If Shoshanna gets to have a sassy name for her inner defeator, I get to as well!
Except that my inner voice of defeat doesn't sound so sassy...she reminds me more of an old hag from the Middle Ages in a cold northern region of Europe, bitching about her tight corset, her lazy husband, and the recent increase of taxes to the king. Ha! Ah yes....her name is Irma. Penny-pinching Irma with no sense of humor and a bosom full of worries. In my head she's alway complaining that I'm not working hard enough and Dave is squandering all the natural resources of the western hemisphere by leaving the light on in his closet.

So it was a good week. "Birthday Week" as we say in the Welch/DeFoort household....a full week of revelry and self-indulgence to celebrate that I'm 34. I got a massage, I went to the salon and got bright Crayola-Red highlights in my hair, and we got to watch chick-flicks instead of guy-flicks!

I'm proud to say that I did not over-drink. In fact I believe I drank half of what I did the week before, some days not at all...which is a milestone. I only made it that far because we committed to making the Thanksgiving Break a time of activity, which cut down on the back pain. On Thursday morning we got up right away and took our bikes to a nearby park. On Friday my friend Pearl, from Denver, came for an overnight visit. We went out to eat at a tapas bar, which was so much fun....ordering several plates of tiny portions and dragging out the meal for hours...definitely gave the illusion that I ate a ton of food when I really didn't. The night did culminate in all of us dancing to Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" at 3 a.m. in our living room, so I think that counts as exercise.

Saturday and Sunday were more biking and yoga, and reasonable meals. I didn't drop any weight, which Irma was quick to point out, but I'm reminding her that this past week was about proving to myself that I can find other ways to reduce back pain than a bottle of wine. And to that goal, I am making progress. 

The coming week is about graduating from biking and yoga to an actual communion with my running shoes. Anybody have any suggestions for good running music?