May 15

May 15 Moms...Weekly Weight Update

What? Wasn't it last Sunday that we celebrated Mother's Day? Well of course it was but how was I supposed to share pictures from Mother's Day before celebrating Mother's Day? It was impossible that is why we get to chat about Mother's Day and mothers a week late, so settle down, Skippy.

I love moms! How could I not? If it wasn't for moms I wouldn't be here (neither would you) and I wouldn't be a dad. I'm lucky that I got to celebrate Mother's Day with the two greatest moms that have ever graced this planet, my mom Sue ("Mom") and my wife Alison ("Rizzo").

Mom, the best mom a dude could ask for. See how she puts up with my shenanigans.

I wouldn't be anywhere in this world if it wasn't for the great lady I get to call Mom. She taught me the importance of putting family first. I remember her going off to work at JoAnn Fabrics in the evenings to help pay for my sister to go to college. Even with that she still made time to put a good meal on the table every night. She taught me a great sense of humor. Who else would walk around the house mockingly singing "I am smelling like a rose because I'm dead a bloated" to an angsty 15-year-old kid? She taught me my varied love of movies and musicals. I'm sure there aren't many 36-year-old guys (or girls for that matter) that own the Paint Your Wagon soundtrack but I do all because my Mom and I share the love of that movie (we also love Planet of the Apes, the good one with Charlton Heston not the bad one with Marky Mark). My mom did NOT teach me to curse but she tolerates it because (I suspect) she knows that my language is the result of a combination of Dad sharing George Carlin jokes with me and Pop (Mom's dad) always telling me dirty jokes in secret. My Mom has always been there for me and I couldn't ask for me. Thanks Mom.

Rizzo. The best parenting partner a dude could ask for. See how she puts up with my shenanigans.

I wouldn't get to be the goofball I am if it wasn't for the great lady I get to call Wife. Just kidding, it would be weird if I just started calling Rizzo "Wife" like that was some sort of endearing nickname like "Sweety" or "Dumpling" or "Sugar". It's decided. Sorry Rizzo, but your new endearing, cutesy, make-you-throw-up-a-little-in-your-mouth-when-I-say-it-because-it-is-so-cute, is Wife. Not wifey. Wife. I digress. Wife is an amazing mom for a million different reasons and I could never name them all for risk of missing something important and making her more mad at me (she is already mad after reading this and learning she will hereafter be referred to simply as Wife). She is an amazing smart woman. Smarter than I could ever hope to be. She has the patience of a monk. How else do you explain her going to work as a 6th grade special education teacher (6th grade representing the worst age of a child) and still coming home to be the best partner in life a guy could ask for? It was because of Wife that I started losing weight in the first place. She inspired me to get out and take a jog and the result is both of us looking and feeling great! Wife is an amazing mom that would do anything for her daughter (because Cece is her daughter when she is being good and my daughter when she is being bad. Other parents know how that goes.) Finally (not in general but just finally in regards to this run-on paragraph), Wife is an amazing mom and wife because she does things like pick a brewery as the spot to celebrate Mother's Day!

That is how we ended up celebrating Mother's Day at Caboose Brewing Company in Vienna, VA. The place is great and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cool place to hang out and to take the kids. I'll have to go back in order to give a full "Beer Snob" worthy review but in short it was a blast. The food, which is served tapas style so be prepared to order everything on the menu, was outstanding and the beer was delicious. It is super family friendly. There were kids galore throughout the brewery and it didn't feel unwelcome at all. They even have a nice kids menu. And if you feel like taking a bike ride, Caboose Brewing is right on the W&OD trail so you can bike right up to the bar.

A nice beer selection provides a little something for everyone.

Regarding diet and exercise this week was pretty uneventful. I was able to stick to my meal plan pretty well with the exception of eating an entire bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips that was left over from the unused ingredients for Cece's birthday cake. Luckily that bag was spread out over the entire week so I don't think it affected me routine too greatly. Sometimes a guy just has to pour himself a handful of chocolate chips to throw down his gullet before heading off to work in the morning.

All the rain made it challenging to get in all the runs I wanted to but I was still able to work out regularly. Instead of running on Tuesday I rushed home to mow the grass because all the rain had prevented me from mowing in way to long and my yard looked like the beginning of an adventure movie where the guy with the machete is hacking away at plants to make a path.

Since I didn't get in a long run on Tuesday I made sure to get out for a longer Thursday run. I'm back to using a run training app on my fun two days a week moving towards running a 10K. The Thursday run was about 45 minutes which got me just a tad less than 4.5 miles. I worked up a heck of a sweat. Don't believe me? Well here is the unnecessary and completely gratuitous selfie to prove it.

I'm like a tween girl. Just taking selfies for no reason at all.

Friday and Saturday consisted of lots of fun and working out. Friday night we made a trip up to downtown Herndon for Friday Night Live. If you aren't familiar, the Town hosts a free concert at Town Hall every Friday over the summer featuring a fun band (typically a cover band) with lots of food and beverages. It is the most kid friendly place I've ever been and it is tons of fun. There is nothing better than hanging out with Rizzo and Cece, drinking a nice beer, listening to music, and sitting outside.

Eating this week was consistent and working out was plentiful so I was hoping for a good week heading into Weight Watchers. I made sure to measure my optimism because my periodic weight checks at home didn't show me losing. On the bright side I wasn't gaining either so that is a good thing. The results were positive with another pound lost bringing the total weight loss down to 205.6 making the total lost 61.8lbs. I'm nearly back to my lowest weight and only .8 lbs away from grabbing another massage.

Once again #TeamClark prevails in the Bring It On! challenge. It was a close week with my 46.0 miles just barely taking down Rizzo's 45.3 miles. I tied my highest mileage week since we started this challenge and this week was Rizzo's second highest week. Halfway through this month's challenge and it isn't looking good for #TeamRizzo. #TeamClark is holding a 5.7 mile lead which means I'm going to be enjoying some Tough Guy Cinema and the Alamo Cinema and Drafthouse.

P.S. Up above I referred to women as girls. I actually debated using this word because it wasn't meant to have any negative connotation but the purpose was to inspire a question that I can't answer. Rizzo and I have discussed this before. Men can be casually referred to as guys and it doesn't indicate a boy (as in a little kid) but is just a more casual way of referring to men. What is the mirror word for women? "Girl" seems like it could be derogatory even if that isn't the intent. "Gal" seems weird too because, again, it can but doesn't always have a negative connotation. I'm seriously asking like this is an SAT question: Guys is to Men as _______ is to Women.

P.P.S. Here are some extra pictures from the week just because.