Fall!

Much as I dislike the return of copious amounts of rain, I love the fall season! This does however make it harder to get motivated to workout. Not as many opportunities for it either, like very limited urban hiking and other outdoor activities. Thank goodness I have a gym membership. Although it is very tempting to curl up in a blanket on the couch and drink warm spiced apple cider. But I do need to get my booty into gear this week as last week I was only able to get in 7 miles due to a cold. Boo for colds. I have 2.5 under my belt for this week, did a quick workout on Tuesday. Last night I intended to do 4 miles but got home to discover that I forgot to put my gym clothes in the dryer after the wash. So tonight it is, 4 miles. I also plan on baking some delicious fallish healthy muffins. I will post pics and the recipe tonight. I will also let you know if they are any good, I got the recipe form a co-worker. I am looking forward to new shows on the TV. Last night was the season premiere of one of my favorite shows, modern family. Season premiere week this and next. Did I mention I love fall????

I can breath!

I cannot tell you how excited I am that I can finally breath! The neti pot totally works and I would recommend it to any one who has sinus problems. My friend Joanna was so excited she got to witness the pilot trial of it. So of course pictures were taken. Just a small disclaimer; if you don't like seeing stuff come out of peoples noses stop reading.

My nose was instantly clear so fantastic!

Got an early start on the day (well for a Saturday) so I can get some miles in this week now that I am feeling better. Breakfast:

Blueberry pancake with peanut butter and a sliced banana and grapes on the side. Mmmmmm!

Now its off to the gym for hopefully 5 miles!

Neti Pot

In hopes of beating this sinus/head cold I have had for the past 4 days, I decided to take many peoples advice and get a neti pot.

I am hoping this works since I have not worked out for the last 4 days due to not being able to breath! I would also much rather do this than go on antibiotics for yet another sinus infection. This week other wise has been a great one. Monday was my first night of choir practice with a intergenerational woman's choir, and it was amazing. I love singing, even thought I'm not the greatest. I am also very proud of my fruit and veggie consumption. Tuesday I went shopping and purchased tons of F's&V's to help with one of my goals this week of eating more of them. The key to accomplishing this is prep work. You have to wash and cut them up as soon as you buy them, so they are ready to go. Otherwise they sit in the veggie drawer and fruit bowl. Ok bed time, this cold has drained all the energy out of my body.

The Weekend

What a weekend! Sometimes it seems my weekends are more busy and stressful than work! Friday night I met up with me friend Kelly after work and we took her two kiddos and dog on a 3.5 mile urban hike. It was slow going for the first 2 miles, but I did have about 70lbs of resistance to bump up the work out. It was getting dark and cold so at the 2 mile point Kelly’s hubby George came and retrieved the kids and we continued on with the dog another 1.5 miles. We got home to a delicious dinner that George had made while we finished up our walk. Good man! Had a glass of wine with dinner; tortellini, salad and garlic bread. Yummmm! After dinner Kelly and I snuggled in on the couch to watch a movie on the TV. It was called White Out. I fell asleep 20min into it, so I have no idea if it was good or bad. Kelly said the ending was dumb. Saturday I woke up bright and early so Katy and I could a jump start on my second urban hike. We went to Forrest Park, so it was almost like a real hike. 5 miles later I was tired! However Katy still wanted to do some strength training, so squats and walking lunges were done (my booty was so sore yesterday). After the exercise extravaganza we walked to a cute French bakery for coffee and a delightful pastry. We then returned to Katy’s house for eggs with goat cheese, tomatoes and basil and an apple on the side, oh and more coffee! After food I promptly raced home to shower so I could head over to my friend Kelly’s to watch the U of O game and have our own mini Oktoberfest. I made hot German potato salad and there was also sausages, fondue, elephant ears and of course BEER! Sunday woke up early to go to yoga only to discover that my body was way too sore for it. So I opted out and instead did some light (5lb) weight lifting at home to get in my 2nd strength training session. The rest of the day was spent with my parents and purchasing a new mattress. And let me tell you I REALLY need a new one; my current mattress is 16 years old. It should come in 12-14 days……I am so excited! So all in all this was a very successful week, I met all my goals and am another week into being fit for life!

Kickin Ass!

Yesterday and today I have been feeling poopy. I was not motivated to work out last night and had two good workouts under my belt this week so I skipped. It was nice to lie on the couch and watch McGruber with my roomie Heather as she had just purchased it. It was super funny! I recommend it. Still not feeling well even after the hilarity of Mr. Will Forte, I went to bed at 9pm, hoping the good amount of sleep would ensure a beautiful morning. Wrong! With the poopy feeling still hanging over me I decided to play responsible hooky and sleep an extra hour so I would only miss an hour of work and not miss the whole day. One of the reasons I love my job is because I can do this. At my old job if you missed an hour you might as well just call in for the whole day! Lame! Now the task at hand is to convince myself that my urban hike scheduled with my friend Kelly will help me feel better. I know it will….the fresh air…..getting my body moving…….maybe some wine after. Yeah this could be good. So 3.5 miles tonight with Kelly, more urban hiking with Katy tomorrow morning and yoga on Sunday, I’m totally going to kick my goals ass this week!

Push it Real Good!

Oh man! My whole body is sore! I decided that it would be a good idea to start jogging again last night. While it felt amazing to push myself during and after, I woke up this morning feeling like an 80 year old woman. I am also super tired today which is not helping my cause! During my lunch I made an escape form the office and pick a few things up from New Seasons. I really love New Seasons, however some items are just so over priced, but you can find a good deal here and there. I think my favorite thing about them is that you can buy local fruits and veggies. So delicious. You can also get good deals on organic produce and I occasional (if cheap enough) think its a good idea to give my body a break from pesticides. I think tonight I will rock the elliptical for 2.25 miles and do some strength training and LOTS of stretching. Stretching is my favorite part of exercising, its like dessert after dinner. I think people are crazy when they don't stretch, it feels so AMAZING!

Camp-tastic!

So this weekend was full of wine, food, smoke and freezing my butt off. I had an amazing time camping with my friends Kelly and George, their little ones and Kelly's parents. I thoroughly enjoyed being lazy and read two magazines and took one nap......AMAZING!!!! However the magazine reading and napping did not help in making my 13 mile goal. The relaxation time was good, I needed it, but......I did learn a few things this week. I don't always have to say yes to every invite, this is what derailed my goal attainment. I need to focus on what is important to me. I love hanging out and seeing all my beautiful friends, I just need to limit it to a few hours or only a few times a week. With this in play I will have plenty of time for working out. So my goals this week are the same as last 13 miles and 2 strength sessions. I will do it!!!!! I am already off to a good start did 3.5 miles tonight! Ok I am wicked tired so it is a shorty tonight. I promise pictures will come......tomorrow??????

Thank the Lord for Holiday Weekends!!!!!

Oh man! It's been a whole week since my last post. There is a very busy week that has caused this. Several events were fun and amazing.....the rest.....well less amazing and fun. So last weekend although filled with activities was amazing (pictures to come). The beach was gorgeous and relaxing. When we first arrived we hit up the outlet mall to wait for the weather to warm up. I love outlet malls! The Lincoln City one especially. They have a coach outlet there and I may have purchased my very first coach bag!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah I feel like a grown up now. I have yet to use it cause I still need to get fabric protector on it. After the shopping extravaganza we headed to Mo's for lunch. I remember their fish and chips being a lot better. I mean they were ok, but I am not a huge fish fan and only eat really delicious fried fish or my Grandpa's fish dip! I did choose a salad instead of chowder though to offset the fried-ness. Next a long walk on crazy deep sandy beach. My legs were killing me, but I needed to work off the fish and the candy I was going to be buying (I love dark chocolate sea foam). We did a bit more shopping after that in the small shops downtown and then headed home so I could get ready for the 6 pack party! I quickly changed out of my beachy clothes and tried to fix my crazy wind blown hair. The party was fun. I got to love on some amazing girls from my high school days that I am still friends with but don't get to see nearly as often as I would like. Ended up heading home about 11pm, cause I am getting old and I wanted to be in good shape for the Fit for Life(a club/fitness challenge my friend Katy and I have set up) meet up. I was lured into walking to the gym for what I was told would be a 3 mile urban hike. This turned into 6 Miles! We then did some strength training at the gym(I wanted Katy to show me her amazing moves!). I was feeling weak because I didn't eat enough for my body to go on a 6 mile trek. So we didn't stay long, we still had to walk home. So 1 mile later we were back at Katy's house for a total of 7 miles. I was starving!!!!!!!! Katy made a delicious protein shake that we shared while we cooked stuff for rice bowls.....well Katy cooked. Once I had inhaled my rice bowl consisting of brown rice, black beans, salsa, avocado, and laughing cow cheese, I headed to the shower. Coffee was next on the docket followed by a trip to target. We were trowing around the idea of going to a movie after target, but Katy has cable and I do not, so I suggested we get dinner and go back to her place, veg on the couch, watch cable and eat. She agreed and we picked up a pizza with artichoke hearts and olives and a greek salad. I was in heaven! This was a fantastic end to a busy weekend.
Looking back on the week I met my 12 mile goal....i surpassed it by 4 miles, for a total of 16! This week I set a goal of 13 miles and 2 times of doing strength training. Unfortunately this week has been busier than last week! I only have 2 miles in and its Friday! However I am feeling really good about food choices. I am like a rock star this week. Went out twice for cocktails. First time ate some fries, but then went to the gym after. Second time had a salad, but got home too late to hit the gym. Last night I had the best of intentions of working out but was trying to get everything ready for camping and lost track of time. I wasn't very hungry yesterday either so I had only eaten some yogurt, a banana, carrots, and a nutrisystem bar, when I got home I had a salad and was craving fro yo, so off to Safeway! I got Ben and Jerry's fish food fro yo style and only ate one serving (1/4 of the container) not the whole container! Go me!
This weekend will be fun going camping with my baby mama (Kelly Dreger) and her family. I made sure to prep fruits and veggies to take with me,since camping is all about snacking and good food, I want to be sure I am still getting in the good non junkie stuff. I will need to figure out how to get some solid exercise in this weekend. I don't know if I will still make my 13 mile goal, but I'm still gonna give it a good shot!
PS Katy I might be buying you a coffee(this is the consequence for not meeting our goal this week)