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)

Hooray for Friday!

Oh man I am so glad it's Friday! After work I decided that even though it's Friday and I would love nothing other than heading home after work and vegging in front of the tv, I need to go to the gym so I can hit my 12 mile goal this week. I didn't go yesterday as intended because my belly was not happy with me and I figured adding more stress to it would not help. So I busted out 3 miles tonight leaving me a mere 6 to do tomorrow and Sunday. Tomorrow my roomie and I are getting out of town and gonna chill at the beach. I will need to do some serious beach walking so I can rack up some miles. Then Saturday night it's off to a 6 pack party for my friend Nichole's birthday. And Sunday I am meeting up with my fitness challenge buddy Katy to iron out all the details and get in a good work out......oh and we are starting a fitness book club too. Well really we are just going to read a book together.


Women, Food and God it was recomended to her, so we are gonna rock it Opra style and book club it up!

3 down 9 to go!

I did it! Finally after almost a month of not working out I went today and annihilated 3 miles or it to me? Either way I am 1/4 of the way to my goal for this week. I also received some amazing encouragement and motivation tonight. My beautiful friend text out of the blue and asked if I wanted to set fitness goals and do a fitness challenge! Uh, yes! We are each setting our own goals as we are different people and not everything works the same for everyone. The consequence for not meeting the weekly goal is still to be determined. We are meeting on Sunday for a work out so she can show me some of her sweet strength training skills. I am really excited about this! My friend is an inspiration, over the last few years she has completely changed her lifestyle from not so healthy to lose 70lbs and have ripped arms healthy! She needs a trophy! I love that she wants to continue motivating herself and others. If anyone else would like to join in a fitness challenge, post your goals each week with us! I already set mine for this week, 12 miles. Not sure what Ms. ripped arms will choose when we meet on Sunday........oh right I will need a new one too!

New clothes are fun!

I was feeling a bit claustrophobic and stressed today, so on my lunch break I decided to go shopping at Target!!!!! I ate my carrots at my desk prior to my lunch and then my whole wheat english muffin and chicken salad when I got back. This was an amazing decision! Not only did it help with my attitude I also scored a cute new top and dress on the clearance rack. Oh and of course I bout a delicious Fountain Diet Coke from the food court area. It definitely brightened my day. I am currently eating three slices of hard salami, 15 grapes and ........yep you guessed it my target Diet Coke mmmmmm. My plan is to go to the gym as soon as I get home and do 2-3 miles so I can whittle down my 12 mile goal for this week. I really don't wanna get to Sunday and have to do 12 miles!

New Goals!

So I realize that I have crazy schedule and things keep popping up and derailing me from my exercise goals. Therefore I am going to set them a little different. Instead of trying to meet daily goals, like 5 days a week or everyday this week, ect. I am setting X miles per week goals. This week I my goal is 12 miles. This is very attainable and will enable me to do catch up when i need too and not feel like a loser if I miss a day! I really feel like a positive attitude is the key in this. I am forcing myself to be happy no matter what, for which I have a million reasons to be. I tend to fall into a vicious cycle of being sad so I eat, then I feel like even more crap cause it will just make me fat! Ridiculous! Today was very stressful and I am focusing on being very aware of that, so when I go home I don't eat my feelings. Maybe some movie time with my estranged roomie and delicious (healthy) zucchini soup I made on Sunday will be just what the Dr. ordered!
Who wants to make some mile goals with me?

Getting Old!

So tomorrow is my 10 year high school reunion..........yeah crazy! I still feel 19. The fact that I am a mere 1.5 years away from 30 does not compute.....yeah I'm a robot. To really make things interesting I volunteered to help plan it thinking others would too. But alas this did not happen, another class mate Leizel and I were the only ones to do so. We did not know what we were in for! Our generation is one of non commitment, which means no one sends in RSVP or money. Believe it or no this makes it nearly impossible to plan a reunion. So the result is much frustration on Leizel and I's part along with a haphazardly thrown together picnic at Oxbow park tomorrow. Should be interesting.
On a more inspiring note I have been feeling really good the past few days! Wednesday I went to water aerobics, which yielded 50min of a pretty darned good work out.....I can still feel it in my abs today. As far as food goes I am feeling way more in control of my choices, I don't feel like the fat kid monster has taken over and shoved a ton of food in my mouth to leave me feeling bloated and sad. I also made zucchini bread last night and did not eat half of the loaf. In fact I only ate one slice.......I had to make sure it tasted good right?

In dedication to Hoho!

So I haven't blogged in awhile. The past three weeks have been long, stressful and sad. My grandma Mrs. Helen "Hoho" Hall passed 08/05/2010 after a long struggle with emphysema. I already miss her terribly, but am glad to know she is now in heaven with a perfect body dancing the polka. Stress is bad news for me because I use it as an excuse to eat everything I see. I'm sure I have gained at least 5lbs in the last three weeks :( But I am still committed to getting healthy. I love how inspiring small things can be. I ran into an amazing web site and blog this morning that I really recommend for others to read www.operationbeautiful.com/ and her blog www.healthytippingpoint.com/ . She has good recipes and fitness goals on her blog and the web site is a good way to love and encourage friends and complete strangers.......and maybe even yourself! I really want to focus on getting at least 30 min of exercise everyday this week. My body also would really like it if I would focus on fruits and veggies too......so I will. But I may still need an occasional meatloaf sandwich.......like today for lunch....mmmmmmm. I really love new tips and tricks on batteling weight and self image so if you have some good ones please send them my way. I also would like to thank everyone for the support and love sent my way, I may not always say it or show it, so I will now.

Work out challenged!

Ok so you may have guessed it by the title, I did not go to the gym last night  I also will not be going tonight because I have a meeting to work on planning my 10 year high school reunion! I know ridiculous right 10 years?!?!? How did that happen? I just can’t seem to get my butt in gear this week. You would think the dread of seeing ex-class mates (some of which have yet to grow up and suggested that they wear their cheerleading outfits to the reunion….really!?!) would motivate me to put the pedal to the metal. I really do love working out and how good I feel after…..why can’t I have the same feeling before? Instead of the “my ass is in love with the couch” feeling? So in efforts to be mentally and physically healthy I am trying to focus on the small victories and not dwell on the not so victorious (although you have to recognize miss-steps or you will fall down the stairs……one of my specialties figuratively and literally). So in the endeavor of my heart being happy as well, I will say that yesterday was a great day even without the exercise. Today is also full of triumphs. The first being only tasting the delicious mousse they were testing in the kitchen…..really I only took one bite! The second involves a phone call and me saying no to an ice cream delivery……..this was seriously hard, free hand delivered ice cream….I must be sick or something (the fat kid inside me hates me right now). Now there is the challenge of tonight. We are meeting at 4th Street Bar & Grill and its ladies night! 1/2price drinks! I smell trouble!

Oh Blueberries!!

So last night did not go as planned. I did not go to the gymbo. Instead I decided to go to the store to get fruit and veggies which I was out of.....hooray good for me right? Well kinda.....I also decided to make blueberry jalapeno jelly that turned out so delicious my roomie and I pulled a Joey(from friends) and ate a half jar of jelly! Whoops! However despite the fat kid moment and couch potato tendency(we watched a movie too, Book of Eli, very good) it was a really good night for my mental health. I haven't had much time with my roomie lately and it was nice to bitch and moan about life. Today has gone much better, I have yet to have a FKM(fat kid moment). I think I will make it out of my office without one if that damn tray of creme brule would quit calling my name.....just turn the music up a little louder and drink my strawberry lemonade sparking water......it's just as delicious right? right???? So with a good morning/afternoon under my belt I have the best of intent to go work off a small part of my booty at the gym. Will she do it???? Tune in tomorrow to find out :)

New Adventure

So I thought I would start a blog to help motivate me in my weight loss. Lately my motivation has been less than stellar. The sad truth is that I am eating crème brule as I type this! I work for a food broker where we have delicious free food all the time and I’m a fat kid who cannot help herself. I started nutrisystem about a month ago and have yet to lose weight due to eating copious amounts of non program food. I really want to stick to the program because I know it will slenderize me. I have already lost close to 40lbs (not on nutrisystem) but still have a long way to go. It gets very discouraging to work so hard and lose 40lbs, only to find out your still a fat kid! Well I think me telling the world about this adventure may help keep me on the straight and narrow. So my goal is to blog every day and to disclose everything. Today I have been grumpy and irritated, hence the crème brule, which only left me feeling fat and more irritated that I can’t say no to myself. Hopefully the gym tonight will help improve my mood. Now to get through the rest of the day with no more fat kid moments!