I'm hooked

Darn you The Biggest Loser....why are you so compelling? Last Tuesday, I turned on the TV for a little background noise as I was cooking in the kitchen. The TV was tuned to NBC and the popular weight loss competition was on. In the past, I've resisted watching this show as I'm not a huge fan in general of reality based television. At first, I stayed a safe distance from the TV, occasionally looking up to catch a few moments. However as the contestants back stories unfolded and the teams took the long agonizing walk up to the scale to be weighed and judged by all for the first time, I quickly found myself glued to the couch and thoroughly engrossed. Initially, I was also one those people being judgey, thinking to myself "how could anyone let themselves get that big". But very quickly compassion took over and complete disclosure here, I found myself tearing up more than once. Man, those producers really know how set up the show to tug on your heartstrings. Losing weight is incredibly hard. Those of us who have struggled to lose even a few pounds know that. Some of these people are staring down the daunting prospect of losing 80, 100 or even 200+ lbs. So now, every Tuesday evening I will be tuning in to watch these brave folks journey toward a healthier and hopefully happier existence. And, perhaps I'll be able to pick up a few training and eating tips that will assist me with the 10-15 lbs. I'd like to lose in the next few months. The Biggest Loser is helping to run a contest where for every pound people pledge to lose, an 11 cent donation will be made to our food banks to help needy people. Check it out http://www.pfpchallenge.com/

Run Mary Run

I've decided to try to run the Green Bay 1/2 marathon in May and registered online earlier today. I wanted to write this post because if I didn't tell everyone then it might be a whole lot easier to back out. This is going to be a challenging one for me. I'm not built to run...In fact, the marathon website even has a name for someone in my weight range....Athena. I think this is supposed to make us bigger girls feel better for in Greek mythology Athena was the super bad ass goddess of war, civilization, wisdom, strength, strategy, crafts, justice and skill. I guess if I was going to be participating in a clean and jerk contest, fashioning together some sort of macrame plant hanger or sitting on jury duty this comparison would be fantastic. But for running, I'd much prefer to be more like the god Hermes, the winged-footed speedster who delivers all those bouquets for FTD florists, or the goddess of victory, Nike. She was so awesome that there is really tiny shoe company named after her. Everyone keeps telling me that the key to finishing a marathon is the training plan. You gotta stick to the plan. Russ sent me a 1/2 marathon training schedule and it's supposed to guarantee success if you follow it. I hope that's true. The longest I've ever run is about 6 miles and that was over 5 years ago. I will give this whole thing my very best effort and try to give an occasional training update. Hopefully on May 15th, 2011 at the finish line there will be a photo of me celebrating with my friends, enjoying a frosty beer and hopefully still standing.

This one's for you Russ

Bar games are fun. Especially when you beat people who are usually better than you at them. Russ and I spent some quality time at the famous Milwaukee drinking divehole Jim Mitchell's last night while he and his family were visiting for Christmas. Though he bested me in pool, I took 2 out of 3 games from him at the dart board. Boo ya Rusty! Our evening was enhanced with a couple of PBR's and some friendly banter with the crusty bartender who has probably worked there as long as the bar's been open (40+ years I believe). Lots of laughs were shared. Great seeing you Russ. Looking forward to seeing you soon in Denver.

What I do

In the long-running sitcom Friends, no one ever seemed to know what Chandler did for a living. I seem to be getting that a lot since I started my new job at IMS back in January. Even when I explain what branded merchandise is, many people still greet my explanation with a polite nod and a blank stare, indicating they still don't really understand. I thought a photo might sum it all up more succinctly.

Cross it off the bucket list

My bucket list is still long, but 3 weeks ago, I got to cross "attend Grand Slam tennis tournament" off it after I went to the US Open in New York. Watching live tennis at this level is amazing. We were lucky enough to get to watch both Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal play in Arthur Ashe stadium along with a number of other great matches in Louis Armstrong. The rest of the weekend in NYC was rounded out with a long day wandering around Central Park, a great Broadway show called In the Heights, a trip to MoMA and lots of shopping, great meals and general reverie with my good friend Megan Griffin. Someday, I'd love to get to London for Wimbledon, Paris for the French Open, and Australia for the Australian Open and complete my own grand slam as a fan.

That's Morgan, Captain Morgan

I have developed a strange and perhaps somewhat unhealthy obsession with Captain Morgan. Not the alcohol actually as I don't really like spiced rum, but the mascot himself. It started when I spied a full size replica of him at my companies Morton Grove, IL office (we handle the Diageo account, the manufacturer of CM) Naturally, I had to take a photo with him. A few months ago, I was hiking with my friends Jill and Dan in the Kettle Moraine and afterwards we stopped to enjoy a beer at a nearby pub. On the patio, who was there? The Captain of course. This Captain is a little obscene. Notice his hand gesture in the photo. Since then, I've launched a full fledged effort to take as many photos of me with him as possible. Game on! A few weeks ago, I was at a preseason Packer game with my girlfriends, and who came strolling through the parking lot...you got it. These pics tell the whole story. It's my understanding that there is another Captain at a bar in downtown Milwaukee called Brothers. I plan to get there soon to take photo #4 and I hope to find many more Captains throughout my travels and escapades. No one can say that I don't have goals, however misguided.

Drumroll please!

Here she is!.....the latest addition to "The Reching Crew". Hayden Anna Rech. Born September 2nd, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. Weighing in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. Height: 20 inches. We are so excited to welcome Hayden to our family. Personally, I'm super excited to buy her adorable outfits. Let the spoiling commence.