And I Run, I Run So Far Away

I went and ran my 7-year-old to dance, then went to the grocery store this morning. As I was walking from the store out to the car I got an odd urge to go for a run. It was about 25 degrees outside, and a little breezy, but not horrid. So, I went home and unloaded the groceries, got on some running gear and headed out the door with my fingerless gloves on and my ears covered, iPod blaring. It felt so good to get outside and jog. Like my body was relieved to break into that pace. That lasted for about four blocks and then my body realized what it was doing and how long it had been since these maneuvers had been performed. To add to things, I had some obstacles of snow and ice to tackle. Then I turned a corner INTO the wind and found myself a mess of tears and snot (gross). I'll be washing those gloves today. I pushed on, though. I made it a mile and a half and now feel like I have been run over by a truck. My lungs were assaulted by the cold and have been coughing out complaints most of the day since. It's a victory, but an odd one, to say the least.

Help I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

I need a Diet Life Alert! Doughnuts and cookies and chocolate, oh my! Hellooo hormones and a total lack of willpower. I could have signed up for Biggest Loser at work again, and I was soooo close. But I thought, 'You know, I'm just about the same weight that I was when I finished the program last time, and with all of my outside motivation, I don't need the torture of weekly weigh-ins.' Well, hind sight being 20/20 and all, I am not kicking my self. Well, actually I'm just having regrets which likely has more to do with the doughnut I ate than the weigh-ins. You'd think I could trust myself to maintain without so much structure. Sigh. Back to online food journaling again.

Ooh, Weekend.

Well, I have been tracking my foods on livestrong.com, and working out (not as much as I should, but more than I was). Yay, me! Then the weekend hit, and started out with a friend's birthday celebration with mexican food and several drinks. woo hoo! It was fun, and I did not calculate the calories because that would just spoil the fun, I think. There were donuts this weekend to soothe the hangover. Then there was a trip to The Chrome for a great and greasy breakfast. Can I go back to work? This weekend is killing me!

Attack of Christmas Goodies

I have a lovely friend whose mother makes amazing goodies at Christmas time, one of which is chocolate peanut butter truffles. She, quite thoughtfully, brought me a box of these goodies. So nice! Grr!!! I have worked really hard to eat well, and have been avoiding the goodies to great extent. I may throw the rest away today. We'll see....

Swimming

When I was a kid I spent every reasonably nice summer day at the pool. My grandmother swore I was part fish and that the water called to me. She had a pool in her backyard, a BELOW-ground pool with a shallow end, deep end (complete with floating rope separating the two ends, on which we were chastized not to hang) and diving board. We were not allowed in the pool until after Grandma had vacuumed it in the morning. I'd hop out of bed, and immediately get my suit on, and then stand there next to her as she vaccuumed, thinking it was clean enough already. I would swim all day with a couple of breaks for snacks/lunch or laying on the hot cement to warm up before diving back in for games of "Marco Polo" or "shark" or "jump or dive." When not at Grandma's, we would bike to the pool, spend all day there and then bike home. I was in FANTASTIC shape as a kid!

This past weekend, I took my younger child and a friend to the indoor pool at the YMCA. I normally would just watch, but decided to get in the water this time - to heck with my hair! I swam laps, swam with the kids, and dove off the board repeatedly. This activity was fun, but kicked my butt! I was only swimming for about an hour and 45 minutes. How did I do this as a kid? Oh, yeah, the "fantastic" fitness level thing. I have decided that this would be a great activity to do once a week. I think my younger child would love it, and it would be fun for me and a really good workout. So, we'll see how far this good intention goes.... stay tuned.

New Khakis

I think I have lamented about buying pants before. Khaki pants are a workplace staple, are they not? Let's just agree that they are. I have been without a pair for about 6 months. My last pair came from Target (the store to which I am addicted) and lasted several years. I wanted to just go and get another pair, but when I went to the store they have come out with six different fits of khaki pants!! Ug. So I had to try them all on. I tried this about three months ago and had no success. I then ordered some from Land's End (which does custom hemming for free - a great service) but those did not fit well either. I was beginning to believe I was going to have to buy a pair of pants and have them custom-tailored. Bleh. I know Stacy and Clinton (from What Not to Wear) always recommend tailoring, but it makes the pants just that much more expensive.

Anyway, I trekked to Target again yesterday (happy happy joy joy!) and decided to try out the khaki section again. Armed with five pairs in a couple of sizes, I struck paydirt with a pair that have the same feel as my original trusty khakis! Yay! I am wearing them today. I am even more pleased to report that the new pair is two sizes smaller than the old pair. So, even more motivation to stick to my healthy eating and exercise habits... stay fitting in new khakis!

I Scared Her, I Think

Every once in a while I check to see who might be following along with my little blog. Mostly, it's just Hailey these days. Maybe my aunt Julie. Anyway, there are a few folks who are listed as followers and they are not family, friends NOR acquaintances! So, of course, I click on their links and check out their blogs if they have one. There was a girl who was following and I checked out her blog and left a couple of friendly comments and NOW SHE IS NOT FOLLOWING! I scared her!! I promise I did not say anything creepy! She had a blog dedicated to her weight loss journey and I think I left some words of encouragement about her goals and cheers to healthier habits. This must have been too much for her. There were no followers on the blog, and so perhaps she forgot that it was public and the realization creeped her out. Oops. Sorry!