My Monday Morning In Rio

Well, I am sure I do not know what I was thinking, signing up for a Brazilian wax at 9:00 a.m. on the Monday morning following a 5 day Thanksgiving weekend. I guess in a way, I wasn't fully awake when it began, so that at least helped me to get my pants down with no inhibition. And what exactly did she mean by "Oh yes, that is some nice growth you have here; I can work with this."

Fortunately, the lights in the room were dim, with just a spotlight on my undercarriage. It was hot in the room, though, and I was sweating before we even got started. Then I just began my out of body experience when she said, "OK now bend your knees and touch your feet together", as the first slathering of hot wax went on. What really troubled me was that she wanted to discuss Thanksgiving and Black Friday and the pepper spray incident at that California Wal-Mart throughout all of this. I tuned her out, or changed the subject to note how similar getting a Brazilian wax and running a marathon are: comic painfulness, hitting a wall and wanting to quit, 90% mental, etc. And then, with no warning, she'd rip the wax off. I couldn't even brace for it because I had no idea when it was about to come! I am not sure if that worked to my advantage or not, but I nearly vomited with each rip. The pain was so severe and intense that I found myself with little tears rolling down my cheeks, yet also was laughing. I relied on her coaching, "You're doing GREAT!! No big patches left!"

So last time (and also my first time) that I went for a wax, I did hit the wall and said that was enough. I could not take anymore. This girl today went a lot faster, so I actually went through with all of it. And I gotta say, for some of those really close/inner ones, I am quite certain that she just ripped my labia right off. I think I actually screamed out during those. And, then for the grand finale, she had me hug my knees up into my chest so, you know, she could do my backside. Seriously, this is NOT an appropriate position to be in at this hour. However, that seemed to be the easiest part - 4 quick strips and then we were done.

By the end of all of this, I was light-headed, nauseous, and drenched in sweat, and little shreds of the sweat-soaked piece of butcher paper I was laying on were stuck all over the back of my shirt (as I discovered upon getting out of my car at work). Classy.

This should last me until 2012, but now I am certain that this is an afternoon activity, and a truly heroic effort on my part if I do say so myself. Glory Be.

P.S. Her name was Amber. HA.

Giving Thanks

Due to the stars aligning just so, I am about to kick off the happiest holiday season known to me in the last 5 years or so. Since 2007, my Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons have been ruined by this huge annual work project which cast a layer of stress and anger and sadness over everything. Well, thanks to the good ol' recession maybe, my company can't afford to put the event on in 2012, so the burden is lifted! I kind of don't know what to do with all my holiday joy! Just think, this will be Ansley's 4th Christmas, and yet really the first time we will get to truly savor and enjoy it for what IT IS!! So, I am thankful for that.

Some specific things I am thrilled about:

• Getting Christmas shopping done over long lunch breaks between now and Dec 16th
• Decking my halls Thanksgiving weekend
• Being among the first Christmas card to arrive in people's mailboxes (one of my loftier aspirations)
• Not working late hours!
• Not being the ONLY person at work on Christmas Eve!
• OMG!
• Not working on New Years Eve weekend!

Now back to other matters. So, I have not run in 10 days. I am looking at it as rest/recovery time. I was sick and that's my excuse. Will try to fit 2 runs in this weekend. While I'm at it, let me just publicly state what my fitness plans are for the rest of the year: (w/c = "week commencing" / British for "week of")  (?? means I might be limited as to what I can fit in based on Football schedules and parenting duties)

w/c Nov 21: M-Run 3, Tu-Run 3, W-Run 4, Th-Rest, Fri-Rest, Sat-??, Sun-??
w/c Nov 28: M-Barre, Tu-Run 3, W-Barre+Run, Th-Barre, Fri-Run 3, Sat-Run 6, Sun-Rest
w/c Dec 5: M-Barre, Tu-Run 4, W-Barre+Run 3, Th-Barre, Fri-Rest, Sat-Run 13, Sun-Rest (1/2 THON)
w/c Dec 12: M-Barre??, Tu-Rest, W-Barre, Th-Barre, Fri-Rest, Sat-Run 3, Sun Rest
w/c Dec19: M-Run 3, Tu-Rest, W-Run 4, Th-Rest, Fri-Run 3, Sat-Run 5, Sun Rest (NO BARRE)
w/c Dec 26: M-Run 3, Tu-Rest, W-Run 4, Th-Rest, Fri-Run 3, Sat-Run 6, Sun Rest

This doesn't leave ANY time for sickness or laziness!!

And then, come Jan 1st, I need to decide if I want to take some time off from Barre. I love it, but I don't like paying for it.

So, that's all for now. What are YOU thankful for?

Sabotage

My intention was to log 8 miles on this past Saturday. I was stoked to give it a shot!! Then, at 3:42 p.m. EST on Friday, I got pharyngitis (fancy word for sore throat that is NOT strep). I felt it the moment it started, and just knew it was going to wreck my little plans. I spent the entire weekend on the couch, alternating between being freezing cold/chills and hot flashes/drenched in sweat. Big thanks to my Mr. for covering for me on my motherly duties for, like, 4 days.

So, now, that brings me to 8 days with no running. Granted, I did need a break because I felt an overuse injury coming. I should also mention that I haven't had a sip of wine on my couch since October 27th. WHAT UP WITH THAT?!?!! I don't know; it hasn't really been intentional, but I just haven't found myself over at my bar in the evenings. So I'm going with it, and aiming to take the entire month of November off. I foresee sabotage on that one, too, probably somewhere around November 25th - 26th.

Anyway, not much else new to report. Oh wait - my Ansley knows all 9 reindeer names.

Check y'all later!

Origins

My given first and middle name at birth was Rebecca Lynn. Growing up, I went by Becky. Somewhere around age 21, I was given a nickname, "Bocky", which was somehow derived from the term of endearment, 'biotch'. It stuck, but only with friends - not with family, and specifically only with the friends I made during my time in New York City. Everyone who called me that had their own spelling: Bocci, Bokki, Boky, Bacci, Bonky - you name it. My husband, whom I was friends with for almost 7 years before we began dating, had thought all along that my name was spelled Bocki, and once he gave me the diamond, I agreed to go with his spelling. So when trying to come up with the name for my blog today, I text messaged a friend saying, "Quick - I need a name for my blog I'm starting today." And she replied, "Amber Bock." Which of course, was already taken, so I went for AmberBocki. So that's the origin of my blog's title. You can pick some up from the cold beer section tonight!

Too much, too fast.

Well, I've started running again. I used to be a runner; and now I'm going to be one again! And now, I think I'll also become a blogger. This sounds like a recipe for failure, if you know me at all. I'm a huge quitter. Or I used to be a huge quitter. We shall see.

Anyway, my initial objectives for blogging are:

1. finding an outlet for my newly rediscovered excitement about running.
2. getting back into journaling/writing.
3. discovering a way to tie parenting, wifing, running and life all together.
4. keeping a somewhat entertaining fitness log.

I'm sure I won't have many readers or followers or whatever, but I guess I'd just like to be able to look back and remember things more vividly.

I'll quickly tell you what's brought me to this point: Starting in May of 2011, I became fed up with my weight, grew tired of obsessing about not liking my body, obsessing about what I ate or didn't eat, and not seeing any changes in either direction. I had been a broken record for years, always self-loathing about my weight, but never really committing to do anything to change it. I upped the exercise, and tried a few silly little diets over the summer. In August, I began the Couch to 5K program, mostly on a treadmill, because, despite my love of summer, Charleston, beaches, etc., I DO NOT do heat well when it comes to exercise. I finished up Couch to 5K by the end of September, and started expanding my running on my own, outside. Now it's early November; I've given up my scale (it's always bringing me down) and I'm up to running ~10-15 miles per week, ready to move on to 15-20 miles per week. I have a 1/2 marathon coming up in about a month, and I really want to avoid injury between now and then!

So, I don't know what else to say starting out a blog. I guess it will show me where I'm supposed to go with it. Scary. Again, we shall see!