Sunday Morning Sensation

I was chilling in bed this morning and my thoughts were to get up, take the dogs out and then take Sofie on a walk/run to wear off some energy.  I got to the part of taking them to potty but it ended there.  But this time, not due to laziness.  No sirree Bob!  I had the energy and even clipped on the pedometer and nestled the cell in boobage but then it hit me.  Alex had mentioned that we were doing the Sunday Six this afternoon.  I'd made the mistake of walking 3 miles and then doing the Sunday Six once before and I don't intend to do it again.  Anyway, I have to give a parallel parking lesson this morning at nine.  So, I got back in bed but because I wasn't at all tired, I  got restless and got up.  What does one do when she has nothing to do on a lazy morning?  Take silly pics of her fur babies of course!  Sofie wouldn't cooperate but Baxter was good enough to sit still.  Enjoy the newest sensation to hit dog-dom!

Eleven Beat Heart

I know this is a long post but hey....it's me.

So, I was sitting here on the sofa brooding about my day.  I had a hard mental working out kind of day.  Let me tell you a bit about it.  I got up at 5:05am.  Hubby was up already due to that ugly insomnia and was getting ready to go to the gym when he saw I was getting dressed.  I told him not to worry about going because I knew from his lackluster response to my 'Are we going to the gym' the night before, that he was tired but was going to go just because I suggested it.  I decided he needed a break and I would be lazy and do an easy workout DVD.  Well, I pulled out the Biggest Loser Boot camp.  I had only done this DVD two or three times since I've gotten it. I figured the 5 minute warm-up and the 20 minute Week 1-2 would be just enough to say I actually did something.  I'll never make that mistake again.  I completed it without stopping and did all the moves and when I was done, I was sweating buckets and my muscles certainly felt it.  Man oh man....easy this was not!  Sure, I'm in the gym or walking more often than not but when you work other muscles by doing other moves and getting the heart rate up in the process, you feel like you did the very 1st time you worked out!  My thought at first was that I'm not in the shape that I thought.  But that quickly changed into pride.  I had done the entire workout without stopping, using only the hardest moves (no modified versions) and learned some new moves in the process.  Hells yeah!  That was my euphoric mind.

That lasted about as long as it took me to get to work.  I swiped my badge and said hello to security and then entered Hell-Dom.  I swear it sucked all the euphoria out and replaced it with hormonal annoyance.  I was blasting music, drinking tea and talking myself out of being snappy and rude and hurting feelings on purpose.  I even put up my neon post-it on my monitor that said, 'You are not in control of your emotions'.  I think it worked for the most part.  My day went on like that most of the day.  Guess I should consider the fact that I actually had work a blessing.  Had I not, who knows what would have happened.  But by the times I was leaving, I was on the upper rungs of content. Probably because I was leaving. 

I got home and took the dogs out and met my new neighbor who seems pretty cool and we talked 45 minutes while her dogs chased my scardy-cat Sofie and Baxter egged them on.  It was a nice change of pace.  Husband came home just as we were going back in but he was preoccupied with homework and other things and my annoyance returned.  Wait...I was also watching a movie that I coined scary because it involved a ghost.  I was so into it but during the commercial breaks I kept dropping hints to him that I needed attention.  He was being a guy and everything flew over his head which further annoyed me.  But I looked at the corner of the television screen at the neon post-it that said, 'Let it Be'.  I think it worked for a while.

While I was sitting there, my hand was on my neck and I could feel my pulse.  I was a little surprised to discover my pulse pauses every now and again. Now don't get me wrong, I've always had an irregular heartbeat but this was different.  This one seemed to have a pattern.  Call me crazy but I swear it did!  I counted 11 beats and then pause.  Then back to the beat 11 more and pause again. I did this for all of 3 minutes and it was the same.  That's odd... I thought about telling my husband but didn't want to get annoyed if he didn't think it was as interesting as I thought it was so I kept it to myself.  I got up and made salads and ate and watched yet another movie.  I remembered to check the pulse again but this time it kept going with no pause. 

This 11 beat discovery reminded me again of why I am sweating it out in the gym and logging the miles on the pavement.  To be healthier.  This old irregular ticker of mine can either get stronger or weaker and I have a feeling it will be happier if I choose the strong.  I went years (15 to be exact) with cardiologists telling me I have to workout to keep my heart strong but somehow it didn't seem all that important.  I did the easy things like not smoking and drinking.  Had half-hearted attempts at losing weight.  Lost some, gained some back. But this time it is different.  I have an enthusiasm for being healthy and and excitement for being fit.  That has to count for something.  So, this eleven beater will have to serve me a few more years before it can rest.  Beat on people.

Quote of the day:
Wake up with a smile and go after life.... Live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it.

New Pedometer

I got myself a brand spankin' new pedometer.  I had to.  Mine nice pink one fell to its death in the Walgreen's parking lot.  Well, it didn't officially die; just rolled under my car.  It slid directly in the middle which meant there was no way I was going to crawl on the dirty concrete to retrieve it.  It was only $5 after all ( a 1/2 price find at Tuesday Morning).  It was a good one. I'll miss it.  But boy, you should see my new one!  It's got all the bells and whistles.  Well, it has a heart rate monitor and that's a sexy whistler to me!  It let's me do all sorts of things.  I'm not usually one for gadgets but I figured I could splurge for my health.  Fourteen dollars later....I gotta gadget. Today, it tells me that I did 9913 steps, 3.27miles, and burned 474.2 calories.  Granted I didn't wear it everywhere I went.  Didn't want it to meet the maker that my ole' pinky met.  I'm happy with it.

Dine with Me!

I've found that working with women is an experience.  Especially when they all seem to be dieting.  In an 8 hour day, I swear there is talk of food about 6 hours of those eight.  We have a two hour reprieve due to an hour breakfast and an hour lunch.  In any case, I am asked at least once a day what type of diet I'm on.  I say I'm not on a diet.  I just eat balanced meals and workout.  They don't really believe me.  For how could you possibly lose weight by just doing that?  And eat what you like?!?  Ridiculous! I shrug and carry on with my day.  They all know I eat as healthy as possible most days. They've seen my lunches.  That brings me to my post.  I was putting my meals together for tomorrow and thought I would share.  If I don't put them together the night before, there's no telling what odd combinations (and sometimes unhealthy meals) get slapped together.  Now mind you, I do the bulk of my cooking on the weekend and freeze them.  Then each evening, I plate what I'm going to eat the next day on a paper plate and pop it in the fridge.  This gives me time to come home, workout and pop that plate in the microwave.  Simple and easy.  So, here is my menu for tomorrow.

Breakfast: Bran muffin, 8oz 1% milk, 1/2 C strawberries
Lunch:  Smoothie consisting of a banana, 3/4 C FF yogurt, 1T wheat germ, 1/2T ground flax
Dinner:  3 oz. salmon, 1 C steamed broccoli, 1/2 C brown rice, side salad greens with lemon juice.
Snack:  I have an orange and a pear in case my stomach starts rumbling at any point in the day and the tea is not helping. 

Here are some pics.  And again, I tried to make them look real pretty. The muffin and strawberries are actually wrapped in plastic and the milk in a water bottle.  But the lunch and dinner are pretty much as I will have them.

Tea for Me!

I've recently revisited my love of black tea. For some odd reason, I've been choosing green tea more often than not. It's not like I really care for the taste. So, I have been buying flavored green. I think I might have gotten it for the antioxidant properties but black tea's properties are relatively the same. My only guess for this odd tradeoff would be that I was at black during the colder months and it suddenly warmed up (in the office) and iced tea was where it was at. But the only black teas I was drinking were earl grey, english breakfast or chai. I don't like either of those on ice. Hence, buying the green. So, I had been drinking it until I hit a brick wall with a super bitter green. This flavor was so typically green, even my lemon and sweetner couldn't disquise it. Then I thought, 'Why am I still drinking this if I don't like it? I should find me something better.' I somehow ended up at the grocery store last night and ventured into the tea aisle (my favorite). I perused the greens but my eye kept going to the black. Why was I skipping over it? I love black tea! So, I boldly stepped up to it. My boldness went even further. Instead of checking out my go-to brands, I was eyeing the new brands. I decided on the brand Vinis. I think I might have tried it before but couldn't remember it so it must have been a while ago.  Anyway, I picked up an orange flavored and a strawberry one. They were new to the store and had an introductory price of $1.79 per box. Can't get much better than that! So, I took them home. Since they were going to be iced, I decided to just make a pitcher. I brewed the strawberry. Since I like my tea sweet, I addded a little sugar.  Don't wag your finger at me!  I don't do artificial sweetners if I can find real sugar.  I'm always partial to the real thing in moderation.  Anyway, I sweetened the tea and tasted and wonder of wonders, I liked it! I will have to try the orange this weekend as I have already downed half that pitcher today and know it will be gone by tomorrow. So, Vinis for the summer it is!  And for those of you that don't know....tea is a good replacement for snacks. Yep!  Unsweetened tea sipped between meals, tides me over until I'm hungry for a next meal.  I started doing this because sometimes I'm really only thirsty and not hungry.  That snacking was just out of habit.  So there.  And yes, I do realize that picture looks like an advertisment.  But I like to showcase my teas.  So why not make it smile pretty? Hahaha...

My War

I did my workout this morning alone. The husband has not been sleeping well lately so it was a good morning for him to sleep in.  I decided to try my hand at the programmed workouts on the treadmill.  Boy!  What the heck was I thinking!  Did you know when you straddle the belt and look down, it looks like it's going at a ridiculously high speed?  Well, don't do it because it unnerves you.  I almost decided it would be too hard but then I actually looked at the monitor to see it was only 2.1 mph.  Shoot, that's just a stroll!  Once I worked up the nerve to jump on, I was ok.  It was a  good workout.  It pushed me pretty good for about 20 minutes.  That was about all I was willing to do because I had also wanted to work on my inclines.  So, after that program was over, I followed my own guide for working my legs.  It was so good.  I sweat more than I have previously and as you well know, that's pretty satisfying.  I highly recommend it to those who want a good cardiovascular workout without the speed. 

Realizing I did some emotional eating this week, I am back on track. It was a hard week. I know it's the weekend but that doesn't matter. On this journey, each day counts. There is no beginning and there is no end. In the past, when I would slip up, I would just tell myself that I will start over 'next week' or use it as a New Year's resolution or 'by my birthday i'm going to...'. While I was waiting on that new beginning, I was eating my fill, lazing on the couch; doing much of nothing. But now, in my mind's eye, it is a war that has many battles. In this war I realize I will sometimes lose a battle or two but I know I can drag myself back to the frontline and continue to fight. It's just a matter of when I do it. I think people tend to forget that. We do so well at the beginning. Following the plan to a T and keeping track. We might even do a jumping jack or two. But the minute we fall off, we view that as a failure and the entire plan is a bust. Then if we do get back on it, we view it as starting all over. Why does it have to be a 'start over'? Why can't it just be a continuance? After all, if we've battled weight and health for years, it will always be a battle. In my opinion, this war is never over. There will be many battles. I might even lose a few of them. But that war? It's mine baby!

So, I'm gonna relish any muscles soreness that comes and continue to explore new workouts.  I will continue to work to overcome my doubts and my fears of what I can do.  I'll keep reminding myself of my accomplishment and continue to get excited about the next challenge.  

Quote for the day:

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.

Funky Fresh Friday!!!

So, it's been quite a week.  I wimped out on my afternoon workout with the girls.  I was just so tired and I had pushed pretty hard in the gym that morning.  Finally had to realize that my body DOES need to rest every now and again.  I spent the evening with the dogs and then watching a sing-sational Grey's Anatomy.  Got up this morning and still didn't workout.  I'll just save that for tonight.  But!  I did make a pretty awesome lunch.  I've been lacking on my creativity for the lunchbox lately.  I had some energy this morning so I made a simple, economical, and tasty lunch.  BTW, the parfait is homemade. Its a balsamic and blackberry reduction sauce with granola and fat free yogurt.  Yums!!  Feast your eyes on this:


Turkey meatloaf, greens, balsamic blackberry yogurt parfait (homemade), tea





And a closer look just for you!

OK. I have 9 minutes to make it to work on time.  Hm....it's Friday.  Maybe not. 

Quote for today: Troubles, they may come and go, but good times, they're the gold.