Fortunate to run.. I'm not going to say Blessed!

I think everyone is over doing the "blessed" saying. I'm just going to stick with being fortunate to be able to run, ski or bike and pretty much do what ever I want to be able to do. This isn't the case with everyone and I realize that I'm fortunate to do what I love each and every day.

My blood tests all came back normal. I'm guessing that being tired has more to do with me working out all the time and my job that is like a workout. I can burn any where from 250 calories up to 800 just by working. Maybe this is why I feel tired and need a break every once in a while? I'm guessing YES!

I'm doing the run, ski or bike after work when I'm already tired. This will get me use to working out already being tired so maybe that will help boost my endurance?

I skied 5.5 miles yesterday in perfect trail conditions. I was hoping I could have one more day with good snow conditions. That's just not the case. It rained last night and we are in the upper 30's, so the snow is melting fast. Instead of skiing for an hour, I headed out to run.

Three miles in thirty minutes! Good enough! I do want to get back to running 4.5 miles or 6 but I have till spring to keep upping those running miles. Just until I can get back on my bike.

 

I've been just running any old pace. I'm getting slower 10:27 minute mile for mile #3, mile 1 and 2 were around 10:15 minutes each.

Zoey went to the groomer last night. She went from a hairy dog to a clean shaven lean puppy.

She looks good. I'll have to try and sneak another picture of her when she's not looking. For some reason she does not like her photo taken and will move if she sees me with my cell pointed her way.

Just hanging around outside in 36+F cooling off in a tank top before I go inside after my run.

I'm still dieting or should I say working on my Transformation. Sticking to 1000 to 1500 calories per day. I even ate ice cream with a tiny brownie last night and managed to stick to my calories for the day!

Here's what I ate Monday:

- Am, 1 wheat with 1 tbsp. chucky PB (150 cal)
           1 banana (70 cal)

Noon - 1 sweet potato (100)
Eve - 1 cup white rice with chicken and pork (~300 - 400 cal)
Snack - popcorn (200 cal)
            Greek Yogurt (80 cal)
            nuts (150 cal)
            Ice cream with a tiny brownie (300 cal)
total calories = ~1500

Today, Tuesday:
Am - 1 wheat PB (150)
         1 banana ( 70)
Noon 1 sweet potato (100)
Snack popcorn (200)
Few nuts (100)
Eve Chicken with rice/veggies/salsa, guac (500)
Eve snack

We got you day!

It's been exactly one year since we picked up Zoey in Wisconsin and

brought her home. Puppies are sure fun but a lot of work. It was tough the first six months of puppy life. It's kind of like having a new born baby, they just require a lot.

Zoey has been a great addition to our family and I would not change that decision for anything. Even with all the shedding fur, peeing in the house when she was a puppy and chewing up some things she wasn't suppose to. She has become a really good dog.

 

Sunday I was feeling tired and lazy. I didn't even get out for a run. We headed out early to Logan's indoor soccer game. After soccer I took a nap. I felt a lot better after a little rest. I ended up doing the last coat of paint on the stair rails and then I went shopping to pick up everything we needed to make Chicken and pork lettuce wraps for dinner. We haven't had this meal in ages. It's one of the meals that I make.

We have some leftovers which I might just eat for lunch today.

 Since we were having a Chinese New Year dinner, Logan wanted me to make some fortune cookies. They are pretty simple to make but it just takes a while to spread them out on parchment paper. When the cookies were hot, they were sticking a little to the bottom. Once they were cool, they peeled right off. It was too late to form them into the shape of a fortune cookie so I just left them flat. Logan pretty much ate the entire two pans of cookies. The others we had with my brownies I made and ice cream topped with a fortune cookie. Tasted really good!

 It's snowing and I feel really tired again this morning. I'm going to power nap for an hour then go work. After work, I'll just go ski since there will be fresh snow. I just don't want to run/slip in the snow covered roads.

Late this afternoon, Zoey is going to the groomers for the first time. She is going to be all trimmed up and looking good.

I'm still waiting for the blood test results for my thyroid and they also tested me to see if I'm diabetic since I'm tired all the time. I'm hoping to get the results back today. I have to go back to the doctor on Thursday since I want two moles looked at and chopped off.

I have a busy work week ahead but not too bad. Friday is by far the busiest day and I'll be happy when that day is O V E R and it's the weekend.

This week I'm once again concentrating on transformation through diet/exercise but mostly diet. Day eight!! I now have a start weight since I was just weighted at the doctor office. At least I didn't gain all the weight back I had lost. Plus, muscles weight more then fat so I'm still far better off. I just need to drop a few pounds to get back on track to were I want to be to see those muscles I work so hard on every single day.

Road Trip Saturday

We took  a quick 10 hour road trip to Duluth and back home again on Saturday. We got up early and were out on the road by 7am to Jay Cook State Park for a hike in the woods.

 

Before the hike, we stuffed ourselves at the Black Bear hotel's buffet. I should have taken a photo of my plate piled high with fruit. I mostly stuck to fruit but did have one of their caramel rolls with nuts and a piece of baked chicken.

 

We took the Silver Creek Trail out into the woods for a five mile walk. We were pretty tired after that icy woods walk with heavy boots.

The only animals we passed by were at the main building next to the bird feeders.

Walking on the swing bridge to get over the river to the other side.

 

 

 

After our hike in the woods, we drove up to Duluth for a look around then drove back home.

 

Everyone was pretty tired so we skipped walking around town.

 

After a two hour nap, one hour on the ride home and another hour after we got home, we all went to the MOA for a little shoe shopping. Everyone but me, came away with new running shoes. ... and that was our Saturday..

 

 

TGIF, because it's day 5 of my transformation

It's Friday! Day 5 of my transformation and it's going good. It's really mind over matter when it comes to weight loss and sticking with it. The mind can talk you out of everything. I didn't let myself be talked out of keeping to my food plan for the day. Its not always easy, but I do yoga, take a nap and stay out of the kitchen and keep food thoughts away from my brain.

 

 

I don't have many photos from Thursday. When I'm out skiing all I want to do is keep going and not stop. Plus, my cell always quits working out in the cold.

 

Don't look too closely at my hair because I know that I am super lazy when it comes to keeping up on coloring my hair. I buy the 10 minute box, but that even seems like a pain to do.

 

 

I had a little bit of fresh snow to cross country ski. It was just enough to cover up the ice. The trails were groomed flat so I didn't have a track to follow. It worked fine as this time I remembered to put some speed wax on the bottom of my ski's. It sure helped glide over the snow. I still found it to be a  tough 5 miles. It took one hour and eleven minutes! This was cutting the route shorter because I was just done after 40 minutes of skiing.

 

I'll be back out there on the trails today and will keep going until the trails aren't any good to ski.

 

 

What I ate Thursday

 

Morning - 1 wheat bread with PB (150 cal)

Noon - Veggie soup 1 can (160 cal)

snack - popcorn (200)

Dinner - 1 wheat bread w/PB (150)

Roasted sweet potatoes (100)

Total calories = 760 calories for the day. I don't feel tired or hungry!

 

Friday's food plan at night has me a bit worried. Logan wants to go out to dinner for wings and fried fish. Sounds so good doesn't it!

 

Am - 1 wheat PB (150

Noon - Either soup (160) or make fresh salsa and have with rice (300)

Dinner ? Could be 1000+ calories if I go for the wings and fish

 

Snack - popcorn (200)

 

That would still be 1500 calories give or take 300+. Still within my goal range. I just won't be pushing to go out to dinner because I'd rather have a 600 calorie salad with water.

 

 

Checking off another day on my Transformation

I'm already on day 4 of my transformation diet. This is working to keep me focused on myself and have control over my diet since the country is OUT of Control with Trump!

 

I'm sticking with my 1000 - 1800 calories the last four days. I'm feeling much better. I'm also sleeping great!  That's a win/win in my books.

 

I started my day, planning what I'm eating all day to keep track of my calories. Should be a no fail plan since I'm already aware of how many calories I'm going to consume. I'm trying to lower that 1000 calories down to around 600 but no less per day. Its low but I want to drop weight fast and see some results. I'll probably only do this every other day.

 

 

I found two great deals at the Dollar Store, reader glasses and masking tape. They were both, you guessed it, one dollar! I might have to buy a few more pairs of readers to have around the house in places I read. Who knew seeing small print could be such a great thing!

A few days ago I mentioned I needed to get my Thyroid re-checked. I'm also getting a few moles checked out too. Might as well take care of two things at once on Friday. I'm not sure if I need to fast before blood work, so I'll do it anyway just incase.

I need to get back to painting the trim. I have a few more area's to finish and then I'll be done with this long lasting home project.

Putting all my energy into what I can do and change

I'm 100% against everything this new president and his administration stand for, I'm going to just focus on what I can do and what I can do for myself. I am turning that focus on me to keep me distracted from what is going on in our country. I will still keep up on all the news but I want to take back control over my life.

 

It's been working so far and I'm sure if things in the news continue on this path. I should have no trouble sticking with focusing on my own transformation through diet, exercise, yoga, resistance training and meditation. Mostly I'm concentration on diet. I have all the other areas down.

 

I stuck to my 1500 - 1800 calorie diet and will slowly drop more calories as I get use to eating less and needing less food to comfort myself in the afternoons/evenings when I think that's going to help me de-stress from the day.

 

Here's what my Tuesday food journal looked like

 

Breakfast- (5am) 1 slice whole grain bread with 1 Tbsp chunky natural skippy peanut butter  (150 calories)

 

Lunch  - (12:00) - 1 large salad, premeasured, with added blue cheese crumbs and cherry tomatoes (600 calories)

 

Snack (3:30) - popcorn air popped  bag (200 calories)

 

Dinner (6:00) Veggie soup (160 calories)

(7:00) 1 slice of whole grain bread with Chunky Peanut butter (150 calories)

 

A total of 1250 calories for the day.

 

 

I spent the afternoon painting. I  painted two coats of high gloss paint on the stair rails. It took forever! While I was doing that, Steve painted the dining room. It turned out super nice. I can't wait to get a new gray rug and some new chairs for this room.

We still are not 100% done with the home projects but so much closer to making some big changes around the house.

 

We will finish installing all the new wide white trim in our bedroom and upstairs hall. I need to paint the rails above our entry all white. After that's done, I have a some trim around all the doors to paint white and the back side of the French doors. Not much left considering how much I have painted white. We are still undecided about what to do with the kitchen. I think we'll just leave it alone for now.

 

 

 

My clients pig. My cell turned off after I took this blurry photo. I had a hard time getting this little piggy to hold still.

 

This is what I found out about pigs. They act like dogs but are smarter. It's litter trained. Likes attention, meaning that you have to rub it's body. The fur feels like brillo, rough, short and prickly. The pig uses its nose to get what it wants. It just keeps putting it's nose roughly on you to get you to do what it wants. It follows you around, can climb stairs and grunts all the time. It also likes to hid under beds. I'll try to take a better photo next time I visit.

 

Good news on the cross country skiing!!! We got about three inches of fresh snow last night. Plus, its still snowing and will till round noon. Plenty of fresh snow to ski this afternoon. I'm pretty happy about that because running is okay but I'd rather be in the woods skiing!

 

Have a great Wednesday!

 

My Baby steps

I'm making progress in the body transformation process. Every day I need to keep at it and keep taking those baby steps to reach my goals.

Here's what I did do to help transform.
- daily planks with weights
- stuck to eating 1750 calories for the day
-didn't workout but I did work a long hard day

I really had to stop myself from wanting to keep eating at night. I thought about just having a bowl of ice cream. I thought about that post on Pinterest, you have to do hard things to make changes. It was not easy sticking to my calories.

I want to drop weight fast but I know slow and steady is the plan that works best.

We made zero progress on the home projects yesterday. Today is a new day. I am picking up paint this morning and our fitness/sitting/old dining room will be transformed today. Plus I'll be working on the final coats of railing paint and starting the last set of rails above our entry. This is the last room to get an update and I can not wait for that to happen!

What else am I excited for on this Tuesday?

It's Taco Tuesday..minus the taco shell for me.

I got an early morning text from a client. "Don't be alarmed, we got a pig". I'm sooo excited to see this baby pig. Her name is Penelope. It's that the best pig name? Love it! I'll have to take a photo of her today and will share it tomorrow.

I'm still working on our family calendar. Just getting all the photos from last year pasted on the pages. I finished January and of course it's all about Zoey since we got her on the 30th. If only should could have stayed that tiny, minus the sharp teeth.

Weekend Recap of sorts

 

I only went running on Saturday morning in the rain. A quick 30 minutes to run three miles. Sunday, I didn't run but sure could have done it earlier or later but I didn't. I even skipped my daily planks on Sunday, the only day last week I didn't do my exercises.

Sunday, we started the day off early with Logan's indoor soccer game. They won, 6 to 3. Logan almost scored a goal.

I remembered to take a few photos this week at his soccer game.

After soccer, it was already lunch time and then I had to get back to painting. I started the rails on Saturday afternoon. It took over three hours to just put on one coat of primer paint.

I had all these rails to do, plus the stair risers and stair skirt to the basement to paint. and not show is also the middle rail to the upstairs. I left the main rail up stairs over our entry to do another time. I put the 2nd coat of primer paint on Sunday. I'm picking up high-gloss paint for the finishing two coats of paint. We did not buy high gloss for all the other trim, so I will have to go around to all the trim I previously painted and put one final coat of paint on all of it. Something I didn't want to do.

The wall behind the stairs is being painted gray today and I'm hoping Steve also gets the dining room painted too. It's exciting to see the changes and get rid of the oak trim in the house. I'm loving the look of the clean white. It truly feels like our house is transformed. Which brings me to my next point.

Not only are we transforming our house, but I'm in the process of re-transforming myself. Time to drop some weight and get back to healthy eating. You could stay I'm taking baby steps the last few days to wean myself off sugar. I am making better snack choices. I still have a ways to go on limiting calories.

This week, I'm going to concentrate on no sugar snacks = junk foods, and I'm adding in eating less at dinner. I tend to eat most of my calories for the day after 5pm.

I'm also making an appointment to get some blood work done to re-check my thyroid. I'm tired, losing hair, have gained weight and achy all over most of the time. This could be symptoms of my thyroid since it was border line a few years ago. Time to have it re-checked and see if this is the problem.

We also spent some time shopping at Home Depot, waiting for our paint on Saturday. I found this Laundry room sink for $50, that should work on the new cabinet base. We'll just need a small countertop around it. I still have to paint the cabinet white. Plus, we will need a faucet and one that can wash Zoey. This is the last project we will finish before re-doing our master bathroom shower. I want Steve to add a tiled shelf system. This involves taking off existing tile, reframing the wall and adding shelves with tile. It should look nice and be a quick fix.

Since we've been busy working on our house and haven't had time to do Sunday night family dinners. Steve's parents invited us over for a beef tenderloin meal. Who can pass up that? Everything tasted soo good, even all the veggies is mom made and apple tart. I had two apple ciders with dinner and a little wine. I think this needs to be off the menu for me since I end up around 2am with heart burn after having any drinks. It's just not worth it to have my stomach burning all night long.

 

 Celina and Logan wanted to see who was stronger. Zoey thought it was her play time since they were on her level.

 

It was a pretty good match between the two but Logan won.

 

He might be convinced to start lifting some weights now.

 

Speaking of lifting more weights. I have it on my goal page to start doing my weights two times a day along with my yoga in the evenings. I think this will help keep me focused on my weight loss goals or at least I hope it does. I sure have a tough time with sticking to the weight loss plan. That was the easy part before, now exercise is the easy stuff. Well, never easy but quicker then weight loss.