Nancy and Stephen: Before and After

Stephen and I are on a new fitness program. We've even taken before pictures (with after pictures to follow). Here's Stephen:








This is me:
You didn't think I'd really post the entire photos, did you?

Our fitness program is a two-part plan:

1. Visalus: We are enjoying a nutritional shake called Visalus, which can be used as a vitamin supplement or as a meal substitute. Stephen is using it as the former (because he has never had to lose weight) and I am using it as the latter (because I have more butt than I would care to). Always a Weight Watchers fan, I was a little skeptical about Visalus at first, but when I looked at the nutritional information on the package, I was delighted to see that the shake mix is only one Weight Watcher point. If I make myself a shake for breakfast, I can have a two-point meal (as opposed to my five-point Fiber One and banana breakfast) and, depending on how I make my shake for lunch, I can having a filling midday meal for anywhere between two and six points. What's more, Visalus shake mix has a smooth, creamy flavor, which goes well with almost any liquid, so I can enjoy it as a coffee drink, a chocolate shake or a fruit smoothie. I am delighted with this new product, and I will be monitoring my progress as I continue to weigh in at Weight Watchers.

2. P90X: With undeniably the most obnoxious fitness instructor on the planet, this popular fitness DVD series is the most difficult home exercise program I've ever done. One of the most difficult aspects of it is enduring the repeated phrase "Bring It," and watching fitness pro Tony Horton do this:

What does that position have to do with fitness? Fortunately, even the producers of P90X recognized Horton's penchant for annoyance, so they smartly included a helpful menu at the beginning of each disc, which allows me to turn off Horton's voice.

All my life, I've never been able to do a regular boy push up or a pull up (I still can't do a pull up, but I'm trying). But I can report that I've done five push-ups (in poor form), and I'm working on more. This program is grounded in muscle confusion, so it consists of thirteen different workouts, which include strength training, cardio fitness, yoga, stretching, and jump training. Because my knees sometimes give me trouble, and because I just watched my mother get her right knee replaced, I am modifying some of the jumping squats and lunges (called Mary Catherines). Otherwise, I'm trying to stick with the program. Stephen's downstairs doing it right now.

So far, I've lost half a pound, but I've also lost inches because the shorts I've been avoiding for the past few weeks now fit. And my upper arms aren't waggling quite as much as they did in July. After ninety days, I should be able to imitate the Heisman trophy:




We'll be posting our progress on the Remlerville blog because I'm sure all our devoted readers are dying to find out when I look like this.








Stay tuned!

TSS

Sports Sundries

I have been to several sporting events lately, and I've watched others on TV, so today's posting revolves around athletics:

Football: Let's just get the discussion of college ball out of the way. I watched the last two minutes of the Georgia-Arkansas game, and the Razorbacks' last score made me glad I hadn't spent my afternoon watching the whole thing. The Bulldogs are just going to suck canal water this year. That's all there is to it. Every team has its bad years; this is one of Georgia's.

It doesn't help that A. J. Green is sitting on the sidelines for several games. He just had to sell that Independence Bowl jersey. The thing that annoys me about his poor decision is that after this year, he could sign on to a professional team for millions of dollars. But he couldn't wait. He just had to make a thousand bucks selling a shirt. Well, there you go.

And on to other football observations. I watched Benedictine beat Savannah High School last night, BC's 500th football victory and its first victory of the current season. It was an exciting game with some unusual plays, one of them being High School's direct snap to the running back as they went for the two-point conversion. I didn't know the center could do that. I thought the ball always had to go to the quarterback. I learned something new last night. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera, so I have no photo to show you.

Cross Country: I do, however, have photos of my boy Davis running cross country today for Benedictine. The Richmond Hill event limited the number of varsity runners for each team, so unfortunately, Davis was unable to run varsity for BC. But he ran on the junior varsity team and came in first for BC! Go, Davis! He ran the course in 22 minutes flat. He thought that was a slow time. I was impressed he could run the whole way. I could probably walk that course in 45 minutes flat and sweat just as much as Davis did!

Volleyball: Yes, I also went to a volleyball game. My first, actually. And it was exciting. I needed to go because, oddly enough, I'm now the sports writer for the St. Peter the Apostle School newsletter. I earned that position after some other St. Peter's moms learned about my football blog last year. I guess they didn't realize that the purpose of that blog was to help me learn about sports, specifically football. Where other sports are concerned, I'm as thick as a brick. For that reason, I've been focusing my articles on the football teams. Sadly, the junior varsity team is having a tough year. It's hard to put a positive spin on three shut-outs in a row.

So this week I focused my articles on girls' volleyball. Before I went, I looked up the game on Wikipedia. After all, I couldn't cover a game without knowing what the objective was. After getting the basics, I situated myself around several team moms so they could answer questions when needed. My niece, an eighth grader at St. Peter's, is on the varsity team, and she and her teammates can whack a ball! I bet their hands and arms hurt after that match was over. I know the ball certainly did!

Adding to the excitement was a rogue ball during the junior varsity game, which flew straight from the court, behind the concession counter and into the kitchen, where it hit Lawson squarely in the face. I swear, if that boy is within 100 feet of any kind of ball, it's going to hit him in the head. Fortunately, volleyballs have some cushion to them, and Lawson was all right.

So after my week of sundry sports, I realized, after 44 years, that athletic events are actually interesting! So check back with Remlerville for future observations on the world of athletics.

BC Commissioning 2010

I have the UGA/Carolina game recorded on my DVR. I know Georgia lost. Still, I'll watch the game (at least some of it), and I'll blog about it. But I couldn't do that on game day. I had too much else to do. Like pick up a corsage. And get batteries for my camera. And take pictures of my handsome Brigade Commander Sergeant Major Davis Remler, who served as master of ceremonies at the 2010 BC Commissioning. Davis's date was Louisa Daly, and we all met at Louisa's parents' house for a photo session. Louisa and Davis had dinner with two other couples, and they all looked so spiffy!


Here's my favorite photo. It's Davis, Daniel and Justin at the thought of going to dinner with their three beautiful dates.



While the cadets and their dates were enjoying dinner at Bonefish Grill, Stephen and I picked up Michael and Shelly Tucker, and we had a relaxing meal at Spanky's before going to BC to watch the ceremony. Travis Tucker, a senior, received his commission last night. Michael and Shelly are so proud of their captain!

First, Davis announced all the cadets and their dates as they walked in.


Then, he helped hand out the commissions.


Here's a nice video of Travis getting his commission:

Afterward (and this was a surprise to me) all the officers and their dates raced to put the ranks on the officers' shoulders. No one wants to be the last man standing. Shelly says if you're the last man standing, you get to buy the other officers a Coke. I have a feeling you also get a hard time from the rest of the senior class.


While the parents attended a lovely reception in Alumni Hall, the boys and their dates attended the dance in the cafeteria. Everyone had a nice time, and we're looking forward to next year when Davis gets his commission!

Dawgs 55; Cajuns 7

That wasn't really a game. So I won't comment on plays. No point. I do have a couple of things to say about what happened this afternoon between the hedges:

1. A.J. Green should have been there. The NCAA has had all summer to determine whether A.J. was or was not in Miami. It's not rocket science. So if they haven't figured it out by now, they should just drop it.

2. Hutson Mason should stop wearing his mouthpiece on his ear. It's just gross. Not only is he putting that fat red thang up against his sweaty, grimy head and then putting it back in his mouth, but he also looks like he's got some perverse, Princess Leia-style red fungus on his head. According to Crash Davis, until you win 20 in the show, such behavior just means "you're a slob."





Looking forward to a real game next weekend. I'll be cookin' up some fried chicken.