My new spectacles.

Don't they make me look more smarter?

Week 4 of the Go For It Challenge!

And another kind of unflattering photo of me.....
I'm not exactly sure why I even care.
It's not a beauty contest, but I wish I could look a little prettier in the newspaper.
God knows knows who's reading it.

So I was thinking, maybe I could just send in my own glamour shot photos from now on?
Not to insult my photographer in any way.
Matt does very artistic work,
and I think he is very, very good at his profession,
and I really like to hang out with him...
With that said-
Me being a girl and all...
Well, you see,
I know all the tricks for taking age defying, more-flattering photos of myself.

Just for the record, side lighting is not one of those tricks.

For anyone that may care:
I prefer my photos taken from slightly above with nice soft lighting.

Candlelight is always nice.
Shooting though a delicate piece of gauze give a nice fuzzy effect, as well.
Very foggy days are wooooonderful.

And let's not forget Photoshop--
A teensy little clicky-clicky-draggy-draggy of the retouch brush?
Seriously, would it hurt the C.J. to hire a Photoshop-ist for such things?
Also, seriously, if there's not a "fog button" by now
someone should seriously look into making one.

Seriously.

Of course, I am totally kidding about ALL OF THAT.
I'm not THAT vain.

No, not at all.
I'm totally cool with who I am today.
37 rocks,
and wrinkles make me look experienced,
and men like curves.

Yeah, I'm totally kidding about all that silliness above.

(Kind of.)

All teasing aside, I did just complete week 3 of the challenge and it is going well.

Yesterday (which was my 10th workout) I ran/walked 1.75 miles in 20 minutes.
That's almost a 10 minute mile!
For me, that is a serious breakthrough.
I'm actually finding it somewhat comfortable running at 5.5mph
for brief periods of time.
That is just crazy to me.

I am also getting noticeably stronger
and the muscles in my legs and stomach are getting reacquainted with my mirror.
That's always a happy reunion.

However, the bathroom scale is not holding up her end of the deal.
Maybe she hasn't been listening to me.
(In her defense, I know she doesn't read blogs.)

Maybe she honestly doesn't realize I'm participating in the Get Fit, Go For It Challenge.
Maybe she doesn't know about me wanting to lose the WINTER CHUB!
Which technically, probably, shouldn't be called winter chub since it has been hanging out year round for most of the past 10 years.

Point is, I have gained weight consistently for the past 3 weeks.
And no, I'm not eating more.

Maybe it's a fluke.
Maybe the sliver lining is about to appear.
I have a feeling it is.

This morning, for the first time since starting my sweaty and breathless journey,
I hopped on the scale and weighed exactly what I did when I started.
So MAYBE it will start heading the other direction as of today.
We'll see.

I would certainly like to reverse this current trend.
I would certainly like to lose 5 or 6 lbs, at the very least.

10 or 12 lbs. would be freaking awesome.
Lose 15 lbs? Wow...
Dare I even type it?
I can't even dream of it...
Feels too much like a sin and you know how angelic I am.

Anyhoo, Week 4 starts today.
Then only 8 weeks to go.
It will be the middle of April then.

Dare I dream of athletic and toned arms dangling from a figure-hugging Derby dress as the May flowers spring forth from the ground?

Dare I imagine possessing a derriere of such a diminutive size to which Sir Mix-A-Lot might snub his nose?

Dare I hope to simply put on a summery cotton tee without the bizarre dance/ritual of elbow-stretching out the midsection first?

Yes.
The answer is yes.
A girl can always dream.
And this girl can always sweat, too.