Mishmash Musings

I used to have lunch with the same group of girlfriends at least once or twice a month, but we’ve let our gatherings fall by the wayside in the past six months or so. I guess everyone has just been too busy with family and work commitments to make it out to a central meeting place. But because of the long weekend, we were able to converge at TGI Friday’s yesterday and finally catch up.

Actually, not much has changed with anyone. The only really noticeable difference was that Ashley had lost 20 pounds in the last six months or so. She credits the loss to a daily aerobics regimen, as well as using hydroxycut as a fat burner. I think it’s great that she has lost so much weight. She looks a lot better, and I’m sure she feels great about her achievement.

Now if I could just lose these 5 pounds that have been plaguing me for so long, I’d be able to move on and obsess about some other physical imperfection for a change!!

I don’t watch the NBC show The Biggest Loser, but they always broadcast the winners of these types of reality shows on sites like Yahoo, so it’s practically impossible to avoid the results. This year, some guy named Michael Ventrella won the weight loss competition by going from 526 pounds to a much leaner 262 pounds. In other words, he lost 50.19 percent of his body weight.

What??? Is that even fair? It seems to me that the heavier you are, the easier it is to win. Imagine what a 200-pound person would have to go through to lose 50 percent of his body weight. I doubt that even the best fat burner would help achieve those kind of losses — and really, that wouldn’t even be healthy.

At any rate, congrats to Michael on winning. Now I hope he truly changes his lifestyle and keeps the weight off for a long, long time!

Finally!! After nearly a week of inaction, the NHL playoffs will resume with Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight. I’m so excited and nervous about this whole thing that I’ve been a wreck all week. I’ve even lost some weight without the help of nuphedragen or any other supplements because of my all this nervous energy I have. I can’t even imagine what the players are going through!

Most “experts” are predicting that the Hawks will prevail in either 6 or 7 games. My head tells me the Hawks should win because they’ve played tougher opponents all year long and have enough depth to give the Flyers some trouble. Yet many articles on sports websites say the Flyers have a chance to surprise the Hawks and the series will be a relatively even matchup. I can’t tell if these guys are just writing that to generate more interest in the Finals or what, but I do admit that I’m a bit worried.

It won’t be a cakewalk, that’s for sure. But the better team should win, and that’s the Blackhawks. I hope they start out strong — not exactly a given with the team this year.

(Photo credit: That awesome graphic is from the Yahoo! Sports NHL page.)

Wow, have you seen pictures of rapper 50 Cent recently? Apparently he had to lose more than 50 pounds for a role in a movie (where he plays someone with cancer). 50 used to be a very muscular 214 pounds, but now comes in at just 160. Well, that’s what was reported at any rate. If you ask me, he looks a lot skinnier than 160 in this picture.

Losing 50+ pounds is just unimaginable to me. How did he even do it? Did he give up eating altogether and just live off adipex diet pills or something? Seriously, I don’t understand how someone can lose 25% of their body weight like that. It would be like me having to lose 31 pounds — practically impossible.

I don’t know if I’ll end up watching 50′s movie (Things Fall Apart), but I’ve got to give him some credit for being hardcore about the role. Wow.

We’ve been trying to redo our home, but since we don’t have money for an all-out remodel, we’re taking things one room at a time. Last summer it was the kitchen, and this summer we’re thinking about working on the bathrooms. I would love to make the downstairs powder room a bit bigger and put a shower stall in there (I already know there’s not enough space for a full bathtub), and the master bath needs a complete overhaul, beginning with the floor tiles and progressing all the way through to the Seagull lighting.

The bathroom in the picture here is not mine, but it’s one that I would practically kill to have! I love how sleek and trendy it looks, and I’ve always been partial to black-and-white color schemes. If we just come close to what’s in that photo, I would be on cloud 9!

When I was out running errands yesterday, I saw an RV pulled over on the side of the road with a flat tire. Being the concerned citizen that I am, I stopped and asked if the folks needed to make a call or something. They declined, as they apparently already had good sam towing on the way.

This reminded me of stories about how famous sports stars like Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Yankees manager Joe Girardi, and Capitals center Brooks Laich all made headlines by stopping to help stranded motorists. Too bad the family I saw wasn’t able to get that kind of assistance!

Just when I thought I was making progress in my battle of the bulge, I find that my weight is starting to creep back up again. I’ve still been exercising religiously, but I have to admit that I haven’t been all that vigilant about the kinds and quantities of food I’ve been shoving into my mouth recently. That might have something to do with my 2-pound gain in the past 5 days! Hmm, maybe I jumped the gun a bit when deleting all the sites with diet pill comparisons from my Bookmarks folder. When did weight loss get so hard for me? I used to be able to eat anything without fear. Oh, to be 20 again!

The Chicago Blackhawks will face the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers eliminated the Canadiens tonight, so the championship will begin on Saturday at the United Center. It’s going to be a rough and tough series, much like Round 1 vs. Nashville. Hope the Hawks are prepared for that!!!