Blame it on the Rain

Hey there. Just checking in from Vegas. I'm on week two with the 'rents. It's been nice and relaxing here - no real stress and the weather was good until a few days ago when "monsoon" season started and it began to get overcast and rain at least part of every day. They actually have flood advisories in effect. Here's a live shot of the weather on the Las Vegas Strip. Not the kind of weather one looks for when you are trying to work on your tan.

I have been doing so-so with eating. My main food choices have been good, or at least in moderation, and I've been drinking only a little bit and when I do its wine or light beer (I now highly recommend Corona Light).

I have also been doing my own version of water aerobics every day in the pool. I start out with "weights" which are really 2 sets of 20 oz. empty water bottles duct taped together. I do about 4 different arm exercises, 3 sets each with 15 reps a set. Then I do abs with a noodle (but not the exercise that gave me the rug burns). For abs I do 3 different exercises. This time I do 3 sets of 30 reps each. Then I do legs which is where the "aerobics" comes in. I walk back and forth across the long part of the pool (which is about 4-1/2 feet deep) doing high knees for 5 sets and then I do butt kicks for 5 sets. I figure it takes me about 30 minutes. It's only 2 WW activity points, but hey, I enjoy myself. I do it while listening to music. (I've found it's a little hard to count and hold a conversation with someone else.) My routine was cut short today when it started to thunder and lightning. C'est la vie. There's always tomorrow.

Lest you think all I do is bake in the sun and play the slots, I have been doing some part-time work for the university (editing a seriously boring paper and conducting moderately less boring interviews) and I've been trying to keep myself psyched for my job search. I've done some networking via email and I've applied for a couple jobs. As with everything, we'll see how it goes.

I must recommend an author I just discovered, who admittedly has been around for a while since her books have been made into Lifetime Movies. Jodi Picoult. She is amazing. I finished The Pact and haven't been able to get it out of my head. Now I am reading her new book Nineteen Minutes which seems like it is going to be just as moving.

Okay, it's time for me to start checking out all your blogs! Hope all is well with you guys.