Accidents Happen

Well, Alex was on his way back from the weekend last Friday when his tire exploded. It didn't go flat; it blew *kerPOW!* Now, one thing you have to keep in mind is that Alex has only been driving for about two years. Why did he need to know how to drive over in France when the public transportation was so good? So, he didn't get his license until he came over here. Last May, I bought a new Mazda 3 and gave him my old Mazda Protege. Our next project is to replace said Protege because it's got 185k miles on it. I didn't think the tires were due to be changed, though...and the guy at the tire place said that the other three were fine, so maybe not. Who knows why it blew? All I know is that I am INCREDIBLY HAPPY that Alex managed to keep control of the car while driving speedily down the interstate as it blew, and he did not get into an accident nor cause an accident. Whew! In many ways, it's just a metaphor for life: there you are, driving down the road, when suddenly something unexpected happens. And how you react to it determines your own path and the path of others.

Anyway, I've decided that Alex must have cooties this weekend because not only did his tire screw up but also his cell phone. The contract expires on his cell phone in September, so I desperately did not want it to die NOW. "Now" means we have to BUY a new phone instead of get one free with a two-year contract. Sigh. But at least I found a place that sells used, refurbished cell phones (with a 30 day warranty) that will be compatable with our current service--just switch out the SIM card and we're good. So, that's better than spending hundreds on a new, great phone. We'll worry about something spiffy rather than functional in Sept.

I'm afraid people will kill me for the last "accident" I'm listing off today. I'm accidentally losing weight. I'm not dieting; I'm eating all the chocolate and drinking all the wine I usually consume. However, there are three factors that have changed in my life. In January, I started eating more fruits and vegetables because I was worried I wasn't getting in enough of them. At the same time, I started drinking more water and cut myself back to one soda a day. Then in May, I started up a job wherein I have to walk, walk, walk...and I gave up sodas entirely because I just decided that there's no value at all to drinking a chemical concoction. To give you an idea of HOW much I have to walk, I took Alex's pedometer to work with me out of curiosity on Saturday. After a 9 and a half hour shift, I had walked 23,014 steps. Basically, you're doing good if you can manage to swing 10,000 steps a day. I'm more than doubling it. I keep wondering what it'll be like after my 12 and a half hour shift on Thursday. Now, it's just a part time job, but I guess every little bit helps. My metabolism has never been bad (although it certainly has slowed over the years--that getting older and giving birth thing), and I guess this is the proof. I still eat insane amounts of food and calories, but these small changes had me go from 134 lbs in December to 123 lbs now. My clothes that were really, really tight now fit comfortably. Amazing. I'll take that and say "thank you."