Opening Day

It's Opening Day, and the closest I got to Detroit was my picture with the light bulbs.

Today is a personal Holiday. I take it off every year to watch the Detroit Tigers start the season. This year, Kevin took the day off too and we made plans to head downtown and camp out on a bar stool in front of a large TV. Much fun!

Unfortunately, Kevin was sick and he watched most of opening day with his eyes closed and slippers on as he lay in bed.

Dana came by to watch the first couple of innings, but I spent most of opening day watching our TV and ironing. Ella kept me company though, she was more interested in digging in the freshly clean sheets than whether Cabrera was worth the money.

The game lasted forever with suspenseful overtime that lead to heartache, sigh. Baseball season is here and even though today did not go as I planned I am so happy to have the only *sport I truly enjoy talking about back on the tube!

* I also enjoy talking about curling and how I would like to be on the USA Olympic team. "Whoa whoa whooaaaa!" See, I have the yelling part down and I am pretty good with a broom too.

Possibly the best quick meal

Recently my favorite quick meal has become pierogies and peas. It's low on calories and fat, and high in protein and fiber. I love this meal and eat it when I know I am eating a big meal later or have already had a large meal for the day. Bonus: it is quick and easy, has only three ingredients, and tastes like comfort food.

You will need:
Mini Pierogies
Frozen Peas
Pam spray (fat free)

Spray a pan and place on medium heat
Add pierogies a flip them immediately (so they get a bit of Pam on both sides)
Add Peas and let cook uncovered for 3 minutes
Flip and stir contents
Cook until pierogies are lightly browned and hot

Below is the info from the brands I use. Pierogies and Peas are two things Kevin will not eat, so I only make this for one.

Mrs. T's Potato and Cheddar mini Pierogies
Serving: 7 mini pierogies
130 calories
1.5 grams of fat
1 g fiber
4 g protein

Frozen peas
Serving: 2/3 cup
70 calories
0 fat
4 g fiber
5 g protein

Pam Spray:
Serving: 1/3 second burst
0 calories

Meal: 200 calories; 1.5 g fat; 5 g fiber; 9 g protein

Photo from Mrs. T''s

Buy this Bra

Last weekend I was browsing at Target for a new sports bra. I found this C9 by Champion seamless camisole on the clearance rack. I highly recommend you get it. It is soft and cool to the skin, has adjustable racer back straps, and does not make you feel like you have a uni-boob. I wouldn't wear it for super intense sports, though it did fare quite well at dance class and the gym. For $13.29, I may go back and buy it another color.

Photo from www.target.com

A new camera

I had been asking for a new camera. I wanted a digital SLR, and there are many things that kind of camera can do. I don't know how to do any of them, but I am willing to learn. The only reason I want the camera so badly is that it can take pictures fast, and lots them. I love taking candid pictures and the moment is lost so quickly.

After some NPR listening I learned of another camera I might just have to have too. It is one that while usable by all, it is not covered in pink rhinestones, was designed with women in mind. As I go through the interview I find that cameras are being made that auto-focus at an arms length. That's right, it is designed that way because women love to gather their friends and reach out and snap a picture. The camera will even take three pictures in the one flash so you have a better chance of getting a good smile. This is supposed to be one, I can't find anything that calls out the group shot though.

I know women do this, I have done it and my friends do it too. Heck the picture above is Kevin doing it. And yes, he is doing it because my arm wasn't long enough to get us in the picture. What an awesome idea. Keep the gadgets coming!

Weight loss Wednesdays: No, I did not give up

To any who may have concerns that my refusal to workout would last, it didn't. I started right back up last Thursday and only took Sunday off for Easter.

A note on Karma: Friday night we had our friends over for dinner. After dinner Kevin requested I make some peanut butter cookies. I knew I shouldn't make these beasts, but still everyone thought mmm cookies and I got on board and began pulling together ingredients with our friend. Between batches I wanted to cool the pan so I went to take it outside in that lovely Easter weekend snow.

Big Slip! Crash, splat! There I was all twisted around at the top of the stairs, pan on top. I slept with ice on my swollen ankle and toe. I have a huge ugly bruise on my arm and we had to wash the pan again. Pain and more work. Karma was out to get me. In order get back on the cookie karma's good side I made the group do squats while waiting for the cookies to bake. Hopefully we are even now.

My dedication is pretty high these days. Sure I had a bag of sour patch kids after lunch, but I had a salad, soup (broth not cream) and half a bagel for dinner. I don't even want a snack. I have one all planned out, I usually want an after dinner snack, but tonight I actually recognized feeling full while I was eating my dinner. And, I had the strength to stop eating before I felt stuffed. Small victories.

Mean Jillian Michaels is one of my favorite topics. I find her pretty inspiring. She was once 170 pounds and is now a super-buff fitness and motivational guru. In the shred workout series she talks a lot about what it actually takes to get fit and the kind of commitment it needs to be.

Here is my favorite:

Don’t be afraid to push yourself: “People are so placated by

groups that say ‘Start by taking the stairs,’” says Michaels.

“What? That makes people think ‘I’m so fragile, I can barely

take the staircase.’” In fact, she says, the human body can

withstand a lot, and increasing the intensity of your workout

is one of the fastest ways to burn calories and lose weight.
“The more we hear this false message of lethargy, the more

we believe it,” she says. “As humans, we have evolved to the

point where the sky is not the limit. Your capabilities are, in
fact, limitless.” So that means pushing yourself to do that last

lunge, kicking up the speed on the treadmill, and erring on the

side of exhaustion over caution. - Jillian Michaels

She is a little intense but I have a good feeling she gets it. She really understands what it takes. Maybe I relate to her because she used to be bigger, maybe because she is demanding and makes you feel accountable, the reason is not important. She gets it and helps me get it.

Exciting new things from the week:

I finally wake up hungry. I think that means I am not overeating at night.

I no longer crave sweets every time I see them.

I did not indulge in a single Easter candy.

The exciting yet bad:

I know when I want pop again. My birthday is next month and while some plan to drink on their birthdays I am going out for fountain pop! It will be incredible. For dessert...a macchiato.

The goal this week:
Keep finding time to sleep. I really think it is helping.

Photo can be found at Serta.

Quick Updates

Quick updates: More to come tomorrow for WLW.

1. I am still just like my father. This time we can thank Aunt Dorothy for reminding me. I also think I am just like her. Freaky concepts I know. But I think they, and I are all intelligent somewhat stubborn individuals with strong opinions and valid arguments. We are well-intentioned and good hearted, there may even be some scruples involved...

2. Sometimes when you're depressed, which I am not ashamed to admit I have been battling, you just need to talk about your feelings. Find a good friend that can listen and be patient. Sometimes you just need to be the one to do the talking.

3. I am honored to be standing up in the wedding of Ericia Thrash and Dave Caras. I know how stressful planning all of that jazz can get, but she is handling it so well and is going to be a beautiful bride. I don't have a link to her dress but if you want to see the Maids, check us out here and here. I am pretty sure those are the ones.

Life: It's Known to Giveth and Taketh

Easter is tomorrow, the World should be full of life. Spring flowers, pastel eggs, and buds on trees. It's not. What it is full of is SNOW. March 22 and Michigan is once again the icy mess that is generally reserved for February.

But life, in its attempt to make me happy, threw me a bone. When I walked out to dust off (plow-out) my car this morning, my walk was done, and my driveway! But who? Peterson, nah, he does our walk from time to time, but only because it's on the way to Christine's, a woman I think he'll strive to impress until forever.

While driving to the gym I realized it had to be Dave. I called him right away to tell him how thankful we were. It really was such a nice surprise.

See, I think life had Dave snow-blow for us because they are moving, and since life was busy taketh-ing away our great neighbor, life decided to also giveth a little.

Weight loss Wednesdays, and I refuse to workout

As mentioned Monday, the headaches have mostly passed, and my irrational yelling at poor Kevin is back down to its normal level. That is probably still not that great.

So the break down. I did around 3 hours of cardio. Gold Star indeed. I have worked out everyday since my last WLW post. That is a lot of self-control. But it is not enough. I need more. This is not to say that the exercises have lacked difficulty, I just want more, faster. Today, I want sleep. I am starting to think that I am not noticing changes because I have not been sleeping. Sleep is when the body heals, and prepares for the next day.

I dedicate tonight to rest and sleep.

After all, I have been eating pretty darn good for me foods. I indulge in a cookie once in a while, and drink water, tea, and occasionally some kombucha tea. Big thanks to my Green friend for introducing it to me. I even eat cantaloupe. Gross I know. I try to pretend it is a fruit I enjoy, but the real benefit of eating things you don't really like is...you won't eat too much, just enough to fill you up.

This week is about:

Getting the right amount of sleep.

Eating no cookies?

More cardio and strength training.

This week is not about:

Easter Candy.

Must not owe for the rest of my life

Saving money and catching up are a big deal. Big deal. Like most people my age, or any age, we:

Carry too much debt.
Don't save enough.
Don't contribute enough toward retirement.
Buy stuff we don't need.

So it's time to fix it. A few months back I started saving 20% of my check, and wouldn't you know it, all I can think about is spending it on a vacation! But alone it sits for now. I know I should be putting it all towards debt, it's just difficult. I like that there is a little stock pile, and I mean little!

I have to get over it, I have to focus on spending, or not spending or smart spending. Something. It can be frustrating. But now that I have been caffeine free for over a week, and yes, the withdrawals have pretty much gone away, I need to start saving more than that three dollars a day. The savings are helpful, but I am a believer in baby steps, and that means that I must take another towards being frugal. Ack, somewhere my dads heart is beating faster and a he has an unexplainable smile plastered across his face. He'll read this later and think, "ah, she gets it, no wonder I was so giddy last night."

I do get it, but the self control it takes is huge. I am a firm believer that we are only allowed so much self control in a day. I think I use a lot of my self discipline focusing on the needs/happiness of others, and I like this about myself. It makes me feel good. Perhaps I need to better divide that time by using some of my discipline to monitor both my spending and my eating. I would feel a lot better about myself. I could write a whole post on self control, so I will save it for another day.

There is no "I" in team

But maybe there should be. A team should be a group of people working toward a common goal. Some days I feel like everyone on my team spends so much time focusing on how to make themselves look good they forget we still need to succeed as a group.

I understand the need to look out for yourself, but there is no need to one up the rest of your network and break my trust.

In the spirit of discretion and protecting my team, I will end the rant here.

Photo from http://www.fireagility.com/jobspecifictraining.php

Weight loss Wednesdays and my head is pounding

I have taken the next step in losing some pounds. I have given up caffeine. Sucks. Head. Pounding. Lights. Threatening. My. Very. Being.

And don't even try to ask me something. I will have nothing but snarky responses, that is, if I remember to respond at all.

But I am doing this for my own good! Right? I have read some studies showing diet pop, the elixir of life, can lead to the following horrible things.

Cardiovascular Disease
Diabetes
Abdominal Obesity
High Cholesterol
Elevated Blood Pressure

The first two run in my family so I guess it is for my own good. Do you want to know whose own good this is not in favor of? Kevin's. I spend the whole day faking being nice and personable and not biting heads just to come home and yell and be unpredictable and wonder why he is not a mind reader. The nerve. Start reading my mind.

I hope this helps with the weight loss because my dinner would've been perfect if only I had a cold, refreshing, tingle on your tongue diet pepsi!

If you'd like to join me on this crusade against caffeine, great, though I understand if you'd rather not feel like a crack addict going through horrible withdrawals. Try replacing one of your regularly caffeinated beverages a day with water or tea. I miss coffee.

On the whole I think my progress is going well. I have been working out regularly, and if you have Comcast on-demand, meaning you pay too much for cable like me, I highly recommend doing the "Biggest Loser" workout with Jillian. She is mean. Even through TV, mean. But it is a really great workout, I feel fantastic when it's over.

Quickly, last week I set a goal of 3 hours of cardio. Did it. Where is my gold star? I have the same goal for this week, and then we can reasses and bump it up! Good Luck, and if you are looking for inspiration, my very dear friend, Jennifer, has lost 30 pounds and is feeling incredible.

Did you know that shorts are 10% off?

I thought they were 75% off, making them, you know, different from pants.

But the real story, shorts are 10% off.

We went shopping on Saturday night and were browsing around a store known for their love of America and patriotic birds. Kevin was seeking a nice pair of jeans, and I, uninterested in jeans, went looking around the women's clothes. I say women, but I think I mean 14 year old girls. Their clothes are cute, but mostly young for me. I digress.

At this point I am in the back of the store and have been there at least 7 minutes. A manager most have noticed I hadn't been greeted yet and sent the 15/16-year-old T-shirt folder to handle the task. Simple right?

He starts his shpeal about "Welcome to Amer...um..can I help you...um"



His mind focused on the bra and panties in my hands, he umed and ahhed a few more word-type-things, turned an adorable shade of red, and walked away. After two steps, he spun back around, eyes to the floor, and said, "Shorts are 10% off today." Awesome.



Photo from www.ae.com

See Club Run? Run Club Run!

The second official run with my work group. I actually went this time. It was a shine day, so off I ran. I enjoyed it a lot. I did learn that "I am shine and dry only." Running on ice is too risky. But I made it! Does that mean I get cake?

No. But I do get dinner and it is 11, so I better do it soon.

Weight loss Wednesdays, So it's Wednesday again

Monday expressed a lot of what is happening in my workout life, but there are a few more details from the weekend that I feel I must share.

I weighed myself Saturday. Up. I can't begin to explain the devastation I feel.

But I begin... at the gym. While on the elliptical, I look to my right, and who is there, this guy, checking me out. I mean staring me down, and not in the "I want to be on that machine so don't you dare give it to someone else," kind of way.

If you haven't guessed by now, that guy was my sweet husband, always trying to make me feel good about myself, even in paint speckled sweats and a ratty old ESPN shirt.

Then I look left, and there was this woman. And my husband was checking her out too! And to top it off, she was fat, like face lost all definition, waddle around, you shouldn't wear those pants pudge-master.

I was standing on the end. Next to the mirror. Horrible. Today is not so positive, I know. My silver lining can only be that Kevin doesn't see it. He is like Niles when Daphne was chunking out over the stress of their relationship. To him, I am as I always have been, except with a few more grays.

I must reiterate, if only for myself, do not obsess over the scale and keep trying.

My goal for the week
Cardio = 3 hours by Sunday.

This was not so inspirational. So I will leave you with some...


That is Ella, the most determined animal I know.

I'm a Shine Only

Today was the first day of my work running club. I was planning an intense walk/job, let's face it, I wasn't going to be running my first day. I brought all my gear with me, and when I arrived at work, in my mail box was a map of the pending run.

The girls I work with have been planning routes with map my run, a pretty sweet site that lets you, well, create routes. The one for today, our first run, was 2 miles. TWO. Now I know that it doesn't seem far, but it did to me so I quickly mapped a new run for me and another beginner for 1.5 miles. It sounded better.

Around 11 I got an email regarding club run from our SVP and fitness fanatic, basically saying the following:

Rain or Shine we'll leave here at 5:45.

Well, at 5:10 I went to grab my things from my car and it was raining. I realized some things about my need to run. So I walked into my favorite Fit Fan's office and said...

I appreciate your enthusiasm, really I do, but I’m shine only.

Now I know what you're thinking, how will not running help with weight loss Wednesday? The answer is it won't. So after dinner Kevin and I prepared for a trip to the gym. This is where the drama begins.

We let Bailey out after dinner thinking she would need to use her backyard facilities, but we forgot it's raining.

We forgot our dog is also shine only. So in her dog house she sat, scared and bitter, refusing to come out no matter how we coaxed.

Back in the house, we wait. Luckily the rain turned to snow 15 minutes later, and there was my dog, happy and ready to walk through the yard and back into house.

So we jump in the car and head to the gym. After 45 minutes, the only shine I can see in on my forehead. Maybe Thursday the weather will cooperate, no rain all shine, and I can actually participate in club run.