Picture Perfect Parents

I've been working on putting together a decent family album.  I came across my some pictures of my parents.  These shots were when they were dating.  How cute are they?!?  I'm not sure that many kids mooned over their parent's dating pictures the way I did.  These were always my favorites.  I'll bet you think it has to do with the whole idea of them being in love and all that jazz.  Well, not exactly.  I've always been a fan of classic cars and I was/am totally in love with this car.

Each time I see these pictures I feel the urge to call my Dad and drill him asking again and again why he didn't think about me before selling this beauty.  Lol.  Over the years he's given me different reasons. My earliest memory of his explanation was that he had to trade it in to pay the kidnappers that took me.  I was young but knew a classic tall tale when I heard one.

As I got older, I found other reasons to like these pictures. Never having been one for current fashion trends, I was crazy for the clothes they wore.  And I absolutely adored my Mom's hair.  Other than that I was secretly proud to have such good-looking parents.  Sure, they weren't so cool when disciplining us, helping us with homework, making us clean or sit still in church but whenever I looked at these images I always imagined they were the jet-setting, popular couple that movies are made of.

I am very fortunate to have had a good relationship with my parents. I miss my Mom but can still smile and even laugh at some of the conversations we shared.  When me and my Dad get together we share a few tall tales (lies) and more than a few belly laughs.  And when I look back on these pictures I feel like a kid again sitting there admiring my own personal heroes.

Lesson Learned

I got up this morning and completed a 4 mile walk/run this morning.  Took about an hour.  It was nice enough but I was alone due to the husband's injury and the dogs were just not cooperating enough for me to take them.  I put in an ear bud and listened to Prevention Magazine's 40 minute Chutes and Ladders podcast as I made my way to the pond.  Once I hit the gravel I was feeling pretty good.  It had been about 3 months since I used to the pod casts and I found that it was easy to keep up the pace this time around.  I've come a long way from my struggle to keep up the pace. I'm so proud of that.

What I'm not proud about is my lack of thinking.  When I got home, I jumped in the shower, got dressed and told the husband I would run out to get him a compression bandage, bread and a few staples.  I decided I would wait to have breakfast when I returned.  Big mistake!  While I was filling my cart, I began to feel a little dizzy.  My stomach was rumbling and all I wanted to do was lie down.  I struggled through filling my list and praying that I wouldn't pass out. Just to be safe, I picked up a muffin from the bakery and took a bite in hopes it would make me feel better.  By the time I got home, I was worn out.

I quickly scrambled an egg white and tossed some fruit and the remainder of my muffin on a plate.  It was a good breakfast but a little late.  Next time I'll have to force myself to slow down long enough to get something in my body before running full speed to my errands.  That's my lesson for the day.

Have a great weekend!

My Weekly Rundown

It has been a long and busy week.  I've not had a lot of time to post but I have been thinking about it.  That just means I snapped a few bad pics with my phone just so I can remember.  Unfortunately, I don't quite remember what all I was going to say about each so I decided to just put them all on one post.

The husband and I sitting in the waiting room at the hospital waiting for the alternate hour to visit my brother. This after a long day of working, then over 2 hours of driving, eating fast food (although it was just grilled chicken tenders, water and fries), annoying teenage niece and nephew, and having to wait every 2 hours to visit.  We left after the 10pm visit and got home at midnight.  I had to be back at work the following day.  Amazingly enough, we still got a workout in.  The reasoning there was it would give us a jolt of energy to make it through the morning.  Did it work?  Yep!

This is a view from the inside of my gym bag.  It wasn't taken purposely.  My phone was in there and got jostled around.  If I had tried it probably wouldn't have come out so clear!

I was going on break at work one day and was passing this lady and halted when I saw her snack combination.  I told her this use to be my everyday afternoon snack.  It was something I thought I could never resist.  She offered me some of the chips but I refused.  I realized later that I have indeed come a long way from the days when I made such bad food decisions.  My coworker told me it probably wouldn't have hurt me to have this every now and again (she the worst at encouraging bad behavior!).  I told her I remember how I felt after eating this particular combination and I didn't care for that feeling again. The bloating and overly full feeling was not so good.  Funny how I knew how I would feel afterwards but would still go for it each day.  I guess my mind is in a different place now.

This was the snack I had instead.  I was out of dried fruit so it was naked nuts!  Lol.  Wow...that  didn't sound right at all. 

My husband prepared this breakfast for me one morning.  I was rushing, grumpy, and snippy.  Forever patient and understanding, he ignored me and went about making breakfast.  I thought he was cooking for himself while I was rushing around.  When I finally stormed from the bedroom, dressed and ready to go, he stopped me and said, 'You are already late.  Relax and eat and then consider how you want your day to go.'    I immediately felt terrible for my bad attitude but felt grateful for him.  Though I will say that line is not his.  It's totally mine.  I've used it on him several times.  How dare he turn it around on me!  Lol.  Love that man!

I was telling a friend that we were low on groceries but she said I couldn't be based on my meals I prepare.  She said this after seeing this combination of yogurt, blueberries and almonds for breakfast and a quick lunch.  Without even considering what it was, she incorrectly assumed this would be expensive to eat everyday.   This led to a debate in the break room regarding eating on a budget vs. healthy eating.  I think I proved my point when showing them my grocery receipt and giving examples of how I now eat.  But I will save that for another post as it was a pretty lengthy discussion.

My biggest accomplishment for the week was introducing a coworker to the wonderful world of Zumba.  She had tried Crossfit with me once but was discouraged by the intensity and quit after just one class.  She recently told me she was tired of being out of shape and was hoping I could help her find something she liked and was comfortable doing.  I suggested Zumba and found a class that was less than a mile from our workplace and had a class time she could fit in.  We agreed to take the Wednesday night class since it is my day off from Crossfit.  Because I wanted to be sure it was a good class, I went alone to the afternoon session on Sunday.  It was fantastic.  The instructor was had a great personality, could keep a beat and the music was all that!  By Wednesday I was excited and so was she.  She did have to use her lunch to purchase a mat as it was a Zumba Toning class.  We went, we danced, we sweat, we groaned....it was awesome.  She came away spent and smiling.  She said she loved it and purchased a 10 class card.  So very glad I helped her find something she liked.  I hope she keeps it up.

I rounded out my workweek with Friday being stuck in an 8 hour training course.  I had to carpool with a co-worker and this meant I ended up driving her and another coworker to find lunch since their rides stayed put.  Luckily I had packed some snacks (which I gladly shared with another coworker and some other woman sitting near us).  There were awed by my grapes, watermelon, nuts and cheese.  Said it never would have occurred to them to pack healthy snacks.  We ended up discussing nutrition and  physical fitness.  By the end of the class we were fast friends and the decided they wanted to try a class.  We got each other's contact information and  one will be joining me and the other friend for Zumba on Wednesday.  The other coworker (who's new) will be joining me for Crossfit on Monday.   I'm so excited!

So it's been a good week.  I'm so happy to be spending today relaxing.  The husband pulled a hamstring and is resting so he has no plans to workout today.  I however, have already completed my 3 mile walk/run, finished laundry and am going to sit down to some Disney, LMN, and HGTV for the day.

Have a great weekend!

Hungry Work

Today was crazy busy.  My desk looked like someone dumped a box of paper on it.  And we are supposed to be paperless!  Everything was a priority and needed to be done at about the same time.  I tried three times to take a break but the phone would ring, my manager would stop me or someone needed help with something.  By the time I finished with each, I successfully forgot that I was going to break.  Luckily I am prepared for these moments.  Unlike those around me who resort to the snack bar or the vending machine, I have a desk full of snacks that help get me through a rumbling stomach.  Today's snacks included nuts and fruit.

 This is a mix of pecans, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seed, dried cranberry and semi-sweet dark chocolate.  A handful of this and I'm good for a while.  I don't know how healthy it is but it beats a candy bar any day.  I do only limit myself to a quarter cup and I generally use it when I'm craving something sweet.

I always try to get some fresh fruit as often as possible.  I mean, who doesn't crave a nice bowl of chilled fruit in the summertime?  This is one of my favorites that I had at lunch today.  Watermelon, blackberries, grapes and mango.  Yummo!

This is a snapshot of my bottom desk drawer.  It's just a random mix of things.  There is fruit of course.  There's an egg for my pre-workout, peanut butter, dried fruit (including prunes), yogurt drink shots, mixed nuts, green tea powder.  Of course I don't eat all of this in one day.  I just like to have it there when I need to fight the offers of cake, cookies, candy and other craziness.

I happened to have my drawer opened today and the co-worker who's always accusing me of depriving myself saw it.  She proclaimed, 'Wow.  That's why you can say no to all the temptations around here!'  I guess she's right.  

The Quote of the Day is just plain funny:   “I opened-up a yogurt, underneath the lid it said, "Please try again." because they were having a contest that I was unaware of. I thought maybe I opened the yogurt wrong. ...Or maybe Yoplait was trying to inspire me... "Come on Mitchell, don't give up!" An inspirational message from your friends at Yoplait, fruit on the bottom, hope on top.”~Mitch Hedberg

My Support

Early morning with weights.  Fun....

Here I am once again drowsy and should be in bed after swiggin' water and a Vicodin.  I don't know what it is about being sleepy that makes me want to be productive.  Anyway, I'm fighting sleep and listening to my husband scream like a girl while watching the NBA game.  He's making me chuckle though now that I think about it, it could just be the meds.  Lol.

So yeah, bursitis flared up after a really good workout weekend.  The husband and I spent time with weights this morning and I was feeling pretty good and made it to the Zumba class tonight.  I had a blast.  Of course after settling in I finally had to admit that I was in some pain and needed something to get me through the night.

Despite all that I just wanted to admit that without the proper support, I would never have gotten where I am in this whole healthy living journey.  My husband has been my biggest cheerleader from the beginning.  A lot of times he's a silent one so he doesn't even know how much he's helped me.  He's probably the most determined and disciplined individual I know.  That being said, I want to publicly thank him for being there.  He admitted to me tonight that before marrying me, he could never have imagined getting up at 5am and working out.  He says he does it because he loves me.  Well, before marrying him, I infrequently got up at 5am to work out only to end up watching CNN or finding a good early morning LMN movie.  Lol.  Having him get up and get dressed sorta guilt's me into staying in line.  Whatever works!  So husband if you are reading this, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!  And I love you!


Quote of the Day:  "A happy, contented marriage is one where both partners are constantly looking for ways to build up the other."
 

I Want It!

Every weekend the husband and I head out to buy french bread for the week.  I went alone this morning and when I came back he was on Skype with a family member.  He told him I went to buy bread.  The cousin was surprised.  He said he didn't know Americans went to town for bread. Lol.

I liked the image my mind formed with that phrase.  Unfortunately my trip for bread is not so glamorous.  It's more like leaving town to get into the hot car, drive 20 minutes in traffic moving to fast for a leisurely weekend, search for parking, wait for the bread to come out of the ovens (because coming even 10 minutes after they are done can result in no bread at all), and then standing in a slow moving line to pay.  By the time I get home I've spent 40 minutes and $12 for a weeks worth of bread.  How I wish the husband would adapt to good old American sliced white!  I've tried baking a few baguette's myself but as much as I like it, I will not be doing that every weekend!

I did have a point to all this.  While waiting on an oil change I came across a picture in a magazine. Well....actually a couple of pictures.  But one in particular made me think of our bread weekends.

I would love to have this to lug the baguettes around.  It's so cute and stylish.  Much better than my homemade tshirt bag.  Of course it also makes me wish I lived in an area where there are good weekend farmer's markets that I can walk to and wheel my wares back home....no car needed!

Well I don't live anywhere like that but that doesn't mean I never will.  We are in the market for a new place to live and if I can help it there will be specific qualities.   I will be looking for a small town feel with big city convenience, bike/walker friendly roads, decent public transportation, great parks and trails, a fresh market and community events.  Does a place like that actually exists?  We'll see...

Have a great weekend!

Free Pattypan and a Smile

I got up this morning with a headache.  I forgot to eat breakfast and was running late for work.  I must have hit every traffic light and vacationing slow driver possible.  My favorite parking spot was taken when I did reach my workplace.  The receptionist that I usually chat with was replaced by a stern-faced individual that had issues with saying a simple good morning.  I had a sinking feeling this was not going to be a good day. 

If I've learned only one thing in my many years, it's that each day brings surprises and there is always something to smile about.  Well this workday brought something for me to smile about.  Because I must have the smallest bladder around, my first stop after walking into my building is the bathroom.  I walked in and turned the corner and a free bag of pattypan squash.  There was nothing wrong with giving squash for free.  The problem is that it was put in the bathroom just outside the most frequently used corner stall.  Why put it there when there was a perfectly good table in the foyer area just outside?  This was a topic of laughter and conversation all day long. Lol. 

So my morning started rough  but I found that smile.

Quote of the Day: Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.  ~Jim Beggs