Day 19 - Life!

Short Version
1. So life gets in the way of your plans.
2. You have to kick it in the rear and keep going.
3. We had a great weekend.

Girl Scout Camp selfie. 

M & I went to Girl Scout leader daughter weekend and we had a blast.  First I have to admit that we stayed in a cabin with AC because Mama is not sleeping in a tent in GA in August. Only way that will happen is if Zombies have eaten y'all and I am the only one left. Then I will sleep in a tent in August if needed.

I say life gets in the way because I also have to admit (thank you for the reminder "Gal Pal") that I ate a doughnut on Saturday. Our stove is out and I just could not think and we got doughnuts for breakfast. Oh well.... Revolution Doughnuts makes Gluten Free and Vegan doughnuts. But let's face it they are still doughnuts, so that will be a very occasional treat.

Also I was eating camp food. I am pretty sure it was not vegan. I am pretty sure there was butter in the mashed potatoes and green beans. I had more store bought veggie burgers than I would have liked. But just because I am working on being healthy does not mean every situation will be perfect or easy. But I can say I passed on the peach cobbler and the S'mores so there is something to be said for small victories.

I did not want to go to Roller Derby today, but I did. And I am SO GLAD I did. I totally rocked it! Tara and I were the "couple of you have got this" so here, do something harder. And we did! It was nice to have a practice buddy. We were also partners trying whips and pushes. She was a great partner! Quad said she was going to "go easy" on us, I really want to see what she sees as a full on practice.

Hope you had a great weekend and are getting ready for the week ahead. I am in a bit of a "when it rains it pours" situation and will be pretty busy. But honestly busy makes me happy and keeps my hands out of the cookie jar.

Make good choices!!! The only one stopping you is you!

Day 12

Short Version
1. It was crazy hot in that warehouse today, but I made it through another practice.
2. I made this amazing Thai rice for dinner. It was delicious.
3. I am getting stronger every day.

Sweaty & Awesome!

It was 90 degrees today and I spent two hours skating in full gear in an un-air conditioned warehouse. I was completely soaked through all my clothes yet again. But I have a new trick that made me feel better after practice. I froze a coconut water and left it in the car to thaw. It was the perfect slushy-ness to drink and cool off and re-hydrate after practice. I highly recommend it for fluid replacement. It does have 70 calories so I will save it for days like this when I really need to replace fluids, but it was good. I also drank two big bottles of water.

For dinner I made a recipe I found here on the "inter-webs", good old Pinterest to be exact. Here is the link: http://blog.hostthetoast.com/thai-cashew-coconut-rice-ginger-peanut-sauce/


I did not use green pepper because hubby is allergic. For the peanut sauce I sadly did not have any fresh ginger, I think it would have been great. But I did add more vinegar and added some soy sauce and more lime juice because I thought the sauce was too think. Hubby also does not like peanut sauce so I left it off of his. I just used a bag of broccoli slaw instead of shredding my own carrots and cabbage. But it was crunchy and tasty. There is plenty left over for me to eat for lunch a couple of days.

Back when I first started Rec League I could barely walk after each practice. Now I barely have any trouble recovering. Which I think means I need to make myself work a little harder. Today I was trying stuff I have been too weak or too scared to do before and I fell about 8 times. One fall a fellow Recker said "that was a great wipe out"! But on another fall I tweaked my left toes and right ankle so I am going to rest them a little tonight. Derby is the kind of sport that you don't give up unless you are like "for REAL" hurt.

My goal for tomorrow is to walk to Jazzercise, well as long as it is not raining I will walk. About two miles each way, with a one hour class. And I found a babysitter for Tuesday so I have to go to endurance practice Tuesday night.

Do something hard tomorrow!!!

Day 10

Short Version (all positive since Michael nominated me for the say 3 positive things on FB thing)

1. I enjoyed another yoga class today.
2. I am starting to feel different. I have changed my ways enough that my bra straps are no longer leaving marks around my sides.  
3. Tomorrow I am planning to do back to back Jazzercise classes. 

One of the reasons I have all this time to exercise and plan food is because I have backed way off of work. I am still working some here and there but I have said no to many potential jobs. In some ways this is hard to do, because not working means not getting paid. In other ways this is much much more rewarding. I have changed my ways enough that my bra straps are no longer leaving marks around my sides. Other of my clothes are starting to feel comfortable rather than strained and about to pop. I tried on some of my "too small" clothes just to gauge how things are going and I was able to get them on, and button and zip them. But they are are not yet wearable. But they will be soon and then they will be too big! And this time they will stay too big. 

There are some foods I sort of miss. I thought about writing a list of them. But the bottom line is I do not miss them enough to go back. I do not miss them enough to trade in this new found energy. And I do not miss them enough to risk looking and feeling older than I am. 

At yoga today there were a few things I could not do. I could not do them because there was too much meat in the way and I was just too heavy to hold myself up. But I can feel myself getting stronger. I am on the cusp of being able to make progress on these moves. I can start to imagine all the things that will be easier once I get all this extra fluff off and even more muscle on. I will be lighter, faster and stronger. I will be able to do crazy hand stands and other holding myself up by my arms poses. I just will! And I will be a fast skater. I will not be the last one to finish. And I will get promoted from the G team to the PG team. It is all going to happen. I just need to keep working hard and not letting any of these things out of my sight. 

Right now with all this time, it is easy. Right now I don't have tons of work and stress. But if I make all this stuff a habit now, while everything else is easy, it will just be a part of every day. 

See you at Jazzercise tomorrow? I'm doing the 7:15 class AND the 8:20. 

Day 9 - I totally killed it today!

Short Version (all positive since Michael nominated me for the say 3 positive things on FB thing)

1. The weather was again amazing, all this sunshine makes me happy. 
2. Got tons of stuff done today! And there is still more day to go! 
3. Got to go to the pool after school with my daughter and our buddies.  

The kid takes the most flattering pictures of me. 

I can't believe how much I got done today before school got out, so here is the list:

• planned our meals for the next week, sent a bunch of emails and worked on Girl Scout stuff
• went to a Jazzercise class
• got my hair done
• went shopping at 3 different stores and got the groceries for this week's meals (I know it's weird that I start my grocery week on Thursday but I like to make big stuff on the weekend and would rather it be fresh)
• packed all our pool stuff and snacks 

All of this by 2:15, which is when another mom and I walk up to the school to get our girls. 

So it is August and school is in. The upside is I have time during the day now. The down side is that it is crazy hot! And most of the after school activities don't start for a couple of weeks so there is some afternoon time to fill. One of our friends has a pool at her condo so we hit the pool this afternoon. It was super fun. It is pretty decadent to spend the afternoon swimming. And yes I am bravely posting a picture of myself in a swim suit. I am not sure if it is her height or the angle she holds the camera but I never hate the pictures my sweet girl takes of me. One goal for next summer is to be in good enough shape to confidently wear a swimsuit that does not have a skirt! And I keep reminding myself that everything I do today will impact what type of swimwear I will want to wear next summer. Another goal I have is to feel good wearing shorts! I can tell you from experience an Atlanta summer is a miserable thing. Especially if you do not wear shorts. I wear dresses and capris, but next summer I am going to wear shorts!

I still have dinner to cook, and someone is coming by to bring me some work. So I have miles left to go. But for the first time in a long time I feel up to it. I feel like I want to keep going. For far to long I have been feeling like all I want to do is lie down or watch TV. Now I'm not saying I will never watch TV again, but I will get a lot more done before I do. 

Tomorrow is Friday! Hope you get to do something fun, I know I will. 

Day 8 - Week 1 Weigh in

Short Version (all positive since Michael nominated me for the say 3 positive things on FB thing)

1. The weather was amazing today! I had lunch outside with a friend. 
2. I lost some weight and feel good about my ability to do this!
3. I Made it through another Tough Love Yoga class. 

Don't you wear a sundress and a big hat to pick up your kid from school? 

Today was SO much better than yesterday. The sun was shining, the kid was at school and I had some fun. I also discovered that my week one weigh in has me down 4.2 pounds! Which is very very encouraging.

I made it through another 75 minute yoga class this morning. Then I went to Souper Jenny with a gal pal. That place is straight up delicious and has lots of vegan choices. I had a cold vegetable soup and fruit salad, yum! And we sat at a table outside in the shade it was truly lovely.

I am still working on the organizing and planning of meals. One difficult thing is that the peeps in my hose are serious carnivores and lovers of junk food. But I will sneak in some good stuff on them. From a friend's suggestion I am trying plantoeat.com. I spent about an hour today finding recipes and plugging them into the program, seems pretty cool so far.

Yoga was great today. Was crazy hard, but great. My mood is so much lighter when I get in some morning exercise. I am planning to hit the 8:20 Jazzercise class tomorrow.

Hope you have a productive Thursday planned, I know I do!

Day 6 - Planning is going to be the key.

Short Version (all positive since Michael nominated me for the say 3 positive things on FB thing)

1. Jazzercise was super fun today!
2. My sweet daughter gave me lots and lots of snuggles and kisses today. 
3. I am positive that my new stove will be delivered one day. 

Grapey and I are just chillin here at the Weeks household.

I learned an important lesson today. I am the glue that holds my household together. And if I fall apart, we all fall apart. I sent M to school today with a less than stellar lunch. I let her influence my decision making and I did not give her enough food and for sure not enough protein. After school today she threw herself on her bed and cried. Since she said she was fine and nothing bad happened at school, I realized it was low blood sugar. I gave her a smoothie, some hummus and crackers then suddenly she was back to her silly self like magic.

I feel her pain. I sometimes want to throw myself on my bed and cry, especially when I have spent the day hungry. Not only did I not plan M's lunch, I didn't really plan my lunch or our dinner. For lunch I had some pistachios, and fortunately I had made some hummus and cut up some veggies for emergencies so I had that too. We also had our default emergency dinner which is beans and rice. Which I supplemented with some sautéed kale. Well at least we did not end up with fast food.

I have been in a bit of a holding pattern because I am waiting on the new stove to be delivered and installed. So once that is resolved I will get my act back together.

Jazzercise this morning was super fun. It was also jam packed. My trick is to go up front. There is always more space up front and then all the people behind me can see how awesome I am. I hate to admit that I also like being in the front because there are lots of people who go to Jazzercise who have NO rhythm, they totally distract me from getting my grove on.

Since you read this all the way to the end you get a treat of the silly picture M took of me.

Hope your Monday was not too Monday-ish. Tomorrow may be challenging. so wish me luck!
- C

Day 4 - Sweat!

Short Version

By 9:30 am this morning I had finished 2 jazzercise classes

I am really really sweaty and want to take a shower but I am writing this now to get it off my list for the day.  

Tomorrow I am going to see some friends! 

Day 4 - Has been sweaty so far. I did a strength class at 7:15 and then a regular jazzercise class at 8:20. 

I have to admit I feel really good. Not only am I proud of myself for actually doing this, but I feel really good. I have more energy. My thinking is clearer. It seems so crazy. I knew I had fallen into feeling crappy, I just did not realize how easy it was going to be to stop feeling that way.  All I had to do was get up off my butt and quit eating terrible junk. 

I am not sure what is different this time, but I feel good and ready and able to do all of this. It is more work but it feels good to get it done. Life is not a burden it is a gift and I am happy to have it, so no more wasting it! 

I am off to take a shower!! 

Make good choices today! 

Chrissy