[11.13.11]

I worked last night, so I came home this morning, had some breakfast, and then crashed for a few hours. I got up, had a snack, and will head to the gym in a bit.

Had a lovely Skype chat with Charlie. Grandma and Dad were able to talk with him for a bit, too. It was an emotional morning, but a good cry is necessary every once in awhile. I miss that man, miss his face, his hugs ... what I wouldn't give to feel his arms around me today ...

Food log:

• 2 oatmeal pancakes with organic peanut butter and pure maple syrup
• A few tortilla chips with roasted red bell pepper hummus
• Brussel sprouts
• Dried blueberry, cranberry, and almond mix - after gym snack
• Organic chicken thighs baked with mushrooms
• Big salad with mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes with ranch dressing
• Butternut squash baked with coconut oil
• Small serving french vanilla ice cream
• Popcorn

Exercise log:

60 minutes on the elliptical - 6.01 miles, 705 calories

I was POOPED at my 32-minute mark, but I pushed through. Ugh.

At work for the night, now ... signing off. :)

[11.12.11]

sweeeet Saturday.

Got up & made oatmeal pancakes with Mom & Dad for the family. Had tons of fun doing it.

Helped Dad put a cork board up on my wall, and then spent quite a bit of time getting the TV mounted on the wall in my room. Lots of laughs while being productive. :) Thanks, Dad!

Headed to the gym here in a bit ...

My hip is really bothering me just walking around the house. Will try and get to the chiropractor on Monday, and get some new shoes early this coming week.

Plans for exercise will include the elliptical, and no running, yet. :( Kind of bummed about that.

Exercise log:

60 minutes on the elliptical - 6.1 miles - 714 calories (hip tolerated WELL)

30 chest press

24 each arm - triceps

24 each arm - biceps

Food log:

• One oatmeal pancake with pure maple syrup
• One orange
• Small serving of butternut squash (baked with coconut oil)
• Some home-roasted pumpkin & butternut squash seeds
• A few corn tortilla chips with roasted red bell pepper hummus
• Small red potato with butter & plain Greek yogurt
• One organic free-range roasted chicken leg
• Brussel sprouts - steamed & sauteed (at work)
• Raw almonds & walnuts (at work)
• Blueberry Larabar (at work)

I miss coffee today. A lot. Not because of the caffeine, but because it's rainy and dreary out, and I want some yummy coffee with cream & sugar to sip on ... end self pity party. :)

Oh, and I miss Charlie. An extra bunch today. I finally plugged the PS3 into the TV that we mounted today, only to find a Netflix DVD in it - the Dexter Season 5 disc that Charlie & I had been working on ... the night before he left. :( I miss you, handsome.

** Side note: I had horrible junk food cravings immediately following my workout. I seriously got home and wanted to eat everything in sight. But I didn't. Note to self: Eat more PRIOR to workouts. This is a must. I got a little too shaky towards the end of my workout and on the car ride home. Lesson learned.

[11.11.11]

side note: Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have sacrificed in the past, and who continue to do so presently. Here's to my husband - one of the few & proud, a U.S. Marine. I am so proud to be your wife. Come home soon, handsome.

*******************

It's log time. I've GOT to start journaling, in hopes that it will motivate me to MOVE & eat healthily.

Today, I spent about an hour and 15 minutes in the gym.

I restarted the Couch to 5k program, so let's talk about that briefly.

About a year ago, I made it about 5 weeks into C25k when my hip started bothering me. After months of seeing different physicians, I was told that I had bursitis, and with a few amazing acupuncture treatments, I felt wonderful. I was off of my hip (not exercising) for way too long during treatment, and haven't tried to run since. I've resorted to other forms of exercise like the elliptical, spin classes, and walking. BUT, the weight just doesn't fall off like it did when I was training with C25k, running. SO, I got a hair up my rear and decided to give C25k another shot.

And here we are today.

Almost immediately, my right hip bothered me. ::le sigh::

What gives??

I pushed through, and made it the entire Week 1, Day 1 cycle, but I was done after that. I climbed off of the treadmill and hopped onto the elliptical and finished my cardio there.

I'm at a loss.

Anywho, here are my gym stats for today:

Treadmill - 36 minutes, 2.67 miles, 355 calories burned

Elliptical - 25 minutes, 2.58 miles, 302 calories burned

12 Super Roly Poly's (don't ask, it won't make sense unless I demonstrate ... and that's not happening)

30 crunches with large exercise ball

And my food log:

• 290-calorie smoothie with whey protein from Jamba Juice
• 2 eggs, poached
• BIG salad with fresh sliced mushrooms, orange bell pepper, and canned turkey breast topped with cough-cough ranch dressing
• Grapes - maybe about 10 or so big ones
• A chicken street taco on corn tortilla with guacamole
• A few cocktail shrimp
• A margarita (small, maybe 6 oz.)
• Some veggies (carrots, broccoli, snap peas) with ranch dip
• A few too many tortilla chips with guacamole

Could have done without the margarita and the excessive tortilla chips.

see you in 210 days, my love.

welp.
Said good-bye to Charlie again.
The last time we did this was over 5 years ago, and he's been home for over 4 and a half years now. I got spoiled. :))
Monday was rough.
Good-byes are never easy.
But here we are, and I'm ready to face the next 7 months with optimism and a good attitude.
I'm loving Blake Shelton's new song, "God Gave Me You." Quite an inspiration.
Someone reminded me today that God understands ours prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. I needed to hear that.

Here we go ... I'll be updating here more often than I had been recently. Keep your eyes open for new posts. :))

adding a quote that I came across ... "Missing someone isn't about how long it's been since you've seen them or the amount of time since you've talked. It's about that very moment when you're doing something and wishing they were right there with you."

[day 60.]

March 1st
made it through February!
It was a double-shot of espresso kind of day.

[day 59.]

Feb. 28th
nommin' on some GF cookies.

[day 58.]

Feb. 27th
fabulous Mom at 55. :)