100 Pushup Challenge: Week 4 Stress Test

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Week four of the One Hundred Push Up Challenge asks you to perform a stress test - simply do as many push-ups as you can to failure. 

I wandered into our exercise room before breakfast, did a quick 30-second wall sit to get the blood pumping, waved my arms about in the air a bit to loosen them, then dropped to the ground and went at it.

45. That's my number. Kind of disappointed as I'm pretty sure I could have done 50 if I had just stuck to it. However, once any form of pain sets in my mind pings and says, "Okay, good enough," and I quit. 

Still, 45 push-ups is excellent for me. A couple of months ago I could maybe eke out 25. So overall I'm pretty proud of myself. Still can't quite get my mind around being able to drop and do 100 though. 

Week 5 looks scary. The first day asks you to do sets of 36, 40, 30, 24, and 40 pushups with only a minute break between sets. Uh-huh. Yup. You betcha. 

How goes it for the rest of the crew? 

Next On the Food Network: Dena's Dinner Disasters

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Blair and I went grocery shopping today (where we ran into not one not two but THREE sets of neighbors when all we had yet in our cart was Gilette razor blades, birdseed, and two huge boxes of Playtex sport-glide tampons because we had a coupon about to expire - one can only imagine what they think of us) and then I came home and cooked. Blair, wise/cowardly man that he is, disappeared upstairs. He crept back down a few hours later and peered around the kitchen door.

"Everything okay in here?" he asked. 

"Fine," I said, smiling cheerfully while I drained some edamame. "Why?"

"Um, I heard some... questionable noises a while back."

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A New Time Management System

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Yesterday afternoon a friend and I were e-mailing back and forth. (I am irrationally proud of the fact that I don't text. E-mail is good enough for me. Why, in my day we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways just to send one e-mail...) He wanted me to know he was cutting back on his professional speaking engagements and devoting more time to writing. He mentioned he'd written the equivalent of three articles over the last 5 days. 

This left me in the odd position of wanting to hit my dear friend across the face with a rotting grouper. It's not that I'm not happy for him. It's just that I've been struggling with my writing lately.

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The Way To A Man's Heart: Sprouted Bread & Vegan Cheese?

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There was a tenseness in the air last night as we sat down to dine. As I spooned food onto our plates, I swallowed against the lump of self-doubt lodged in my throat. Blair eyed his plate suspiciously. It was a do or die moment. 

Let me explain. Years ago we discovered a "Beef Taco Bake" recipe on the side of a Campbell's tomato soup can. With a few adjustments - soy crumbles for beef, whole what tortillas for flour ones, and plain salsa for chunky because Blair was in his "I won't eat anything with chunks in it" stage - the recipe became a staple in our home. Gooey and satisfying, we shoved the tomato-cheesy-floury goodness down our throats at least once a week. It's quite possibly one of Blair's favorite meals.

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