Damn You Bauer!

I'm generally falling asleep by this time of night. Not to mention I got up an hour early because I was excited about the 'big snow' here in Charlotte, NC. There's just something about watching all the morning news channels going crazy over the weather. But alas, I just watched 2 hours of 24 and am all kinds of ramped up! Not good. So I'll blog :)

So yeah, we got around 4 inches of snow here in Charlotte, NC. We took the dogs to romp in the snow around 9am (I decided to go into work late to give the roads a little time to clear up). There were 3 of us and 4 dogs. They had a blast! Photos here. The last 4 'pictures' of the dogs in the snow are actually videos. And the cute little dark brown lab-ish one is mine :) She spent the day eating snow ... it was like a dream come true that everywhere she walked was edible. So funny.



I finally got into work around 11ish and NO ONE was there. Really. Out of 17 people that work in my section of the office there were 4 of us there. And by 1pm there were only 3 of us. It was a long afternoon!

I got home a bit early and cleaned out the garage so I could park my car in it! This morning while cleaning off my car (all 4 inches of it) it dawned on me that I do in fact have a 2 car garage. And while there's a lot of stuff in it I could surely move it around to fit one car. So I did! Here's to NOT scraping ice off my car tomorrow morning! I also hit up boot camp tonight. I was promised no running since it was snowy out... but the sidewalks were clear when I got there and running was had. Bummer but I burned over 500 cals which meant ice cream for dessert :) Totally worth it!

Ok I'm still ramped up but going to try to get to bed!

Eats for the day (photos here):

big bowl of cereal w/ strawbs and bananas
turkey and cheese on light bread (with a pickle)
strawberries
2 clementines
2 spoonsful of pb from the jar
cherry cobbler yoplait light
cukes and carrots with hummus
1 scrambled egg, 2 98% fat free turkey dogs, sandwich thin, and a slice of cheese
edeys thin mint ice cream
lots of hot tea while watching jack

A little bit lazy, a little bit not

It's going up to 65 here today! Check it out:

So this morning I got up and hit up boot camp. I was feeling rough. I don't do well with Sat AM workouts because well I generally dont eat before I go (I know, I know TERRIBLE) and to be honest I'm just not awake! So I walked most of the running parts but other than that did ok. I stopped at Smoothie King to celebrate the weekend weather and the got some dog food for the little one at Petsmart. It was $2 off with your PetSmart card and then I had a coupon for $4 off. So I got 44.1 lbs of dog food for 16 bucks - not to shabby!!

After that I came home and uhm... took a nap. I know, on such a beautiful day. Unacceptable. But I really wanted to. I'm up and ready to go now and am going to take a quick bike ride. I'm going out with the boy tomorrow... for a bike ride! I've not ridden since Oct. Crap crap crap. Spandex and all. It's going to be hot. HA!

OH! And for my weigh in... down 1 lb!!! 175.2. At this rate I MIGHT be inthe 160s by the end of the year haha. But whatever as long as the scale keeps going down I'll take it.

Eats so far

Bfast:
SMOOTHIE KING (Pineapple Pleasure) - 3
Choc chip cookie (oops!) - 3

Lunch:
Fiber Wheat Thins - 2
Light Cheddar cheese - 1
Turkey pep - 1
Bell Pepper tomato soup - 1
pineapple! - 1

I should be in good shape for the rest of the day. I might make a yummy mac n cheese for dinner! We shall see.

Ok, time to dust off my bike. Crap!

Laughable

That's what I'd call the 'snow' here this morning. I didn't even know it was going to snow... but when I went to let Maddie out this morning this is what I saw:

(don't mind Maddie peeing)

You can still see the grass!!!! But alas I got to work and no one was here. Everyone was 'waiting an hour or so' to 'give the roads time to dry' Are you kidding? Also.... SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED! No 2 hour delay... but CLOSED! It's totally ludicrous. Here's an article in the Charlotte Observer about the 'treacherous conditions'... It's just so absurd to me. Oh how the south makes me laugh.

Though it is kind of crazy - on Sat I was wearing capris and a tank top and today the high is only going to be 35. Seems like tomorrow will be cold again and then we're back in the 50s and 60s. That's more like it!

I've been tracking points all week... just slacking in posting my menus. I have 11 Flex Points left and 12 APs... so I should be ok. I'm hoping to not use all my APs.

Today's menu looks like this (I'll be posting pictures here)...

Breakfast:
2 whole wheat waffles - 4

Snack:
small piece of sugar free angel cake from break froom - 1

Lunch:
1 light string cheese - 1
Multigrain wheat thins - 2
Bell Pepper tomato soup - 1
apple - 1

Snacks:
strawberries, blackberries and pineapple - 1
rice cakes - 1
motts plus applesauce - 0

Dinner:
Not sure yet -- I'll grab something quick (maybe eggs or a LC) before I go on date #3 (yay!). We're going to see Slumdog Millionaire and I'm so excited! I've heard rave reviews and just love going to the movie theater. I rarely do it so it will be quite a treat. Hopefully it goes well.

Off to drink some tea... my hands are like ice!

Insanity

I spent my night last night at a Pure Romance party. This isn't anything like a Tupperware party!! It was sheer insanity. Let's just say I was bright red for the duration of the party... but still volunteered to do everything. I can't turn down a dare! And 09 is the year of stepping outside of my comfort zone right?? hahahaha.

Today I'm continuing outside of my comfort zone and I'm taking the pup on a REAL hike! I've been wanting to go to Crowders Mountain for over a year now.... have just never made it there for one reason or another. But it's supposed to go up to 60 today and be beautiful. So why not spend it outside??

My plan is to do the following trail:
Crowders Trail: blazed in white diamonds - this moderately strenuous 2.5 mile (one-way) trail begins at the Visitor Center and ends at the backside trail before that trail reaches the summit. The trail includes one state road crossing.

Then depending on how I feel I might get super adventurous and take the Backside Trail to the summit.
Backside Trail: blazed in orange hexagons - A strenuous, .9 mile (one-way) trail that starts at the Linwood Access Area and ends at the summit of Crowders Mountain. Just before reaching the summit, hikers will climb up 336 wooden steps.

Though 336 steps alone would be a lot let alone with my dog dragging me up them! We'll see :) I can always go back and do that if I don't feel up to it today. I mean a 5 mile hike is a bit extreme for this beginner. Don't worry -- I'm bringing my camera to take pictures.

I'm excited though. I'm going to run to the grocery store (on Super Bowl Sunday... ugh what kind of novice am I?) then clean out the car and hopefully get on the road by 10:30! Wish me luck.

Also... eating yesterday was good. Did a little too much snacking at the party (there was chocolate and I was nervous... it happens!!!) but counted it all. Woo!

Mini Hike!

First things first... weigh in. Nothing too exciting - down 0.2 (177.2). I'm not complaining given the amount of alfredo and cookies I ate this weekend while at a family party. A loss is a loss so I'm happy. Hopefully next week will bring a bigger one as well :) 175 would be nice hahaha.

The weather is finally warmer here in NC. It got up to 58 yesterday and is in the low 50s today. Adding on to my 09 To Do List, I decided I need to get out of my comfort zone a bit more and meet new people. This isn't the easiest thing for me... but it's time to just dive in there. So today I was supposed to meet up with a group to hike at a local park. This was a big step for me. Going somewhere and not knowing anyone... and on top of that going somewhere to do something somewhat athletic. All very much out of my comfort zone. But alas, I was either in the wrong spot or late or something because I couldn't find them. Instead of being annoyed with myself I figured I'd just venture out on my own. Still a bit of a leap for me! It was drizzling a bit when I started but I had my rain coat with me and I figured Maddie would rather traipse through the woods than do our regular route at home. So off we went! I ended up doing 3 miles of trails in an hour. We certainly weren't going at a fast speed just kind of enjoying the morning.


I did the yellow circle, blue triangle and green square trails. They are each a mile long. Maddie had a blast. I let her off the leash for a little bit (shhhh don't tell anyone!!) and she would run ahead a bit and then come back and walk right next to me. She is currently passed out on the bed :)

My plans for the rest of the day include getting Maddie groomed (she really needs her nails trimmed), hitting up Target and Trader Joes and maybe doing some cleaning.

Eats are up in the air. So we'll see what I end up having!

Someone yell at me....

I made cupcakes last night. And ate one. Then I brought them into work today... telling myself I wouldnt have any. And I ate one. Granted I only at one at work today... but still. SABOTAGE MUCH????

Also... it looks like the skies are going to open up any second now. I'm not sure what the deal is with Boot Camp in the rain. I fear it may still be a go if it's not thundering or lighteninging (that looks funny)... we shall see. It's only 65 and cloudy and windy... this could prove to be a shitty boot camp. Part of me would be ok if it got canceled because I have a jillion things to do tonight (pack, walk the dogs, clean, do laudnry and of course watch all the good Thurs night permieres). BUT, there's no boot camp on Fridays and I'm out of town til Tues night so I'd be boot campless until WED. That would be a full week! Granted I plan on working out a bit on vacay, but it won't be nearly as intense as boot camp. BOOOOO.

Other than the cupcakes I've done pretty well today. I just need to skip snacking tonight and eat a healthy, filling dinner.

And if anyone cares... the gas situation in Charlotte is out of control. One of my coworkers sat in line for an hour and a half today. Are you kidding??? Hopefully by Tues when I get back there will be gas again!!

Cake, Running and Reading

Just thought I should check in since I realize it's been a few days since I posted. And by few days I mean ONE. Whatever, it seems like it's been more than that.

I had a little slip up on Tuesday night. Just ate crappy stuff, and too much of it and then decided screw it all... and skipped the gym. But I got right back on track yesterday and had close to a perfect day. Ate only 26 points (2 over), got to the gym and get this... ran for 18 minutes! I did 3, then 90 seconds off, then TEN, then 4 minutes off, then five. I was so proud of myself. And when I was doing the 10 minute run, I think I could have gone another minute. We shall see on Friday :) I'm actually looking forward to it. Who am I and what happened to that girl who HATES the treadmill???

It's beautiful here today. Clear blue skies and 76 degrees. I'm excited to go home tonight, put the cushions on our patio furniture and read while the pups run around going crazy. I got The Friday Night Knitting Club for my birthday and started it last night, it's really cute. Perfect to read while enjoying a late spring afternoon. Yes!

After I so some reading, eat dinner, and dry my gym clothes (they are all sitting in the washer right now) I'll head off to the gym. And might stop at Target on the way home from the gym. I have stuff to return there and I need to get some birthday cards. But we'll see if that actually happens. I'm usually ready to hit the shower as soon as I leave the gym!

Todays menu:

Bfast:
milk - 2
whole grain pancakes - 2

Lunch - We went out to a local place for an autism awareness fundraiser
Island salad (grilled salmon, grilled pineapple, cheese, cucumbers, tomato) - 10

Snacks:
fruit salad w/ ff redi whip - 2

Dinner:
HG's alfredo sauce over Ronzoni Smart pasta w/ broc and red peps- 5

Snack:
Not sure -- something for 3 or 4 points

And last but not least... there is cake in the kitchen at work right now. A HUGE ass cake. EVERYONE has been eating it all day. Carrying plates of cake around. And talking to me with lips tinted blue from the icing. But did I cave and have any? NO I DIDN'T! Am I so freakin proud I could cry? HELLS YEAH! So let's hope that in the next 19 minutes I don't cave. Sure would suck to have to edit this post :)

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Lesson Learned -- The Clock is NOT my Friend

It's finally Friday! And its sunny and 62 right now. Going up to 79! I cannot WAIT! I'm planning on running errands at lunch in my flips, jeans and t-shirt. I love my job and the sun. If I can scoot out of here early you can bet your behind I will be doing so. And going DIRECTLY to the gym to do my last day of week 3 couch to 5k. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I'm hyper. ha!

Last night I made eggs for dinner. They were yummy. I needed protein but couldn't bare the thought of cooking meat. Then I hit up the gym with Trainer Boy....

I got myself in trouble by looking at the clock at one point (in my defense I felt like I'd been doing side lunges for 20 minutes, whatever apparently it was only 4) and he was like "Are you looking at the clock? I know you'd never do that! You love this time with me! BUT, if you want to do a clock drill, we can do that next" FAAAAAAAAHCK! What came up next? WALL SITS! So TB gets up against the wall, takes a seat and says "All you have to do is sit like this for 1 minute. Easy, right?" Before I even started I was scared because I knew 15 seconds was pushing it. teehee. Soooo I did 20 seconds, and had to stop. Bad idea. TB decided like the longer break I took I'm he was going to subtract the time of my 'break' from the 20 seconds I already did... So he's all "Get back down, you still have 40 seconds...... up now its 45 seconds....." and so on. So I got down again and think I did 55 seconds (total, not at once). And then we did it again. Good lord. It was horrible. The second go round he started saying "Just think about something else. It's totally mind over matter... see? you've already done 5 seconds!" With an evil, I love to watch people suffer, grin on his face. To which I replied "If you'd shut the hell up maybe I COULD think about something else!" He laughed and mentioned how he wished all his clients were as sweet as me. I also told him I hated him with a deep passion. Which, at that moment, I really did.

So lesson learned, never will I look at the clock again. Though now that he knows how much I LOVE them, I'm sure he'll add it to the regular rotation. I'm thinking of trying to do at least 1 minute/day to get better. It's something I can do while waiting for my tea water to boil for heavens sake! We'll see if that happens. But for today... my butt is feeling it. From the wall sits or lunges I'm not sure... but I'm making muscle baby and that means I'm burning fat. YEAH!

Weigh in tomorrow. I really hope to see just a little bitty loss. I'd be PUMPED to see 1 lb. Here's hoping!!

I made iced tea this morning. Boiled a big pot of water and used 1 bag of cran-pom green tea and a bag of regular black tea. Then poured it over a huge glass of ice with a squeeze of lemon. It's the perfect morning treat.

What's everyone up to this weekend? I'm not sure what were doing. Tomorrow I'll do WI and then lift at the gym. If it's nice I'm hoping to ride later in the afternoon -- but they're calling for scattered T-storms, so we shall see. Then a friend of mine is playing at the Wine Vault tomorrow night so Ar and I might go. We shall see. At some point we need to get an insane amount of cleaning done as our house is a MESS and our backyard looks like a jungle!!! So probably Sunday will be spent doing all of that. Hopefully my allergies will be in check by the time yard work rolls around.

Hmmm what else? Oh right -- confession. Last night I got home from the gym and had THREE peanut butter (tagalong-esque) cookies when I got home from the gym AND a freakin WW cookies n cream bar. EIGHT points of snacks. Granted I counted all of them. But that was a wee bit too much sugar/carbs/bad stuff for after 8pm (even it it was only 8:10). BAD jeannie. Oh well... we all mess up, right? Back on track today!

Bfast:
iced tea - 0
waffles w/ fruit on top - 3

Lunch:
pb&j from yesterday! - 3
yogurt - 2

Snacks:
honey nut chex w/ milk - 3 (mil serving)
strawbs and naner w/ whipped cream - 2
celery - 0

Dinner:
Not a clue... any suggestions? Maybe I'll do burgers and dogs on the grill.

TONS of water today and for real no eating after 8pm. That scale is going to be ready for me first thing tomorrow morning!!!

Awesomeness

Today is going to be an awesome day... I just know it! A few reasons....

- I woke up and it was already 59 degrees (going up to 79!)
- I didn't get up early to go for a walk, BUT I got to work early enough to walk around the lake when I first got here! So I've already walked a mile. I had my iPod and rocked out to some tunes while enjoying the early morning sunshine.
- I'm wearing a nice t-shirt, jeans and a new pair of FLIP FLOPS!
- I checked my email and had two e-gift certificates from Ar's parents for my bday! Macy's and Target here I come!
- The PENGUIN for lunch today
- Hopefully scooting out of work early

Anyway... enough of my morning happies. Let's back up to last night. I made pizza for dinner. It was SO SO good, and not all that unhealthy. I had a thin whole wheat crust that is 3 points for 1/4 of it (and it's 12 inches). I diced up red peppers, turkey pep and spinach. Put on a little bit of sauce, a little bit of cheese, toppings and then a little more cheese. HEAVENLY! I cut it into 8 pieces (so 2 would have been a serving) and I had 3 pieces. Also, I finished dinner at 6:15 and didn't eat anything else the rest of the night. HUGE score.

Then I went to the gym. I swear Trainer Boy has hacked into my emails because what did we do?? CORE!!!! Because I JUST sent an email to my WW buddies this week about how I need to work on core more. Well yeah, he usually just does core once in a while because it's pretty basic and the exercises don't change all that much. But for some reason he thought we should do core, and it was horribly obvious that I hadn't been doing it. He has me to sit ups on the bench (like with my legs up on the bar if that makes sense), and I did the first set FINE but after that I literally could only do like 2 at a time. Soooo I have to start doing that more. I WANT to be able to do them. And I want to be able to be like PSSHT no problem the next time we do core together. And my punishment for not having done that at all? CALVES! I told him I had to be able to walk on Sat cause it was my bday. But I'm still scared that I'm going to be laid up again like I was last time. Granted I've done them a few times on my own since then but we shall see. I stretched out a lot last night so hopefully that will help too. When TB was done kicking my butt I did 30 minutes on the treadmill. I was watching the UNC game because it had just started and at one point I was paying such close attention to the game I almost fell off the treadmill!!! Granted I recovered, but let's just say the people around me had a good chuckle. It was really funny. But UNC dominated so that was good. Too bad I'm in LAST place in my family pool.

My bike is still without wheels, so no ride after work. Boo. I guess I'll go to the gym and do the treadmill and elliptical or bike again. BLAH. I'm thinking I'll do some leg work too since it's always empty on Fridays. My goal for next week is to get to the gym TWO times in the morning. This way I can lift (and do my stinkin abs) in peace. That place is desolate in the mornings. I love it!

Menu!!!

Breakfast:
choco milk YEAH - 3
life cereal - 3

Lunch:
Penguin - approx 15325626 points

Snack:
fruit if I need it

Dinner:
Not sure - something light as I have to weigh in bright and early tomorrow morning on my birthday!

Avocado Love, Fried Pickles and Running

I did started the C25K podcast yesterday. It was really good. The music on it is a little techno-y for my liking, but it's worth it to not have to keep figuring out when you start and stop running. I did it without too much trouble, though at one point the guy was like, "ok you should be feeling the effects of your run, but you shouldn't be out of breath and you should be able to talk comfortably" HA HA HA! I was totally out of breath. I mean I could talk, but would certainly be gasping for some air. I actually laughed at that. I'm hoping to do it again tomorrow night. I'm working out with Trainer Boy tonight, so I don't think my legs will be in running shape after I lift. I'll do an easy walk or the elliptical after lifting and then get back to it tomorrow. Yeah! I am DETERMINED to be a runner. Even if I hate every darn second of it :)

As for dinner at Carrabbas last night.... it was a bit disastrous. I went to town on the bread. It was hot and warm and amazing. For the rest of my dinner I had the salmon with a basil tomato sauce on it and green beans for my side. It came with soup or salad and they had the sausage lentil soup for the special that I LOVE so I got that. I ate most of my soup and half of my entre. And then my weight in bread. I heart carbs. And you know what? I don't really feel guilty about it. I splurged at dinner last night but am right back on track today. I was tempted to have a snack at 10:30 last night because Ar was having one, but then I was like hold up - you are not hungry at all! So I didn't. So yes, I ate more than I would have liked, but the little victories are ordering salmon and not pizza or pasta in cream sauce, and getting veggies for my side instead of pasta or potatoes. Next time maybe I'll be able to resist the bread.... HA! AND, one of the girls knew my birthday was coming up (thanks to myspace haha) and she insisted on buying my dinner. So that was super sweet of her. Especially since the salmon was a bit pricey!

In other news... I just feel the need to mention how much I love avocado. Now I have a slight allergic reaction to it. Just makes me lips/tongue tingle a bit and my throat itch. It's the same thing that happens when I eat apples or melons. But for a lot of those foods I just think it's worth it to do with the consequences. And avocado CERTAINLY falls in that category. I just really love them. I'm eating my lunch right now and added some avocado to my salad and it just makes the meal. I can't believe the first 20 some years of my life I had no idea how yummy they were!

Also, it's cake day at work, and I feel somewhat obliged to have a piece, since it's my birthday month. I had a VERY small piece of the chocolate cake, it was heavenly but was literally like 2 bites. I tried to tell them not to get me a cake, but we have another March birthday and she's a TOTAL princess and actually requests a very SPECIFIC kind of cake and throws a fit if people get any other kind. Totally ridiculous. But whatever. So I had my small piece of bday cake and added the points in so I'm golden!

Tomorrow people from work are taking me to The Penguin for lunch. Which might prove to be a disaster. The place is amazing. And has been featured on The Food Networks "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives." Amazing burgers, sweet potato fries, regular fries, fried pickles..... but I will just be good the rest of the day. It's also supposed to go up to 79 tomorrow so I'm hoping to get a bike ride in (if wheels somehow get put on my bike tonight... hint hint).

Ok todays menu....

Bfast:
cinnamon life cereal w/ 1/2 cup milk - 3
SMALL piece of bday cake - 3

Lunch:
tastes of food at Trader Joes - 3
salad with baby spinach, peppers, tomatoes, 1 oz light cheddar, 2 oz avocado, 3 wheat thins crushed up, ff balsamic - 4

Snacks:
1/2 banana, strawberries, fat free whipped cream (yes I did pack the entire can of redi whip in my lunch bag) - 1
1/2 whole wheat pita with egg salad (1/2 the yolk, 1 egg, 2 tsp light mayo) - 2

Dinner:
I have NO idea. I'm thinking maybe burgers because it's going up to 75... so grilling would be fun. so maybe:
5 oz burger - 5
avocado - 1
light EM - 1
grilled asparagus - 0

Weekend Update

As for my weekend update I'll do bullet style

1) Got my haircut on Sat -- it looks really cute! But SHORT! I have to blow it out every morning which will get old SOON. Oh well, it forces me to look nice which is good, no more falling back on a ponytail
2) I literally could not walk on Sat. I was in SO much pain from my trainer on Thurs it was horrible. I looked like I had a physical disability. It was so terrible. I had to walk hunched over and on my toes... try to imagine that. Ar is STILL making fun of me. Yesterday I realized I could walk in heels so I wore heals throughout the house all day long. It was funny, but at least I wasn't in pain. Also means I haven't been to the gym since THURS! Hopefully I'll be back in action tomorrow. I may never EVER do calf raises again.
3) Ar got a new car this weekend. Yes... ANOTHER new car. As in she got her truck a year ago. She's been griping about it for a while now -- how she just doesn't like it. She thought she was going to love it -- but she hates it. Too much gas. It's big. She can't park it. Etc etc. It's been a small point of contention. But she finally was just like I understand you think it's crazy for me to trade it in and get a new car -- but I can't stand my truck. She got a used AUDI! Yes, apparently my name is Elle Woods and we're loaded. It actually was an amazing deal and her payments are less than the truck so that's exciting. And it's just a 4 year payment plan -- since she had a 5 year plan on the truck I guess it all evens out. But to say that I was pissed at first would be an understatement. We've worked through it though.
4) I lost TWO pounds this week. I think I am firmly in the 180s now... at least I'm hoping! WOOOOOHOOOOOO! I ate out a jillion meals and still lost! I guess not ordering fries DOES pay off. How about that?
5) I'm officially obsessed with my pumpkin waffles. I made another batch yesterday and just had them for breakfast. IN LOVE!
6) I made a really yummy salmon dinner last night. I made this recipe w/ couscous. And I added a ton more veggies into the packet. It was DELISH!
7) I planned out all of our dinners for this week and am really hoping to stick to it!

Ok... I think that's about it. OH! And I made Roni's Tortilla-less Tortilla soup this weekend. 0 points for 4 servings. In my opinion it's a million times better than WW's . SO good. I have it for lunch today. Mmmm. Ok menu time...

Breakfast:
PUMPKIN YUMMIES! - 3

Snack:
fruit salad - 1

Lunch:
spicy soup - 0
1/2 oz of cheese and some light sour cream - 2
crackers - 1

Snacks:
toasted light EM - 1
WW cookies - 2
hostess 100 cal pack - 1

Dinner:
5 oz hamburger w/ cheese - 6
TJs WW pita - 1
corn on the cob - 2
broccoli - 0

Snack:
not sure, but something for 2 or 3 points

No gym today as I'm still not 100% but maybe a walk with the pups after dinner as it's going up to 71 today! YIPPEE!

HOT!

A sneak peak at the forecast for this week...


I'm thinking it's even going to be too hot to go to the pool! But we'll see. Thankfully I now live in a house with central air -- so I cant complain at all :)

Not much else going on -- I'm super excited about my lunch today! Mixed greens, strawberries, slivered almonds, avocado and some chicken with fat free balsamic dressing. It's going to be heaven! YUM!

Bike is still not fixed, but Ar's off today so maybe it will get done? We shall see. If not I might go to the gym tomorrow morning or something. I'll figure it out.

Hope its not quite as hot where you are!

Deserving Weigh In

Weighed in yesterday to a 1.2 lb gain. Not the greatest.... but deserving. Other than a 30 mile ride on Wednesday I didnt really exercise at all, and I ate like crap. So its only natural that the scale would go in that direction.

Doing my best to just move past it and get back down.... shooting for the 170s in the not so distant future. I've been in the 180s now for WAY too long.

Yesterday I went a little crazy... had a ride planned, but then as soon as I started getting my stuff together it started thundering and lightening. Not the best conditions to ride in. So Ar and I went furniture browsing instead. I also went out last night and actually had 2 beers. I cant remember the last time I had TWO beers. I dont generally drink a) because I dont love the taste and b) I just find it to be empty calories. I also split a burger and home made potato chips with Ar.... not the best choice in food but certainly could have been worse. Splitting is the way to go.

I ended up eating 31 points yesterday... so I'm down 7 flexies already. The goal today is to not use ANY! Which I'm confident I can do.

So far... I've had a light english muffin with pb and honey for breakfast -- 3 points. I'm off to watch a Netflix, then go for a ride, then hit up the foodstore, then maybe pick Ar up from work as she rode in this morning. We'll see if I'm feeling nice :)

Hope everyone's having a good weekend!

[Update....]

Just got back from a good ride. I did the 'big girl ride' all by myself! Being the visual learner that I am, I checked out the route on a map and was good to go! I must have been a few minutes behind a little rain storm as well because I kept riding through freshly rained on ground which was great! Cooled things off but I missed the rain. How's that for timing?

As for my menu heres how it's looking so far.

Bfast:
Carrie Delight (light english muffin, pb, honey) - 3

Snack:
gatorade on ride - 2
granola bar on ride - 2

Lunch:
leftover tortellini w/ sauce - 6

Snack:
big vitamuffin - 3

Dinner:
tex mex veggie burger on whole grain bread - 4
mac n cheese - 6

Snack:
ice cream w/ bananas and strawbs - 4

I got about 7 APs today between the bike ride and an evening walk so I think I completed the mission of not using any flexies.

In other news I just talked to my mom and dad... they're hopping a plane to ITALY in a few minutes for the 30th wedding anniversary. So jealous, but they deserve it. My dad is beyond excited... he's been wanting to go forever. My mom is excited, but really only 'picked' Italy (my dad said she pick anywhere she wanted for them to go) because she knew how much he wanted to go. Talk about true love. Theyre the cutest!

TCBY-licious!

Yesterday a few of us from work planned a TCBY date for today. YUM! I figured it was ok since I havent eaten out for lunch in almost 2 weeks, and I get the junior size which is good on both my hips and wallet! I do love TCBY -- 3 points for the junior cup and just the sweet treat I need to feel like I'm splurging!

I'm not sure what to make for dinner tonight, but I want to make something for around 8 points. Perhaps fish, rice and a veggie? I'm up for any sort of recommendation! For some reason I've really just been wanting to have poached eggs for dinner every night. But poor Ar I havent cooked in a while and I think a well balanced dinner would be a nice treat. haha. So if anyone wants to come up with something easy, yummy and only 8 points lay it on me!

I think thats about it for today. Here's my menu so far:

Bfast:
Vita Muffin and small banana - 2.5

Lunch:
2/3 Smart Ones Mac N Cheese - 3.5
Avocado salad (same as yesterday) - 1
Small apple - .5

Snacks:
Strawberries - .5
Pretzels - 2
TCBY - 3

Dinner:
Who knows?

Its beautiful out right now. Sunny and 77. Perhaps tonight I'll take Fiona for a long walk! We shall see what the evening has in store....

5k in the rain

Just got back from doing the 'Peace Begins at Home' 5k here in Charlotte (well it was in Matthews, but close enough). My mom and dad are in town for the weekend -- and lucky me its currently 55 degrees and rainy! But we still forged on and did the walk. My mom went ahead a little with my friend Lily and my dad and I were a few minutes behind them - we finished in about 47 minutes. Not too bad and I feel like I got a decent workout in. Too bad it was cold and spitting rain. Could have been worse though, so thats good!

And as an added bonus -- I'm down 1.4 this week!!!! Which was quite exciting given the fact that I've been down (even though its been small amounts) the past few weeks. I always get nervous that I'm going to see a gain after 4 weeks of a loss. So a 1.4 pound loss is fine by me!! And just another .2 pounds and I'll be at 10 pounds since I started in January. Taking a little more time than I'd hoped -- but I'll get there dammit!

Not sure what the plan for the rest of the day is. My mom and dad are showering at their hotel. I'm going to hop in the shower and then run to the store to get lunch meat. I figure instead of going out to lunch I'll just bring them back to our apartment (they havent seen it yet) and we'll do sandwiches, chips (fat free chips for me), and maybe some potato salad or something. I've been stressing a bit about what to do with them and eating out for bunches of meals and everything. So I'm happy with todays lunch plan. We're going to go to church tonight and then out to dinner.

Probably wont hear from me again until Monday or Tuesday. So I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Go drink some water :)

Help!

I can't seem to wake up this morning. Eeek! I literally thought I was going to cry when I had to get out of bed, and I cant stop yawning. I should have gotten enough sleep -- was asleep by 11:45 and got up at 7:45. 8 hours! Thats tons! Hmmmm. I might need to have some tea today, or another kind of caffeine jolt (even though I cant remember the last time I had caffeine...)

Ok -- enough about being sleepy. It's MAY! Holy cripes. Time to set new challenge goals! I did pretty well during April -- though I wasnt perfect. I think I'm going to stick with those goals and add a new one. So here they are:

1. Drink at least 64 oz of water per day
2. Get at least 4 servings of fruits or veggies per day
3. Dont eat after 8:30 PM on weekdays, 9 PM on weekends
4. Workout at LEAST 2 times a week. Which is nothing... so theres really no excuses!

I ended yesterday with a bang and ate quite a few double stuffed oreos. But I tracked them and realized that I didnt even do too horribly! I used quite a few flex points but Ive got 35 for petes sake! I still have 17 left for the week... certainly doable :)

Its going up to 92 today! Wowzers. I'm sporting a sundress and flip flops! Its going to be a great month :)

Menu... (perhaps today I'll stick to it!)

Puffins w/ strawberries and milk - 2

Ak-Mak w/ Laughing Cow Light - 2
PB&J - 4
Soup - 1
Fat Free potato chips - 1

Asian Pear - 0
Grapes - 1

Wild Rice & Beef Casserole - 8
Asparagus - 0
Bread - 3

Weigh In, Steeplechse and a Good Ride

I've had quite the eventful weekend! Yesterday I had to work at the Queens Cup Steeplechase races which was so fun. Basically I worked the WFAE table (spun a prize wheel and gave out goodies) from 10-12:30 and then after that I was free to enjoy the day! Not only did I get paid for working, but I got 4 tickets to the event and free parking! So I really can't complain. I brought Lily and 2 of her friends that were in from out of town. We packed a picnic of cheeses, tons of fruit, wheat thins, carrots and Lily's homemade raspberry squares (which are heavenly). So even with the 'tailgating' I was able to eat well! But anyway everyone was all dressed up in adorable sun dresses and hats and I honestly felt like I had time warped into 1952 or something. I loved it! Heres a few pictures:

Me and Lily (I need to find a good hat for next year!)

The picture doesnt do the horses justice

Then I hung out at Ar's shop from 3-6 as they were short handed and well I'm good at answering the phone at least so I did that to try to help out. Ha! And then we went out to dinner ... MEXICAN. But I did well there too! I got veggie fajitas which was basically a huge sizzling skillet of peppers, onions and brocolli and then 3 small flour tortillas (I only at 2) and then a side of rice (2 bites), guac and salsa. It was great and I ate lots of the veggies. Yay!

This morning I weighed in as I forgot to yesterday morning (what with the excitement of getting up at 8am for Steeplechase). I was down 0.2 pounds! It doesnt seem like much, but considering that I really blew a few days this week AND didnt workout at all I was pleased! YAY!

That got me in the right mindset to go for a ride today. I went out and did about 16 miles. Though my cat eye broke like 15 minutes into the ride (a part must have fallen off the wheel on a bump) so that was a bummer. But instead of being annoyed and quitting early I forged on. Added to some of the sun I got yesterday (my back looks like a maze with 2 different riding tan lines and yesterdays sundress lines haha) and just got in a really good workout. Heres my route compliments of Gmaps Pedometer.

Now its time to shower and clean because my parents are coming to visit on Friday! I'm so excited!!! Though I'm not quite sure what we're going to do all weekend. The two things that are definite are walking a 5k with my mom on Saturday morning (a few people I know are doing it so I thought that would be fun), and having my dad help us install a ceiling fan in the bedroom. Yippee!

As for today's menu it's really up in the air. So far heres what I've got:

Bfast:
Apple Jacks (so healthy I know ha) - 4

Lunch:
small piece of leftover pizza and leftover veggies from last night - 5
Asian pear - 0

Dinner:
no idea! Maybe barilla plus pasta and meatballs??? We shall see what I cook up.

Weekend Forecast

Looking good for some riding this weekend!

Tiny Setback

Ok -- so a few minor setbacks. Last night I got home from ceramics and randomly made pancakes for Arleigh and myself. I had 4 - but I make them really tiny. So it was probably 2 normal sized ones.

Then I realized that there was a leftover bag of salt and vinegar chips from the surprise party on Sat night... I dove straight into them. Had about 3 handfuls. And as if all of that wasn't bad, after the salty chips I needed something sweet so I had 1.5 oatmeal choc chip cookies.

Sooooo so much for not eating after 9PM yesterday! But that was just one day. I'm getting back on track today.

That is of course after I just ate half an entenmenn's donut! Craaaaaaaap!

I have to weigh in tomorrow as I'll be home on Sat and wont have a scale. So I need to drink TONS of water today and get all my fruits and veggies! AND NOT EAT LATE AT NIGHT! I hopped on the scale this morning and was up a tiny bit -- which I'm sure has to do with my 10pm smorgasboard... so I need to fix the damage today. I had my splurge already with my 1/2 donut. Now its strictly on track the rest of the day!

Also -- its chilly today but I'm hoping to take a walk around the lake at lunch. I wore comfy flip flops so I wont be slowed down like I was yesterday (while I still had flops on they werent as comfy).

Todays menu: (click image to make larger)

(from SparkPeople)

And for clarification - I'm having a hamburger for dinner (but listed everything separately), and one of my snacks is strawberries and bananas with cool whip. YUM!)

Going Strong!

So far April has been treating me well! Or maybe I have been treating April well? Either way I stayed pretty much within my menu for yesterday. As for my April goals, I think 8:30 might be a bit early for my eating cut off. I generally go to bed around 10:30-11ish but dont finish dinner until 8 most nights. So I think I might up that to 9pm. We'll see. I've been drinking TONS of water and being creative with getting in my fruits and veggies! Well not all that creative with the fruits, but certainly with the veggies :)

I realized that I wont be able to get in a workout tonight, and I've been really bad about working out lately. So I just took a walk around the lake for my lunch break. Its 76 degrees and sunny. It was perfect! A quick 17 minute mile walk and now I'm refreshed and eating lunch. Its not a lot, but at least its something.

Hopefully I can keep this momentum up through the weekend when I'll be home and around all sorts of food!

I dont feel like uploading my spark people info today -- so heres my basic menu for today. (Its very similar to yesterdays).

Bfast:
Puffins w/ strawberries and milk
1/8 cup honey roasted peanuts

Lunch:
3/4 cup vegetarian chili
egg salad sammy (w/ mostly egg whites and light mayo) on double fiber bread
cucumbers and fat free balsamic dressing

Snacks:
apple
orange
100 calorie pack hostess cupcakes
fiber one bar

Dinner:
Leftover veggie pizza from last night

I have ceramics from 6:30-9:30ish, so I need to be sure to get enough food before class so that I dont come home and eat after 9pm! This will be really hard. So if I am super hungry when I get home maybe I'll have some fruit or something.