Once upon a time, a fat girl joined a gym....

The rest of the story is yet to be written.

The last time I wrote was ages ago. Nope, I'm no lower in weight, no smaller in clothing size, and no better an eater than I was in April. I AM, however, married now. Yup, my new husband decided he couldn't live without me, though more thick than thin, in sickness and in health, till death or an arguement over the last piece of cheesecake do us part! We got married in June. We had the wedding party "hike" to the nuptuals up our favorite hiking trail. Since we (he's no Adonis himself) are both out of shape, we didn't hike as far back as we would have liked to, and stopped at a bridge crossing Glacier Creek in Girdwood, AK, instead of hiking all the way back to Winner Creek Gorge Bridge. I didn't wear a dress, didn't have an armfull of flowers (I did have fiddlehead fern shoots, they were in bloom), no bridesmaids... it made it easier, but truth be told, I didn't want to try on dresses, so getting hitched in "true Alaskan form" on a hiking trail in a t-shirt, shorts and hiking boots was wonderful. And, I didn't have to lose a pound.

Back to the girl joining the gym tale. It should have started... Once upon a time, there was an unemployed girl who interviewed for a job with a great company and was offered a position. The girl took the position, not knowing at the time what wonderful benefits the magical company had. The supervisor of the girl's department added the delicious perk of fresh baked sweet rolls every day, and the coffee and cream flowed from a never ending pool. The Human Resource Genies, when they came to do the girl's orientation into the magical company expressed to the girl, who just happened to be very overweight, that the magical company would pay for a gym membership for the girl, and her entire family, if the girl would only go to the gym 12 times a month. The girl, they explained, could swim, utilize the cardiovascular machines like the stair stepper and the stationary bikes, lift weights, play racquetball, tennis or handball, participate in exercise classes... anything the gym offered and the girl partook in, the magical company would pay for. All the girl had to do was take in a punch card for the hunky Gym Fairy to punch with a special star paper punch. The girl, who really thought she would lose weight on her own during the summer riding her bike, hiking, taking her dogs for walks and getting outside in the Alaska sunshine, didn't take the magical company up on their offer. Months went by, and the girl waited and waited for the sun to show itself in Alaska. Then, one day, the girl's new husband said, "We didn't get outside at all this summer. Didn't your magical company say they would pay for your family gym membership if you go 12 times a month?" The girl couldn't avoid the gym then, especially when her new Prince was the one who drove the car and pulled into the gym.

Now, the girl has a family membership at a gym, her Prince wants to lift weights, and both of them want her magical company to pay for their gym membership. The girl will go to the gym 3 times a week, find group classes to attend, and hope that no one tries to harpoon her when she gets into the pool.

This is just the beginning, not the end. :)

The girl knows though, that she will never give up popcicles, no matter how healthy she gets.