My blog has officially and completely moved.

Happiness Awaits

Hope you come with me!

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I can’t ask for more than that…except for maybe it to be 5 o’clock already.  But a girl can’t have everything now can she?  Last night, Justin and I took full advantage of the sunshine.  It rained on the drive home and then miraculously the sun came out around 6:30.  We headed to the golf course to hit balls. 

SUN!!! FINALLY!!

When we got there, they told us that the driving range was closed.  I don’t think either of us wanted to abandon the chance to enjoy the weather, so we decided to spend the money to play a round of nine holes.  Justin was a bit embarrassed because he only had jeans, not khakis to hit the links.  But they let us play anyway.

It was a semi-lake out on the course

I played pretty well.  And the course was gorgeous and empty (except for some geese and deer)

We only got 5 holes in and the last hole I was definitely beginning to fall apart.  But we got to witness a gorgeous sunset out there.

All in all a great night.

I should admit that I had a bad day yesterday self esteem-wise.  I just felt down on myself.  I felt that I looked huge and I was worried that all my hard work in the gym is being offset by my eating habits.  What if I am sabotaging all my hard work with my eating habits?  I think I’m eating well but what if I’m eating too much?  I just don’t trust myself.  What if I don’t have the intuition that I think I do.  I just want my body to find the weight it is happy at with the level of activity I do and the food I eat.  I want to be fit, muscular and tone.  I don’t want any flab or looseness on me.  And I get frustrated and angry when I see any.  I even feel like my face has gotten chubby.  How is this possible? 

I am just down on myself and frustrated and worried that my process of eating healthy and only when I’m hungry along with being as active as possible just isn’t working…that I’m doing something wrong.

Today–I am going to go for a run outside over lunch.  It better still be sunny!  I did my lifting yesterday and BOY AM I SORE!  Especially my lower back and my traps/shoulders.  My abs have a little ache in them too.  This workout wasn’t as difficult as some of the others but I still am very sore.

Oh and yesterday’s breakfast:  I don’t know…it kept me full for 4+ hours yesterday morning, so the same as my oats.  But I just never felt satisfied all day yesterday.  I don’t know if it was just my body was off or what.  I think it was because I didn’t get my obligatory oats in the morning.  Which meant I knew I had to have oats today!

No idea what our plans are tonight but tomorrow night we are going camping with a group of friends to celebrate a good friend’s 30th birthday.  Should be fun as long as it stays dry!

Smile, it’s friday.

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

Thank goodness it is Thursday.  Once Thursday hits, I know I can make it until the weekend.  Now if only it would stop raining!  I honestly did not know it could rain this many days straight.  It is exhausting!  But luckily it was sunny for a few hours in the middle of the day yesterday, and I took advantage of that time and went for a run outside.  I ran around near my office building in the house community around here.  I felt like it was uphill the entire way…how is that even possible?

I got lost once, you can see that in the big drop in pace.  I ran for 41 minutes (except for the minute I was lost), and then ran 1 minute/walked 1 minute for the next 10 minutes.

Time: 50:26 at a 9:43 pace.  Total of 5.18 miles.  I was happy with this.  I am slowly getting faster and faster I think.  And I simply love being able to run outside.  I need to take advantage of it while I can do it over lunch.  Pretty soon it’ll be WAY TOO HOT to run around here at noon time.

Today I am going to hit the gym and do the Lean Machine strength training session.  I am still a bit sore from my Tuesday session, which I always think is a fabulous sign that it was a good workout.

Seeing it was Wednesday, and Justin and I have started a new trend of walking down to Brambleton and having a hump day bottle of beer for $1 at the local bar, we headed out for our walk after work last night.  Who cares that it was raining? (And was a DOWNPOUR for the walk home.  Justin was smart enough to grab an umbrella.)

It is about a 3 mile walk roundtrip and we enjoyed our 1 Coors Light bottle each.  Don’t you love my heinous hat?!  Had to wear my only piece of Capitals attire out seeing they were playing game 3 in the playoffs series against the Penguins.

Apparently I am all about switching up the breakfast this week.  This morning I completely skipped the oats!!! I know, I’m a bit worried too.  What if I’m starving in 30 minutes?!?!  Anyway….I went for what I felt was a very well rounded combination.  Some fruit: strawberries, a grain: multigrain bread, a protein: Fage, a nut: PB & Company’s Crunch time.

I added some agave to my fage along with 1T of flax seed.  I actually ended up only eating half of my piece of toast and gave the rest to the hubbie.  I felt very full and satisfied after this meal.  Now it is just how long it keeps me fueled.

Tonight is golf night, as long as the weather holds up to just a mild drizzle.

Enjoy!

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I wish Crystal over at American Express in India could read my blog today so I could tell her how much I love her.  I have to say, I love AMEX.  Their customer service rocks my socks off….it really is unfortunate all companies don’t function like they do.

So here is the recap.  Yesterday afternoon I got an email from United Airlines saying that my direct flight from Washington DC to Cancun had been canceled.  This flight left at 10AM and arrived in Cancun around Noon.  Instead they had kindly rebooked us on a flight that left Dulles at 6AM, so we would now have to be at the airport at 5AM, which means like a 3:30-4AM wake up.UGH!  And additionally, they decided that we needed to spend many hours in the Chicago airport before we were allowed to enjoy the warm sun and cocktail found in Mexico.  The flight back they had rebooked us on was only worse.  It left in the morning (our previous flight was in the afternoon) and it didn’t get into DC until AFTER MIDNIGHT! 

This just wasn’t going to fly.

I called American Express this morning and explained that this just wasn’t going to work.  It took about 1.5 hours, but lovely Crystal managed to get us back 100% of our airfare, 100% of our hotel and to top things off, she even got back the $55 we had pre-paid for airport/hotel transfer.  I didn’t even ask for the transfer fee back.  She was like a magician. I wish I had power like that when it comes to airlines.  They laugh at me when I ask for an extra bag of peanuts, much less a full refund!

So I just rebooked our vacation.  Screw you United Airlines, my butt will be on American Airlines.  And screw you Mexico and Swine Flu, my bikini clad body will be soaking up rays in Negril, Jamaica.  Woot-woot!

And it isn’t like we are settling.

And I have to admit I was VERY excited to see this:

It is OBVIOUS Justin is MUCH more excited about going to this resort than the one in Mexico.  We’ve been to Mexico quite a few times.  Time to change things up and this place does seem quite nice and all the reviews on Trip Advisor were excellent.

Okay back to reality.  That trip isn’t happening for another 3 weeks.  I am still just amazed that AMEX let me cancel and reschedule this close to the trip without any penalties.

Yesterday was one of my crap-free days of the week.  I had packed a bag of 100 calorie popcorn, but seeing that is definitely chocked full of chemicals, I went down and got a snack from the cafe here.

I ate about a 3rd of that bad boy.  Pretty good and so sweet that I wouldn’t want any more than what I had.  Hit the spot.  Then I met Missy for dinner around 8PM last night.  We were going to the World of Wings (WOW!) but we got there and it was closed, so we settled for Ruby Tuesday’s instead.  We both got the chicken chili soup and the salad bar.  I opted for a 100% natural lemonade with pomegranate juice.  a.) This tasted fabulous and felt like such a treat.  I maybe had 3/4 of the glass. b.) I NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER would have ordered a drink with calories in the past.  Only liquid alcohol calories were allowed.  But this was tasty and I didn’t even finish the 1 I had.  If you think about it, I assume it had less calories in it than the potential 2 glasses of wine I could have had.  Anyway, it felt like a splurge and it was something I did enjoy.

I had a GREAT time with Missy.  I absolutely love our conversations.  It is crazy how similar we are in both our life experiences and just our morals/expectations of others/life.  We can just sit and talk for hours and hours.  I think we are going to start adding a pre-dinner run on Tuesday nights.  That way we can run, chat and then eat.  Some of our favorite things all mixed together!

So on blogs lately I have seen a ton of green monster smoothies and I REALLY want to make one.  But I don’t have any spinach (no idea how I forgot to buy some this week!) or kale.  So I can’t make one until next week. (I do all my grocery shopping in one trip and unless it is an emergency, I don’t go back to the grocery store.)  But I figured I would try have some veggies with my breakfast. 

I came up with this concoction because I know carrots and zucchini taste good in sweet breakfast breads, so why not try baking some oats with them.  Warning: This recipe definitely needs to be improved upon!

1/2 cup of oats, 1/4 cup of egg beaters, 3/4 cup of water, pinch of salt, 6 baby carrots, shredded, 1/3 zucchini, shredded, 1 packet of Truvia.

I mixed all that up and but it into a Pyrex dish and baked at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes.  I was very warm when it came out but wasn’t quite the texture that I wanted.  I wanted it less wet and more crunchy.  So I assume I need less water and maybe a higher temperature.

Here is a close up

It was…okay.  Very sweet.  I added some almond milk, cinnamon and a bit of granola to it.  It still wasn’t quite right.  Not sure what else I could do to this to make it better.  Ideas?

Okay, well time to focus.  I am going to go run over lunch and I REALLY want to run outside because it is sunny, so I may head to the gym, change and head outside for my run.  I wish I knew all the neighborhoods around here better so I could get a better run out of it.  Mapmyrun.com, here I come!  Then I will head back to the gym and rinse.

Have a fabulous hump day!

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I say that like I’m going to celebrate or something.  I’ve gotten too old to go celebrate mid-week pseudo-holidays.  I do have dinner plans tonight with Missy, so that sort of counts like I’m going out!   I may or may not drink.  I am leaning towards not drink.  I have really been trying to only drink on weekends but I do enjoy having a cocktail with my girlfriends when I see them, which isn’t as often as I would like.  Ahhh, decisions.

I don’t think I have a single picture to add to this post today.  My camera stayed firmly placed in my bag all day yesterday.  Don’t know what I was thinking.  I guess my day was just pretty boring.  Which it was.  I worked, went to the gym, worked, went home, made dinner, fought some ants, watched the Caps game, went to bed and read for a bit.  And that was it.

My workout yesterday was a 50 minute run. I am slightly annoyed.  Apparently Nike+ won’t upload 2 different runs in the same day.

My workout was a 10 minute run, then I did intervals for 35 minutes.  These consisted of 3 minute run, 1 minute sprint, 1 minute walk: repeat 7 times.  Here is the first part of my run.  45 minutes, 4.54 miles at an average of 9:54.  I told my IPOD to stop and started it over for my 5 minute cool down walk, so that it wouldn’t kill my per mile average pace.  But for some reason I can’t upload the information.  Anyway, I walked for 5 minutes at 13:56 pace and covered 0.36 miles.

Total: 50 minutes, 4.9 miles

Today I am going to do some strength training.  I have started a new set of workouts from Women’s Health.  Today will be “No-Gear Here“.  I am hoping that it will leave me as sore and spent as the last few strength sessions I have been doing from this magazine.

Here is where we are standing with the 10 Week Challenge.  We are starting week 6 this week, so we are already half way there!!

Half way point, the standings are:

Brooke: Lose weight every week except 1!
Justin: Done abs at least 3 times every week
Holly:Averaged strength training 3 times a week and abs 2 a week
Running Duff: No update since after 1st week
Sweet & Fit: You have a lot going on, want to change your goal for the next 5 weeks?

And I have changed my goal because as you all know, I am not weighing myself.  I figured I would aim to eat crap-free for at least 4 days a week.

Here is what I am avoiding with my crap-free days:

White bread, artificial sweetener, alcohol, no soda, deli meat, processed foods, avoid refined carbs, no mindless snacking, avoid high fructose corn syrup

And if you want to join us for the last 5 weeks, let me know!

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

Here is a little recap of the weekend.  Atlantic City treated us well, but not our bank accounts.  Not a single one of us won money!  We only lost.  I lost my money on roulette.

Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Kim, Justin and Chris picking our horses for the Derby (we definitely didn’t pick Mine That Bird!)

The ladies looking lovely!

For some reason the boys thought this would be a good idea for us girls to have a shot.  Good thing we were smart enough to go for a girlie shooter.

And getting ready to leave on Sunday morning

All in all, we had a great time.  Too bad the weather wasn’t a little better.  It poured down rain the entire time..ugh!  But we had a fabulous time and just sitting in the car together, the group of us can make ourselves laugh so hard you think you may pee.  

On to normal life.  I have been thinking lately that I really need to clean up my eating.  Get some of the crap out of my diet.  I need less chemicals and artificial crap.  I need to be eating things that are all natural and closer to its original form/source.  So I mixed up my grocery shopping a bit yesterday (and unfortunately it did cost a bit more) but I did find some good all natural, at times organic finds.

Agave.  I see this on so many other blogs, I figured I would take the jump and spend the $$ and buy it.  I added a little drizzle to my oats this morning and it was the perfect amount of sweetness. 

Jammy Sammy’s

No HFCS@!

and the perfect size for a snack

I’ll let you guys know how this thing taste:  I have high hopes.

I also got some yummy,yummy bread:

I love the size of the seeds on top and that you can actually see whole chunks of carrots.

And have any of you tried the Truvia stuff?  I used to have Purevia.  This is the first time I’ve bought Truvia.

It was on sale.  So what are your thoughts on this stuff?  (Obviously in moderation!)

And I finally am weaning myself off the artificial sweetened yogurts.  I have loved my Dannon Light and Fits, but they really do have a lot of chemicals in them.  So I sucked it up, bought the higher calorie yogurts and told myself it is actually better for my body to be putting all natural things in it than lower calorie chemicals.  Hopefully this doesn’t backfire!

A Stonyfield Farms yogurt with a cut up apple.

I just about killed my Ipod on Saturday morning.  I woke up at 7AM so that I could go run before we hit the road to Atlantic City.  I have to admit to being a bit hungover from the 2 beers and wine the neighbors kept pouring into my glass on Friday night.  But I coaxed myself out of bed, laced up the shoes and hit the wet pavement.  The run felt awesome.  55 degrees and a light mist but still sunny.  I ran for 35 minutes and then did 9 minutes of 2 minute runs/1 minute walks and then a 1 minute walk to equal 45 minutes.  I was going at a pretty good pace through all of it, but when I got back home and went to hit “End Workout” on my ipod, it some how left the Nike+ screen without saving any of my stats.  I assume I ran a bit over 4.5 miles…no clue my time.

Here is my run from Friday afternoon:

4.44 miles in 45 minutes.  A SLOW 10:08 pace (why am I so SLOW lately?!).  I think I’m slowing down because I am adding mileage and going further.  So it is either stay at the same mileage and get faster or add mileage, go further, and probably get slower.  Just frustrates me because I always want to be under 10 minute miles.

Total mileage last week: (M-Su) was 21.59 miles.  At least I broke the 20+ miles per week.  I want to get above 25 miles a week but alas you can’t just suddenly increase.  I am smart enough now to know to slowly build myself up.

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I hope it is sunny where you are because the weather is just AWFUL around here.

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I have to admit, I am very sad that I’m not heading to Louisville. I have been heading to the grand state of Kentucky on the first Friday of the Month of May for 3 of the last 5 years.  When I was watching the Today show this morning and they were talking about the Derby, I did get a bit sad that I wasn’t going.  And I got chills watching recaps of last year’s race.

Good thing we are heading to Atlantic City tomorrow where we can still gamble on horses!  We are packing up the MB tomorrow morning, picking up Chris and Kim in Sterling and heading to the wonderful state of New Jersey.  The four of us get way too out of control. 

Here are a few recaps of previous debaucheries:

Bar golf last March:

Wine Fest

Especially when there is alcohol involved.  So I go ahead and warn you that our photos and stories may be a little bit crazy….or maybe we have matured by now.  Who knows?

Last night we did get to go to the driving range.  The weather was definitely threatening and windy, but I had a blast anyway.  I hit MUCH better than I expected to seeing I haven’t hit a golf ball in 3 years and in that time frame I have gotten a full reconstructed $50,000 knee that is full of screws.  I wasn’t sure if I would be comfortable with all the twisting.  My knee felt fine and I hit the ball perfectly straight.  I still need to get re-accustom to my swing, but otherwise…I’m ready to hit the holes!

Justin concentrating

and my lovely self photo…What can I say, it was very windy, so sorry for the crazy, unkept hair!

(look at that stud in the background! )

And speaking of Justin…I had to steal a quick photo of me allowing him to drive my car.

Seeing he definitely help bankroll this purchase, I’m sure he will scoff at me allowing him to drive.

All in all, yesterday was a wonderful day.  Work sucked, but well, when does work not suck?  I have a customer that hates me and attempts to force me into the looney bin on a daily basis.  But I left around 5:40 and still was able to get to the driving range.  Seems pretty good to me!

Yesterday over lunch I hit the gym and did this total body workout from Women’s Health.  This is the one I have been doing for the last 3 weeks that has left me quite sore (not the ab one though..that one can be found here).  Anyway, I have gotten stronger and I can DEFINITELY notice a difference in the definition of my arms.  Sexy!  Anyway, the hardest workout on this are the Plank with Front Raise and the Sumo Squat and Crunch.  I am dripping sweat after those!  Today I am sore in my upper body and in my thighs/butt.  And it is one of those sorenesses that I love.  I just can tell I’m toning up!

Today I am going to run on the treadmill over lunch and then tomorrow morning I am planning on waking up early enough to go out and do a run.  I think it is supposed to be raining, so hopefully it’ll only be a drizzle and fairly warm so that I can still get the workout in before we leave for a few hours of eating and drink.  I know I’ll be glad I worked out!

Have a great Friday!!!

And in honor of heading to New Jersey in the morning, I figured I’d live you with a little NJ happiness:

Bruce Springsteen

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I think it is working.  I am beginning to notice that I am happier, more aware and slowly, quite possibly, obtaining a level of balance.  We all know this could slip away in a moment but as of right now, I am thinking I am making progress towards my goal.

I had a moment of insight and clarity yesterday evening.  So rare and random.  I was starving and wanting to eat yet feeling guilty about coming home and snacking.  I knew it was because I probably hadn’t eaten enough during the day at work and then it dawned on me, this wasn’t something I should be mad at myself over.  I hadn’t fed myself enough during the day, that was it.  I shouldn’t be angry about that…or the fact I was hungry.  It is what it is.  It means I need to eat more during the day the following day and for today, I needed to get the hunger taken care of. This is an event that shouldn’t cause frustration, it is human nature and something I can’t control.  So much better and easier to simply accept it.

This may seem mundane and simple and obvious to many of you, but for me it was a major step.  Eat the unplanned snack, enjoy it, move on…no big deal.

When Justin got home, we decided to go for a walk.  It was drizzling outside but I think neither of us just wanted to sit around the house and watch tv or something.  So we walked the path that I usually go run on which circles through a little shopping center.  There and back is a 3 mile loop. We ended up stopping and having a beer at Nick’s.  Apparently Wednesday night from 7-9 is happy hour, which means $1 bottles of domestic beer. SCORE!

Last night was low key, we walked back home after our 1 beer in the pouring rain.  Despite the rain and the fact the heels of my shoes were killing me, I had a great time.  I think we may have found our new Wednesday night tradition!  Tonight is still Golfing Thursday.  Hopefully the weather will clear up enough so that we can still go!

I’ve been slow this week.  I’ve been slow ever since my 5K.  I don’t know if it is because I was sick earlier this week or what.  Yesterday I did a 45 minute treadmill session.  I warmed up for 2 minutes, then aimed to run for 35 minutes…but I had to walk for about a minute in the middle there because I got an awful side crap.  Then I did 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking.  I did that twice and finally I walked 2 minutes to cool down.  Average pace: 10:13 per mile. 4.4 miles run in 45 minutes. 

Total for this week (since Monday):12.65 miles, Average pace: 10:30 mile.

(I am aiming to start running between 15-20 miles a week.  This week I may be 20+, which would be great.  If I could get that up over 25 miles a week eventually, I would be very excited.  I would feel like I had gotten back to my pre-knee disaster running love and shape.)

Today I am doing my total body workout.  I think my body is begging for some time off from running.  I’ve run every day since Monday, which is something I used to always do but this is something my body isn’t used to since blowing the knee out.  But the total body workout today is the one that leaves me sore for days and days.  Lets see if I am still as sore for as long or if I am finally getting more accustom to it!

Time to settle into the day and hope that time FLIES by!

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I went to bed around 10:30 last night but woke up around 11:30 like I had just laid down for a nap and I was ready to get back up.  Bizarre.  I finally got myself back to sleep but I am paying for the interruption this morning.  I feel like I didn’t get quite enough sleep last night.  I think part of it is because when Justin is on travel, the slightest noise wakes me up.  I definitely have a vivid imagination and it gets running when I am laying in bed in a big empty house. 

I think I have finally kicked this virus.  My head is feeling pretty much fine…I still feel a bit flighty, but well, maybe that is just my reality. I definitely don’t think I have a fever anymore.

Last night I did take advantage of having the house to myself and I went outside and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.  It was a bit too windy, but I survived.

I laid on our little love seat out there and read my new book, Monica Seles’s Getting a Grip.  Apparently she has had on-going struggles with food issues and body image.  It just amazes me because she is someone I have always been amazed by…someone who by the age of 16 was a tennis phenom and was soon there after ranked #1 in the world.  She works out hours and hours  a day..and then gets stabbed in the back at the height of her career.  It goes into detail on her own journey addressing working out, dieting, self image and how she has found internal peace and balance.

So far the book has been quite good and is a great, easy, relatable read.

I didn’t feel like cooking a thing last night, so I pulled out a frozen homemade crab cake and toasted up an Ezekiel Bun.  Added some light mayo, horseradish, lettuce and red pepper slices and we had dinner.

So good.

And a massive salad on the side.  Spinach, arugula, edamame, cucumber, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and some avocado.  All topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and some balsamic vinegar.

A nice plesant evening that ended with me catching up on my Gossip Girl…are Chuck and Blair getting back together???? And then 1.5 episodes of Heroes.  Oh Heroes is my dirty little obsession.  And is it wrong that I think the villain is the hot one?  I think it is that I’m more intrigued by all the personality shifts.  Ahhh, Zachary Quinto.

But he is playing Spock on the new Star Trek which definitely kind-of kills his appeal.

Okay, I’ve digressed enough.

Yesterday I hit the gym over lunch and got on the treadmill.  My knee has been hurting me lately…ever since the 5K. I am not liking this.  It only aches at night and a bit when I run.  I tried to listen to my knee and take it a little slow today.  I did 35 minutes running (I actually walked once or twice in there when my knee started screaming at me) and then did 6 minutes of a 1 minute walk/1 minute run combo.

4.13 miles in 40:55.  Mile average: 9:54 per mile.  Not too shabby…glad I listened to my knee.  Hopefully it’ll feel better today!

The weather is awful here today. I am hoping that it will at least wash away some of the pollen.  It made the solo commute in semi-miserable.  It always seems to rain when I’m not HOV.  At least I have my sweet new ride to keep me comfortable.  When I saw how crappy the weather was, I knew I wanted a nice warm bowl of oats to wake me up.  I have to say, I think this combination may be my all time favorite.  It is just so comforting and so simple. Nothing too fancy, nothing too sweet….just simple, standard ingredients that really hit the spot.

1/2 cup of oats, 1/4 cup of egg beaters and 3/4 cup of water.  Cooked at 80% for 3 minutes.  Then I mixed in about 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1T of flax seed and 1/2 a Nature’s Valley Oats and Honey granola bar.

Simple and divine.

Have a great day!  Can you believe it is almost May?!$%!  Today si going to be another treadmill day at the gym…and Justin comes home tonight!

(This entry crossposted between Sweets&Sweats and Happiness Awaits)

I think I am sick.  No, I don’t have swine flu, despite everyone in my life being adamant that I do.   Got to love the media on this one.  Anyway, the migraine is still around.  It was worse yesterday..today it has just become a dull throb.  When I was at work yesterday, I went and got a Coke Zero hoping it would help.  I took about 2 sips and felt VERY nauseous….I figured it was time to head home from work and work via my couch.  I took my temperature when I got home and I was running a low grade (99.5-99.9) fever all day.  I didn’t take it this morning before I left.  The headache is still there but much better and I think my appetite is back (too bad!).  I think I am going to try and take it fairly easy again today and hopefully will completely kick what ever it is that has invaded my body.

Justin is on travel and I really don’t want him to be!  I am already lonely and he left this morning! I think it is because I already am dreading the drive home and spending the evening in an empty house.  As much personality as our cat has, she isn’t as good of company as a real person.  There are definitely times when our house is just too big to only have one person in it. 

Yesterday afternoon I was getting really antsy to get outside and move around. I had switched what was suppose to be a cardio Sunday for my Tuesday lifting plan.  Already changing up one day was difficult for me and then yesterday…I didn’t think I could do anything and that really was upsetting me and making me feel guilty.  So I told myself that I could go for a walk and see how my head felt.  I took a big bottle of water with ice along with me…and I made sure to wear a hat to keep the sun off my head.  I didn’t feel any worse while I was walking, so I decided to jog some.  I ended up doing a walk/jog switch.  I basically would jog until I started feeling a bit nauseous and then I would walk.  I think it helped…I did feel better yesterday afternoon.  And more than anything, it did help TONS mentally.

Not too bad—I did 4.11 miles at an overall pace of 11:24 per mile.  Took 47 minutes. 

And we have continued our battle against the ants.  On Sunday we went and bought a whole arsenal of supplies to combat the ants.  We sprayed the inside of the house, the perimeter of the house, and put down these granules outside of the house that are supposed to help.

Because of this offensive, the ants launched a very respectable defensive attack.  They went for my pantry!!!  The horrors!  So, so, so gross!  We cleaned out the pantry, threw out just about everything that was open and attempted to kill all those little buggers.  Now they have found that there new favorite place which is a line from our kitchen sink, across our countertop and back into the wall.  We keep attacking back but they continue to come with numbers.  I hate spraying my kitchen with Raid and all this other stuff, especially knowing my cat gets up there and then licks her paws.  (Too bad I couldn’t just find a way to keep my cat off the countertops!!!) 

If they don’t get better soon, then we are going to have to cave and call an exterminator.

And here is an update on the 10 Week Challenge:

Hey-I almost think it is an impressive goal for myself that I haven’t been on the scale in weeks.  I have had moments where I am tempted.  And well, I just really want to know how much I weigh seeing bathing suit season is staring me down…but I won’t let myself.  I know that if I get on the scale and I don’t like the number then it will upset me SO greatly and I am not ready to lose a day to being angry and upset due to my scale.

Today I am hoping that I can make it to the gym over lunch and get on the treadmill.  I also am aiming not to work too late and get home and enjoy myself this evening….another good night of sleep to help kick this little virus.