Hawaii or Coast Starlight tour?

I havent had the urge to blog for a few days but somehow at the beginning of my 4th set of sun salutations this morning, nothing seemed like a better idea than typing. even though I don't really have much to say.

1) I'm sick. On my second week actually, and the doctor told me it could take another week for me to start really feeling better.

Despite putting the fat stamp on the chart, I still had to ask about working out. Could I do it? I haven't run since last Tuesday, and besides daily yoga, I havent really been doing much. I'm pretty tired every night. He ok'd yoga and weights but told me to lay off the cardio for a bit. awesome-sauce. not.

2) Did I mention it's the week before the next GOTR season starts? I'm sorta slammed. I love it. If I werent sick and unable to breathe or constantly hacking and then getting death stares from my co-workers. i don't blame them but i can't not go in!

3) I'm finally willing to admit that I am too old to do dumb shit. We won't discuss what I tried yesterday (ok, ok...I tried a juice fast that includes a solid dinner) that made me feel like absolute dirt. It's ok. It shows growth. Or maybe the fast was actually doing what it's intending to do..detox my system!

4) I'm trying to decide what to do for my birthday: Hawaii or the  Coast Starlight tour which goes from Seattle down to LA. Both cost roughly the same, so part of me says go to Hawaii! but the Coast Starlight tour seems like fun too but not sure if 9 days is enough?!

Thoughts? 

Have you done either trips?

Juice of the Week

I'm so grateful my week can go back to how it has been...getting up at 6 was tough last week and I felt like I had to work ueber-hard to get everything in.

This combination: pineapple, 1/2 grapefruit and 1/2 a lime was exactly the perk me up I needed as I headed into work to entertain 12 kids that don't understand the concept of starting off the morning slow!

What was the best juice you drank this week?


Anyone drink yerba mate instead of coffee? I bought a packet this week and may give it a whirl.

track, track, track: healthy habit #8

how is it already Friday and I'm just now getting this up?!

I've been sick and getting up at 6, yes you should be feeling sorry for me now, but besides that things have been fabulous...

My goal this was was to track, track and track some more.

I think I've gotten 3 days under my belt which has been my goal.

Small baby steps.. I need to track. Period.

I think it's helping me lose weight. This week is skewed, you know, for girly reasons. I'll get back to you next week.

Although I'll also admit I'm getting tired of gaining and re-losing the same 5 lbs over and over. I need a break here! A possible birthday vacation is coming up.. any recommendations of where to go?

It's the first weekend where I have nothing planned, NOTHING! and I plan on keeping it that way.

Have a good one!

update to update

I keep on thinking it's a day later than what it actually is...it's been a long week. For real.

I hate to complain about working extra hours, a) I need them and b) this is what I am getting paid to do... amongst other things.

I've been getting up naturally between 6:30 and 7, but this passed week I've had to be up by 6 so that I can be at work by 7:30. I can't say it's a struggle, it's just been challenging fitting in my sun salutations/meditation in, getting ready and then packing up my food so that I can be out the door by 7, but it's all (my healthy eating, and exercising) going well. Except that I'm ready for bed by 10 at the latest.

I returned the Saucony's for these Ascics,

and my 5 miler on Tuesday was brutal...BRUTAL! It was a combination of things but hot damn... I hadn't had a bad run in a while and we all know how humbling they can be.

My schedule will be back to normal next week and I'm totally ready for the weekend.

On the agenda: NOTHING!

How've you been?

Juice of the Week

Remember the juicer I bought?

Well, I'm proud to say I've been using it almost daily, mainly during the week, as a replacement for breakfast. Mainly because I'm so indecisive.

Anywhoo...this week, this one was my favorite!

carrots, an apple, half a grapefruit and half a pear

If you juice, what was your favorite combination this week?

I bought some beets but I have no clue how to go about them!

Turn

It's Friday, so let's do something fun and since I was tagged twice, once by Beth at Kitchen Minions and another time by Renee at Run, Laugh, Eat Pie, I figured I'd better do this ish (aka shit).

1. I'm bilingual and speak, write etc German fluently.
2. I was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany and moved to the US when I was 5.
3. I have a really weird, huge birth mark on the bottom of my left boob.
4. I spent all subsequent summers in Germany with my grandparents.
5. I was an only child until I was 9. My brother is developmentally handicapped.
6. I went to an all girl HS and loved it.
7. I have an obssession with Hello Kitty.
8. My first car was a 72 VW Beetle, his name was Nick.
9. I spent a summer in Spain and hated it during that time but looking back I loved it and wish I could go back!
10. I swear like a sailor, and I'm slowly letting it trickle into my blog because I'm feeling more comfortable with who I am.
11. I have one tattoo on my hip bone and will probably get another one this April (of Hello Kitty no less...please see #6)


Questions from Beth:
1. What do you drink in the morning? My morning starts out with hot lemon water, and then either tea and then coffee or I have coffee right after the lemon water.
2. What do you listen to in the car? To the voices in my head... ;) Music. When the bf and I used to carpool this was a big thing between us, he preferred books but I got so bored I'd end up wanting to carry on a conversation and then we both got mad.
3. Beach or Mountains? Beach
4. What is your funniest high school/college memory? Funniest college memory is when I was interning on Capitol Hill and I was in the elevator with Gary Condit (the one accused of killing Sandra Levy) except that I didn't know it was him and I was goofing around with a buddy of mine singing, and singing a song that contained the lyrics...let me take off all my clothes, and I swear, Gary was grinning from ear to ear. I found out after he got off the elevator and winked at me, who it was. Mortifiying.
5. What was the last book that you read? Crazy Sexy Diet....i know, i know...
6. What’s your favorite comfort food? Better Made BBQ Chips
7. Why did you start your blog? I had read Tales from the Scale, a compilation of blog post from the original weight loss bloggers, and thought it would be cool to do it.
8. What magazines do you read regularly? None.
9. What is your favorite type of wall decoration? My walls are all bare since the bf hates putting holes in the wall.
10. What’s your favorite color? Pink.
11.What do you like most about where you live? Oh...lemme get back to you on that.

Questions from Renee:
1. When is the Last time you swam in a pool? January while I was in Florida.
2. Do you carry a donor card? No.
3. Would you ever consider living abroad? Yes, if I do, most likely Germany.
4. What car would you love to buy if you could afford it? It used to be a 700 series BMW, but I really could care less now.
5. Do you feel younger or older than your current age? Younger but I dunno, these past 2 years have aged me.
6. what your favorite movie or book was as a child? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or maybe The Babysitter's Club.
7. Toilet Paper – over or under? What does this mean?
8. Are you usually late, early or right on time? I used to be early, then I became late and now I shoot for on-time.
9. Have you ever been on a roller coaster? Yes.
10. What song always makes you happy when you hear it? Lemme get back to you on that.
11. Name four things you always have with you: Iphone, debit card, hand cream (fairly new addiction of mine)


I just realized that I struggled coming up with this list which means one thing: I need to work on doing more interesting things!

when I almost shat on the treadmill

I bought a new pair of shoooooes before my Germany trip.

Saucony's Guide 5

My Asics are in desperate need of replacement but unfortunately they didn't have them in stock and these Sauconys felt better than the Adidas in reference to comfort but... I think they are going back. They were rubbing my heal, and I felt various pains elsewhere. I dunno... I may take them for another 2 or 3 mile spin.

To test these buggers, I finally hit up the gym after being gymless for nearly 2 years!

my locker and new lock

We belonged to LifeTime back in the day, but since I was the only one using it, I couldn't justify $120 a month on it once I lost my high-paying, yet unsatisfying gig. The gym is a now perk of working for the Y, and since I had to break these bad boys Sauconys in without running on asphalt, I tracked my hiney over there to use their treadmills.

It wasn't that simple though, I had to stop at Target for the lock and a new pair of headphones. I was ready to call that my workout..

they were cheap, but so far so good

The plan had been 5 miles but around mile 2, I had to start quenching my buttcheeks harder, and at mile 4.3 I had to run off the treadmill. God knows I didn't want to be known as the girl shat on the treadmill.

Embarrassing much?

Routine: Healthy Habit #7

what a whirlwind trip last week and I'm still here to tell about it.

although really...there is nothing to tell, this pic explains it best..

eat drink and be merry!

I actually feel pretty damn fucking awesome considering these short trips with high levels of stress leave me burnt out. True, I changed my attitude about it and was realistic about what I could actually achieve while I was there and that really helped reduce my stress to near zero.

What does that even mean? I sent all my expectations packing...I didn't workout, I didn't meditate nor did I get my sun salutations in. I just went with the flow and tried not to disturb my grandpa's routine.


It was glorious in all of it's self-preservation glory.

the night of my grandpa's party with family members!

This morning was rough. Sun salutations sans music (my Iphone died last night), meditation (but I left my journal downstairs and didnt want to disrupt my flow), shower, oh wait, I have to make my lemon water first, then shower.. it's all a bit fuzzy. Like a crappy hangover minus the nausea.

Except that I haven't felt this great in a fricken while. I can't explain it...I feel 100% and ready to tackle myself and my to-do list and with that I'm off!!

Have a fan-fricken-tastic Monday!!!

Meditation/Visualization whatever the hell you want to call it: Healthy Habit #6

Source

Since last July, I've been quite optimistic about everything working out in my life. Granted, this whole journey hasn't been easy and there have been plenty of down times but I began to see every positive and negative experience as a learning opportunity.

As things were coming together, and I was/am being pulled in 10 million different directions, I felt even more frazzled than before, continued to gain weight and just feel blah.  I knew something had to change because clearly what I've been doing hadn't been working.

I'm not sure how I landed on meditation, it all seems so hippie-ish and green to me, but I knew that the 1000s of thoughts that were racing through my mind in the morning, and the stress I experienced after browsing threw my various social net-work sites were just contributing to the overall blahness I was experiencing.

I really wasnt sure what the heck I was doing but I downloaded some apps with gentle music, got a special pillow, a pretty journal, and an awesome smelling candle and just sat there the first couple of days.

my meditation station

and slowly, things came into focus... i repeated positive affirmations, visualized how successful the day was going to be, channeled my energy into projects I planned on dominating and above all, focused on myself. (<-- i know, this sounds so hokey!) the first few days, I could barely sit for 5 minutes, now, 8 minutes seems barely enough.

I love it, and feel off on days when I don't do it (i've only missed a handful since it's become such an important part of my morning). I enter the day with a sense purpose and clarity of what I need and want to be doing. It has helped reinforce almost all of the other habits I've been working on, in particular positive thinking.

I've chosen only now to make it a healthy habit because... a week in Germany brings up a lot anxiety (although I'd admit, it might be exasperated as I'm 12 lbs heavier than the last time I was here, and my family is overly critical about any surplus of weight!) so now I need to be ever more positive and peaceful (with the choices/career I've decided to pursue) than before.

Continuing on with my meditation while here will hopefully allow me to remain positive and in control without having a complete meltdown upon my return home since I often suffer extreme bouts of burn out after a trip to Germany.

I'd love to hear your own experiences, especially since I'm new to this and feel like I have no clue what the heck I'm doing!

howdy ho neighbor

i had no intention of disappearing this past week but it happened, so let me instead tell you what i've been up to... in bullet points nonetheless:

• Girls on the Registration opened and let me tell you... seeing grown women cry because their daughter didn't get on said team is hilarious and disturbing at the same time
• Preparation for our trip to Germany
• Acquiring food poisoning on our way to Germany
• Alternating the use of 1 bathroom between 2 sickies
• Gearing up for what is going to be a fun-filled yet stressful birthday week
• I just completed my last run the week (NO EXCUSES!)

I hope to be able to blog this week but no promises... Have a great start to the week!!