Sunday

I haven't had anything so far today, but I did sit down and put everything I plan to eat into sparkpeople.  For lunch today we are going to Sunrise Pita Grill - an awesome kosher restaurant.  If you are ever in Ft. Lauderdale, I highly recommend it. 

IMO, eating out can be a challenge if you are counting calories (or anything else) at a place like this.  It's not a chain, they have no nutritional data available, so I'm making the best estimates I can.  I know we are having chicken schwarma and it tastes like it has a fair amount of fat.  I looked it up and I'm estimating 400 calories for a small portion.  I know I will have a couple tablespoons of hummus, and I estimated that as  80 calories (I used Hannah restaurant style as a proxy - it has a lot of tahini).  Other than that I will be eating various marinated vegetables, so maybe an extra hundred? I'm eating lighter the rest of the day so I can keep my calories below 1500 (my personal limit).

We are ordering a platter and splitting it.  Last time we did that we still ended up with leftovers!  Seriously, the platter is pretty big and neither of us eat epic portions (anymore).

We have a rule that we don't eat out more than once per week.  When we do eat out, we like it to be someplace special.  So we frequently choose places like this - not a chain, the food is made fresh in the store, and you aren't going to find it just anywhere.

Yesterday we got a notice in the mail that our house insurance won't be renewed unless we either get a new roof (around $10,000) or get a roofer to certify it has at least 3 more years of useful life.  Ah, the joys of liing in a hurricane zone.  Given that we are looking to move very soon, I can't see the exppense of a new roof, so calling a roofer is now added to my list of crap I have to look forward to Monday.  Sigh.

The rest of the day

For dinner I made shrimp spinach enchiladas, with roasted broccoli and unsweet tea.

Sorry my pictures look so unappetizing.  I think part of it is the lighting in our kitchen.  It looks better in real life!

While watching tv, I made air popped popcorn:

And that brings us to the end of the day.  Per sparkpeople, grand total is right around 1500 calories.

Saturday so far

This morning I got up at 6:30 and finished prepping my grocery list.

Then I made myself breakfast: 2 eggs over 2 oz leftover seasoned ground turkey, guacamole also leftover from last night (I estimated 1/4 of an avocado), salsa, and a glass of diet pepsi.

After that I got dressed, grabbed my prunes and coffee, and hit the road.

I don't know how other people shop, but I am a cherry picker: I buy certain things at certain stores, dues to sales, prices, or preference. That means I hit Penn-Dutch (a local store) for meats and vegetables, W-M for non food and certain items they tend to be low priced on.  I came home and dropped groceries and went back out to Costco for gas and other items I buy there (I don't go every week, probably every other week), and then to Aldi for a couple of items (they are on the way home).  I again went home then ran back out to the post office to mail Mother's day packages to my mom, MIL, and great aunt, and lastly to the bank to make a deposit.  Whew!  I don't plan to leave the house again today!

Then lunch: a salad of 1/2 huge cucumber, a large tomato, 5 ounces rotisserie chicken, and a couple of tablespoons salad dressing. And unsweet tea.  I don't put any sweetener in my tea - I like it plain.

 

After that we got in the pool for a bit, then I grabbed a shower and a short nap.  I woke up and had a bran crispbread at 3 for an afternoon snack:

I also had a cup of coffee (with almond milk).

According to sparkpeople, that's right at 780 calories so far for the day.

I eat a lot of salads, but honestly I can't stand store bought salad dressing: I don't like the taste, value, or ingredient list.  I use other things as dressing (hot sauce, avocado, hummus, salsa), or I make my own.  It doesn't take very long, I can use things like greek yogurt, tomato sauce, and almond milk as they base so the calorie value is better, not to mention it lacks the sugar and other indecipherable ingredients.  It lasts a week in the fridge.  I have a lot of recipes so I can make a variety.  My husband eats basically the same way I do and it keeps him from getting bored as well.

This photo challenge has been interesting.  Besides the fact that its got me posting again regularly, its forcing me to stop and consider before I eat something.  Do I really want something enough to get up, take a photo, and post it before I eat?  Also, hub has been getting home later so we are eating dinner later this week, so I haven't been hungry or bored enough for the answer to be yes.

the day in eats

This has been a bit of an odd week.  Generally, I eat the same things over & over, but this week threw me a couple of curveballs.  Oh, well, there is plenty of food in the house so it's not like anyone is going hungry. Semper Gumby.  I figured out 'plan b's.

AM coffee and prunes:

Breakfast was odd.  I cooked 2 eggs and put them over the leftover green beans (I felt it needed something else) and added hot sauce.  Weird but it worked.

Then lunch: 1/2 cucumber, large tomato, grilled chicken breast, 3 Tbsp hummus (thinned to use as dressing) over a couple of cups of raw spinach, and unsweet tea.

Afternoon snack was a cup of grapes and half an ounce of walnuts.

I knew we would be eating a bit late so when I got home I ate a cracker:

Dinner looks gross, but it was good! 3 corn tortillas baked, 1/2 c refried beans, 3 oz. ground turkey, 1/2 avocado, and salsa.  (Meat and avocado were seasoned.)  Homemade nachos. And unsweet tea.

 

Per sparkpeople, the total for the day so far is around 1250, but over 500 were in dinner alone, so I don't plan to eat anything else tonight.  I think I will go have a popsicle and call it a night!

Happy Friday!

Afternoon snack, and dinner

For snack I had the same thing as yesterday, so I used the same picture:

1 cup of grapes and a half ounce of walnuts (and a diet pepsi - must stop 2nd diet pepsi, because honestly its a glass of chemicals). 188 calories.

And dinner:

Sorry for the blurry picture - I didn't realize it until after I had eaten! Dinner was homemade cod chowder (cod was on sale), roasted green beans, and sliced strawberries.  And unsweet tea.

Chowder can be high cal, but I have a couple of strategies: leave out the butter, half the liquids (hub likes it thick anyway) and use almond milk.

This weekend I will break out the camera and try to take some pictures that make my food look appetizing!

I can't remember if I posted it, here is a random pic from vacation last month.

That was at the first hotel where we stayed in Key Largo.  It was early morning and we were headed out for our scuba trip.  I can't believe we live 90 minutes from Key Largo, and don't get there more often!  Priorities!

Lunch, and workouts

First, a bit of back story: every Sunday evening my husband grills up chicken thighs for us to use in our lunch salads.  This week we are running short and I wanted to save them for him, so I decided to use sardines in my salad instead.  Blame Norma, I got the idea from her.  So, lunch was half a large cucumber (chopped), a large tomato, 3 Tbsp hummus (I thin it down with some water and use as dressing), and a can of sardines.  I also had a glass of unsweet tea.  It came to roughly 340 calories.

Since I was at home, I took my lunch outside and ate by the pool.  It poured, for 5 minutes.  Typical south Florida spring weather!  It's been raining on and off all day, which is a bit unusual.

Which brings me to workouts:

Wednesday: 200 kettlebell swings with the 18 lb bell, a few minutes of yoga, chest & back with Jeff (short & light since I also lifted Tuesday and today) and 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Today: 30 minutes of walking and the "B" workout of Phase 1 from NRLFW (New Rules of Lifting for Women).

We got up and took the dogs for a walk this morning and we were at just about halfway when it started to POUR.  Our big shephard/lab/misc. mix happily splashed in the gutter.  Our poor jack russell mix stood in the middle of the road, eyes squinted, with this look of abject misery on her face and refused to walk.  I carried her, then hub carried her, then the rain let up enough that she begrudgingly agreed to walk.  We were soaked!  If the dog hadn't been so miserable, it would'nt have been too bad.  It was kinda funny. :-)

Last night, I was feeling anxious about a work related issue.  I really wanted to nosh on something, and I was a bit hungry, but honestly I was too tired to take a picture and post it, so I guess this is working!

Breakfast, and calories

I forgot to say, with the bran crispbread (as they are called) AM pre breakfast was 60 calories.  I guess that makes it sound like I eat all day, I just like my prunes with my coffee, and that one cup first thing is generally the only coffee I drink.

Breakfast was 2 eggs made into an omelet with 1 c leftover brussel sprouts sliced, 5 large mushrooms sauteed, and about an ounce of mexican style chorizo. If you aren't familiar, its a loose mexican breakfast sausage (think seasoned ground meat).  I tossed that in for some flavor. 

I also had half a grapefruit and a glass of diet pepsi.  I drink water througout the day, but at meals I typically drink unsweetened tea.  Diet pepsi is definitely a vice I am cutting back on, but I do have a glass with breakfast.  I guess I like to frontload my caffeine!

I ususally toss the leftoer dinner veggies into our lunch salads the next day, but I thought the omelet needed something to bulk it up. Per Sparkpeople, total calories was 360.

Another lovely pic, courtesy of my cell phone.

 

AM

Today I am working at home, so I can post my food throughout the day (I can't post from work).  This morning I woke up hungry, so I added a "Scandanavian bran crispbread" to my prunes and coffee.  These things have 12 calories and 5 grams of fiber - they are a bit like eating a cross between that all bran cereal (that looks like mouse poop) smashed together and cardboard.  Yeah, pretty dry on their own, but VERY filling and perfect when you need a little something to tide you over.

I am getting ready to head out and walk the dogs, then walk myself, and then come home & eat breakfast.

So, here ya go:

Be back after breakfast!

Food, part 2

So, dinner.  I included a ruler for a frame of reference.  These dishes belonged to my grandparents.  This is ine of the "luncheon" plates, with a diameter of 8 inches.

The meal is a cod filet baked with panko breadcrumbs, sweet potato fries, and roasted brussel sprouts (which we love).  Per Sparkpeople, 325 calories.

After dinner I had a 15 calorie sugar free popsicle.  That puts me at about 1300 calories for the day.

Food so far

As I left for work: 2 prunes and a cup of coffee with unsweetened plain almond milk and a packet of stevia.  50 calories.

Breakfast: 6 oz (uncooked weight) greek meatloaf, made with 2 parts ground turkey to 1 part ground lamb, chopped spinach, and spices.  And 1/4 of a large cucumber, sliced. 360 calories per Sparkpeople.

Lunch: a salad from the cafeteria.  I watched the lady make it: I am guessing 4 oz grilled chicken, 1/4 cup garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, and 3 cups mixed greens.  I asked for the dressing on the side (its a greek vinegarette).  I used 3 about spoons - I estimated 2 tablespoons.  That made it 350 calories.  Oh, and a glass of unsweet green tea.

Finally a cup of green grapes, a half oz walnuts, and diet pepsi. That came to 190 calories.

Clearly, I don't need to quit my day job and become a food stylist!

Lucky girl

I know I've mentioned the fitness center we have at work.  The nutritionist generally arrives between 9 and 10, and the fitness instructor (Jeff) comes in around 10.  They come in later because the center is mainly utilized in the lunch & late afternoon/early evening periods.

I generally go down mid-morning to do by kettlebell swings and/or yoga.  I use the small, back studio.

This is the room I get all to myself, 5 days a week, to work out.  How nice is that?!?

Allan's challenge

Blogger Allan has issued a challenge for any who want to participate: take (and post!) pictures of all the food you eat.

I have to confess, seeing and reading about what other bloggers eat is fascinating.  For one, I have learned a tremendous amount about healthy eating, gotten some fantastic ideas, and gotten some truly terrible ones!  For the record, I also like peeking in other shoppers' carts.  I'm not judging, but I think seeing what someone eats is like a secret glimpse into their life.  Does that make me a nosy parker?

The past 4 weeks I've been suffering from the up 2 pounds down 2 pounds, and its getting old! So hopefully this will be the extra kick in the butt I need to stick with the clean eating.  I would love to drop 20 pounds before we leave for vacation in 11 weeks and posting my food here for a while certainly won't hurt!

I will also be posting my workouts.  For the curious (and in case I didn't mention it already), I am starting the weight lifting routine found in "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" designed by the awesome Alwyn Cosgrove.  I am doing the first workout tonight.

Today

Went to the beach.

Cleaned veggies (excuse the terrible pic).

Neighbors are coming over to grill out later.

Big news: exempting yourself from common sense isn't smart

Yeah.... that whole hundreds of swings day after day?  You'd think I'd be smarter, but clearly not!  I'm back to sanity - luckily that period didn't last long and I didn't injure myself, but I tried.

For the record, I sit at a computer all day.  If I'm not at my computer, I'm in a meeting.  So my intent with my schedule is to move regularly throughout the day.

Exercise these days:

AM walk most days, for 1.5-2 miles. (NOT for exercise per se, I just like to start my day with movement.)

Mid morning every other day I do a couple hundred kettlebell swings and some yoga.  Other days I do just stretching or yoga.

Afternoon: weight lifting and/or elliptical.  Getting in the pool after work for 30-45 minutes.

Evening walk with the dogs 3-4 times per week.  Again, its all about moving throughout the course of the day.

I've been lifting weights with Jeff, but I am planning to start doing the routine in the "New Rules of Lifting for Women" next week.  I need a little more effort in that arena I think.

Boringsville

We are still in south Florida.  The weather is warm enough that we have been getting in the pool daily, which rocks.

Food is the same old boringsville stuff - meat & veg for breakfast, meat & veg for lunch, meat & veg for dinner, fruit & nuts for snack.

I'm trying to increase my swing capacity so I decided that I am exempt from common sense and starting swinging my kettlebell every day.  Given the large capacity of swings I do (over 200), probably not the best idea I've ever had.  I am sticking to 3 days a week of swings, plus other stuff (weights, HIIT, walks, etc).

While I enjoy lifitng weights with Jeff down in the fitness center, I feel like I would benefit from something a bit more regimented.  Must ponder.

I turned a year older a couple of days ago.  I had a nice meal and we split a piece of cake (at the restaurant) for dessert.  It was very good.  A win in that it was special (a lovely piece of bavarian chocolate cake from an awesome german restaurant) and because there were no leftovers to feel guilty over when I tossed them.

Lazy Sunday

Slept "late" (7) this morning, did a manky, sweaty workout then jumped in the pool to cool down.  It was so nice and relaxing.  Now I am doing the food prep for the week.

Because I like variety, I had salad with tuna for lunch instead of grilled chicken. Living on the edge.

A quick thought

"Too much research and data collecting can obstruct the pursuit and achievement of noble goals..." - Dave Draper (former Mr America, Mr Universe, and Mr World.)

At work we call this "analysis paralysis."  I had a boss who used to say "Don't let perfect get in the way of good enough."

I see this in weight loss bloggers who claim to be trying to lose weight but aren't ready. (I've used it myself.)  Get your panties all in a wad about proper pre or post fueling of your workout, or the right macro-nutrients and pretty soon you are like a dog frantically chasing its tail, spinning in circles, expending loads of energy and getting nowhere.

Here's a hint: if you have more that 50 pounds to lose (I just made that number up), don't obsess about the perfect pre or post workout food, just work out.  Don't worry about the right macro balance - get the trash out of your diet and eat your vegetables. THEN worry about the smaller details.

I was tired so I went to bed early.  Now its 2 and I am awake.  Then I'll read Dave's book awhile and hopefully get sleepy. 

Goodnight.

Awesome birthday pressie, if delayed!

A bit of background, courtesy of Tracy Reifkind:

"This past year Pavel Tsatsoline, the man that brought kettlebell training to this country,, and his system of learning how to build strength, parted ways with Dragon Door and "RKC" (formerly Russian Kettlebell Challenge and/or Certification), the first company that published his books, and helped him teach others his methods while leading Instructor courses across the US as well as Internationally for going on a decade now.  Pavel, with the help of CEO Mark Toomey, started his own company, SFG (Strong First Girya) when he realized the direction with his former partnership, Dragon Door, was not in line with what his teaching and training philosophy were about." - Tracy

Tracy attended the first SFG certification course last month.  I have dreamed for years of attending an RKC course, but have not done so - for one I could never find one near me!  That is changing in June, when there will be a SFG kettlebell course in Naples.  Yes, I am going!  Woot!

The forecast is for thunderstorms this afternoon, so I got up and hit 4 grocery stores, Costco, the Costco gas station, post office, and pool store. Came home and had a grilled chicken salad for lunch with hummus for the dressing.

I have plenty of stuff to do around here (hub is working today so I get extra rations of chores!), but at least its all indoors.

Its kinda been that kind of week

Nothing in particular - its just felt like a long week.  Tomorrow I have 8 places to go - 6 of them are grocery stores, which is just nuts really.  Other than that, laundery, food prep, and relaxing I hope!

So Happy Its Thursday

Had a good day at work today.  Jeff wasn't available to work out, so I went downstairs and did kettlebell swings and a leg workout.  Then I did a few minutes of yoga.

Breakfast, lunch, and snack were the same - mid afternoon I really wanted a cookie, but I told myself to STOP IT and ate my grapes. 

Dinner tonight is a salad and some leftover lamb & lentil stew from the freezer.  We have nearly eaten up all the planned left overs from the freezer, not to mention we've run out of a bunch of stuff.  So this weekend is going to be a huge shop and food prep.  That's fine because we gave the house a good deep clean this past weekend.  We may go to the beach Sunday morning. 

I plan to begin restocking by planning meals next week that lend themselves well to doubling and freezing, as well as buying some staples (pork chops, maybe some steaks) and freezing some in marinade - a favorite trick for a quick dinner.  Just grill, add sweet potato and a roasted veg and 5 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of cooking and dinner is done!

Looks like we may get a little rain this afternoon - spring has sprung when we begin to get our afternoon showers.  OTOH, hub is going to have to do some work on the pool chemicals this weekend. 

checking on

Working on getting back into a routine - work, exercise, packing food.  Nothing big to say, I miss the fam but things are pretty much back to the routine.  Did a really great arm & back workout today.

Food: turkey burgers for breakfast.  Lunch is the usual grilled chicken salad.  I think next week I may use hummus for my dressing to change up the flavor.  Dinners are the usual suspects.  I've been taking a baggie with some grapes for snack - I have gotten a little tired of clementines.

I was sick Sunday and didn't get to bed until 5:30 Monday morning.  I was home sick Monday.  I feel like I'm about back to normal with my energy & sleep.

Here's the thing

Family is a big deal to me.  I know southerners havent cornered the market, but its a big deal to me.  I was so happy to have my family here with me and I miss them so much that I just keep tearing up.  I lived thousands of miles away (as in, not on the same continent) for years.  But now that I am older and have a child of my own, being near family is very important to me.

Living so far from them is so hard.  And it was so hard to see them go.  And nothing I can put into my mouth is going to change that hurt.

We're back

We had a wonderful time in the Keys and a wonderful visit.  The family got on the road back to NC this morning and I miss them already.

Five days and nights in hotels and I am up 2 pounds.  Anything the famiily left in the house is going in the trash.  Vacation is over.  I plan to go out to eat on my birthday on the 19th but other than that food will be BAU.

Today I am unapcking, putting away lanudry, cleaning the house, and otherwise getting things back to normal, or what passes for it around here.

Kettlebell fail

I worked at home today, and after I finished decided to do some kettlebell swings.  I left my 18 lb kbell at work, so I used the 26 lb.  After 100 swings, my back was hurting.  It was a little tight before I started, and it clearly was not up to the 26 lb.  Oh well, involuntary day off.

Friday ... finally!

The fam is on the road and I am so excited!  I've bought some groceries, done some laundery, and cleaned to pool and kitchen.

Here is a picture of lunch:

Exciting, right???  I should start collecting dishes to try to make my food look more exciting! Ha ha.

Breakfast was "huevos faux-cheros" aka almost huevos rancheros.  I made 2 eggs, with 1/3 cup refried beans and salsa.  Very good and filling.  Dinner tonight is chicken soup with vegetables and white beans.  When I make soup (generally in the crock pot) I will automatically freeze enough for us to have it for another meal.  After that, leftovers get put in a smaller tupperware so that if I need a quick weekend lunch I can heat up some soup and put it with a salad or wrap.

I had several things in the freezer and it was getting full, so over the past couple of weeks I've been using up what's in the freezer.

This may sound crazy, but its pretty normal for me to go to 2-3 grocery stores every weekend - sometimes more!

I hit W-M for non grocery items as well as canned veg, pickles & condiments - that sort of thing.  They do have low prices on that stuff, but I don't care for their produce or meat.

For produce and meat, I go to a local store- they have a butcher, specific farms they buy from, make their own ground meats, sausages etc. in the store (they started as a bucher shop).  And their produce is generally very nice.

Then for misc. items I sometimes go to: Aldi, Whole Foods, and Publix.

I do my grocery shopping early Saturday morning and do my food prep for the week on Sunday.

I know people who say "I can't imagine planning all my meals in advance!".  I can't imagine NOT.  I had a co-worker a few years ago, every afternoon she & her husband would have this huge conversatin around whether anyone had taken anything out of the freezer, what they needed from the store, what they were going to make, etc.  It sounded like they were planning the D Day invasion!  They had 2 young daughters, so getting a good meal on the table was important, but leaving it to the last minute when you both work is a recipe for disaster in my book.

Sometimes I make a change at the last minute, but its good to have most everything you need and a plan.

I started tracking my food in Sparkpeople.  I was curious.  I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to eat, but I really didn't know the difference calorie-wise between lamb chops and pork chops.  Is it important?  I don't know.  After tracking for a week, my calories tend to fall into a range of 1300-1450 calories. 

I have no plans to take my computer with me to the Keys, so don't expect any posts next week (that it, if any humans continue to read this).

If I don't post again, have a good Easter!

Nothing ruins a Friday like realizing its Wednesday

This has been one of those weeks where it always seemed like it should be a day or two later than it actuall was.  It was busy and I was dragging, so I am glad the end is in sight!

Anyway, not too much to say.  Another good workout with Jeff today - shoulders and arms.  The family is driving down from NC tomorrow and I am very excited!  The house could be tidier, but who cares?  I'm just glad they are coming down a day earlier than originally planned!

Easter menu

Normally, I don't do a big Easter meal.  This year would be no exception except I picked up a 15 pound turkey for 40 cents a pound after Christmas.  That sucker has been in my freezer ever since.  The family (my mom, son, and his girlfriend) are coming down on Friday and we are headed out of town on Monday.  So Sunday seemed like a good time to use the turkey.

My original plan was turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a dessert.  Son asked if I would please make homemade dressing as well, so I am.  It's like a Thanksgiving dinner, but a very streamlined version.

Since we are leaving town the next day I figured leftover turkey would be either frozen or used to make sandwiches for the road (or salad in the case of the hub & I).

Next week we are headed to the Keys for the week as a graduation present to the boy.  Monday is SCUBA diving at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo (son and I are the only divers in the family), Tuesday is the Coral Castle (google Coral Castle museum if curious), Wednesday is snorkeling back at JP state park, then Thursday and Friday are doing misc. tourist things down in Key West.  So, loads of being out in the warm sunshine - walking and swimming.

Woork is good these days but I am still looking forward to this trip! 

Had a good but difficult discussion with my boss.  And it was genuinely good, just on a sensitive topic.  I find conversations like that hard, and my immediate response after it was over was to look for something to soothe my feelings.  Picked up a "treat", then put it back.  I don't need it - the conversation is done and went well and yes it was stressful but it's over, so why eat to soothe now?

Food today was pretty much the same as yesterday so I won't bore you.

Exercise was 30 minute walk, 20 minutes yoga, 175 kettlebell swings, and a 30 minute back workout with Jeff the trainer.

Dinner going into the oven

Monday

Exciting title, no?

Today was very quiet at work, which enabled me to get in a couple of 30 minute exercise breaks.  So far today I have:

walked 30 minutes
done 45 minutes of yoga
done 175 kettlebell swings
done 30 minutes of challenging circuiut style lower body weight training with Jeff.

I appreciate having the fitness center, it makes getting in exercise much easier!

Food:

Breakfast was as planned - tomatoes & shrimp with feta
am snack was a boiled egg
lunch was salad with grilled chicken
pm snack was half an ounce of walnuts and 2 clementines

dinner tonight is going to be a roasted lamb chop, baked sweet potato, and roasted brussel sprouts.

It is so warm here that we got in the pool yesterday!  I am hoping it will cool back down for a little bit - I love being able to have the windows open.  OTOH, we are planning to go scuba diving and snorkeling next week, so a little warmth might be a good thing!

Lunch

I eat the same lunch 6 days a week.  The base is: greens (spinach in this case), cucumber, tomatoes, and a grilled chicken thigh.  I add banana peppers, olives, etc.  I make different dressings to change it up and I may add cilantro or parsley.  The 7th day we generally have leftovers.

Breakfast this week

I packaged up my breakfasts for the week: 4 oz boiled shrimp, 4 chopped campari tomatoes, a green onion, and 2 Tbsp feta cheese in each container.  And salt, pepper, and oregano. 

This is something my mom used to make and serve over pasta.  I just left off the pasta.  I love it but it isn't one of hub's favorites, so I'm having it for breakfast!

 The peanut butter is not on the counter for convenient snacking - that's what we use to give the dogs their medicines!  Works like a charm.  I'm not a big peanut butter fan myself, but I can't imagine wanting to stick a spoon in it after I've been using dog pills as scoops! :-O

Breakfast

Brekfast today: 2 eggs with 1/4 avocado, salsa, iced coffee.

Almost a month

I'm still alive.

Teeth are healing up.  We're still here in Florida, working on the house, taking care of the dogs.  Things are still largely the same.  Our chihuahua has been sick, but she is doing well.  She was given the incorrect dosage of a medicine, but has made a full recovery.

What else?  Getting ready for spring break.  We are going to the Keys for a week the first week of April, which is going to be a great deal of fun.

Jeff at work has set up an informal group that meets each afternoon to lift weights together.  In a not so shocking development, I am the only girl.  I love my kettlebells, but its nice to be doing some old school style weights as well. :-)

It's perfect winter weather here - nights in the mid to upper 50s, days in the mid to upper 70s - no need for heating or air conditioning.

The hub and I went to Everglades National Park a couple of weekends ago.  I am posting a picture.  I could not believe the alligators!

I just haven't felt like I have a lot to say here, but I am doing okay.  I hate it when bloggers vanish, and a time may come where once again I have more to say, so I want to check in periodically.

Be well.

Update

So, my oral surgery was on Feb 7, and the stitches came out on the 18th.  During that time I was not able to wear my temporary applicance, could not exercise (or do anything to raise my blood pressure due to the pain it caused), and was on a soft diet.

As of Friday, I still couldn't wear my temp teeth.  The dentist ground it down some, but she said the implants probably changed my gumline.  I worked from home the first week and was on vacation this last week.  We'll see how things go tomorrow - I have to go back to work.  Hopefully she can make enoough adjustments without my having to have another temp appliance made.

My mom was here for a week and she helped me do some painting in the house, so that was good.  Still looking at moving as soon as I can get work situated - no idea when that will happe, hopefully sooner rather than later.

We switched our dogs to new heartowrm/flea med.  Vet gave us the wrong size and our chihuahua took a dose meant for a very large dog.  They treated her for free, but once she had to go to the hospital the bills started mounting.  She is on 4 meds and seemed to be doing better, but today she is not eating.  I can't begin to tell you how worried we are.  We were there when she was born and she is my husband's pride and joy.  Besides the fact that we simply can't afford thousands of dollars in vet bills, basically they said "no idea.  here's an antibiotic, call us if she gets worse."

If this post sounds negative, I have to tell you, I'm feeling pretty down.  I've been randomly crying on and off for days and can't seem to stop.  I am just so overwhelemed - by money, by being so far from family, worry over the dog... literally I feel like I can't get a break. 

Between starting this post and now our son's bf came by to let us know his grandparents kicked him out.  Can't even remember if I posted here, but his parents threw him out the weekend before Christmas and he lived with us for a month before moving in the his grandparents.

Like I said, cannot get a break.

Here is breakfast - veggie omelet.  I keep trying even if I keep getting knocked down.

Blogger fail

I don't know if I'm not cut out for blogging any more - I keep trying and not following through.  I am still reading plenty of blogs, I just don't know what to say here.

I am walking, swinging kettlebells, making green drinks, eating vegetables, living my life.

Things are okay.  We certainly have challenges, but we seem to be tackling them together.  Still not thrilled to be in south Florida, but we continue to work on that.

I am having my dental implants next week.  First they do the impants, then they have to heal (minimum 4 months) and then they can put on the crowns.  This has been a long, crazy expensive process, which has sucked.  Lesson learned: don't get your teeth knocked out in a swimming pool as a teenager.

Juicing

For this week I decided to do juice for 2 of my 3 meals.  It's an easy way for me to get in mass quantities of veggies.  For me, when I say "juice" I generally do a sort of hybrid: I juice my hard veggies but then pour my juice into the BlendTec and add the spinach & that sort of thing.  I do that because I have a centrifugal juicer (which I love) but it just doesn't do greens very well.

I've been doing a green drink in the morning (spinach, 1/2 banana, frozen mixed fruit), then 2 quarts of juice - I juice in the morning and put it into 4 canning jars, 3 of which I pack in my lunchbox with ice packs.  I've also been taking a couple of the little clementines - I do love citrus season!  My juices are mostly vegetable, not the largely fruit juices you often see recipes for.

Tonight I made a goulash in the crockpot which I served with leftover mashed cauliflower and 3 bean salad.

While I certainly want to lose weight (I think that's been true for the past 25 years regardless of what I've weighed), for me, the primary point of juicing is the cram nutrients into my body in such a way that they are highly bioavailable.  The sniffly nose I had over the holidays cleared up less than a day after I started juicing.

I don't know whether I will juice for meals next week or cut back to a smaller amount of juice and add a small breakfast & lunch back in for next week.  The week after that we will be travelling and I will be packing food rather than juice for sure.

Right now we have 2 guest dogs at our house (long story) so I can't really go for a walk unless someone is here to watch them, so I am getting exercise in while I am at the office. 

Yesterday I was talking about the mild weather - well I take it back.  It is miserable freaking hot and I sincerely wish I wasn't 1) too miserly and 2) opposed on the principal that using AC in December is WRONG because it is 80 in my house and I am sweaty. 

Happy Wednesday!

Ah Wednesday, the world is slowly getting back to "normal."  Colleagues I haven't seen in weeks are getting back to work. I start the new year with a new boss, slightly altereed work role, new challenges. 

Unfortunately, I am also starting the new year sleep deprived.  I had another bout of insomnia last night.  Sigh.

Still and all, the mild weather is helping keep my spirits up in the face of various challenges life continues to offer up. 

I took some steak out of the freezer to marinate.  The plan is for hub to grill it and I'll make mashed cauliflower and roasted green beans and fruit salad for dessert.  Then take the dogs for a walk.  He's been crazy busy with work (thank goodness!), so I am looking forward to a quiet evening at home.

Hello again

Happy new year!

Over the holidays I didn't get on the computer more very often.  My family was down from NC and we just enjoyed our time together.

I didn't gain weight over the holidays, but I did eat some crap.  So in january I am doing the Whole 30 and trying not to eat out except for 1 planned dinner out.  We are going to NC for a week and we'll be staying with friends up in Asheville for a few nights.  I plan to take them out to thank them for their hospitality.  no idea where we'll eat.

I met with the nutritionist yesterday and shared my plans regarding Whole 30, food for the trip, and my exercise goals for the month.  I re0established good habits in December and intend to kicj them up a notch in January.

There is still loads going on with work, home, and family.  But there is ALWAYS something going on.  That can't be an excuse to derail your goals.  If anything, by sticking to goals you'll feel more in control of the things you can control, which I think helps deal with the stuf fyou CAN'T control.

In any case, if anyone is still reading this, Happy 2013! 

Here

I'm here - meeting with the nutritionist once a week for accountability, working out with Jeff a couple of times a week. 

My co-worker M died.  First she has breast cancer, then they found brain cancer nearly a year ago.  My heart hurts for her family, for her kids, and for the many, many friends she left behind.  I've lost 4 friends to breast cancer. 

Anyway. we've been busy working on projects areound the house.  This weekend we painted the guest room and I hemmed new curtains.  We have to put it back together, but it looks really nice.

breakfast

Mushroom, asparagus, tomato, and olive omelet.

Stress

I haven't been posting much because there is a lot I'm just not comfortable posting (some family stuff and some work).

But I am hanging in there.  I met with the nutritionist at work today for some extra accountability in ticking with my good habits and Jeff and I are hitting the gym together. So I'm hanging in there!

Take care & enjoy the holidays!

It’s been a long week.

I received some not very good news about my friend M (I’ve written about her in the past). I also received some concerning news about my (ex) stepdad and his treatment for cancer: they are doing stem cell treatment and he has to be in the hospital for 6 weeks and has to have a family member with him at all times. Again, I am thankful for the flexibility my son has with the virtual school schedule which will enable him to help out.

Mostly, I’ve just been really, really, down: not sleeping well, nose constantly in a book (a preferred form of avoiding life for me), not wanting to take care of things (like dishes), no dog walking, just not in a good place mentally. I am so looking forward to 1) hub’s temp job ending (the money is great but working 50+ hours a week leaves no energy for him to help at home) and 2) heading to NC this weekend to visit family. It’s a quick trip, but I am hoping that seeing family will help to recharge my mental batteries.

A lot of people are posting about the holidays. Honestly, I guess I’m an anti-social recluse because I don’t see this as a huge deal for me. I didn’t buy candy (no small kids in our neighborhood) and avoided what my co-workers brought in Thursday. For Thanksgiving we’ll have a nice meal but it’ll be scaled down since once again we’ll be renting a cabin in Georgia to visit my great aunt.

Anyway, I’m hoping a break and hub returning to a more normal work schedule (please let the temp agency return him to any work though!) will help snap me out of this funk.

Retreat

I am struggling right now.

We have decided to make some pretty drastic changes in our lives in the course of the not too distant future.  Exciting, good stuff, but BIG changes.  And that's scary.

Right now a big part of me wants to continue to rely on my old coping mechanisms and I am bargaining with myself "We'll just rely on food for now.  Once ____ has changed, we'll stop."  Right.  So I have had a couple of over eating episodes and I have my nose stuck in a book pretty much all the time.  The book is a preferable retreat, but its still a way of disconnecting from what is going on in my life.

So that's where I am.

I really didn't want to go work out today.  I was hoping Jeff would be there to help motivate me.  But he wasn't so I went and worked out on my own.  But I did it at least!

Anyway, things aren't going along great right now. 

One thing I am working on as part of going to OA is wrapping my head around the idea that for some people, overeating is a disease, like alcoholism or anorexia.  People overeat for lots of reasons and operate along some sort of scale - some have a slight issue easily overcome and for others, its a lot more difficult.

I am trying to view this as an issue that I can overcome but stop the feelings of shame and guilt because those simply perpetuate the problem.

As always, its a process.  And now that I am really focused on addressing the issue, my self defenses are working overtime to talk myself out of changing.  In some ways it was easier when I was ignoring it and just going along, but that doesn't work long term.

Kettlebells etc.

I’ve been reading Tracy Reifkind’s blog for many years and I love how she took a very simple (yet powerful!) move in the kettlebell swing, and essentially built a new way of conditioning based upon it. Tracy says the single most important goal you can set for yourself (with kettlebells) is to build a practice of 20-30 minutes, 2-3 days per week of equal work to rest.

I have several of Tracy’s videos, including one (“Give and Take”) that is simply a workout. It is 3 rotations of ladders, with a front half and a back half to each work set. Right now I am only doing the front side of each work set. With this workout, that means I am doing 463 swings in about 35 minutes (including a short warm-up). When I build up to equal work to equal rest, I will be doing 615 swings in that same 35 minutes.

My goal between now and the end of the year is to build up to equal work to rest – the 615 swings. I have devised a way of inching up the ladders to achieve this. There are 3 work rotations: first I’ll add the back half to the first one, then half the second one (even numbers), then half the third, then all the second, and finally all the third.

It sounds kind of convoluted – but this is away to build up gradually. By the end of the year, I will have an equal work to rest kettlebell practice of 35 minutes, 3 days per week. I really love kettlebells – they are a great way to build strength while doing a HIIT workout. I feel like I’m getting double benefit from my workout time.

I know I haven't posted a lot about Overeaters Anonymous.  Honestly I'm trying to wrap my head around it - its a LOT of information.  I will say I find it a bit of a relief - I know I have issues with food and it is nice to be in a group of folks who GET IT, and are working toward a better relationship with food without judgement.

Progress

So, I lost 2 pounds Monday to Monday, not too bad.  I have laid out a kettlebell plan for myself to get to the end of the year which should keep me busy!

Anyway, things are going along.

Something new

I went to an OA meeting last night.  Because trying various diets hasn't addressed the root cause and I'm not sure I can do it on my own.  It went well and I definitely plan to go back.

It’s all unicorns and rainbows from now on!

Weight: Down 1.2 pounds (not weighing every day right now).

Plan for today:

Breakfast: meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: baked pork chops, sautéed brussel sprouts, corn on the cob

Exercise: kettlebells

After I wrote my last post, I didn’t mean to imply that now, everything is magically solved and perfect and shiny. For some people, they seem to be able to resolve that they eat too much and do something about it, end of story. They don’t feel the need to examine too deeply why they eat too much. Or maybe they do but choose not to share it. Either way is okay but lack of understanding hasn’t worked for me.

I lost over 30 pounds, kept it off for years, and still managed to gain it back when too much stress was piled on. To me, it’s kinda like a crying baby: they cry, you go pick them up. Sometimes that’s enough – they stop crying. Other times not so much and you begin the “mommy checklist”: are they: wet, hungry, cold, hot, etc etc? You find the root cause: wet diaper. Great and that’s what I finally did – I found the root cause of the void I tried to fill with food. But now I have to take the next step: change the diaper. Identifying a problem is not the same as solving it.

Having said that, as adults, I think knowing what the problem is gets us down the path of resolution. To use another lame analogy: if you have a flat tire on the side of the road in the middle of a dark, rainy night, don’t you feel better if you know AAA is on the way? Why though? Nothing has changed about your situation! Except now you know help is on the way and that’s enough to give you comfort and reduce your uncertainty.

That’s how I feel now. I know the issue so I can stop casting about trying to fill that void with random stuff and fill it with what is supposed to be there. I have something I am working toward and I am now longer making excuses for why I “can’t” make the changes I want. I am going for it even if that doesn’t necessarily conform with society’s idea of what is logical. I can’t fix it today or even this month – but as adults we’ve gotten accustomed (one would hope) to the idea that true gratification is not instant.

It’s been a long week.

Epiphany

I got hit by a slow moving epiphany this morning. I say slow moving because its wasn’t like being struck by lightning or the heavens parting and a ray of light shining down on me, it was more like watching a flower bloom. It began to form and then gradually open up to its fullness.

I’ve felt vaguely discontented for years. Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy with my family, my marriage – the fundamentals of my life are good. Which is part of the reason I think I’ve always felt guilty for feeling discontented. Well, either guilty or just plain wrong. “Why should I be unhappy?” I’d think, “I’ve got a great family, a good marriage, a good job…” So I would invalidate my feelings, which would lead to a lot of inner turmoil.

Over the years I’ve tried loads of things, eating, exercising, doing triathlons and marathons, camping, veganism – all sorts of things to try to fill the void I’ve felt but tried to deny. Then this morning it came to me: I’m not unhappy with my life, I’m unhappy with my lifestyle. Notice how many things on the above list involve lifestyle changes? The problem is, they weren’t sufficient.

Life v. life style isn’t just semantics – to me at least they mean very different things. Life is the fundamentals: family, religion, self. Life style is how you live your life: how you earn your living, what you do with your extra income and time.

Have you ever thought that our “comfort zone” rarely is? “This "comfort" zone is rarely comfortable, but it's very familiar. It's what we've always known. Any change from what we've always known creates anxiety--and anxiety sucks. To avoid this feeling, it's easier to revert back into old habits and behaviors. Even though it's a place we might not like, we do it because it's familiar---we know what to expect. The fear of the unknown is a horrible beast.”

Maybe it’s because I’m at an age where the years ahead are probably not more than the years behind, but when I think of living in a way that feels unhappy – for years – for what? A little extra money? To avoid risk? My five year plan is now more like a one year plan. Scary, but its such a freeing feeling to understand why I’ve felt the way I do.  Kowing the root cause makes things feel easier.

Saturday

Weight: down 0.8 pounds from yesterday.


Plan for today:

Breakfast: spinach meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: ?

Exercise: probably just some swimming

Friday and the meat parade

Weight: Up 1.8 pounds from yesterday.

Plan for today:

Breakfast: spinach meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: roasted chicken in the crock pot, quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts

Exercise: kettlebells and yoga (yes, I know I’m not supposed to do kettlebells 2 days in a row. I paid, believe me)

Dinner last night was good, but I’ve now had the experience and don’t feel the need to go to a Brazilian steak place again. The salad bar was excellent (lovely roasted veggies NOT slathered with oil), olives, heart of palm etc etc.

The meat was good. I am guessing I ate roughly 8 ounces of steak and 2 of lamb. The portions were small and I didn’t try everything by a long shot – only the things that sounded really good. And then we generally shared. Most portions were around the size of a piece of meat on a kebab. But that’s still double or more the amount of meat I would eat with a meal! Anyway, good food, nice atmosphere, crazy prices.

I told hub that I did not buy any sort of birthday cake of anything – I wasn’t sure if he would want anything since I know he is watching his weight as well. I offered to pick up a slice of cheesecake or something, but he said no. We went home and each had a hard cider and called it a night. (Party animals, that’s us!)

This weekend we are planning to get together with a couple of neighbors to watch some football. I plan to make baked chicken wings – that’s “football food” without being too off the rails. They aren’t of the food pushing or beer drinking variety, so we can enjoy the game without it being all about the snackies.

It’s been a tough day.

Thursday - dragging

Weight: Down 0.2 pounds from yesterday.

Plan for today:

Breakfast: spinach meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: ? We are going to one of those Brazilian “meat buffet” restaurants for dinner.

Evening Snack: Uh, no.

Exercise: kettlebells and yoga, Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance

I went home yesterday and had a nap, then we got in the pool for a bit, which was wonderful! We had dinner and a colleague came over and ate with us. He needs a place to stay for a few months and is probably going to be moving in with us in January. I wanted him to meet the dogs and the husband. Things went well and while it’s a bit unusual, it will help him out A LOT and the extra cash will certainly help with my dental work.

After dinner we watched a couple of episodes of Dr. Who (I love Netflix – no commercials!). I was feeling restless and wanted …. Something. Luckily there was nothing junky in the house. Having to actually leave to go get junk helped me realize that it wasn’t worth it – effort or calorie-wise. So even though I’d planned a green drink, since I also made a fruit salad to go with dinner I didn’t have anything later.

Based on my coughing the night before, I decided to take some Nyquil before going to bed. I slept through the night (like a log), but I woke up this morning feeling a little tired & fuzzy around the edges. Gah. My cold is mostly gone but I have some lingering sniffles and cough that just won’t end. I can’t wait to feel better and have more energy!

Today the 1 pm group is doing Insanity, ugh.

Wednesday

Weight: Down 0.4 pounds from yesterday.


Plan for today:

Breakfast: spinach meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: salmon, sweet potato, roasted green beans

Evening snack: green smoothie with fruit, spinach, and green powder

Exercise: P90X back, biceps, & abs, yoga video

Last night we ate, cleaned up, walked the dogs, watched a couple of Dr. Who episodes and ended with an episode of “My Name is Earl”. Then I read a few minutes and went to bed. We had a cup of coffee after dinner and I ended up awake until midnight. Sigh. Clearly I am not a person who can have caffeine in the evenings!

Tuesday

Weight: Down 1.4 pounds from yesterday.


Breakfast: spinach meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: leftovers from the last 2 nights

Evening snack: a cup of coffee with alomd milk

Exercise: Insanity Plyometrics cardio circuit with the 1 pm gang

Last year we managed to get a season behind on Dr. Who. Since the new season has now started, we are getting last year from Netflix to catch up. We watched the first 2 episodes last night. They were good, but overall the latest cast hasn’t captured my heart the way the earlier new seasons have. I’m glad they brought the show back – it’s still some of the most entertaining sci-fi on television today. I guess I just miss the David Tenant Dr. – not to mention Captain Jack.

It started raining last night and basically has been raining ever since. It would have been a wonderful day to stay home wearing footie pjs and drinking hot tea except for the fact that it’s 90 outside, rain or no rain. The rain brought out the frogs last night. Thank goodness for child size ear plugs.

Monday

Weight: Today I went back to WW. I haven’t been avoiding it on purpose, but I attend an at work meeting and the reality is I spent a lot of August and September not in my office for one reason or another. I’ve been hopping on the scale periodically at home so I wasn’t shocked or anything to find out I have gained 4.5 pounds over the past 2 months.


That’s not huge, but its 4.5 pounds I now have to lose again. Back to tracking. Back to being accountable to myself. There has been so much going on since the beginning of August – some pretty major stressors, some pretty major decisions about how and where we intend to live our lives. We’ve both been expending such a huge amount of emotional energy (not to mention time) on BIG things, that little things (like making time for an evening walk) have slipped through the cracks. But the little habits can have a pretty big cumulative effect!

Thankfully I am realizing this now rather than later. I would hate to have undone all my efforts!

Breakfast: spinach meat loaf

Lunch: vegetable salad with chicken

Dinner: sautéed cabbage with chicken sausage and roasted green beans

Evening snack: green smoothie with fruit, spinach, and green powder

Exercise: Tracy Reifkind’s kettlebell swing dvd and a Rodney Yee yoga video

When I went to the gym, Jeff stopped in while I was swinging and asked me if I wanted to go to the gym around the corner to lift weights at lunch sometime.  The fitness center is nice, but it doesn't have heavy weights.  I told him that would be great! 

Quiet Day

I slept in today and woke up feeling like I was finally on the mend.  I did some housework this morning, went to Costco (we needed a LOT), did the food prep for the week, and finished all the housework except cleaning off the dining room table (where the mail lands when it comes in the door).

Hub is about 3 hours from home - its a tough drive even with someone else in the car.  I've been calling him regularly because he's having to do the thing by himself.  After this things will be pretty quiet until we head to Georgia for Thanksgiving.  My bff (and former lunchtime walking buddy) is coming down for a visit in October, but other than that its just work and the usual housework etc. until T-day.

With hub not getting home until late, I bought a rotisserie chicken to use in our lunch salads tomorrow until he can get the chicken grilled up tomorrow night.  I made meat loaf for breakfast with spinach.  I know it sounds weird but 1) it's really good and 2) it's a convenient grab and go breakfast we both enjoy. 

Hub's birthday is this week and I am taking him to a brazilian steakhouse for dinner.  Not sure if we'll go on his actual birthday or on the weekend after.

The new sessions of classes is starting at the fitness center at work.  I was disappointed that they aren't offering the AMP class that I used to enjoy so much.  I've been working out either by myself (weights and kettlebells and yoga) and/or also working out with the ladies at 1 o'clock some of the time.  I miss AMP class, but I have been enjoying the kettlebell I took in. 

Having access to a fitness center at work really makes it easy to get workouts in.  Doing my food prep on Sunday makes it so that I have healthy meals available all week long.  Dinners are planned.  Having hub counting on me to prep healthy food gives me an extra push to make sure it gets done.

There are a lot of things that aren't ideal right now, and I don't have control over some of them.  But I do have control over taking care of myself and helping hub take care of himself.  It feels good to know that we are making progress toward our goals, both health and otherwise. 

Slow Motion Saturday

So, the guys went to Tampa yesterday to pick up parts for the jeep.  I took MIL home last weekend and picked the boy up for a short visit.  Hub is took him to Tampa then they are going to NC today, with hub returning home tomorrow.

I picked up a cold that I haven't been able to shake.  I've resorted to taking actual cold medicine, which is proof of severe illness in my world (I hate the way cold medicine makes me feel weird).  I did the grocery shopping and a bit of housework today, but that's about all.  I'm washing my sinuses with salt water, drinking plenty of water, etc.  Blech.

I've felt run down and crappy, exercise has been minimal.

Unexpected

I've been dealing with some very unexpected feelings lately and haven't felt ready to write about it until now.

To recap: I had my bridge removed and 2 additional teeth pulled.  My front 2 teeth were knocked out in a swimming pool accident when I was 15 and I've had a bridge every since.  The 2 teeth next to them held the bridge but over the years, the pressure was killing those teeth.  They had to come out this time as well.  Bone grafting was done and once that heals, I will have implants. 

But I am looking at roughly 8-10 months of a temporary appliance.  I knew that up front, but I didn't realize that I would't be able to chew with this thing in.  I can't bite any food because I am missing my 4 top front teeth.  So everything has to be cut up.

I didn't know up front that eating with this in would not work for me.  So going out to eat is very uncomfortable since I have to remove my teeth.  This I avoid any social situation involving food.

But the biggest shock is how I feel about myself.  The first time I looked in the mirror, my initial reaction was "I look like Willie on 'Swamp People'."  I felt robbed of my femininity and my physical attractiveness.  Now, I don't feel particularly pretty at my current weight, but I don't feel like a troll either.  And after losing 30 pounds I was feeling pretty good!

Not any more.  I feel like a part of my womanliness is gone.  And its a part I never thought would reside in my teeth, you know?

Today has been really awesome.  Hub and I went for a terrific ride on the mountain bikes this morning.  There are a couple of trails near our house out through the Everglades (we live about 2 miles from the end of civilization).  We rode for an hour or so, then came home and cooled off with a swim in the pool.  That was followed by chores (oh well, but plenty of time left to slug out in front of football and an evening swim.)

Today has been a very nice day.

Blah di blah

On Wednesdays there used to be a noon stretch class. One of the other ladies and I have continued the tradition, and a few others have joined us. We have a good dvd we all enjoy, and it’s a nice way to mark the mid-point of the work week.

Jeff IMed me this morning and I asked if he’d be available to work out this afternoon as I really wanted to do some weights and kettlebell swings. He said yes so we had an afternoon appointment rather than my doing zumba at 1. Hopefully Liza will post a schedule for the 1 pm workouts soon so I can plan.

This weekend hub and I are taking our bikes out to the Everglades trail we checked out last weekend, weather permitting. We can get some pretty serious storms down this way and I haven’t checked the forecast yet for the weekend. We had a brief evening storm last night which was the first rain we’d gotten since Isaac rolled through.

My MIL’s visit is going pretty good. Honestly we haven’t done too much since she generally sleeps until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. She seems to be having a good time, so that’s nice.

Maya appears to be making improvement with the physical therapy, but he hip keeps rotating and the lady has to get it back in alignment. I’m hoping that will stop soon because I can really tell she’s uncomfortable when it happens, poor thing.

Hub is being kept busy for now with work and for that we are both thankful. And he is genuinely enjoying this particular job, so it’s really good all around. I know he would love to find a full-time job, but things are going okay.

Das boy seems to be doing well in school so far this year – there’s a lot less drama and misery than this time last school year, so I am very grateful for that as well.

We have booked a cabin in Pine Mountain for Thanksgiving again this year so we can pick up my great aunt for a few days. We all really enjoyed it last year and I am looking forward to doing it again. The boy’s gf may be coming with us. That’s still up in the air.

Hub’s down 2 pant sizes!

Life’s certainly not perfect, but it’s pretty good.

Happy holiday?

Hope you all had a nice Labor day.  Hub and I both worked, so it was a pretty normal day for us around here.

I spent A LOT of the weekend doing food prep, but I'm in good shape meal wise for the week.  My MIL has lost about 5 pounds in less than a week after eating my cooking.:-)

I worked out at 1 today.  The ladies chose Billy Blank's "Combat Boot Camp" (I think that's what it was called).  It was a little too military-ish for my taste (8 years was enough for me), but it was a good workout.

This weekend we checked out a trail in the Everglades just down the road from the house.  It will be a great place to ride bikes and that's the plan for this weekend.

Other than that, we picked out a nice color to paint the master bath and I plan to do that sometime soon.  Not this weekend - I just want a quiet weekend and the weekend after I am driving to NC to take MIL home and pick up the boy.

Workouts

I've been out of town for quite a while, followed by some minor surgery which somewhat limited me physically for a week or so.  Then of course I was out of town again for the funeral.

A new session of fitness classes started while I was out of town in Pennsylvania and sadly AMP was not offered this round.  Jeff is still available for workouts but I was very disappointed!

So I've been working on a new plan.  There is a lady who works out every day at 1.  She does a good mixture of body pump, cardio, and yoga videos.  Given that I have been feeling a little burned out on my particular yoga class and I missed sign-up anyway, I think I am going to join her for workouts as a supplement to my own yoga and kettlebell workouts.

Yesterday I worked out with Jeff and today I worked out with Liza at 1.  It was a very good session and I am so glad I went!  She will be posting a September schedule so I can come up with a plan.

So life is beginning to get back to what passes for normal aorund here! :-)

Not much

Don't really have a lot to say today.  The physical therapist made getting the dog to do her rehab exercises easy.  It isn't. But she did them.  She wants to please - she just had no clue what we wanted.  Hopefully we'll all get better at it.

What to say?  I'm really sad about my godmother.  Just doing the things that need to be done - cooking, eating, working, paying bills... you get the idea.

Made it through Isac fine - we got a lot of rain here but that's pretty much it.  I got in the pool for a while after I got home which was lovely.

MIL did some housework today and helped me load the dishwasher after dinner. I was pleasantly surprised.

Trip to NC

So, hub brought my MIL back for a visit for a couple of weeks. It's been 36 hours and I haven't given in to the urge to buy beer yet!!!

Home again

I got back this morning from NC.  My godmother died unexpetedly Friday and I went up for the funeral.  I will post more later, but for now I am home.

Tuesday

I had my oral surgery yesterday - it went well and the recovery doesn't seem too bad so far. Maya begins her physical therapy for her arthritis and hip displasia next Monday.  She's only 7 and given her size will likely live another 5-6 years - I want them to be as healthy and pain free as possible!  She's feeling much better already thanks to the treatments Saturday.

Not much else to tell, just trying to get back into the routine.  Hub grilled up breakfasts for the week (hamburgers, no bun, with veggies) and lunches (chopped veggie salad with grilled chicken).  Dinner tonight is korean kim chi stew - good for the immune system!

More headway made on getting the house back in order post vacation.  We'll each do a little each evening and I'll finish next weekend.  Hub is driving to NC to pick up his mom Saturday, returning Sunday.  I'll get things tightened up plus the food shop & prep.  I'm glad she'll be here to keep an eye on Maya - we need to make sure she isn't trying to climb on the furniture or overdoing it!

Good news!

So Maya doesn't need knee surgery! She has chronic hip displasia and arthritis and she did something (sprain, strain etc) to hurt it short term, but after they sedated her and did x-rays, the doctor said she didn't need surgery!

Short term, they are doing shockwave therapy before she comes home today (sound waves) and she is going in for a regime of physical therapy and she's going to be on a couple of medicines, but the news is terrific!

Today has been a nice day: breakfast then grocery shopping then lunch then pool time then nap. :-) Now its time for the afternoon thrunderstorm.  Florida weather is so predictable!

TGIF

Ah Friday!

I had a dentist appointment this afternoon (cleaning) so I am working from home for the afternoon.  So even though I am working, looking out a window helps it feel like the weekend. :-)

Like I said, putting the house back in order and getting back into our routine.  Hub started a new temp job this week, so we've been trying to settle back in around that as well.  The result has been that we've both been pooped!  The good news is that we had left pre-cooked meals in the freezer and lunch salads are easy enough to throw together, so food has been going along fine.

Hub's blood pressure remains completely normal, blood sugar remains normal or slightly pre diabetic and we continue to lose weight. I want to ramp my physical activity back up so I can do some things next year (Run for your life, goruck challenge, etc.), but progress continues!

Have a good weekend!

We're back

So its back to the real world after vacation. The world of work, bills, dogs needing knee surgery, etc. Le sigh.


We were planning to go to an SCA event over Labor day weekend, but Maya is having knee surgery this Saturday ($3600 – ouch!), so I’m not sure I want to go off and leave her that much less than a week after. Because she's a big dog, it’s a bit more extensive (and durable) than it would be for a smaller one.

Fitness: Camping means lots of walking and working (hauling ice, water, garbage, etc.) so I stayed pretty physically active for my 2 weeks of primitive camping. We cooked our own food for the most part and did a good job of focusing on vegetables and grilled meats.

There is a “Run for your life” event in Orlando the weekend before Thanksgiving. Because a 5K is fun, but a 5K with obstacles and zombies trying to kill you is better!

This weekend is more work getting the house back in order. MIL may be coming down for a couple of weeks soon, so I want to get everything put back away, some meals in the freezer, and the guest room ready for company.  It would certainly help to have someone home while Maya is recovering from her surgery.

Here is something I am interested in - maybe sometime toward the end of 2013?  I need to find out the schedule for the latter half of the year:

http://dsc.discovery.com/adventure/goruck-yourself-take-a-team-challenge-inspired-by-special-forces-training.html

Anyway, look for more regular posts!

Checking in before we head out

Sorry for falling off the planet – that tends to happen in July. If you’ve never spent 2 weeks primitive camping, all I can say is that it requires a lot of prep work. Add that we are doing it with a new vehicle and basically skipped last year (because all our stuff was in storage and we were in the midst of the move) and we are trying to re-figure everything out, well, it’s been busy.

The Tour de France was an overall disappointment this year. Andy Schleck wasn’t there and Bradley Wiggins and team Sky just didn’t really excite me. I dunno. None of the mountain stages were as inspiring as they have been in years past. It was kinda blah, which is a heck of a thing to say about what is IMO the most amazing race on earth.

My big news is that hub is now off the BP medicine he had to start taking a few years ago. He was feeling light headed, so he stopped taking it and called the doctor. She asked him to get a BP monitor and to record his readings for a month and then come in. Well, he’s in the normal range with no medicine! Woot!

I still have 20-ish pounds to go (we’ll see as I get closer to the end) and hub wants to lose 40-50. So we’re both roughly at the halfway point. It’s amazing how much better we both feel, we look better, and his health numbers are improving dramatically. Mine were good before and they are good now. But having his support and doing this together makes it a lot easier.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!  I'll be back post vacation in Pennsylvania!

Friday

Just a quick note - things are going along.  Busy sewing, packing for vacation, and watching the Tour de France.