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365 Project, Week 4

Recap: I decided to undertake, with little hope of completing, a 365 photo project to take a photo every day for a year with the purpose of improving my photography skills and more closely examining the world around me. I have made it through three whole weeks. See week one here, week two here, and week three here.

Day 22: work, work

Day 23: V-day rehearsal

Day 24: Bundled-up selfie

Day 25: Bake sale

Day 26: Shopping at Dallas School of Burlesque

Day 27: Allen municipal buildings' courtyard

365 Project, Week 3

I decided to undertake, with little hope of completing, a 365 photo project to take a photo every day for a year with the purpose of improving my photography skills and more closely examining the world around me. I have made it through three whole weeks. See week one here and week two here.

Day 15: A friend's kitten.

Day 16: V-day rehearsals — "Vagina motherfuckers!"

Day 17: TGIF

Day 18: Looks like a dance party

Day 19: Puppies were made for cold toes.

Day 20: A nice night run

Day 21: Smug sonofabitch

Fit Fatties Virtual Decathlon Update 2

I signed up to participate in the Fit Fatties Virtual Decathlon this year and am quickly knocking out events, so I may sign up for a Double Decathlon after all. Here is my planned list of possible events:

• 1 mile walk/run/roll
• 5k walk/run/roll
• 10k walk/run/roll
• Half Marathon walk/run/roll
• Marathon walk/run/roll
• Swim - quarter mile
• Swim - half mile
• Shimmy it Out (30 minute shimmy--can switch shimmy location through event)
• Belly Dancing (60 minutes of dancing)
• Set It Free (Complete a free weight workout)
• Lift A Ton (Lift a total of 2000 pounds, not necessarily all at once - you can complete this over a month!)
• Take a Hike (Enjoy at least a mile of the great outdoors.)
• Take a Tread (Enjoy at least a mile of the great indoors.  Walk on the treadmill, elliptical or other machine, or just walk around inside.)
• Stairway to Heaven (Climb 100 stairs in one day.)
• Push It Good (Do 100 push-ups (any style) in one day.)
• Walk the Plank (Do 60 minutes of planking in one day.)
• Squat it Out (Do 100 squats in one day.)
• Get in the Flow - 60 of work with flow toy, such as poi, staff, juggling, dance/fire fans, rola bola, balance ball, aerial silks or hoop, meteor
• On thin Ice - 60 minutes of ice skating or rollerblading

In my previous update, I posted about my completion of the Stairway to Heaven, 1-mile Run, and Quarter-mile Swim. I have since completed four more.

Wednesday, January 8: 5k Run

Thursday, January 9: Half-mile Swim

Tuesday, January 14: On Thin Ice (60 minutes ice or roller skating)

It was scary with so many children skating the wrong way, but I managed not to fall this time. My wrist is still sore from the tumble I took last time I skated in November.

Thursday, January 16: Squat it Out (100 squats in one day)

I did 5 sets of 20 deep body-weight squats in one afternoon because that's as many as my knees will allow per set.

I keep doing the "Take a Tread" event pretty regularly and forgetting that it's an event. Maybe I'll remember to take a photo next week.

365 Project, Week 2

I decided to undertake, with little hope of completing, a 365 photo project to take a photo every day for a year with the purpose of improving my photography skills and more closely examining the world around me. I made it through two whole weeks. (Week one photos are here.)

Day 8: The dumb bells at the fitness center I visit at work.

Day 9: V-day rehearsals — "My momma probably wouldn't like me kissing girls either!"

Day 10: Zero motivation to go out and shoot anything, so I lucked out on my first frame of the household furbabies. This is Popsicle, rescued as a kitten when he curled up on our doorstep to die during a snowstorm.

Day 11: Paxil is in poor shape, and the puppy is pooped after our morning run.

Day 12: In the more than two years I've lived here, Crowley and I have never gotten along. But he curled up next to me for the duration of a movie while everyone else was out of the house. I was scared to move.

Day 13: Unedited floral arrangement from the first-floor restroom in my office building.

Day 14: Looking down the street just before sunrise.

Hell no, Survival Race

I saw a Groupon for The Survival Race 5k mud run and did a little research to help me decide whether to get it. I used to sign up for every race I had time to run, but after so many lemon events last year (from the Neon Splash Dash to Miles of Mud), I've been MUCH more selective with my 2014 race calendar.

I Googled "Survival Race reviews" and read one glowing blog review and clicked to the event's official website, which had this banner on its home page:

The banner reads: "The Original Family-Focused Obstacle Course & Mud Run, Conquering Obesity One Family At A Time!"

I also found "conquering obesity" listed in the event's mission statement. So that made my choice very easy. I will definitely not support anyone or anything waging war against people I love.

Dances With Fat blogger Ragen Chastain said it best:

We cannot separate people from their bodies and any war on people’s fat becomes a war on fat people. Luckily the first step of the solution is pretty simple – end the war on obesity. Right now. Then we have all kinds of options to make public health about providing information, access, and options without actively contributing to stigma, low self-esteem, and poor body image.

Lots of obese people enjoy mud runs, too, and I find it appalling that this event would overtly stigmatize them in its advertising. The Survival Race marketing team has clearly missed the whole point of racing and fun run events: In democratic America, PEOPLE conquer RACES, not the other way around.

The mud run market is hyper-saturated, with scores of obstacle course racing events scheduled in North Texas every year, so I'm not the least bit worried about missing out on one with a shitty slogan.