas but since I took it off last year, I may not get it off this year (we all have to take turns).

I may post this weeks video here later but it is taking forever to load today.

Weigh In #13 & Lucky 7's Video 1

Week loss: -4 lbs
Total loss: -31 lbs