Apr 17

Apr 17 Memories...Weekly Weight Update

This week I want to share a few things with you that happened that don't really have anything to do with weight loss outside of the fact that at the end I'll provide the weekly weight update to keep me in check and the Bring It On! challenge.

Memories

As you might imagine it was a busy week at work with the upcoming tax deadline. This deadline is much more stressful for others than it is for me but it still requires some longer hours which means keeping to the cut-back workouts for one more week. One thing I made sure to keep up on was the daily constitutionals to get in some fresh air every day.

During my Tuesday afternoon constitutional I passed an elderly gentleman smoking a cigar. It isn't uncommon for me to pass an elderly person out for a walk while I'm taking my mid-afternoon break because there are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots (get it, there are lots) of elderly people that live around my office. This guy was a bit different not just because of the cigar but because of the smell of the cigar.

The cigar he was smoking was a King Edward. I know the smell of that tobacco anywhere. That was the tobacco that my grandfather, James Viar or Pop, smoked. For a long, long time he would always have a pipe in his mouth. Pop gave up the pipe after he got older mainly because all his teeth fell out but he would still, from time to time, smoke a cigar while out the yard doing yard work.

I love the smell of King Edward's tobacco. I don't know if it actually smells good but every time I smell it memories of time spent with Pop come flooding back. I remember that smell from riding in his lap on the lawn mower. I remember that smell from hanging out with him at the beach while he was throwing horse shoes. I remember that smell from the basement of the old house in Herndon.

When Pop passed away he left behind dozens, if not over a hundred, empty King Edward's cigar boxes in the basement. I made sure the keep one of them. I keep it in my closet at home just to hold odds and ends but it's really there as a reminder of Pop. I have one of his old pipes. I have his ashtray stand that I keep on my back porch for the occasional cigar that I smoke. When Cece was born I made sure to get pink Kind Edward cigars to pass around in honor of Pop.

Cigars I purchased to announce Cece. King Edward in memory of Pop.

I smiled both times I walked past the old guy with the King Edwards cigar. I'm sure he didn't know why but that was OK. That old guy brought back a flood of wonderful memories of Pop thanks to the smell of his cigar. Thanks, old timer.

Galas

Maybe it is just me but it seems going to galas for things is something that happens when you grow up. I don't think I even knew what a gala was until I was 26. Of course, I didn't know what morose was until I was 27 and what a polyglot is to this day.

Saturday night Rizzo and I went to a gala to support our favorite local theatre, NextStop Theatre Company in Herndon, VA. It was a nice excuse to go out for the evening with my best gal (how 1950s sexist does that sound?) after a long busy season. First, we had to grab some beers and a meal at our local brewhouse, Aslin, before heading to the fundraising gala (Aslin Beer Snob coming soon).

Santini's Chicken Wrap and a Strawberry-Lemon Kolsch.

After the beers we went over to the black box theatre for the gala. It was a great fundraising event full of preview performances of the upcoming season. I think the highlight of the evening was listening to a young girl that was part of the educational program at NextStop performing a song from Hamilton. Her voice was amazing and it was impressive watching this 14(?) year-old perform a solo in-front of a huge crowd was inspiring.

As part of the Gala there was a silent auction. There were two items that Rizzo and I were bidding on feverishly. We were stalking the bid boards to make sure we were successful. We have not received the official word but Rizzo and I are pretty sure we won the following silent auction items:

Rizzo - Private tasting at Reston's newest brewhouse, Lake Anne Brewhouse, for 6 and a private performance by Karen Vincent while enjoying the tasting.

Wes - Walk on performance in the show Catch me if you can. That's right, you'll be able to see live on stage. Take that, Leo.

It was a great night that I hope raised lots of money and will help NextStop.

Rizzo stalking the silent auction boards.

After the gala we had some time remaining to Rizzo and I went over to Lake Anne Brewhouse for their grand opening. Our intention was to go there before the gala but when we stopped by the line was out the door so we left and came back. They were out of lots of their beers but I was happy to find that they still had their Brown Ale on tap. One day we will get over there for a full tasting but if the entire beer list is as good as the Brown Ale then we will have lots of good beers to enjoy.

Weight Loss Update

After our Saturday night gala, Rizzo and I decided that we would skip this week's weigh-in. There were a few reasons the biggest of which would be the weight gained from having a few beers and a few snacks at our gala. The second was to avoid the let down when we saw the number on the scale. It isn't complete avoidance but experience. Over the last year and a half we've learned that a night of indulgence will, of course, result in some weight gain but it is also temporary. After a good, healthy day today consisting of appropriate eating and a long run everything will be back on track.

What I gained/lost in weight I gained in the Bring It On! challenge. What glory I will bring to the name Clark when I destroy Rizzo in miles this month. I can foresee the reign of terror coming to an end and my fat ass lounging in a reclining leather chair as I enjoy a viewing of Captain America beating the hell out of Iron Man.

This week I once again tasted the fruit of victory with 44.3 miles compared to Rizzo's 36.4 miles. That brings this month's totals to 98.0 miles for me and 86.1 miles for Rizzo. Show your support using #TeamClark to support me or #TeamClark to support Rizzo. OK, fine, that was a trick. Use #TeamRizzo if you must but you won't need too because #TeamClark is taking back the title in April

Bonus Pictures

Just a few extra pictures from this week that I thought I would share.