Meet my new chin, Hank. Hank, meet the blogosphere.

Meet Hank. My mother has him.
My sister has him. Now he's made his
home on my face.

So this post isn't quite bride related...but it's definitely relationship related. So, A.P. and I have been dating for just a few months shy of 3 years, and when I met him I was the skinniest I'd ever been (and I'm not a skinny person, never have been...well, maybe when I was, like, 7). Shortly after he and I met, I started grad school. Oh. Good. Lord. I've gained something like 40 lbs. in the past three years!

Now, part of that is definitely my grad school schedule. Getting home from class at 9:30pm does not always leave a strong desire to make a healthy dinner, so I almost always ate take out or something easy and quick (read: not healthy). But the other part is most definitely A.P. I've never, ever dated anyone like him. He's one of those types. You know the type. The kind that can eat anything, and everything, and never gain a pound. His mother was the same way. She's still skinny. So this is him, for life. His diet is pretty bad, too. Constant snacking, trips to the Walgreen's for ice cream and sugary drinks (though he has, to be fair, lightened up on soda, and Vitamin Water). I beg him to eat healthier, but it's all to no avail. I wish he could really understand how much it has to do with my worrisome nature and my fear that he will have the same health issues his parents had (prostate cancer, bypass surgery, diabetes, etc.). I just wish he cared more about two things:

1. his health
2. the environment (that's a post for another day)

Alas, it's been a constant source of bickering. Well, this year I decided I was fed up with half of my ENORMOUS closet of clothes not fitting. Shopping became a nightmare. I no longer enjoy taking my picture, mainly because it's not just me in the pic anymore, it's totally me and my new chin, Hank (he takes up half the frame! Stupid Hank.). Ugh. So A.P. and I joined a gym right around the corner. He lasted for about a month. Now, he never goes. I kept going, even though it sucked going without him. Then right before my bday (beginning of March), I hurt my knee. I don't have insurance (gasp, I know...terrible, terrible, terrible), and right now even though I'm working full time (for one more week, anyway), I'm not a salaried employee, so, no benefits. So, out of fear, I stopped working out. I'm supposed to get a shot of cortisone today actually, so I'm hoping I can get my act together and get back into the gym. It's been a struggle. I lost about 15 lbs., and have gained a chunk of it back. This has been the hardest weight gain/loss ever. I hate to point fingers, because ultimately this is my fault, but A.P. doesn't always make it easy. Snacks just magically appear and bad eating habits are hard to break. I'm hoping to get my act together in the next month, though, and get back into the gym and monitor my diet again. My attitude about the weight thing is the same as it was for quitting smoking two years ago: I want it to be a distant memory, something I used to do/deal with, but no longer have to worry about. Here's hoping!

No more of these! Unless they're made
with tofu and something else that is nasty
but that we convince ourselves is good
because it's good for us. Poop. This just
makes me want a cupcake.