From around the age of 11 all the way up until around age 19 - 20 I was a highly active person. I grew up in a tiny little tourist trap just outside of Zion National Park and it seemed like there wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't out doing something active. I would go swimming in the river, horseback riding, hike a random goat trail outside of zion, or hike an official trail inside the park. My best friend and I spent every minute together that we could, despite the fact that we lived more than 30 minutes away from each other through most of our childhood. Once per year we would go on a 16 mile, 3-day cattle drive on the Arizona strip, I hiked a 9.1 mile back country hike in Zion 3 times in a two week period, and I rode my bike to and from work almost every day.
This all poses the question - how does someone who was once so active become so resistant to being active? Perhaps, in large part, my inspiration to be active came from the environment that I was in, which was highly conducive and full of fun things to do, or maybe it's just me. Everything is easier when you're a kid though, isn't it? I don't just mean because you're young and spry but because it just seems like everything is more accessible to the mind of a child. If I wanted to go horseback riding when I was young all I had to do was find someone to go with me (family rule, no one rides alone), ride my bike 3 miles to the horses, feed them, catch them, saddle them up, and go. If I wanted to go hiking I just put my boots on, opened the back door, stepped outside, and found a trail. If I wanted to go swimming I walked less than a block from my house to the nearest swimming hole in the river and swam it up to my hearts content.
But as an adult everything is different. Horseback riding means making an appointment a day in advance, making sure I have the money in the budget, driving 45 minutes to get there, waiting around for another 30 minutes while everyone gets prepared and settled, and then enduring a 10 minute "riding lesson". Hiking is also a 30 drive, as is swimming but going to the lake usually requires packing a cooler and blanket, prepping the dogs, making sure we have something to give them water in, making sure we have sunblock, packing towels, etc. etc.
Has the world changed since I was young? Have I moved to a place that welcomes inactivity or, at the very least, make being active much more complicated, or have I simply changed so much that I over complicate things? Perhaps it's a little bit of everything - I think I need a vacation.
Food:
132 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/2 breakfast burrito
1/2 serving greek salad
1 sushi hand roll
1 serving sunflower seeds
1 tbsp hummus
-------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 834
Activity:
Cleaning: laundry, dishes, trash, clutter
4 flights of stairs
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Madden Waste of Time
So last night immediately after work we had to take Kody to the vet for his check-up and on the way home Snackers decided, again, that he didn't want to eat at home - he wanted Burger King. Fine, says I, go to Burger King - and I resisted the temptation to order anything. When I got home, however, I didn't want to go to the trouble of making chicken crepes from Cook This Not That
for just myself so I ate leftovers from the night before, cold.
Then Snackers decided that he wanted to go get the latest Madden game but, as it turns out, I had to be present to cash in the gift card that I got for BestBuy so I was obligated to go with him. When we got there we found out they were having a Madden tournament and Snackers wanted to play in it so from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. I was stranded at Best Buy with Snackers. Thankfully they have free wi-fi and I had taken my iPad with me so I was able to watch netflix, publish yesterday's blog post, and get half of this week's school work and study reading done but nothing in the way of exercise.
At least I did manage to talk him out of buying an $8 bucket of freakin wings from the gut truck that was parked out in front of BestBuy. $8 for wings? Really?! At midnight?!!! I swear to you, he WANTS ME TO FAIL! I dunno if he's afraid he'll have competition for my attention if I lose weight or if he thinks that if I continue to lose then at some point he's going to feel obligated to get healthier or what the deal is but I am telling all of you, without a doubt in my mind, Snackers is TRYING to keep me fat! He offers me Klondike bars and ice cream cones almost nightly, he suggests Wenchell's for breakfast almost every weekend, he gets irritated when he wants to go to a fast food restaurant and I don't order anything. He made homemade sweet tea the other night, and I don't even like sweet tea, but he insisted that I try it over and over again until I finally took a sup just so I could tell him, 'nope, still don't like it!'
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 serving greek salad
1 chicken sub
>>the old usual
1 packet raw nuts & raisins
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,107
Activity:
Playing w/Vladdy: 30 mins @ lunch
Walking: 0.5 mile
for just myself so I ate leftovers from the night before, cold.Then Snackers decided that he wanted to go get the latest Madden game but, as it turns out, I had to be present to cash in the gift card that I got for BestBuy so I was obligated to go with him. When we got there we found out they were having a Madden tournament and Snackers wanted to play in it so from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. I was stranded at Best Buy with Snackers. Thankfully they have free wi-fi and I had taken my iPad with me so I was able to watch netflix, publish yesterday's blog post, and get half of this week's school work and study reading done but nothing in the way of exercise.
At least I did manage to talk him out of buying an $8 bucket of freakin wings from the gut truck that was parked out in front of BestBuy. $8 for wings? Really?! At midnight?!!! I swear to you, he WANTS ME TO FAIL! I dunno if he's afraid he'll have competition for my attention if I lose weight or if he thinks that if I continue to lose then at some point he's going to feel obligated to get healthier or what the deal is but I am telling all of you, without a doubt in my mind, Snackers is TRYING to keep me fat! He offers me Klondike bars and ice cream cones almost nightly, he suggests Wenchell's for breakfast almost every weekend, he gets irritated when he wants to go to a fast food restaurant and I don't order anything. He made homemade sweet tea the other night, and I don't even like sweet tea, but he insisted that I try it over and over again until I finally took a sup just so I could tell him, 'nope, still don't like it!'
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 serving greek salad
1 chicken sub
>>the old usual
1 packet raw nuts & raisins
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,107
Activity:
Playing w/Vladdy: 30 mins @ lunch
Walking: 0.5 mile
Monday, August 29, 2011
Weigh-In #42
I'm so totally fed-up. 232. I'm going back to an 800 calorie diet and I dare anyone to squak about it.
I walked 13 miles ++ miles, did sprints, rode a horse, and a crap-load of other physical stuff and GAINED WEIGHT AGAIN!!! This is utter bullshit. I'm not buying the "water retention / swelling" excuse anymore because if I were losing any kind of fat I would be losing at least SOME poundage even with swelling and water retention. No WAY am I retaining more and more water every week to compensate for fat loss. The simple fact is I'm not losing fat, period. I may be up and down due to swelling and retention but given that I CANNOT seem to get below 227.5 to save my life, I am clearly not losing any fat and I am so utterly frustrated and angry!!!
My options are limited here. I don't have access to a pool, with PF I can't run/sprint/jog any more than what I did this week, with the heat I can barely manage 3 miles in a day before I'm completely exhausted, I canceled my gym membership because I was out walking instead of using it, and I am getting absolutely nowhere, fast.
Something has got to give ... this isn't working and doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result in the definition of insanity. I am tired of being frustrated and irritated with my results while doing nothing to change them.
Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 serving greek salad (cook this, not that)
3 oz baked fries
1/2 cup leftover beef w/ broccoli
1 cup leftover rice
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,013
Activity:
Bogarted by Snackers . . . Grrrrrrrr
I walked 13 miles ++ miles, did sprints, rode a horse, and a crap-load of other physical stuff and GAINED WEIGHT AGAIN!!! This is utter bullshit. I'm not buying the "water retention / swelling" excuse anymore because if I were losing any kind of fat I would be losing at least SOME poundage even with swelling and water retention. No WAY am I retaining more and more water every week to compensate for fat loss. The simple fact is I'm not losing fat, period. I may be up and down due to swelling and retention but given that I CANNOT seem to get below 227.5 to save my life, I am clearly not losing any fat and I am so utterly frustrated and angry!!!
My options are limited here. I don't have access to a pool, with PF I can't run/sprint/jog any more than what I did this week, with the heat I can barely manage 3 miles in a day before I'm completely exhausted, I canceled my gym membership because I was out walking instead of using it, and I am getting absolutely nowhere, fast.
Something has got to give ... this isn't working and doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result in the definition of insanity. I am tired of being frustrated and irritated with my results while doing nothing to change them.
Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 serving greek salad (cook this, not that
)3 oz baked fries
1/2 cup leftover beef w/ broccoli
1 cup leftover rice
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,013
Activity:
Bogarted by Snackers . . . Grrrrrrrr
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Giddy-up (Pictures)
Boy oh boy, full day. Ok, so I got a $45 gift card from BestBuy's reward points program so I traded them to Snackers for cash because he's going to want the latest Madden game here in a day or two. I spent the cash on compression pants because now that my thighs aren't as fat, they're a lot more jello-ey than they used to be and they have started really hurting after I go walking (like, friction pain, not muscle pain) and while looking for those we found this saweet water belt that was on clearance so I got that to carry water, my phone etc. (Vladdy has already ruined the back-pack we got for him to carry water in).
So then we hit the dog park and did some laps and ran around having fun with the dogs and I decided to pick Vladdy up on my shoulders like I used to do when he was a smaller dog, just for shits and giggles. Look at those creepy eyes!
Also, we got the beat on some super cheap local discounts for horseback riding so we scheduled that up last night for this morning ... that's right, I ticked yet another item off my goal list this morning!!!! I set the alarm for 6:35 but rolled out of bed 10 minutes early like a kid on Christmas morning. Snackers woke up and instantly screamed "YEEE-HAW!". I no longer have proper horseback riding attire but I did the best that I could with what I had and helped Snackers make smart choices (as in, just say no to saddle rash) and he wore the hat my dad (an old cowboy himself) gave him when we first started dating. He's practically kept that hat encased in glass so I was surprised that he wore it but it looked really good on him. We had fun even though they didn't let us do much more than walk, we trotted a few times for short distances and managed a mini-lope for a stride or two but it was still fun and they gave us an extra hour for free so that was cool. Have a look at the piccies!
This wasn't even close to my first time on a horse, I grew up on them, but it has been many years and my left knee was screaming when we got off because they insisted on making my stirrups shorter than I usually like them to be. It was Snackers' first time though and he was a real natural, I was so proud!! They put him on a lazy horse that didn't want to go and was impervious to kicking but he flicked the reigns on the horses neck like a pro and that horsey woke right up and got her canter on. He needs to stand in his stirrups a little more (his cheeks are sore) but a few more rides and he'll be a pro.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
2 hot dogs
6 pretzel bites w/salt
>>no butter
2 wontons
2 eggrolls
1 serving beef & broccoli
12 oz green tea & ginger ale
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,161
Activity:
Horseback riding: 2 hours
Bowling: 1 game
Window Shopping: 2 - 3 hours
So then we hit the dog park and did some laps and ran around having fun with the dogs and I decided to pick Vladdy up on my shoulders like I used to do when he was a smaller dog, just for shits and giggles. Look at those creepy eyes!
 |
| Mom carrying Vladdy-pants |
 |
| Snackers and his hand-me-down hat |
 |
| Me on Jewell and Snackers on Popsicle |
 |
| For a first-timer, Snackers was a real natural! |
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
2 hot dogs
6 pretzel bites w/salt
>>no butter
2 wontons
2 eggrolls
1 serving beef & broccoli
12 oz green tea & ginger ale
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,161
Activity:
Horseback riding: 2 hours
Bowling: 1 game
Window Shopping: 2 - 3 hours
Saturday, August 27, 2011
An Early Start
Hi blog-family!!! We all know how super annoying it can be to be woken up earlier than desired in the morning but, as I experienced today, it can also be rewarding, if you make the most of it. Vladdy woke me up this morning whining and refused to stop, someone had to potty weeely weeely badwy! When I finally rolled out of bed he was shaking so much his whole kennel was vibrating and the second I let him out of it he ran to the back door in desperation. GOOD BOY! Ok, so he woke me up, but clearly he was just trying to avoid being a naughty doggy and pottying in the house. That's not normal for him but he did drink a gallon of water or more at the dog park last night so it was also understandable.
Originally I tried to go back to bed but as I lay there realizing I that wasn't going to happen I decided that 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning was as good a time for exercise as any. I always have a hard time finding the motivation to exercise in the evenings when Snackers is home so why not do it in the morning while he's still sleeping right? So I got up, got dressed, leashed the Vladdy-Monster and headed out. We did a 1.5 mile walk and ran 10 laps across the recreation field before checking the mail and coming home. To be honest, Vladdy was in a special mood and I was far too close to losing my patience with him than I wanted to be.
When I got home I fled the little monster, made coffee, kissed Snackers goodbye for work and took a long, luxurious bath / self-pamper session and I am feeling quite accomplished and content. It's one thing to take a shower, shave, wash my hair, pluck my eyebrows, trim my nails, lotion up etc. but it always feels perfectly wonderful when I do all of those things at once and can sit back and relax all pink and smooth and squishy.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 banana
1 Fiber One bar
1 serving chips and salsa (lunch)
1 can energy drink
2 dolmades
2 falafel
1 small spanakopita sample
Small salad w/vinaigrette
1 tbsp hummus
------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,065
Activity:
Walking Vladdy: 1.5 mile
Sprints (morning): 10
Shopping: 3 hours (More on this tomorrow)
Sprints (evening): 6
Originally I tried to go back to bed but as I lay there realizing I that wasn't going to happen I decided that 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning was as good a time for exercise as any. I always have a hard time finding the motivation to exercise in the evenings when Snackers is home so why not do it in the morning while he's still sleeping right? So I got up, got dressed, leashed the Vladdy-Monster and headed out. We did a 1.5 mile walk and ran 10 laps across the recreation field before checking the mail and coming home. To be honest, Vladdy was in a special mood and I was far too close to losing my patience with him than I wanted to be.
When I got home I fled the little monster, made coffee, kissed Snackers goodbye for work and took a long, luxurious bath / self-pamper session and I am feeling quite accomplished and content. It's one thing to take a shower, shave, wash my hair, pluck my eyebrows, trim my nails, lotion up etc. but it always feels perfectly wonderful when I do all of those things at once and can sit back and relax all pink and smooth and squishy.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 banana
1 Fiber One bar
1 serving chips and salsa (lunch)
1 can energy drink
2 dolmades
2 falafel
1 small spanakopita sample
Small salad w/vinaigrette
1 tbsp hummus
------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,065
Activity:
Walking Vladdy: 1.5 mile
Sprints (morning): 10
Shopping: 3 hours (More on this tomorrow)
Sprints (evening): 6
Friday, August 26, 2011
Walking Swamp Cooler
I came up with a theory for why 'the hottest day of the year so far' didn't seem so hot to me yesterday. First off, let me clarify. In April and May when the temps were in the high 90's to low 100's I was DYING from the heat. I've not lost much weight, if any, since then, yet it's hotter now than it was then and I felt rather comfortable while everyone else was sweltering ... so what's the scientific explanation for that? Now I am normally the FIRST person to bitch about the heat. I've never, ever done well with it despite the fact that I prefer it and that I've lived in a desert almost my entire life. I look forward to summer and the heat but then I am usually one of the first people to get heat stroke once it arrives. But aside from a brief and drastic blood sugar drop when I was trimming hedges last week, I've not had a single bout of heat stroke all year and I've been out in it quite a lot!
So, either my night sweats and hot flashes are just making summer heat seem like a walk in the park, or it has something to do with all the water I drink. Ok I'm sure option 3 is at least partly responsible, I weigh less this summer and, therefore, have less insulation ... but there's something more to it because skinnier people than I are still struggling with the heat this week.
Now, silly as it might sound, I'm starting to put some stock in my 'walking swamp cooler theory'. You 'back-Eastern-ers' might not know what a swamp cooler is so I'll give a brief explanation. It's an air conditioning unit popular in the west and the deep south that soaks filtration panels in constantly running water and then blows air over them. The water cools the air which is then pumped into the house. Ok, now back to my theory.
I've been out walking in the sun now for the last four days in a row and haven't even gotten a mild burn on my shoulders. Is it possible, that drinking a gallon + of water per day can actually make the heat seem less hot or make skin less likely to burn? Our bodies ARE what, like 80% water right? So if most people aren't getting nearly the amount of daily water that's recommended (they say minimum 8, 8oz glasses per-person per-day but they also say the ideal would be more like 1 gallon per-person per-day) then most people are probably walking around in a state of constant dehydration through most of their lives. I'm not talking, dying of thirst need a drink dehydrated, but subtle unaware dehydrated. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the slow, gradual dehydration that many American's subject themselves to would also make them more susceptible to the sun and heat?
Think about it this way, take a damp sponge and a saturated sponge and put them both out in the sun and see which one shrivels up and gets hard as a rock first. Put a half-full bottle of cold water and a totally full bottle of cold water in the sun and see which one gets hot first. I sweat, a lot, don't get me wrong ... maybe that's part of the cooling effect too since sweating is our human natural defense against heat (like dogs and panting) but I've always been 'a sweater' (haha, pull this thread as I walk away lol) and something is definitely different this year. Test my theory. Drink a gallon of water a day for three or four days and see if the heat doesn't seem just a little less hot to you. Let me know what you experienced!
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 homemade chicken veggie wrap
>>w/o the tortilla
1 serving pasta figioli soup
1 serving stuffed shells
1 glass reisling
-------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,327
Activity:
Minimal walking at the dog park. Snackers and I decided to finally celebrate closing on the house. When we got the keys we dove straight into cleaning and painting and then moving and unpacking and, until tonight, we hadn't had a glass of wine/champagne and really toasted the closing. So we went to our favorite Sicilian / fine dining restaurant and indulged a little. Thankfully my calories for the rest of the day were low or the count would have been terrible. When we left we took the dogs to the dog park for the first time since the move but I was so full on pasta and three glasses of water that I could not muster the energy to walk much so I just kind of waddled around for a little while.
So, either my night sweats and hot flashes are just making summer heat seem like a walk in the park, or it has something to do with all the water I drink. Ok I'm sure option 3 is at least partly responsible, I weigh less this summer and, therefore, have less insulation ... but there's something more to it because skinnier people than I are still struggling with the heat this week.
Now, silly as it might sound, I'm starting to put some stock in my 'walking swamp cooler theory'. You 'back-Eastern-ers' might not know what a swamp cooler is so I'll give a brief explanation. It's an air conditioning unit popular in the west and the deep south that soaks filtration panels in constantly running water and then blows air over them. The water cools the air which is then pumped into the house. Ok, now back to my theory.
I've been out walking in the sun now for the last four days in a row and haven't even gotten a mild burn on my shoulders. Is it possible, that drinking a gallon + of water per day can actually make the heat seem less hot or make skin less likely to burn? Our bodies ARE what, like 80% water right? So if most people aren't getting nearly the amount of daily water that's recommended (they say minimum 8, 8oz glasses per-person per-day but they also say the ideal would be more like 1 gallon per-person per-day) then most people are probably walking around in a state of constant dehydration through most of their lives. I'm not talking, dying of thirst need a drink dehydrated, but subtle unaware dehydrated. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the slow, gradual dehydration that many American's subject themselves to would also make them more susceptible to the sun and heat?
Think about it this way, take a damp sponge and a saturated sponge and put them both out in the sun and see which one shrivels up and gets hard as a rock first. Put a half-full bottle of cold water and a totally full bottle of cold water in the sun and see which one gets hot first. I sweat, a lot, don't get me wrong ... maybe that's part of the cooling effect too since sweating is our human natural defense against heat (like dogs and panting) but I've always been 'a sweater' (haha, pull this thread as I walk away lol) and something is definitely different this year. Test my theory. Drink a gallon of water a day for three or four days and see if the heat doesn't seem just a little less hot to you. Let me know what you experienced!
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 homemade chicken veggie wrap
>>w/o the tortilla
1 serving pasta figioli soup
1 serving stuffed shells
1 glass reisling
-------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,327
Activity:
Minimal walking at the dog park. Snackers and I decided to finally celebrate closing on the house. When we got the keys we dove straight into cleaning and painting and then moving and unpacking and, until tonight, we hadn't had a glass of wine/champagne and really toasted the closing. So we went to our favorite Sicilian / fine dining restaurant and indulged a little. Thankfully my calories for the rest of the day were low or the count would have been terrible. When we left we took the dogs to the dog park for the first time since the move but I was so full on pasta and three glasses of water that I could not muster the energy to walk much so I just kind of waddled around for a little while.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Heat Advisory
People are so strange sometimes. In Las Vegas it is perfectly normal to have temperatures consistently over 110 from late June through mid September - but this year has been unusually cool. It's just been the last few days that we've really started to see our normal temperatures and what do the officials do? They make a huge deal out of it and call for a heat advisory. Um ... ok. It's not like 113 degrees in late August is abnormal - in fact it's the most perfectly normal weather we've had all year but you'd think we lived in Alaska with how many people are acting. I guess everyone just got too comfy with the cooler temps this year.
While I was walking last night, sure I was sweating it up pretty good and yeah, I added a bit to the tan on my shoulders and arms but it really didn't feel swelteringly, hard-to-breathe hot like I remember from last year. So I wonder, is that because I've lost so much weight and, therefore, personal insulation, or am I just adapting to the heat? At any rate, I will confess that it's hard to want to get up and go walking in 100+ temps and maybe that's why I've had such a hard time with motivation lately. I'll admit I'm looking forward to the first signs of fall, even though I spent all of winter looking forward to summer.
The thing is, people often spend the winter wishing it were summer and the summer wishing it were winter. I have a theory on that. People are just seasonally confused. They spend winter wishing for spring and summer wishing for fall - because those are always everyone's favorite times of year (if you're fortunate enough to live in a place that actually has four seasons, some places don't you know). I personally can't wait for Halloween. I want to decorate the house up bigger than I've ever decorated for a holiday before in my life and play the soundtrack from Nightmare before Christmas all night every night. It is my all-time favorite holiday! I haven't figured out what I'm going to be this year. I do the witch thing almost every year and although I do have the most killer witches hat and cloak ever (with my glasses and some drawn-on crow's feet I could do a very convincing Professor McGonagall) I'm kind of wanting something different this year ... maybe a little more flattering. Any suggestions?
Food:
160 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Cup of meatloaf
1 serving peanut butter
1 chicken veggie wrap
1/2 oz sunflower seeds
----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 949
Activity:
Walking: 2.5 miles (I had to cut my walk short because I had to pee and both porta potties were out of toilet paper so I just sat down and held it.)
While I was walking last night, sure I was sweating it up pretty good and yeah, I added a bit to the tan on my shoulders and arms but it really didn't feel swelteringly, hard-to-breathe hot like I remember from last year. So I wonder, is that because I've lost so much weight and, therefore, personal insulation, or am I just adapting to the heat? At any rate, I will confess that it's hard to want to get up and go walking in 100+ temps and maybe that's why I've had such a hard time with motivation lately. I'll admit I'm looking forward to the first signs of fall, even though I spent all of winter looking forward to summer.
The thing is, people often spend the winter wishing it were summer and the summer wishing it were winter. I have a theory on that. People are just seasonally confused. They spend winter wishing for spring and summer wishing for fall - because those are always everyone's favorite times of year (if you're fortunate enough to live in a place that actually has four seasons, some places don't you know). I personally can't wait for Halloween. I want to decorate the house up bigger than I've ever decorated for a holiday before in my life and play the soundtrack from Nightmare before Christmas all night every night. It is my all-time favorite holiday! I haven't figured out what I'm going to be this year. I do the witch thing almost every year and although I do have the most killer witches hat and cloak ever (with my glasses and some drawn-on crow's feet I could do a very convincing Professor McGonagall) I'm kind of wanting something different this year ... maybe a little more flattering. Any suggestions?
Food:
160 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Cup of meatloaf
1 serving peanut butter
1 chicken veggie wrap
1/2 oz sunflower seeds
----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 949
Activity:
Walking: 2.5 miles (I had to cut my walk short because I had to pee and both porta potties were out of toilet paper so I just sat down and held it.)
6 Miles and Counting
Yeah baby! Monday it was really hard to leave Snackers home while I went and did my three miles because I wanted to spend every second of available time that I had with him but I did it anyway because I also want to get back to losing some weight again. It wasn't so bad, it only took an hour or so and then we hung out together and played canasta when I got home. Last night I went with him to football practice and walked around the park for three miles. That's 6 miles this week and counting!
It took me a little while to develop a routine at the park last night, I started out thinking I was going to just circle the football field but as practice got underway I realized that there really wasn't anywhere to get from one side of the end-zone to the other without getting in the way so I started lapping the entire area via the roads that circle it. I was walking on the grass in the shade during one leg of each lap but the grass was full of holes and, yep, I got caught not paying attention for 20 seconds and ended up on my butt. Thankfully I didn't hurt my ankle stepping in the hole. You know how sometimes you realize that you're going to fall down and trying to not fall down will only cause you injury? That's what happened, I felt my ankle start to roll in the hole and I just pretty much took a butt-dive instead. So then I realized that 3 minutes of shade wasn't worth a twisted ankle and stuck to the sidewalks and roads.
It only took about 6 laps around the entire area to get to 6,000 + steps. Then I hung out on the mom-blanket for awhile to drink some water and watch practice. Then walked another 250 steps back to the car. I'm going to go again tonight. Weeeee.
p.s. Mini-beef. Don't you just hate it when you ask someone a multiple choice question and their answer is "yes"? Pet peeve #3.5.
Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 banana
2 cups meatloaf
1 fish burrito
2 small gatorades
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,202
Activity:
Walking: 3 + miles
It took me a little while to develop a routine at the park last night, I started out thinking I was going to just circle the football field but as practice got underway I realized that there really wasn't anywhere to get from one side of the end-zone to the other without getting in the way so I started lapping the entire area via the roads that circle it. I was walking on the grass in the shade during one leg of each lap but the grass was full of holes and, yep, I got caught not paying attention for 20 seconds and ended up on my butt. Thankfully I didn't hurt my ankle stepping in the hole. You know how sometimes you realize that you're going to fall down and trying to not fall down will only cause you injury? That's what happened, I felt my ankle start to roll in the hole and I just pretty much took a butt-dive instead. So then I realized that 3 minutes of shade wasn't worth a twisted ankle and stuck to the sidewalks and roads.
It only took about 6 laps around the entire area to get to 6,000 + steps. Then I hung out on the mom-blanket for awhile to drink some water and watch practice. Then walked another 250 steps back to the car. I'm going to go again tonight. Weeeee.
p.s. Mini-beef. Don't you just hate it when you ask someone a multiple choice question and their answer is "yes"? Pet peeve #3.5.
Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 banana
2 cups meatloaf
1 fish burrito
2 small gatorades
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,202
Activity:
Walking: 3 + miles
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
My Old Friend
Potassium, how I love thee, let me count the weighs (intentional misspelling). So I dreamed last night that I woke up with a charlie horse behind my right knee, got out of bed to stretch it out and found Vladdy raiding the dirty clothes hamper with a vengeance only a 60 lb puppy can have. Then I realized that I was dreaming when I glanced at myself in the bathroom mirror and realized that I looked more over weight than two of my November, 2010 pictures combined.
But as soon as I realized I was dreaming I woke up with an actual charlie horse behind my right knee! lol Apparently my body was trying to wake me up but my mind didn't want to wake up so it tried to deal with the issue in a dream instead. Silly brain, that never works. So I get out of bed to stretch my charlie horse and I suddenly have a double dose of panic. 'Is Vladdy raiding the hamper?', 'Do I weigh 600 lbs?'
It was waaaay too dark in the room to see if there were actually clothes all over the floor but I found Vladdy sleeping on the floor on Snackers' side of the bed which alleviated my concerns about my weight as the cobwebs continued to clear out a bit more. I headed for the kitchen for a mouthful of soda water and there, on the shelf, was yellow gold - bananas. *cue excerpt from Handel's Messiah*
You see, I bought the bananas on Sunday know that I had every intention of pushing myself physically this week and that the effort would result in muscle soreness. When I first started this blog a very wise woman (Tia) suggested bananas due to their high potassium content so I grabbed them. As it turns out the banana was still a little on the green side so I ate 3/4 of it and fed the rest to Vladdy - he walked three miles too, I'm sure the potassium couldn't hurt right? Unfortunately my waking up woke Snackers up and then the two of us had a hell of a time getting back to sleep. Another restless night. Boooo.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
12 oz green tea and ginger ail
2 cups meatloaf
1 homemade deli meat sandwich
>> chicken, Colby, olive oil mayo
16 oz Gatorade G2
1 serving macadamia nuts
-------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,298
Activity:
Walking: 3+ miles
Laundry
Filling in holes dug by Vladdy
But as soon as I realized I was dreaming I woke up with an actual charlie horse behind my right knee! lol Apparently my body was trying to wake me up but my mind didn't want to wake up so it tried to deal with the issue in a dream instead. Silly brain, that never works. So I get out of bed to stretch my charlie horse and I suddenly have a double dose of panic. 'Is Vladdy raiding the hamper?', 'Do I weigh 600 lbs?'
It was waaaay too dark in the room to see if there were actually clothes all over the floor but I found Vladdy sleeping on the floor on Snackers' side of the bed which alleviated my concerns about my weight as the cobwebs continued to clear out a bit more. I headed for the kitchen for a mouthful of soda water and there, on the shelf, was yellow gold - bananas. *cue excerpt from Handel's Messiah*
You see, I bought the bananas on Sunday know that I had every intention of pushing myself physically this week and that the effort would result in muscle soreness. When I first started this blog a very wise woman (Tia) suggested bananas due to their high potassium content so I grabbed them. As it turns out the banana was still a little on the green side so I ate 3/4 of it and fed the rest to Vladdy - he walked three miles too, I'm sure the potassium couldn't hurt right? Unfortunately my waking up woke Snackers up and then the two of us had a hell of a time getting back to sleep. Another restless night. Boooo.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
12 oz green tea and ginger ail
2 cups meatloaf
1 homemade deli meat sandwich
>> chicken, Colby, olive oil mayo
16 oz Gatorade G2
1 serving macadamia nuts
-------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,298
Activity:
Walking: 3+ miles
Laundry
Filling in holes dug by Vladdy
Monday, August 22, 2011
Weigh-In #41
Yay another weigh-in where the scale didn't move even the tiniest little bit. 228, precisely the same as it was last week and pretty much last month. Joy of freakin' joys.
Sleeping in yesterday bit me in the ass last night. I went to bed at 11:30 and then laid there staring at the clock until sometime after 2:00 a.m. before finally falling asleep. Snackers got up around 6 a.m. and let Vladdy out. Vladdy started barking at 6:15 and woke me up. That shits gotta stop or we're going to start getting complaints from the neighbors. I had a laundry list of things I wanted to get done around the house last night but Snackers and I ended up having date night instead ... which was super nice. We really don't spend enough technology free time together lately. Ok, so technically date night wasn't technology free because we spent it playing battleship against each other on our computers but it wasn't any different than if we'd had the actual board game AND the TV was off!!! IT WAS AWESOME!
We've been saving up memento's from things that we do together ever since our second or third date when we went to Zion National Park and saved the one-day entrance pass that we bought. We've decided that we want to stop procrastinating and start compiling our memory box into a scrap book so I may get a few more nights of TV free time with him in the future. YAY! He has night jobs this week though so after tonight I'm pretty much not going to see him except in passing until next weekend. *sigh*
Food:
132 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
2 servings of meat loaf
1 serving of chips
12 oz G2
-----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,125
Activity:
Walking Vladdy: 3 miles
Sleeping in yesterday bit me in the ass last night. I went to bed at 11:30 and then laid there staring at the clock until sometime after 2:00 a.m. before finally falling asleep. Snackers got up around 6 a.m. and let Vladdy out. Vladdy started barking at 6:15 and woke me up. That shits gotta stop or we're going to start getting complaints from the neighbors. I had a laundry list of things I wanted to get done around the house last night but Snackers and I ended up having date night instead ... which was super nice. We really don't spend enough technology free time together lately. Ok, so technically date night wasn't technology free because we spent it playing battleship against each other on our computers but it wasn't any different than if we'd had the actual board game AND the TV was off!!! IT WAS AWESOME!
We've been saving up memento's from things that we do together ever since our second or third date when we went to Zion National Park and saved the one-day entrance pass that we bought. We've decided that we want to stop procrastinating and start compiling our memory box into a scrap book so I may get a few more nights of TV free time with him in the future. YAY! He has night jobs this week though so after tonight I'm pretty much not going to see him except in passing until next weekend. *sigh*
Food:
132 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
2 servings of meat loaf
1 serving of chips
12 oz G2
-----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,125
Activity:
Walking Vladdy: 3 miles
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sleeping In
Well it wasn't a restful sleep past 6 a.m. but I did manage to doze in an out of sleep until almost 9 o'clock. For me that's just wow! I originally woke up to the sound of Casper cracking his knuckles on the edge of the bed, the next time I woke up it was to Vladdy whining in his kennel because he thought we should be awake, the third time was to Kody Joe mewing under the bed, and finally when my mom blew up my phone with political rhetoric text messages.
There are few things in the world more annoying than people who complain endlessly about politics and political figures - especially when those same people haven't cast a single vote in over 20 years. America is a Democratic Republic, if someone doesn't like the current elected officials they can cast their vote at the next election. We haven't had a single, solitary president in my entire life span that my parents didn't hate and complain about endlessly and they know that I don't agree with about 65% of their political views and that I really hate mass text messages but my mom insists on including me in her bombardments anyway because she's too lazy to select individual people rather than just hit "select all" from her phone's address book.
So at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning my phone goes off. That's ok, I think, I can ignore it. But before my phone even finishes playing the theme from Star Trek Voyager it cuts off and starts over, meaning text message #2 is coming in ... then a third. So I get out of bed, worried that if it doesn't stop it's going to wake Shawn and then he'll be pissed. I go to my phone and it says "Your inbox is full, would you like to deleted stored messages?" I hit 'no' because I'm never sure if saying yes will delete the unread messages and then I open the first of the three new messages. I see the first two words "President Obama" and instantly delete it because I know that the rest of it is going to just be bitching about one thing or another. The instant I delete the first message another one comes in and my phone asks me if I want to empty so now, knowing that all these texts are just political ramblings from my mother I select yes and a fifth text instantly hits my phone. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! No initial 'hey are you awake?' message, no 'have you heard?', no consideration for the fact that I've asked her a thousand times to stop shoving her political opinions down my throat, just five text messages in less than five minutes and she wonders why there are certain people who won't even speak to her anymore because of political differences. *sigh*
Well now I feel better.
Food:
120 oz. of water
2 cups of coffee w/creamer
1 chicken wrap
1/2 serving seasoned fries
20 oz diet life water (0 cal)
1 fish burrito
1 glass white wine
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,247
Activity:
Clothes Shopping: 60 min
Grocery Shopping/Speed Walking Walmart: 90 min
Unloaded the car / put groceries away
Filled 2 holes dug by Vladdy in the yard
Bathed/Wrestled Vladdy
There are few things in the world more annoying than people who complain endlessly about politics and political figures - especially when those same people haven't cast a single vote in over 20 years. America is a Democratic Republic, if someone doesn't like the current elected officials they can cast their vote at the next election. We haven't had a single, solitary president in my entire life span that my parents didn't hate and complain about endlessly and they know that I don't agree with about 65% of their political views and that I really hate mass text messages but my mom insists on including me in her bombardments anyway because she's too lazy to select individual people rather than just hit "select all" from her phone's address book.
So at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning my phone goes off. That's ok, I think, I can ignore it. But before my phone even finishes playing the theme from Star Trek Voyager it cuts off and starts over, meaning text message #2 is coming in ... then a third. So I get out of bed, worried that if it doesn't stop it's going to wake Shawn and then he'll be pissed. I go to my phone and it says "Your inbox is full, would you like to deleted stored messages?" I hit 'no' because I'm never sure if saying yes will delete the unread messages and then I open the first of the three new messages. I see the first two words "President Obama" and instantly delete it because I know that the rest of it is going to just be bitching about one thing or another. The instant I delete the first message another one comes in and my phone asks me if I want to empty so now, knowing that all these texts are just political ramblings from my mother I select yes and a fifth text instantly hits my phone. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! No initial 'hey are you awake?' message, no 'have you heard?', no consideration for the fact that I've asked her a thousand times to stop shoving her political opinions down my throat, just five text messages in less than five minutes and she wonders why there are certain people who won't even speak to her anymore because of political differences. *sigh*
Well now I feel better.
Food:
120 oz. of water
2 cups of coffee w/creamer
1 chicken wrap
1/2 serving seasoned fries
20 oz diet life water (0 cal)
1 fish burrito
1 glass white wine
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,247
Activity:
Clothes Shopping: 60 min
Grocery Shopping/Speed Walking Walmart: 90 min
Unloaded the car / put groceries away
Filled 2 holes dug by Vladdy in the yard
Bathed/Wrestled Vladdy
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Scary Moment
So last night Snackers and I are laying on the sofa having some much needed and, lately, rare quality time together watching tv when we heard three loud bangs right outside our front door. First one, then a very short pause and then two more in rapid succession. I bolted upright and Snackers looked at me and said "Those were gunshots!" Both dogs started barking instantly which only freaked me out more so I ran to the slider, locked it and started to shut the blinds just as Snackers was trying to go out it. When he realized it was locked he went to the front door, unlocked it, and went outside, toward the sound of gunshots?! WHO DOES THAT?!
I was like 'What in the hell are you doing?! You don't go toward the sound of gunfire!' But the street was empty, the entire neighborhood as far as we could see in any direction was completely still. Yeah ok well I'm still a small town girl so I'm gonna call 911 regardless. I mean, for all we knew the shots came from inside our neighbor's house. It could have been a domestic dispute or a home invasion ... better safe than sorry right?
Well as it turns out, I wasn't the only one to make the call. I watched out the window until I saw three cop cars pull up and park right outside our area and then I went out, only to discover that everyone from the entire family from right next door to the guy three houses down and everyone in between were all outside wondering what was going on. So that rules out neighbor home invasion - whew.
The officers went house-by-house getting the same story, three bangs, no one saw a damn thing. Then one of the officers notices something on the sidewalk across the street. I knew she'd found something because she was shining her flashlight in one spot for awhile, then whistled to get the other cops attention (both were carrying assault rifles, by the way!) and the two of them stood over something on the sidewalk, looked in the gutter, checked out the bumper of a truck right by the gutter, shined their lights in the windows of the truck and then stood outside the person's house flashing their light in the windows to get the guys attention so that he would come outside. It was like they were afraid to go up to his door or something ... I was trippin'! Lo and behold, however, she informed him that they found remnants of fireworks on the sidewalk ... WHAT?! FIREWORKS?!
Ok now I'm no stranger to the sound of gunfire and Snackers and I are both relatively familiar with fireworks of all kinds. We have a buddy that gets these huge rolls of firecrackers just about every fourth of July and we BOTH thought that the bangs sounded more like gun fire than fire works. They were so loud and distinct and more of a POP than a CRACK but ... clearly no one had been shot since we were all standing outside so I suppose fireworks probably does make the most sense. I felt kind of dumb and Snackers was teasing me because I called the police over fireworks but I'll tell you what, cops don't show up in three's with assault rifles over just one "shots fired" call so I clearly wasn't the only one who dialed 911!
But then ... get this, shortly after we came inside and settled down Snackers spontaneously got up and went out to the garage, only to return with three baseball bats which he strategically placed throughout the house. HA! He won't admit it but that scared him too. I've been meaning to get a gun, simply for home defense. I've done plenty of practice and target shooting so I am not uncomfortable with guns at all but I just haven't taken the time to go through the permit process. I will though, eventually. We're in a really quiet, clean, sweet little neighborhood though so aside from the fear I felt from last night's events I was straight up shocked - I mean this isn't exactly the place for nightly drive-by's or anything. Still, bad things do happen to good people and it's better to be safe than sorry. *insert your own idiom here if desired*
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 donut
1 healthy choice lunch
1.5 cups grilled meat (mixture pork, chicken, beef)
>>w/pico and hot sauce
1 tbsp refried beans
1 raspberry beer
2 tbsps peanut butter
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,238
Activity:
Finals, spent the entire first part of the day creating a power point presentation for IT 264
Walked to the mailbox to check the mail
Met up with friends at a bowling alley after school, then headed to another friend's house for dinner and to watch football.
I was like 'What in the hell are you doing?! You don't go toward the sound of gunfire!' But the street was empty, the entire neighborhood as far as we could see in any direction was completely still. Yeah ok well I'm still a small town girl so I'm gonna call 911 regardless. I mean, for all we knew the shots came from inside our neighbor's house. It could have been a domestic dispute or a home invasion ... better safe than sorry right?
Well as it turns out, I wasn't the only one to make the call. I watched out the window until I saw three cop cars pull up and park right outside our area and then I went out, only to discover that everyone from the entire family from right next door to the guy three houses down and everyone in between were all outside wondering what was going on. So that rules out neighbor home invasion - whew.
The officers went house-by-house getting the same story, three bangs, no one saw a damn thing. Then one of the officers notices something on the sidewalk across the street. I knew she'd found something because she was shining her flashlight in one spot for awhile, then whistled to get the other cops attention (both were carrying assault rifles, by the way!) and the two of them stood over something on the sidewalk, looked in the gutter, checked out the bumper of a truck right by the gutter, shined their lights in the windows of the truck and then stood outside the person's house flashing their light in the windows to get the guys attention so that he would come outside. It was like they were afraid to go up to his door or something ... I was trippin'! Lo and behold, however, she informed him that they found remnants of fireworks on the sidewalk ... WHAT?! FIREWORKS?!
Ok now I'm no stranger to the sound of gunfire and Snackers and I are both relatively familiar with fireworks of all kinds. We have a buddy that gets these huge rolls of firecrackers just about every fourth of July and we BOTH thought that the bangs sounded more like gun fire than fire works. They were so loud and distinct and more of a POP than a CRACK but ... clearly no one had been shot since we were all standing outside so I suppose fireworks probably does make the most sense. I felt kind of dumb and Snackers was teasing me because I called the police over fireworks but I'll tell you what, cops don't show up in three's with assault rifles over just one "shots fired" call so I clearly wasn't the only one who dialed 911!
But then ... get this, shortly after we came inside and settled down Snackers spontaneously got up and went out to the garage, only to return with three baseball bats which he strategically placed throughout the house. HA! He won't admit it but that scared him too. I've been meaning to get a gun, simply for home defense. I've done plenty of practice and target shooting so I am not uncomfortable with guns at all but I just haven't taken the time to go through the permit process. I will though, eventually. We're in a really quiet, clean, sweet little neighborhood though so aside from the fear I felt from last night's events I was straight up shocked - I mean this isn't exactly the place for nightly drive-by's or anything. Still, bad things do happen to good people and it's better to be safe than sorry. *insert your own idiom here if desired*
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 donut
1 healthy choice lunch
1.5 cups grilled meat (mixture pork, chicken, beef)
>>w/pico and hot sauce
1 tbsp refried beans
1 raspberry beer
2 tbsps peanut butter
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,238
Activity:
Finals, spent the entire first part of the day creating a power point presentation for IT 264
Walked to the mailbox to check the mail
Met up with friends at a bowling alley after school, then headed to another friend's house for dinner and to watch football.
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Home Remedy
Sunday as we were fixing supper Snackers peeled four potatoes and put the peels down the garbage disposal. He honestly didn't know that you're not supposed to do that and, lo and behold, the sink clogged up baaaaad! Neither side would drain, we plungered it for an hour to no avail and I finally gave up and accepted the fact that we were going to have to call a plumber. *sigh*
Well I sent a text to our realtor on Monday and asked her for our home warranty info because we made the sellers of the home buy the warranty so we didn't know who it was with or our policy number or anything. I heard back from her on Tuesday with the info and made the call, it was going to be $60 flat fee to have the warranty company send out a plumber but then the rep suggested a home remedy for clogged drains that "usually works" ... I thought sure, why not!
1 cup of salt
1 cup of baking soda
1 cup of white vinegar
Pour those three items down the drain, in that order and let it sit for 15-20 minutes while you boil a big pot of water. Then pour the water down the drain. I thought there was no possible way it was going to work but I already had the salt and vinegar and I figured that buying a box of baking soda would cost a lot less than a plumber so I gave it a shot last night after football practice.
I'll be damned ... it worked! Of course the vinegar and baking soda reacted in my drain just like they do in a science fair volcano. This huge bubbling reaction happened down inside the drain the instant I poured the vinegar in, spitting foam "lava" up into the sink and then it continued to make gurgling and bubbling noises from deep within the sink for several minutes after the original reaction. I poured the boiling water in and nothing happened and I thought "crap, this sucks". But I flicked the disposal on for a quick second and this black bubbly foam started to ooz up out of the drain, so I flicked it again ... more ooze. So I turned the disposal on and let it run for a second and WHOOSH everything drained right out of both sides of the sink!!! I ran the water for a good two or three minutes just to be sure and yep ... it's clear. WOWSERS!!! Save yourself the $$ of a plumber, or even drain-o and try this next time you're in these shoes cause seriously, wow.
p.s. thankfully in our case if we let the sink sit long enough the accumulated water would seep very slowly out so we had nice empty sinks for this but if your sink has standing water in it that you can't get rid of it might be a lot harder to get this remedy actually down into the drain so that it can work it's magic.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
2 tbsps peanut butter
2 cups leftover stew
2 small homemade fish burritos
-------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,286
Activity:
Not much. Made supper and that's about it. Had some excitement here tonight, I'll write about it tomorrow.
Well I sent a text to our realtor on Monday and asked her for our home warranty info because we made the sellers of the home buy the warranty so we didn't know who it was with or our policy number or anything. I heard back from her on Tuesday with the info and made the call, it was going to be $60 flat fee to have the warranty company send out a plumber but then the rep suggested a home remedy for clogged drains that "usually works" ... I thought sure, why not!
1 cup of salt
1 cup of baking soda
1 cup of white vinegar
Pour those three items down the drain, in that order and let it sit for 15-20 minutes while you boil a big pot of water. Then pour the water down the drain. I thought there was no possible way it was going to work but I already had the salt and vinegar and I figured that buying a box of baking soda would cost a lot less than a plumber so I gave it a shot last night after football practice.
I'll be damned ... it worked! Of course the vinegar and baking soda reacted in my drain just like they do in a science fair volcano. This huge bubbling reaction happened down inside the drain the instant I poured the vinegar in, spitting foam "lava" up into the sink and then it continued to make gurgling and bubbling noises from deep within the sink for several minutes after the original reaction. I poured the boiling water in and nothing happened and I thought "crap, this sucks". But I flicked the disposal on for a quick second and this black bubbly foam started to ooz up out of the drain, so I flicked it again ... more ooze. So I turned the disposal on and let it run for a second and WHOOSH everything drained right out of both sides of the sink!!! I ran the water for a good two or three minutes just to be sure and yep ... it's clear. WOWSERS!!! Save yourself the $$ of a plumber, or even drain-o and try this next time you're in these shoes cause seriously, wow.
p.s. thankfully in our case if we let the sink sit long enough the accumulated water would seep very slowly out so we had nice empty sinks for this but if your sink has standing water in it that you can't get rid of it might be a lot harder to get this remedy actually down into the drain so that it can work it's magic.
Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
2 tbsps peanut butter
2 cups leftover stew
2 small homemade fish burritos
-------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,286
Activity:
Not much. Made supper and that's about it. Had some excitement here tonight, I'll write about it tomorrow.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Where Do I Find It?
Ok I know that at least SOME of you have gone through what I have been going through for the past few months so help me out here. When I started this whole thing in November I did so with an "I can do it, and it's going to be rewarding, and it's going to be awesome" mentality. '266's' video inspired the hell out of me and I was ready to kick some butt and take names. Somewhere around February I flat out lost that. I've been able to catch it for a few days or even maybe a few weeks at a time but for the most part, even when I've had really good weeks where I've worked really hard and ate really well I was literally forcing myself. Force is ok, it gets the job done, but I am so tired of feeling like I hate doing what I need to do to lose weight more often than not. I ENJOYED it in the beginning so WTH is wrong with me now?
Well I'm a Scorpio, and Scorps are obsessive people. We get into something and we throw everything we have into it and then when we get bored with it we move on to something else. Unfortunately it's not just walking that I've gotten bored with but working out in general and even, dare I say it, blogging. But I CAN NOT GIVE UP! I can't! I never give up on anything so how do I get my enthusiasm back? How do I remind myself, before I even leave the house or put my shoes on, that going for a walk is going to feel good and be rewarding? Last night I thought about it and then I thought 'nah, I'd rather take a bath and read a book'. I HATE that side of myself - the side that can talk me out of doing things that I know I should do even when I know I will feel better by doing them. Rationalizing bad behavior, I do it ALL THE TIME! It is so irritating and I can't seem to control it!
I am so angry and frustrated and yet I can't even seem to find motivation from those emotions right now! I WANT to keep losing weight but I can't seem to get back to wanting to do what needs to be done to lose it. I'm back to that self-destructive mentality that I had for years before I started this blog where somewhere deep in my mind I'm convinced that I am never really going to get there so it is pointless to try. There is this little worm-pudge voice in my brain telling me that I was born fat. He's back! I want to banish him but I can't figure out how. I'm not depressed (don't freak bro) I'm just frustrated. I waited all winter for the sun to come back and now that's it here I hide from it inside all day and by the time it's cool enough out to go walking I've gone into "relaxation mode" and don't want to. I love the sun! Stupid effing Vegas temperatures be damned part of me WANTS to go walking in the sun. But then I rationalize that I can't take Vladdy because the ground burns his feet and if I go without Vladdy it's not fair to him so I should wait ... and then I wait myself right out of going at all. Will someone please come to Las Vegas and slap the shit out of me? Please?!
p.s. I'm posting my water in oz now instead of glasses because I was drinking 8 oz glasses but for the last few weeks I've been refilling and drinking 20 oz bottles so I realized that, on average, I've gone from approximately 64 oz of water per day to 160 ... which seems like it might be a bit excessive? And that might be why I've had a much harder time getting those last two bottles down the gullet at night. lol At any rate, I think tracking oz instead of glasses is going to be more accurate.
Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fish burrito (brunch)
2 small chicken tacos
1 jr. frosty (in a moment of post-workout weakness)
---------------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,254
Activity:
Yard Work: (30 mins) trimmed the hedges in the front yard with manual clippers, picked up all the clippings and put them in the trash.
Walking: 3.4 miles (6,780 steps) with Vladdy yanking on me the entire time.
Well I'm a Scorpio, and Scorps are obsessive people. We get into something and we throw everything we have into it and then when we get bored with it we move on to something else. Unfortunately it's not just walking that I've gotten bored with but working out in general and even, dare I say it, blogging. But I CAN NOT GIVE UP! I can't! I never give up on anything so how do I get my enthusiasm back? How do I remind myself, before I even leave the house or put my shoes on, that going for a walk is going to feel good and be rewarding? Last night I thought about it and then I thought 'nah, I'd rather take a bath and read a book'. I HATE that side of myself - the side that can talk me out of doing things that I know I should do even when I know I will feel better by doing them. Rationalizing bad behavior, I do it ALL THE TIME! It is so irritating and I can't seem to control it!
I am so angry and frustrated and yet I can't even seem to find motivation from those emotions right now! I WANT to keep losing weight but I can't seem to get back to wanting to do what needs to be done to lose it. I'm back to that self-destructive mentality that I had for years before I started this blog where somewhere deep in my mind I'm convinced that I am never really going to get there so it is pointless to try. There is this little worm-pudge voice in my brain telling me that I was born fat. He's back! I want to banish him but I can't figure out how. I'm not depressed (don't freak bro) I'm just frustrated. I waited all winter for the sun to come back and now that's it here I hide from it inside all day and by the time it's cool enough out to go walking I've gone into "relaxation mode" and don't want to. I love the sun! Stupid effing Vegas temperatures be damned part of me WANTS to go walking in the sun. But then I rationalize that I can't take Vladdy because the ground burns his feet and if I go without Vladdy it's not fair to him so I should wait ... and then I wait myself right out of going at all. Will someone please come to Las Vegas and slap the shit out of me? Please?!
p.s. I'm posting my water in oz now instead of glasses because I was drinking 8 oz glasses but for the last few weeks I've been refilling and drinking 20 oz bottles so I realized that, on average, I've gone from approximately 64 oz of water per day to 160 ... which seems like it might be a bit excessive? And that might be why I've had a much harder time getting those last two bottles down the gullet at night. lol At any rate, I think tracking oz instead of glasses is going to be more accurate.
Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fish burrito (brunch)
2 small chicken tacos
1 jr. frosty (in a moment of post-workout weakness)
---------------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,254
Activity:
Yard Work: (30 mins) trimmed the hedges in the front yard with manual clippers, picked up all the clippings and put them in the trash.
Walking: 3.4 miles (6,780 steps) with Vladdy yanking on me the entire time.
Compromising
Snackers wants to go up to Red Rock and go hiking this weekend. That is something that I have wanted to do since we first moved here but could never catch him in the right mood for it. The fact that he is willing this weekend is an effort, on his part, and yet, here I am with PF pain. Actually both yesterday and today felt less like PF and more like a bruise on the bottom of my heel. The traditional PF characteristics such as pain after waking up in the morning or sitting for a long time have not been present, just mild heel pain when I stand or walk that feels just like pushing on a bruise. I take that as a good sign. Maybe I just got a bit too vigorous with the ice packs and golf balls.
Last night I decided to take a short walk to the mailbox to check the mail. My heel was fine but I felt that sharp, shooting pain from my tailbone up the right-center of my lower back. I think I need an adjustment. I haven't had one since I was 19 and the weight gains and losses since that time probably have me all out of alignment. I will have to price out chiropractors today and see what I find for a decent fee. Maybe Snackers will get one with me, he's never had one and I can't even put into words how much better they can make you feel, help you sleep, and alleviate odd little pings and pains like the one in my tailbone. The fact that the pain shoots up but does not, at all, shoot down into my hips or legs is an excellent sign. Usually pain that extends through or beyond a joint is a sign of pretty serious damage. I am thinking it is either a knotted muscle that occasionally gets pulled just the wrong way, or that my spine is slightly out of alignment due to limping because of the PF and it slips every once in awhile.
I would really like to go to Red Rock this weekend though, so I am going to baby my foot and make sure it has more than enough opportunity to get better. But my motivation has become low because of the aches and pains. Last night's little work out was weak and I knew it even as I was counting out the reps. I'm back to that place where I want to get off work and just relax on the sofa until bed time despite my frustrations over this epic stall I've been in. I am just NINE POUNDS away from weighing less than Snackers. Do you have any idea how badly I want to reach that little side goal? Yet no matter how bad my head wants it, I can't seem to make my motivation cooperate. This is so much harder than it was when I first started. Why? Shouldn't it be getting easier?
Food:
140 oz of water
1 Fiber One bar
1 leftover homemade burger
1 serving pickles and PB
2 cups leftover stew
1 glass of red wine
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,246
Activity:
I did it again. :( I kissed Snackers goodby as he left for football, warmed and ate supper, and then took a hot bath with a new book and a glass of wine. By the time I got out of the bath it was past 8 p.m.! It was a pretty good book. I fed the animals, gave Kody and Vladdy their pain meds and then laid down in bed to read some more and fell asleep without working out and without posting. Obviously, I should have done SOMETHING physical before taking a bath but my motivation SUCKS! I am so tired of this psychological tug of war I have myself in. It is really hard to force myself to do something when I really have zero motivation to do it ... typical Scorpio. And yet when I have motivation to do something I kick ass at it! I need my damn motivation back and I need it to stick around for awhile like it was when I first started this. This crap where I'm motivated for 5 - 7 days and then just want to lay around doing nothing is starting to piss me off. Maybe I need to start taking a metabolism booster or energy pill or something so that I have more ambition. Of course my brother will tell me I've over trained and that until I actually take his advice and give myself some time, this on/off crap will continue but I thought I'd done that, haven't I? Maybe not. I try but then I feel guilty. I don't want to work out because of guilt, I want to work out because of motivation and excitement to accomplish goals. Grr. I'm mad at me; unfortunately being mad at myself doesn't seem to be enough to spurn motivation either though.
Last night I decided to take a short walk to the mailbox to check the mail. My heel was fine but I felt that sharp, shooting pain from my tailbone up the right-center of my lower back. I think I need an adjustment. I haven't had one since I was 19 and the weight gains and losses since that time probably have me all out of alignment. I will have to price out chiropractors today and see what I find for a decent fee. Maybe Snackers will get one with me, he's never had one and I can't even put into words how much better they can make you feel, help you sleep, and alleviate odd little pings and pains like the one in my tailbone. The fact that the pain shoots up but does not, at all, shoot down into my hips or legs is an excellent sign. Usually pain that extends through or beyond a joint is a sign of pretty serious damage. I am thinking it is either a knotted muscle that occasionally gets pulled just the wrong way, or that my spine is slightly out of alignment due to limping because of the PF and it slips every once in awhile.
I would really like to go to Red Rock this weekend though, so I am going to baby my foot and make sure it has more than enough opportunity to get better. But my motivation has become low because of the aches and pains. Last night's little work out was weak and I knew it even as I was counting out the reps. I'm back to that place where I want to get off work and just relax on the sofa until bed time despite my frustrations over this epic stall I've been in. I am just NINE POUNDS away from weighing less than Snackers. Do you have any idea how badly I want to reach that little side goal? Yet no matter how bad my head wants it, I can't seem to make my motivation cooperate. This is so much harder than it was when I first started. Why? Shouldn't it be getting easier?
Food:
140 oz of water
1 Fiber One bar
1 leftover homemade burger
1 serving pickles and PB
2 cups leftover stew
1 glass of red wine
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,246
Activity:
I did it again. :( I kissed Snackers goodby as he left for football, warmed and ate supper, and then took a hot bath with a new book and a glass of wine. By the time I got out of the bath it was past 8 p.m.! It was a pretty good book. I fed the animals, gave Kody and Vladdy their pain meds and then laid down in bed to read some more and fell asleep without working out and without posting. Obviously, I should have done SOMETHING physical before taking a bath but my motivation SUCKS! I am so tired of this psychological tug of war I have myself in. It is really hard to force myself to do something when I really have zero motivation to do it ... typical Scorpio. And yet when I have motivation to do something I kick ass at it! I need my damn motivation back and I need it to stick around for awhile like it was when I first started this. This crap where I'm motivated for 5 - 7 days and then just want to lay around doing nothing is starting to piss me off. Maybe I need to start taking a metabolism booster or energy pill or something so that I have more ambition. Of course my brother will tell me I've over trained and that until I actually take his advice and give myself some time, this on/off crap will continue but I thought I'd done that, haven't I? Maybe not. I try but then I feel guilty. I don't want to work out because of guilt, I want to work out because of motivation and excitement to accomplish goals. Grr. I'm mad at me; unfortunately being mad at myself doesn't seem to be enough to spurn motivation either though.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Cone Head
Vladdy came home last night with a big giant cone on his neck and a little something missing near his back legs. He ran in the door and immediately laid down on the cool tile, all splayed out. I swear if he could have he would have said "aaaaaah" in relief! His puppy awkwardness and clumsiness have improved over the last month or two, quite a bit, but with the cone on it's like he's right back to being a big bumbling moronic little pup. He runs into everything, won't pick his head up all the way, and can't seem to figure out where sounds are coming from unless they're where he can see them. For example, I called his name from just a foot or two behind him and he turned and ran down the hallway looking for me. Poor little freak.
He seems to be feeling great this morning though. He's running around, tail wagging, trying to be his usual excited self but the vet said to leave the cone on for five days so ... it's going to be a long five days for both of us! lol
I could be wrong but I think Piper was actually disappointed to see that he was back. Casper, on the other hand, has been pining for Kody non-stop since he left yesterday morning. They wanted to keep him over night so Snackers will be picking him up today after work but Casper is so confused. He mewed this horrible, heart wrenching mew all day yesterday, remained glued to the general area by the garage door where Snackers took Kody out to the car and wouldn't budge until last night when Snackers got home with Vladdy. After that Casper ran through the house all over again looking for Kody and when he realized that he didn't come home with Vladdy, he started the mewing again. He calmed down through the night and went to sleep, but first thing this morning he was back at his post by the garage door waiting. Remarkable. Animal behavioral scientists could probably do an entire study on Casper and Kody Joe's relationship. They HATED each other when we first got Kody, so much that I didn't think they would ever get along and now they're practically inseparable. It's very sweet to think about. Poor kitties.
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
20 baby carrots - raw
3 tbsps peanut butter
2 mini chicken burgers
----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,205
Activity:
Walked to the mailbox
50 sit ups
50 push ups
100 leg curls
He seems to be feeling great this morning though. He's running around, tail wagging, trying to be his usual excited self but the vet said to leave the cone on for five days so ... it's going to be a long five days for both of us! lol
I could be wrong but I think Piper was actually disappointed to see that he was back. Casper, on the other hand, has been pining for Kody non-stop since he left yesterday morning. They wanted to keep him over night so Snackers will be picking him up today after work but Casper is so confused. He mewed this horrible, heart wrenching mew all day yesterday, remained glued to the general area by the garage door where Snackers took Kody out to the car and wouldn't budge until last night when Snackers got home with Vladdy. After that Casper ran through the house all over again looking for Kody and when he realized that he didn't come home with Vladdy, he started the mewing again. He calmed down through the night and went to sleep, but first thing this morning he was back at his post by the garage door waiting. Remarkable. Animal behavioral scientists could probably do an entire study on Casper and Kody Joe's relationship. They HATED each other when we first got Kody, so much that I didn't think they would ever get along and now they're practically inseparable. It's very sweet to think about. Poor kitties.
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
20 baby carrots - raw
3 tbsps peanut butter
2 mini chicken burgers
----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,205
Activity:
Walked to the mailbox
50 sit ups
50 push ups
100 leg curls
Monday, August 15, 2011
Weigh-In #40
Back down to 228.0 but I don't really feel like the swelling in my hands and feet have gone down so I am pretty confident that this is mostly a fat loss. My toes are the size of cocktail weenies this morning.
Vladdy and Kody Joe are both going under the knife today. We've been planning and saving up ducats in my underwear drawer for this and the day has finally come for both of them to lose their manhood. We waited to do Vladdy because we wanted to do them both on the same day for a very good reason. They tend to mess with each other, a lot. Kody teases Vladdy, Vladdy chases Kody. It's practically never ending, so we're hoping that by having them both neutered on the same day they will both feel too crappy to mess with each other and will both have a chance to heal up in peace.
So the vet said no food or water, of course, after midnight last night. I actually took all of the food and water away around 10:30 when we went to bed. Piper and Casper can go on a mini fast until their brother's leave for work with Snackers and then I'll give them back their food and water. Snackers is going to drop the devils off at the vet on his way to work and we'll pick them up probably tomorrow.
We found the PERFECT curtains for the living room at WalMart yesterday. We thought we were going to have to spend between $25 - $30 per panel on them because that was what we spent in the bedroom but, there they were, for just $10 each. They didn't have ones we liked for the bedroom or I might have seriously considered returning the bedroom ones to Target and getting cheaper ones but we are still feeling pretty proud of ourselves right now. We got curtain rods at Ross and let me tell you - THAT IS THE PLACE TO GO! We don't care for their curtain selection but for curtain rods you will save anywhere from $10 - $40 per rod and they have a lot of the exact same rods that we saw at WalMart and other places but for a lot less money! The ones we got were $10 each at Ross and we saw the exact same ones at WalMart for $45 each. No kidding!
They're kind of sheer though so they "float" which drives me nuts so I am going to get a little bag of sinkers from the sporting goods department (you know, the heavy little balls that fishermen put on their fishing lines to make the hook sink) and sew a few of those to the inside/bottom of each curtain. That will weight them down to stop the floating. The living room is completely transformed with them though, they look beautiful.
Food:
6 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 cup leftover stew
1 fish burrito
--------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,074
Activity:
Nothing. My PF was a bit better today but I could tell it would flare right back up again if I tried to go walking on it. If I don't get better I'm going to be stuck in this stall for yet another month.
Vladdy and Kody Joe are both going under the knife today. We've been planning and saving up ducats in my underwear drawer for this and the day has finally come for both of them to lose their manhood. We waited to do Vladdy because we wanted to do them both on the same day for a very good reason. They tend to mess with each other, a lot. Kody teases Vladdy, Vladdy chases Kody. It's practically never ending, so we're hoping that by having them both neutered on the same day they will both feel too crappy to mess with each other and will both have a chance to heal up in peace.
So the vet said no food or water, of course, after midnight last night. I actually took all of the food and water away around 10:30 when we went to bed. Piper and Casper can go on a mini fast until their brother's leave for work with Snackers and then I'll give them back their food and water. Snackers is going to drop the devils off at the vet on his way to work and we'll pick them up probably tomorrow.
We found the PERFECT curtains for the living room at WalMart yesterday. We thought we were going to have to spend between $25 - $30 per panel on them because that was what we spent in the bedroom but, there they were, for just $10 each. They didn't have ones we liked for the bedroom or I might have seriously considered returning the bedroom ones to Target and getting cheaper ones but we are still feeling pretty proud of ourselves right now. We got curtain rods at Ross and let me tell you - THAT IS THE PLACE TO GO! We don't care for their curtain selection but for curtain rods you will save anywhere from $10 - $40 per rod and they have a lot of the exact same rods that we saw at WalMart and other places but for a lot less money! The ones we got were $10 each at Ross and we saw the exact same ones at WalMart for $45 each. No kidding!
They're kind of sheer though so they "float" which drives me nuts so I am going to get a little bag of sinkers from the sporting goods department (you know, the heavy little balls that fishermen put on their fishing lines to make the hook sink) and sew a few of those to the inside/bottom of each curtain. That will weight them down to stop the floating. The living room is completely transformed with them though, they look beautiful.
Food:
6 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 cup leftover stew
1 fish burrito
--------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,074
Activity:
Nothing. My PF was a bit better today but I could tell it would flare right back up again if I tried to go walking on it. If I don't get better I'm going to be stuck in this stall for yet another month.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday & Sunday
Wow, so I wrote a nice big post for Saturday and Sunday and then saved it, shut down my computer, and went about my day. When I got home and logged back in, however, it was gone. THANKS BLOGGER! So I'll try to write a brief version. I messed up on Friday's workout with one too few miles and 10 too many sprints. Oh well. Woke up Saturday morning, spent some time with Snackers before he left for work and then started on my final for IT 205. Before I realized it Snackers was walking back in the door, it was 4 p.m. and I'd spent the ENTIRE DAY working on my final without food, water, or even getting up to go to the bathroom. I spent another 45 minutes still finishing up the final and when I stood up I was hurting so bad I thought I was going to pass out. My PF was killing me and as I limped toward the living room I felt a sharp, shooting pain in my tail bone, slightly on the right side, and up into my lower back. I find it so irritating that my body is causing so many problems in my effort to lose weight.
We went to dinner, SUSHI HEAVEN, and the shooting pain up my hip/back happened three or four more times so I decided that trying to walk five miles was probably a bad idea. Maybe my three-week plan is too ambitious after the two weeks of hell I put myself through getting into this house, I dunno. We opted to go see the last Harry Potter movie instead because I am a HUGE Harry Potter nerd and Snackers was willing to humor me.
This morning I woke up in so much PF pain that I couldn't walk, literally. I wanted to cry. I crawled to the living room and tried the PF stretches I found on Google but they did nothing, then I tried Ki's golf ball trick. It provided instant, shocking, blessed, and absolute relief in just two minutes but then I decided to clean the kitchen and was hurting again in no time. Clearly all the tile floors in this new house are going to be a problem. I'm going to have to get some of those cushy mats they use behind retail registers and put them in the kitchen.
Back to the golf ball, then we cashed our checks (I got a phat refund check from the title company), and went grocery shopping. We found some awesome curtains at WalMart, of all places, for the living room for just $10 each so we just couldn't pass them up at that price. When we got home we put away the groceries and then I picked up two weeks worth of dog poop in the back yard, washed my hands, and started dinner. While supper was cooking I hung the new curtains in the living room, put all of my tools away and fed the dogs. I'm hurting again - so bad I can't even find the right words. This PF crap might actually be worse than when I had inflamed tendonitis in my shoulder (tennis elbow, but in my shoulder). Maybe not, at least PF only hurts when I stand up/walk. Tendonitis hurts 24/7.
PICTURE DAY! I don't have my trusty white door anymore where I've taken all of the previous pictures and the front door in this house is in a kind of curved hallway so, as you can see, it's not a good angle. I will probably just pick a wall next month but here it is anywho.
Saturday's Food:
5 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
4 pieces tuna nigiri
1/2 Rainbow Roll
1.5 tuna rolls
1 cup tuna poke
1 cup edamame
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,052
Saturday Activity:
Very little, some walking.
Today's Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
3 cups green tea
1 turkey sandwich
2 cups homemade stew (from comfort food cookbook)
----------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,271
Activity:
Cleaning: Cleaned the kitchen
Cleaning: Picked up dog poop
Shopping: 2 hours / putting away groceries
Hung curtains in the living room
We went to dinner, SUSHI HEAVEN, and the shooting pain up my hip/back happened three or four more times so I decided that trying to walk five miles was probably a bad idea. Maybe my three-week plan is too ambitious after the two weeks of hell I put myself through getting into this house, I dunno. We opted to go see the last Harry Potter movie instead because I am a HUGE Harry Potter nerd and Snackers was willing to humor me.
This morning I woke up in so much PF pain that I couldn't walk, literally. I wanted to cry. I crawled to the living room and tried the PF stretches I found on Google but they did nothing, then I tried Ki's golf ball trick. It provided instant, shocking, blessed, and absolute relief in just two minutes but then I decided to clean the kitchen and was hurting again in no time. Clearly all the tile floors in this new house are going to be a problem. I'm going to have to get some of those cushy mats they use behind retail registers and put them in the kitchen.
Back to the golf ball, then we cashed our checks (I got a phat refund check from the title company), and went grocery shopping. We found some awesome curtains at WalMart, of all places, for the living room for just $10 each so we just couldn't pass them up at that price. When we got home we put away the groceries and then I picked up two weeks worth of dog poop in the back yard, washed my hands, and started dinner. While supper was cooking I hung the new curtains in the living room, put all of my tools away and fed the dogs. I'm hurting again - so bad I can't even find the right words. This PF crap might actually be worse than when I had inflamed tendonitis in my shoulder (tennis elbow, but in my shoulder). Maybe not, at least PF only hurts when I stand up/walk. Tendonitis hurts 24/7.
PICTURE DAY! I don't have my trusty white door anymore where I've taken all of the previous pictures and the front door in this house is in a kind of curved hallway so, as you can see, it's not a good angle. I will probably just pick a wall next month but here it is anywho.
 |
| November on the left, July on the right, Today in the middle. |
Saturday's Food:
5 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
4 pieces tuna nigiri
1/2 Rainbow Roll
1.5 tuna rolls
1 cup tuna poke
1 cup edamame
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,052
Saturday Activity:
Very little, some walking.
Today's Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
3 cups green tea
1 turkey sandwich
2 cups homemade stew (from comfort food cookbook)
----------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,271
Activity:
Cleaning: Cleaned the kitchen
Cleaning: Picked up dog poop
Shopping: 2 hours / putting away groceries
Hung curtains in the living room
Friday, August 12, 2011
Stepford Park
Raise your hand if you've seen the movie Stepford Wives, either version. I personally was quite entertained by the film (Nicole Kidman and Bette Midler version) even though it is not my usual genre. From the very first day that we looked at this house when we were house shopping I told Shawn 'the whole neighborhood has a very Stepford feel to it' but I meant that in a good way, albeit yes, a wee, tiny bit creepy. It's just a very 1960's type neighborhood and sometimes it almost feels like it has been isolated from the rest of the world so it is clean and the people are still friendly.
So my first night walking at the park I had several chats with various people as I was making my laps. The second night, same thing. Last night as I headed out, with Vladders, I told myself that I was going to try to keep the chatting to a minimum because I wanted to get done with my walk and get home in time to see Snackers before he had to leave for his night jobs.
My first encounter was with two little boys (around 9 or 10 perhaps) on Razors who practically chased me down to ask "What kind of dog is that?". I stopped to let Vladdy play with them, oh because that was the order in which it went I assure you, they were HIS new toys and they loved it, and they proceeded to tell me every detail about their dogs - one had a husky and the other didn't know what kind of dog he had but he was pretty sure she'd been abused before his family adopted her.
I finally told them I had a lot of walking left to do and needed to get moving again and bid them adieu. Encounter number two was with a family practicing their hitting and catching skills on the baseball field as I rounded right field. Again, the woman and her daughter wanted to know what kind of dog Vladdy was and then they wanted to play with him. By the time I got around to home plate another woman and little girl combo asked if they could pet the doggy.
As I passed the basketball courts a young man (teens) offered his own version with "that is a badass dog you've got there". And two or three others including a woman walking her dog that I stopped to ask if there were any doggy watering stations at the park (which there aren't, in fact there is only one drinking fountain by the baseball diamond and it doesn't work - lame!). It took nearly two hours to walk three little miles!!! Not that I am apposed to getting to know my new local community and I am always happy to show off my pooch but good gravy right?!
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 waffle w/margarine & sugar free syrup
1 egg, scrambled
6 oz orange juice
1 small salad w/ low cal vinaigrette
1 slice garlic toast
1 cup stroganoff
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,290
Activity:
Window shopping: 90 minutes
Walking: 2 miles
Sprints: 20
So my first night walking at the park I had several chats with various people as I was making my laps. The second night, same thing. Last night as I headed out, with Vladders, I told myself that I was going to try to keep the chatting to a minimum because I wanted to get done with my walk and get home in time to see Snackers before he had to leave for his night jobs.
My first encounter was with two little boys (around 9 or 10 perhaps) on Razors who practically chased me down to ask "What kind of dog is that?". I stopped to let Vladdy play with them, oh because that was the order in which it went I assure you, they were HIS new toys and they loved it, and they proceeded to tell me every detail about their dogs - one had a husky and the other didn't know what kind of dog he had but he was pretty sure she'd been abused before his family adopted her.
I finally told them I had a lot of walking left to do and needed to get moving again and bid them adieu. Encounter number two was with a family practicing their hitting and catching skills on the baseball field as I rounded right field. Again, the woman and her daughter wanted to know what kind of dog Vladdy was and then they wanted to play with him. By the time I got around to home plate another woman and little girl combo asked if they could pet the doggy.
As I passed the basketball courts a young man (teens) offered his own version with "that is a badass dog you've got there". And two or three others including a woman walking her dog that I stopped to ask if there were any doggy watering stations at the park (which there aren't, in fact there is only one drinking fountain by the baseball diamond and it doesn't work - lame!). It took nearly two hours to walk three little miles!!! Not that I am apposed to getting to know my new local community and I am always happy to show off my pooch but good gravy right?!
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 waffle w/margarine & sugar free syrup
1 egg, scrambled
6 oz orange juice
1 small salad w/ low cal vinaigrette
1 slice garlic toast
1 cup stroganoff
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,290
Activity:
Window shopping: 90 minutes
Walking: 2 miles
Sprints: 20
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Missionaries
So I was late publishing last night's post again. Sorry. After my workout I let the dogs out in the back yard and was out there with them when I heard a knock at the front door. I didn't want to go in to answer it so I just hooted a 'hello' from the back yard and missionaries poked their head around the corner so I invited them back to the yard for a seat and a chat. Missionaries aren't supposed to go in a house if only females are present (male missionaries that is, of course) and I know that so I told them Snackers wasn't home and we hung out in the yard instead. They are good boys, one is from Zambia and the other from Connecticut but they have very similar interests so I really enjoyed talking with them. We didn't talk religion at all - which is preferred by me and I think they found it refreshing to just have a normal conversation and relax. I needed that. I told them we'll have a pizza party since no one feeds missionaries pizza - it's an oversight that has been around for YEARS!
Snackers came home with supper while we were chatting so they bid a friendly adieu, Snackers and I had supper together and then he left for his night jobs. I don't know how long he'll be able to sustain this work, followed by football, followed by night work with 1 - 2 hour blocks of sleep in between. He sounds like he's getting sick. I think he's over stretching himself a little but he loves football so I hope it works out for him. I have been feeding him Vitamin C pills every day hoping to stave off illness but there are just no substitutes for sleep.
After Snackers left for work last night I took a bath and fell asleep in the tub. When I woke up I was too tired to even wash my hair, let alone post so I just went straight to bed. I will try to improve my posting promptness.
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 healthy choice lunch
1 homemade grilled chicken sandwich
>>on sourdough w/muenster
>>tomato, onion, & franks
2 bites of flan
8 oz green tea & ginger ale
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,271
Activity:
Walking: 3 miles
Stretching: 20 minutes
Sprinting w/Vladdy: just for fun
Snackers came home with supper while we were chatting so they bid a friendly adieu, Snackers and I had supper together and then he left for his night jobs. I don't know how long he'll be able to sustain this work, followed by football, followed by night work with 1 - 2 hour blocks of sleep in between. He sounds like he's getting sick. I think he's over stretching himself a little but he loves football so I hope it works out for him. I have been feeding him Vitamin C pills every day hoping to stave off illness but there are just no substitutes for sleep.
After Snackers left for work last night I took a bath and fell asleep in the tub. When I woke up I was too tired to even wash my hair, let alone post so I just went straight to bed. I will try to improve my posting promptness.
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 healthy choice lunch
1 homemade grilled chicken sandwich
>>on sourdough w/muenster
>>tomato, onion, & franks
2 bites of flan
8 oz green tea & ginger ale
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,271
Activity:
Walking: 3 miles
Stretching: 20 minutes
Sprinting w/Vladdy: just for fun
THAT FELT GOOD!
Wow, what a difference a walk can make!!! Snackers (yep, we're working on it very, very carefully) left for football and I left for a walk. I headed down to our new little park, without Vladdy for this first time because I wanted to kind of scope things out, and because Vladdy was being a brat last night and I wasn't about to reward him for it. So the little park is less than a quarter of a mile walk from the house and it has this joggers path that runs allllll the way around the outside of it. I actually tried to count the steps last night on the path to find out how long it is but I kept running into friendly, chatty people and losing my count. I know that I walked more than 3 miles because every time I would lose my count I would just start over at the nearest hundred (I count hundreds on my left hand and thousands on my right but everything in between is simply in my head).
I met a guy with a German Shepherd puppy that was SO CUTE! We were both doing laps around the park but in opposite directions so the first time we passed each other I just said "cute puppy" as they jogged by. When I passed them again on the other side of the park they were walking and the puppy's tongue was lolling out the side of his mouth so I said "It looks like you did it" of course the guy wanted to know what I meant, and I meant he managed to exhaust the puppy ... something I strive to do with Vladdy but only rarely succeed with (and then I have to carry his ass home). I also met a nice older man with a min pin and a mutt who seemed a little "off" but wanted to talk about getting his female min pin spayed and not having the money so I told him to look into the Bob Barker Bus because it's free.
After my laps I did some stretches in the grass, then checked the mail and was coming home just as Snackers was leaving for work. Apparently he'd come home from football and when I wasn't there and didn't have my phone on me (I didn't take my phone because I didn't have a pocket and I sweat too much to put it in my bra when I'm walking) he started to worry, especially because I'd left Vladdy home so he couldn't figure out why I would go for a walk without Vlad. I calmed him down and explained why I didn't take my phone or Vlad. He didn't think I had keys but those I can put in my bra so I showed him and he calmed down and left for work. I took a hot bath and read up on the last chapter for my IT 205 class (finals week) and then watched some Star Trek Voyager on Netflix before going to bed. I felt pretty darn good last night! I'm glad I'm back to the program.
OH the program, by the way, is:
Monday: 3 miles and 10 sprints
Tuesday: 3 miles and 20 minutes of stretching
Wednesday: 2 miles and 20 sprints
Thursday: 3 miles and 20 minutes of stretching
Friday: 3 miles and 10 sprints
Saturday: 1 mile, 30 sprints and 20 minutes of stretching
Sunday: Open
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 healthy choice lunch
1 fish burrito
8 oz green tea ginger ale
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,071
Activity:
Walking: 2 miles
Sprints: 20
Filling Holes: Yeah so Vladdy dug three HUGE holes under the patio in the back yard and I filled them. His paws are so huge and so webbed though, that he throws the dirt in this huge spray pattern so there isn't a little mound of dirt than I can just push back into the hole ... it's almost like it vanishes! Thankfully our yard has pre-existing mounds of dirt so I moved a few of those into the holes with the shovel and obtained a 2 inch gash on my hand from a giant splinter in the process. YAY!
I met a guy with a German Shepherd puppy that was SO CUTE! We were both doing laps around the park but in opposite directions so the first time we passed each other I just said "cute puppy" as they jogged by. When I passed them again on the other side of the park they were walking and the puppy's tongue was lolling out the side of his mouth so I said "It looks like you did it" of course the guy wanted to know what I meant, and I meant he managed to exhaust the puppy ... something I strive to do with Vladdy but only rarely succeed with (and then I have to carry his ass home). I also met a nice older man with a min pin and a mutt who seemed a little "off" but wanted to talk about getting his female min pin spayed and not having the money so I told him to look into the Bob Barker Bus because it's free.
After my laps I did some stretches in the grass, then checked the mail and was coming home just as Snackers was leaving for work. Apparently he'd come home from football and when I wasn't there and didn't have my phone on me (I didn't take my phone because I didn't have a pocket and I sweat too much to put it in my bra when I'm walking) he started to worry, especially because I'd left Vladdy home so he couldn't figure out why I would go for a walk without Vlad. I calmed him down and explained why I didn't take my phone or Vlad. He didn't think I had keys but those I can put in my bra so I showed him and he calmed down and left for work. I took a hot bath and read up on the last chapter for my IT 205 class (finals week) and then watched some Star Trek Voyager on Netflix before going to bed. I felt pretty darn good last night! I'm glad I'm back to the program.
OH the program, by the way, is:
Monday: 3 miles and 10 sprints
Tuesday: 3 miles and 20 minutes of stretching
Wednesday: 2 miles and 20 sprints
Thursday: 3 miles and 20 minutes of stretching
Friday: 3 miles and 10 sprints
Saturday: 1 mile, 30 sprints and 20 minutes of stretching
Sunday: Open
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 healthy choice lunch
1 fish burrito
8 oz green tea ginger ale
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,071
Activity:
Walking: 2 miles
Sprints: 20
Filling Holes: Yeah so Vladdy dug three HUGE holes under the patio in the back yard and I filled them. His paws are so huge and so webbed though, that he throws the dirt in this huge spray pattern so there isn't a little mound of dirt than I can just push back into the hole ... it's almost like it vanishes! Thankfully our yard has pre-existing mounds of dirt so I moved a few of those into the holes with the shovel and obtained a 2 inch gash on my hand from a giant splinter in the process. YAY!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Empty Brain
I can't think today, I'm too tired so I'm just going to log food and activity. My food yesterday, by the way, was good. Intake of 1,169. I didn't do my planned activity but, suffice it to say, I was active.
Food:
9 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 healthy choice lunch
1 dinner salad
>>w/light ranch
1 6" meatball sub
-------------------------
Daily caloric intake: 1,195
Activity:
Walking: 3 miles
Stretches: 20 minutes
Food:
9 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 healthy choice lunch
1 dinner salad
>>w/light ranch
1 6" meatball sub
-------------------------
Daily caloric intake: 1,195
Activity:
Walking: 3 miles
Stretches: 20 minutes
Monday, August 8, 2011
A shitty day
Weigh in sucked, 230.
I had an amazingly shitty day and I dont want to talk about it. I'm going to bed. Peace.
I had an amazingly shitty day and I dont want to talk about it. I'm going to bed. Peace.
Back with the program
Ok it's time to stop winging it and go back to my three week plans things were so much more organized and guilt free then. The first three week plan is going to be strictly walking to get me back into the routine and get my cardio limitations back to where they used to be.
Today I did a lot around the house, cleaned up a lot of the clutter that has accumulated from moving and installing various projects. I swept the back patio again and then Snackers and io had friends over for supper so we went grocery shopping and then spent several hours cleaning, prepping, and cooking. I'd like to go back to the park tonight and run the dogs around or play some basketball. Snackers said he was down to go with me when I suggested it this morning, hopefully he still feels that way after supper.
Food:
7 glasses of water
1 cup of white grapefruit juice
1 serving huevos rancheros
1 grilled chicken breast
1 cup grilled asparagus
2 cups mixed greens
>>w/2 tbsps sesame dressing
2 glasses sparkling green tea
1 small cupcake
---------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,079
Activity:
Shopping/walking
Cleaning
Prepping/cooking
Cleaning up from the dinner party
Today I did a lot around the house, cleaned up a lot of the clutter that has accumulated from moving and installing various projects. I swept the back patio again and then Snackers and io had friends over for supper so we went grocery shopping and then spent several hours cleaning, prepping, and cooking. I'd like to go back to the park tonight and run the dogs around or play some basketball. Snackers said he was down to go with me when I suggested it this morning, hopefully he still feels that way after supper.
Food:
7 glasses of water
1 cup of white grapefruit juice
1 serving huevos rancheros
1 grilled chicken breast
1 cup grilled asparagus
2 cups mixed greens
>>w/2 tbsps sesame dressing
2 glasses sparkling green tea
1 small cupcake
---------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,079
Activity:
Shopping/walking
Cleaning
Prepping/cooking
Cleaning up from the dinner party
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Landscaping
Confession: I am a DIY Network junky.
With that out of the way, I've realized that a free back yard makeover is probably not going to happen outside my dreams and there is not a doubt in my mind that Vladdys health problems are due to having an all dirt back yard. Not only thar but the dirt is loose and powdery so we can't hang out back there in even a slight wind or it kicks up and gets in our eyes and teeth. I am a looong way from being able to afford a full blown landscape so I am looking inexpensive temporary ideas.
It has to be mui inexpensive because I am now budgeting to make payments on my student loans (early) and pay extra on my mortgage (so I can pay it off early) and paying off the appraisal fee that I put on my credit card (also early as possible) but something has to be done with the yard somehow, even if it's no great.
Here's what I've got: it's a medium sized yard, slightly sloped, with two little retaining tiers at the back, which I love but they're not even. It has a broken sprinkler system and what looks like the long dead remains of a root system from what was probably once grass. There is also a green mesh/webbing half buried in the dirt everywhere that I think might have been from sod? And remnant of 1 inch landscape gravel. Either someone ripped out a lawn to put in gravel or visa versa, then ripped that out too so all that is left is dirt.
There is a concrete patio but it's too big for my liking so eventually I want to rip out a row or two of it and the ground is far from being level. Long-term, perfect world plans are a fire pit, a concrete slab with a hot tub on it, cobble stone pavers, fake grass (the good kind), and a fruit and veggie garden up on the tiers. Short term has to be a whole lot more realistic. Ideas?
p.s. wrote this post on an ipad, hence all the damn typos. Sorry.
Food:
9 glasses of water
1 coffee smoothie
1 Fiber One bar
2 hot dogs w/mustard
misc. Pot luck items
-------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: unknown
Snackers' football team had a pot luck at the park and we attended. I walked to the park so that was a bonus but the ONLY even remotely healthy food there was a low fat dill dip with raw dipping carrots. Aside from that it was a pasta salad ocean. I did manage to roll right past the pizzas but I nibbled at several different pasta salads, all with cheese of course, and can't even guess at the calories. Also, I will admit that aside from walking to the park, I didn't do much of anything active.
With that out of the way, I've realized that a free back yard makeover is probably not going to happen outside my dreams and there is not a doubt in my mind that Vladdys health problems are due to having an all dirt back yard. Not only thar but the dirt is loose and powdery so we can't hang out back there in even a slight wind or it kicks up and gets in our eyes and teeth. I am a looong way from being able to afford a full blown landscape so I am looking inexpensive temporary ideas.
It has to be mui inexpensive because I am now budgeting to make payments on my student loans (early) and pay extra on my mortgage (so I can pay it off early) and paying off the appraisal fee that I put on my credit card (also early as possible) but something has to be done with the yard somehow, even if it's no great.
Here's what I've got: it's a medium sized yard, slightly sloped, with two little retaining tiers at the back, which I love but they're not even. It has a broken sprinkler system and what looks like the long dead remains of a root system from what was probably once grass. There is also a green mesh/webbing half buried in the dirt everywhere that I think might have been from sod? And remnant of 1 inch landscape gravel. Either someone ripped out a lawn to put in gravel or visa versa, then ripped that out too so all that is left is dirt.
There is a concrete patio but it's too big for my liking so eventually I want to rip out a row or two of it and the ground is far from being level. Long-term, perfect world plans are a fire pit, a concrete slab with a hot tub on it, cobble stone pavers, fake grass (the good kind), and a fruit and veggie garden up on the tiers. Short term has to be a whole lot more realistic. Ideas?
p.s. wrote this post on an ipad, hence all the damn typos. Sorry.
Food:
9 glasses of water
1 coffee smoothie
1 Fiber One bar
2 hot dogs w/mustard
misc. Pot luck items
-------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: unknown
Snackers' football team had a pot luck at the park and we attended. I walked to the park so that was a bonus but the ONLY even remotely healthy food there was a low fat dill dip with raw dipping carrots. Aside from that it was a pasta salad ocean. I did manage to roll right past the pizzas but I nibbled at several different pasta salads, all with cheese of course, and can't even guess at the calories. Also, I will admit that aside from walking to the park, I didn't do much of anything active.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Interior Exercise
It's just crazy how much exercise you can get from doing inside stuff! No kidding! The first two weeks were obviously good exercise because we were washing walls and painting and scrubbing floors - if you've never washed walls you should try it, it's a full body workout experience! But then things kind of died off and I started feeling kinda lazy so last night I walked up to the mailbox with Piper with the intentions of then dropping her and the mail off at the house and taking Vladdy to explore the hood. When I saw that the curtains had arrived, however, I just had to open them up! And then when I saw how pretty they were, I just had to hang them!
Snackers was at football practice when they arrived so I decided that it would be fun to surprise him and have them already hung when he got home so I lugged the ladder, drill, screwdrivers, level, tape measure, a pencil, a hammer and all the parts into the bedroom but I didn't want to put the tools on the bed or the dressers so I put them on the floor. I must have climbed up and down the step ladder 50 times hanging those things because they came with those little plastic spreaders that you put into the wall first, then put the screw inside of them and they spread out for a better fit. At first I tried to use them and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get them to go all the way into the holes, then I realized that I was drilling on a stud and thought 'hell if I'm on a stud these stupid little things aren't even necessary!
I measured the holes 2.5 inches to the sides and 2.5 inches up from the window frame, then made sure it was level before I hung the brackets. After doing the first window I decided 3.5 inches above the window would be better so I hung the small window's curtains higher and now I'm going to have to take the big curtains down and raise them up a smidge. Fortunately I didn't put the middle bracket over the big window though so I'll be able to just hide my existing holes behind the curtains when I raise them up. Today my quads and calves are tight from climbing the step ladder, it feels like I did 100 squats! I love it though, for some reason sore leg muscles make me happy.
I was looking in the mirror as I stretched this morning in the master bathroom and I thought 'I look pretty damn good'. Obviously I still have a ways to go but there are still these brief moments where I look at myself and re-realize how far I've come. I can't even believe how much smaller my arms and thighs are compared to what they were. What a feeling!
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 fish burrito
1 chile
-----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,199
Activity:
Snackers and I had to take Vladdy to the vet, again, because he broke out in hives. We bathed him with Pipers special shampoo thinking they would go away but they didn't and then he started chewing on them until they started to bleed. The vet said it was an allergic reaction, gave him two shots, two types of meds that I have to shove down his throat every 12 hours and his own special shampoo. So after wrestling him to the ground for his shots, and while they took his temp . . . you know where, I got to come home and spend 20 minutes wrestling with him in the bath tub, then I got to wrestle him into submission to take his meds. He's 58 lbs now and his mouth is bigger than my head, wrestling him is like trying to steal cake from a fat kid. . . or me.
Snackers was at football practice when they arrived so I decided that it would be fun to surprise him and have them already hung when he got home so I lugged the ladder, drill, screwdrivers, level, tape measure, a pencil, a hammer and all the parts into the bedroom but I didn't want to put the tools on the bed or the dressers so I put them on the floor. I must have climbed up and down the step ladder 50 times hanging those things because they came with those little plastic spreaders that you put into the wall first, then put the screw inside of them and they spread out for a better fit. At first I tried to use them and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get them to go all the way into the holes, then I realized that I was drilling on a stud and thought 'hell if I'm on a stud these stupid little things aren't even necessary!
I measured the holes 2.5 inches to the sides and 2.5 inches up from the window frame, then made sure it was level before I hung the brackets. After doing the first window I decided 3.5 inches above the window would be better so I hung the small window's curtains higher and now I'm going to have to take the big curtains down and raise them up a smidge. Fortunately I didn't put the middle bracket over the big window though so I'll be able to just hide my existing holes behind the curtains when I raise them up. Today my quads and calves are tight from climbing the step ladder, it feels like I did 100 squats! I love it though, for some reason sore leg muscles make me happy.
I was looking in the mirror as I stretched this morning in the master bathroom and I thought 'I look pretty damn good'. Obviously I still have a ways to go but there are still these brief moments where I look at myself and re-realize how far I've come. I can't even believe how much smaller my arms and thighs are compared to what they were. What a feeling!
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 fish burrito
1 chile
-----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,199
Activity:
Snackers and I had to take Vladdy to the vet, again, because he broke out in hives. We bathed him with Pipers special shampoo thinking they would go away but they didn't and then he started chewing on them until they started to bleed. The vet said it was an allergic reaction, gave him two shots, two types of meds that I have to shove down his throat every 12 hours and his own special shampoo. So after wrestling him to the ground for his shots, and while they took his temp . . . you know where, I got to come home and spend 20 minutes wrestling with him in the bath tub, then I got to wrestle him into submission to take his meds. He's 58 lbs now and his mouth is bigger than my head, wrestling him is like trying to steal cake from a fat kid. . . or me.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A Gracious Gift
Yesterday as I was working away there came a knock at the door; Snackers had made an appointment for a bug guy because we've seen a few fire ants on the back patio and where there are a few there are bound to be more, especially with Vladdy being out there so much. So I go to the door and, to my surprise, the post man stands there before me with a huge box in his arms. 'It must be my curtains' I think, as I sign his receipt; 'I hope they look as good as they did online'.
But as I return to my desk, a nail file in my hand to cut the tape away, I notice the return address: Laryssa (who's last name I will not share because I don't know if she wants me to). She had mentioned that she wanted to send Snackers and I a housewarming gift but a box this size? I open it up, and what do I find? A beautiful card with a letter inside. Words of great wisdom from someone who knows: Take it easy, enjoy it, don't kill yourself unpacking! Setting the card aside I see a plethora of toys - a Ninja, a slicer, a peeler, a shredder, knives, and scissors!
Well the first thing that I did was arranged it all so it would fit in one picture and sent it, via text message, to Snackers - then I sat down to email Laryssa to say thank you. Almost immediately my phone rings and it is Snackers on the line blown away, as I am, at her generosity and thoughtfulness! So thank you Laryssa, for the wonderful gift. Thank you from both of us, with all of our hearts. Snackers came home from work bearing sacks of surprises; a watermelon, some blueberries, grapes, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and jalapenos. I suppose that meant he was eager to try out the Ninja but I asked him "what exactly am I making here a smoothie or pico de gallo?" and he said "Why not both?". lol! I said "Are you going to eat them together because that sounds like an awfully strange combination to me!"
We had to leave for football practice before I could start on the pico but I did make us some smoothies when we got home last night and they were awesome. The Ninja pitcher is the coolest thing ever - I poured what we wanted, snapped on the lid, and put the rest in the fridge. That is so awesome!!! Thank you!
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 serving peanut butter
1 homemade tuna melt
1 homemade fruit smoothie
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,117
Activity:
Walked to the box and checked the mail
Hunted through the house for 45 minutes looking for the breaker box (when the hell did they start putting them outside?!)
Hung the curtains in the master bedroom
Installed the new digital thermostat
Cleaned up the kitchen
Installed cabinet knobs on the wet bar
Folded two loads of laundry and put them away / hung them up
But as I return to my desk, a nail file in my hand to cut the tape away, I notice the return address: Laryssa (who's last name I will not share because I don't know if she wants me to). She had mentioned that she wanted to send Snackers and I a housewarming gift but a box this size? I open it up, and what do I find? A beautiful card with a letter inside. Words of great wisdom from someone who knows: Take it easy, enjoy it, don't kill yourself unpacking! Setting the card aside I see a plethora of toys - a Ninja, a slicer, a peeler, a shredder, knives, and scissors!
We had to leave for football practice before I could start on the pico but I did make us some smoothies when we got home last night and they were awesome. The Ninja pitcher is the coolest thing ever - I poured what we wanted, snapped on the lid, and put the rest in the fridge. That is so awesome!!! Thank you!
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 serving peanut butter
1 homemade tuna melt
1 homemade fruit smoothie
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,117
Activity:
Walked to the box and checked the mail
Hunted through the house for 45 minutes looking for the breaker box (when the hell did they start putting them outside?!)
Hung the curtains in the master bedroom
Installed the new digital thermostat
Cleaned up the kitchen
Installed cabinet knobs on the wet bar
Folded two loads of laundry and put them away / hung them up
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Won't Go Away
Ever since around the second or third day after we got the keys to the new house and started cleaning and painting it I've had this extremely odd pain in my left heel/foot. The thing that makes it odd is that it hurts the most after I've been sitting down for awhile or when I first wake up in the morning. It is so bad that when I first stand up after resting for awhile that I can't help but limp, but after the first 20 - 30 steps it goes away completely. Now if I stay on my feet for too long then it does come back so then I sit down for awhile and after just a few minutes of taking weight off my feet the pain goes away, but then when I stand up again it comes back and I have to "walk it off" all over again.
Originally I had assumed that it was just the result of several potentially contributing factors. Swelling in my feet, being up and down off of the step ladder, the fact that I was wearing my crappy tennis shoes with no arch support because I didn't want to get paint on my shape-ups, and maybe even the fact that all of the major traffic areas in the new house are tile - which can be hard on the feet to stand and walk on for long periods of time, especially when you're not used to it.
I figured it would go away and once we started to move furniture and the painting was done I started wearing my shape-ups again thinking they would help. I also thought that the few days of rest I took last week would help to allow the swelling in my feet to go down and that might take some of the pressure off my heel but it still hurts and I am starting to worry it might be bone spurs. But from what I understand of them, bone spurs hurt when you walk on them and you can't just walk off the pain from them. My mom gets them in her heels really bad and she is in constant pain every time she stands or walks at all when she has them. I find it really odd that my pain is at its worst when I first stand after sitting down or after getting out of bed in the morning ... I can't think of a logical explanation for that.
Food:
7 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 home made tuna melt
1 fish burrito
1 fruit/ice smoothies
-------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,211
Activity:
Snackers talked me into going to football practice with him tonight and I ended up sitting on a blanket doing absolutely nothing active.
Originally I had assumed that it was just the result of several potentially contributing factors. Swelling in my feet, being up and down off of the step ladder, the fact that I was wearing my crappy tennis shoes with no arch support because I didn't want to get paint on my shape-ups, and maybe even the fact that all of the major traffic areas in the new house are tile - which can be hard on the feet to stand and walk on for long periods of time, especially when you're not used to it.
I figured it would go away and once we started to move furniture and the painting was done I started wearing my shape-ups again thinking they would help. I also thought that the few days of rest I took last week would help to allow the swelling in my feet to go down and that might take some of the pressure off my heel but it still hurts and I am starting to worry it might be bone spurs. But from what I understand of them, bone spurs hurt when you walk on them and you can't just walk off the pain from them. My mom gets them in her heels really bad and she is in constant pain every time she stands or walks at all when she has them. I find it really odd that my pain is at its worst when I first stand after sitting down or after getting out of bed in the morning ... I can't think of a logical explanation for that.
Food:
7 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 home made tuna melt
1 fish burrito
1 fruit/ice smoothies
-------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,211
Activity:
Snackers talked me into going to football practice with him tonight and I ended up sitting on a blanket doing absolutely nothing active.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Whooops
Well I had big plans for last night, I was going to unpack the master bathroom, clean the kitchen, and tidy up the cords for the cable box and playstation in the living room but I had to go over to the apartment to do my final walk through right after work. The manager wrote on my paperwork that they get a bid from a specific carpet company that they use on all move outs, so pending that company's bid regarding the carpet, everything else looked great and there would be no additional charges.
The up-side of this is that this manager was actually manager #3 after we moved in and when I turned in my paperwork refusing to pay rent until certain items were fixed, she was the recipient of that paperwork. I stood in the office in front of several potential tenants and ranted about the year of hell I'd had there dealing with the two managers before her and she actually did get some of the things done that I requested but then she was replaced. She is back again so I think that because I was there during the walk through she just glanced it over and called it good because she knew I'd already had the worst possible experiences there, and that I'd put up a fight if she tried to get nit-picky.
I am not worried about the carpet bid, Snackers did all of the floors himself and he did a fantastic job of them. They looked brand new in spite of the fact that dozens of pet stains from before we moved in had wicked to the surface while we were living there. He said if this other company does try to bid it high he'll write me receipts for the cleaning he did when we first moved in, as well as the two cleanings he did while we lived there and this last cleaning and on those receipts he can enter contractor notes so he'll write in there that, in his professional opinion from his first visit, there were soil stains in the pad which would come back over time.
After the walk through we ran to WalMart because Snackers needs new clothes for work (tax deduction!) and we needed a tiny list of random filler groceries like milk, onions, and bread. When we got home I brought in the trash cans while Snackers unloaded the car and then after the groceries were put away and I'd had a shower I laid down for just a few minutes to check email and log calories ... unfortunately I never got up. I fell asleep on the chaise again and Snackers left me that way until almost midnight when he decided that he was ready to go to bed. Whoops.
I haven't been sleeping so well in the new house yet, it always takes me time to adjust to a new environment before I can really sleep comfortably in it. That's why I never sleep well on vacations and visits with family, even at my moms despite the fact that I grew up in her house. I'm probably going to have to do a whole lot of "catch up" sleeping for awhile until I adjust. It will help once we get the curtains up in the master bedroom.
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 home-made turkey sandwich
>>w/olive oil mayo, muenster, and tomato
1 small ice cream cone
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,239
Activity:
Walking: I'm not sure how far I went, I took the dogs to check the mail and then wandered the neighborhood aimlessly, got a little bit lost, and lost track of my route so I can't adequately Google it like I usually do but I was out for about 45 minutes so probably a decent little bit of activity, certainly nothing exhausting.
The up-side of this is that this manager was actually manager #3 after we moved in and when I turned in my paperwork refusing to pay rent until certain items were fixed, she was the recipient of that paperwork. I stood in the office in front of several potential tenants and ranted about the year of hell I'd had there dealing with the two managers before her and she actually did get some of the things done that I requested but then she was replaced. She is back again so I think that because I was there during the walk through she just glanced it over and called it good because she knew I'd already had the worst possible experiences there, and that I'd put up a fight if she tried to get nit-picky.
I am not worried about the carpet bid, Snackers did all of the floors himself and he did a fantastic job of them. They looked brand new in spite of the fact that dozens of pet stains from before we moved in had wicked to the surface while we were living there. He said if this other company does try to bid it high he'll write me receipts for the cleaning he did when we first moved in, as well as the two cleanings he did while we lived there and this last cleaning and on those receipts he can enter contractor notes so he'll write in there that, in his professional opinion from his first visit, there were soil stains in the pad which would come back over time.
After the walk through we ran to WalMart because Snackers needs new clothes for work (tax deduction!) and we needed a tiny list of random filler groceries like milk, onions, and bread. When we got home I brought in the trash cans while Snackers unloaded the car and then after the groceries were put away and I'd had a shower I laid down for just a few minutes to check email and log calories ... unfortunately I never got up. I fell asleep on the chaise again and Snackers left me that way until almost midnight when he decided that he was ready to go to bed. Whoops.
I haven't been sleeping so well in the new house yet, it always takes me time to adjust to a new environment before I can really sleep comfortably in it. That's why I never sleep well on vacations and visits with family, even at my moms despite the fact that I grew up in her house. I'm probably going to have to do a whole lot of "catch up" sleeping for awhile until I adjust. It will help once we get the curtains up in the master bedroom.
Food:
8 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 home-made turkey sandwich
>>w/olive oil mayo, muenster, and tomato
1 small ice cream cone
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,239
Activity:
Walking: I'm not sure how far I went, I took the dogs to check the mail and then wandered the neighborhood aimlessly, got a little bit lost, and lost track of my route so I can't adequately Google it like I usually do but I was out for about 45 minutes so probably a decent little bit of activity, certainly nothing exhausting.
Weigh-In #38
Today's weight is *insert drum roll here* .... 228.0 - so I "gained" a half of a pound in the last week. Pshaw! No way that's a fat gain. You know how when you weigh in sometimes you look back at your week and you know you didn't do so well and so maybe you'll have to pay for it but you hope that you don't? This wasn't one of those weeks for me. Ok, I took two days off, but I ate responsibly all week and I worked my butt off every other day this week so I'm good with this weigh-in and it feels good to be able to say that. Before when I was upsy-downsy like this I was all pissed off and irritated and frustrated and part of that was because deep down I was feeling a little bit guilty but this entire move has been guilt free. How many women will dig a big long drainage trench in their back yard, with a shovel, in the rain, while their man watches from a lawn chair? Nope ... I got nuthin' to feel guilty about.
I decided to do some blog maintenance this morning and removed a few blogs from my PR list that haven't had a new post in over a month. If yours was one of the blogs that I removed and you want me to put it back please let me know and I would be happy to do so. I also added a new blog to the list and wanted to take the opportunity to remind all of you that I would be happy to add anyone's blog to the PR list on this blog, simply supply your blog URL in your next comment.
I actually posted that I unpacked the bedroom and master bathroom last night right after supper, before actually doing the unpacking. As it turns out the bedroom / closet took longer than I had thought it was going to because Snackers fell asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake him up to help because he's been sick. I did get the bedroom done. My clothes are put away and you can now see the floor - it's AWESOME!!!! It is SUCH a beautiful bedroom, wanna see? Well you're gonna have to wait until the curtains arrive in the mail which should be sometime this week. I also still want to get some sheet stays and a bed skirt ... then you can see. I saved a crap load of money by piecing out my own bed set. Bed-in-a-bags are so expensive and the thread count on the sheets always seem to suck! I bought a comforter that I liked on sale for $35, some 400 TC sheets (not on sale) for $40, and three random pillows for $20. So assuming the bed skirt doesn't cost more than $10 - $15 I'll have my own DIY bed-in-a-bag for about $120 less than the one that I liked online. Tell me what you think:
Food:
7 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving leftover shepherds pie
1 rainbow roll
1 california roll
1 serving edimame
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,293
Activity:
1 flight of stairs
Shopping: Light, grocery
I decided to do some blog maintenance this morning and removed a few blogs from my PR list that haven't had a new post in over a month. If yours was one of the blogs that I removed and you want me to put it back please let me know and I would be happy to do so. I also added a new blog to the list and wanted to take the opportunity to remind all of you that I would be happy to add anyone's blog to the PR list on this blog, simply supply your blog URL in your next comment.
I actually posted that I unpacked the bedroom and master bathroom last night right after supper, before actually doing the unpacking. As it turns out the bedroom / closet took longer than I had thought it was going to because Snackers fell asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake him up to help because he's been sick. I did get the bedroom done. My clothes are put away and you can now see the floor - it's AWESOME!!!! It is SUCH a beautiful bedroom, wanna see? Well you're gonna have to wait until the curtains arrive in the mail which should be sometime this week. I also still want to get some sheet stays and a bed skirt ... then you can see. I saved a crap load of money by piecing out my own bed set. Bed-in-a-bags are so expensive and the thread count on the sheets always seem to suck! I bought a comforter that I liked on sale for $35, some 400 TC sheets (not on sale) for $40, and three random pillows for $20. So assuming the bed skirt doesn't cost more than $10 - $15 I'll have my own DIY bed-in-a-bag for about $120 less than the one that I liked online. Tell me what you think:
 |
| My silver and black bed on a red wall |
Food:
7 glasses of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving leftover shepherds pie
1 rainbow roll
1 california roll
1 serving edimame
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,293
Activity:
1 flight of stairs
Shopping: Light, grocery
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