The show must go on

While I am very grateful and thankful that I am able to work from home, but I admit it can be difficult to focus. I mean, there are always distractions, but add the current situation and yeah, focus in on the day to day minutiae of work can feel difficult.

I am trying to create structure in my day: AM dog walk then settle in to work, take a break at lunch and turn off the computer, then in the evening a walk to workout post work to signal that part of the day is done. That part is working pretty well - it's the staying focused that feels like a challenge! My son has been deemed essential by the Army Corps of Engineers (their boat yard supports some military and coast guard vessels), my husband has been deemed essential (restaurant manager), and I have a mom that's older. Thankfully my family members are all taking this seriously and being careful.

We are all powerless in the face of this - there is only so much any of us can do. It's hard to shut off that part of your mind and worry about setting up a Sharepoint site. :-) Hang tough, one day at a time, blah blah blah. Thanks for reading my little corner of the internet. It helps me just typing it all out.

Big virtual hugs.

30 days to break a habit

I read the other day that it takes 30 days to break a habit. Also, my birthday is in April (no beach trip this year). So I decided that for my birthday I am going to give myself the gift of breaking my evening snacking habit!!  I will be at home - I can make a nice meal and even a little something if I want a bite of something sweet after. But after that I am going to pretend the kitchen is CLOSED! Calorie free beverages only after dinner is over!

Congrats Paula for hanging tough in spite of a longer work day!! That's awesome!

You guys take care of yourselves.

Stress eating

Yeah, it's happening. I'm struggling. Doing some things well - really the day is going well. It's post dinner stress eating that is tough. I've asked my husband to help. Bringing ice cream and chocolate bars into the house isn't the way to do it. OTOH, stress baking probably isn't it either.

OTOH, trying to give myself a little grace.

Don't save it for special

Earlier this week I sent out some of the special cards that a friend had sent. I wanted some people to know they are valued.

Today I took a few minutes to clean up my work area. I wanted it to feel more organized.

I am trying to find my new normal. I am working out first thing in the morning. That's a big change for me, but (like everyone) I am trying to figure out what schedule will work for me while I am at home.

Today is a good day, I 'm feeling positive about my little corner of the world.

Take care.

Thought of the day

I'm struggling, we all are. I started a couch to 5K this morning and ate a healthy breakfast. I'm doing what I'm able to self care. My husband works in food service, he is stressed and scared. I am scared for my family, and myself to a lesser extent. My son is still having to work, my mom is staying at home.  It's hard.

That ended badly

Sometimes my husband is my greatest supporter. Other times he's my greatest enabler. Let's just say last night didn't end well and move on, shall we? After all, today is another day. :-)

Take care.

Plenty of resources

Hi there. How are you? If you are anything like me "mixed bag" is a fair answer. Some days I'm doing pretty well, other days not so much. There has been some binge eating, but I'm getting that pulled back. Right now I'm about to write out a workout to do while I'm stuck here at home. I miss the camaraderie of the gym, but right now staying away from other humans is the healthier alternative.

What else? A lot of cooking, doing yard work, taking my furry co workers for a daily walk. Trying to keep up on the news, but not too much. Trying not to worry about the things I can't control. T is still going in to work on his regular schedule. looks like we will cancel out May trip to Alaska.

In the meantime, there are concerts, free workouts, Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare every day - all kinds of things to inspire you and help you during this. Sometimes they help, sometimes you just want to binge eat a box of spicy crab poppers that snuck into the freezer at some point.

Take care.

Stormy weather

Anticipating something bad isn't fun. At first this kinda reminded me of waiting for Hurricane Iniki - trapped on an island with nowhere to go. But that isn't quite it - we were about as far inland as you can get on Oahu, on high ground, in barracks built in 1903 with 18" concrete walls designed to withstand shelling. We all knew we would be fine.

Then I remembered something I hadn't thought about in years - waiting for an especially bad storm in west Texas. My roommate and I were sitting out on the balcony watching a sick green sky, just waiting for the proverbial sh^% to hit the fan. It was tornado weather and those are no joke. It's that sense of being utterly helpless in the face of mother nature. You can do some preparing, you may have some advance notice, but moments like that leave you feeling like a speck in the universe. We were (obviously) fine, but it feels a bit like that now.

Not every minute - a lot of this has felt strangely relaxing - being forced to slow down, being given the gift of time. But watching the sky and knowing a storm is coming and there are no guarantees for any of us.

My special gym is still open

I think I may go to the gym tonight. It's a huge space and generally maybe a half dozen people there. My plan is to go, wipe down the handles, work out, wipe down the handles, leave, and wash my hands.

Am I crazy?

Stress shopping

I'm pretty nervous. I haven't bought 6 months worth of toilet tissue, although I might have done some impulse buying of shoes and liquor. Don't judge me. In the meantime, trying to figure out what I want to do for fitness while the gyms are closed.

Take care!

Up in the air

We haven't gotten the "work from home" from on high even though we all do periodically and can. Luckily we have a couple week's worth of food - we generally do. My gyms aren't closed (yet), but I've downloaded a couch to 5K program and am thankful its warm enough to get outside. I also have a variety of kettlebells and a TRX at home.

Take care of yourself.

Oh Friday

Happy Friday. What a week. People are stealing the TP from my husband's restaurant so we made a trek out Wednesday in an effort to find some. INSANE.

Below are a couple of (unappetizing) photos, but they make a point. Sometimes what you want is a certain flavor profile, and you can graft it onto something else and make a new, yummy thing. I diced up boiled egg and added: diced turkey pepperoni, olives. sun dried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. I toasted it on a slice of Ezekiel bread and boom! Breakfast pizza toast! It was pretty good and satisfied a craving.

I'm working at home today so I can head to urgent care. I think my seasonal allergies may have morphed into a sinus infection. Ugh.

Have a good weekend!

Be the tortoise

Consistency beats perfection. Two years, 76 pounds. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm a lot farther down the path.

Today's weight 145.8.

Take care.

Doing okay

Is it just me or does time change seems extra hard this year?! I've had a hard time getting up the past couple of days. Instead of going to the gym this morning, I opted to take the dogs for an early morning walk. They went back to bed after that - I wish I could have!!

It's going pretty well - I don't have any answers about cloning myself to get everything done, but at least T and I are talking so I'm not just stewing in silence. :-) LOL

So I took a walk today and I'm going to the kettlebell gym this evening. I've moved a lot during the day. I've done some physical therapy exercises for my shoulder (I back slid A LOT on those!! I have some lost ground to make up there). Food is good.

I've worked at home today so that's given me a little bit of room to recharge.

Weight today: 145.9.

Take care.

One or the other

I have come to a conclusion: with my current work schedule and commute I have enough time to take care of my house or myself. Since I like a tidy house I have to figure out a solution.

Things are okay. I just want more free time!

Work the plan

I need to knock on some wood, things are going so well!  T and I were planning to go away for a day event tomorrow - I know he is really excited about it. I am not. I was out of town last weekend, I am out of town next weekend, and I am cooking at church Sunday. So I was just feeling very anxious about not having some down time. I was able to ask if he'd mind if I stayed home - we don't get a lot of time together and this would have been a day together. OTOH, I would have felt anxious all weekend. He understood and we came up with a plan so we have some stuff together Sunday but we each get what we need Saturday. Relationship communication victory!

It's been a hectic week but I was able to incorporate some of Elle's suggestions. I was able to drop the 3 pounds I picked up last week! I gained 4.3 pounds for the month of February and I'm hoping that March is much better. I'm off to a solid start!

Take care and have a good weekend!

Try again

So, again this week my husband has agreed to prepare a simple meal for when I get home from the gym: stuffed flounder (moosh a thawed store bought crab cake between tilapia fillets), cauli tots, and salad. There is a plan B in the fridge in case its needed. :-)

Today is a double gym day so I packed a protein shake for after I lift this evening. I am doing HIIT at lunch.

Today's food:

AM: coffee with 1/2 1/2 and prunes
Breakfast: chickpea and tofu salad in an extreme wellness wrap, roasted chicken thigh.
Snack: 1/2 c greek yogurt with 70 g blueberries
Lunch: spicy thai soup
Snack: boiled egg, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes
Dinner: we'll see! Lol

Have a good day!

Starting the day off right

After I got T up & out and the dogs fed, I went to the gym and then voted on the way home. So yay me!

My trainer wrote me up some suggestions, which I've already mentioned: additional cardio day, mixing it up, go heavy at the gym, protein shake added for workout days.

Today's food:

AM usual coffee & prunes
Breakfast: 1/2 mini bagel with cream cheese pre workout, omelet with asparagus and mushrooms post.

AM snack 1/2 c greek yogurt & 70 grams mango

Lunch: spicy thai soup with veggies, chicken, and shiritaki noodles

afternoon snack: boiled egg

Dinner: pot roast & roasted root vegetables

Sunday I made a big pot of chili in the crock pot, which we had last night. Lots of leftovers. Tonight is a big pot roast we'll have a couple of nights. Tomorrow I am making a big pot of ground beef veggie soup. So 3 large meals with a lot of leftovers. No excuses! :-)

Take care.

Prepared

Happy Monday (ha ha).

I took Friday off for a quick trip to the beach to celebrate my son's birthday. It was fast but nice. Yesterday was a whirlwind of shopping, laundry, and food prep. Thursday night we had a SITUATION at the house - I got home from the gym (starving) at 7 PM and the husband who had promised to cook dinner was on the sofa watching TV. Chicken was nowhere near done and sweet potatoes were so overdone as to be inedible. I didn't lose my cool, but I left and got take out. So yeah, let's just say that this week all meals are being prepared or at least prepped by me in advance and there will be an emergency back up available in case of failure.

I had gotten down to 145. Today's weight is 149. The journey to regain lost ground begins today, with a single bite. Lol.

Take care.