Just because I can never find this version

Watch "Take That - Kidz (Revenge of the Kidz)" on YouTube

In the test kitchen

Today I am in charge of the vegetables.  I am making a squash casserole - probably the least healthy of the dishes.
I am also bringing green beans.  Going to roast those and toss with toasted almond slivers.
The other two veg items that will not be going with me are a roasted cauliflower medley and brussel sprout dish.
The roasted cauliflower and onion is  tossed with kalamata olives and almonds.
The brussel sprouts will be roasted with almonds and then tossed with spaghettis squash.  I have a hot and tangy fruit sauce I am going to use with this.
Not sure if I will cook it all today.  But I do have a number of days off to make sure I eat healthy.
Next two weeks I am on the road.  I will need to figure out some healthy meals.

Thankful (2)

Can't overlook the second thing to greet me after the morning sun...  He's still so happy in his old age.

Things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving

The sun rise streaming in my bedroim window.
Yes, I am still in bed.  I opted to not sign up for eithet Turkey Trot as I haven't been as disciplined with my running.  I am glad for that - the no race this morning bit - it is only 21ºF out there.

Caffeine

I made a conscious effort to give up caffeine a little under 2 years ago.  I remember the headache well.  OK - it may have been an allergy headache but a headache none the less.  Since that time I have done well to usually purchase decaf coffee and tea for the home with only the occasional caffeinated drink outside of the home.
Well for my birthday I was given a box of Starbucks Kcups - caffeinated variety.  I have been meaning to exchange it but the need for coffee got the best of me over the weekend.  And so I opened it.  UGH! What was I thinking?!?!?
I did well with only one cup on Saturday.  But since then I have escalated and have actually had 3 cups today.  I am preparing for the crash as I type.
I know it is going to undermine me in various ways.
Transitioning to gallons of water at this moment.

With the full moon and the stress of being off from work for two days - I do not need the mood swing related to a caffeine crash.  AGAIN - what was I thinking...

Built more

Actually should be Biltmore. Went there today to see the house decorated for Christmas. It was beautiful. It was festive. May even get in the spirit this year. I mean I am not traveling so may as well.
We did drive by Mount Mitchell. And my car did chug up and down some of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I don't see ,myself attempting to ride my bike in that area any time soon.

Tomorrow is Monday Night Fotball

Off to the ballet

Sleep

For the past two nights the little guy has totally disturbed my sleep. I am never sure if I make noises while sleeping and he hears me... And then starts to whimper and whine. Or if he is just doing it on his own.
I have let him sleep,out of his corner both nights. Generally he looks more comfortable where he lays when I go to bed. So I let him stay. But around 3am it doesn't seem to be all that comfortable for him anymore.
It is starting to wear on me. I hate to say that. I know he relies on me for most of his daily activity. I know it is hard for him. His spirits are fine. Of course they because now after 4 hours of some sort of whining whimpering and barking he is asleep at me feet. Me, I now have to go get ready with my day and be productive.
I am planning on going to bed at an uber early hour this evening and possibly tomorrow too.
I like my sleep too much.
I like that well rested feeling.
I am tired of feeling tired.

I suspect yesterday's blood donation has something to do with my tired too. She did a good job of jabbing up my arm. Man is it sore.

Routine

I hate when times my routine gets out of whack.  Yesterday I ended up working late to get some printing done for today. I find that it's easier to me that after hours when no one is in the office. But with a late start we're heading home talking 630 then there's a late arrival to home and then there was the chat with the neighbors so I find myself getting ready to workout around 8 o'clock. That would be fine if I had already eaten dinner but I hadn't. So my double workout becomes a single workout.  My soup for dinner is fine. Oh but then I realize I have chicken and salmon in the refrigerator that needs to be cooked. So there I am roasting chicken and salmon in the oven at 830 at night. And I think I eventually sit down to eat its almost 9 o'clock. That's so not in my schedule. I watch some TV I eat I have a glass of wine and the night just gets away from me . I've been going to bed around 9 o'clock all week. So I start reading.  I'm reading killing Kennedy. So I keep reading. I pour another glass of wine. I start snacking on some blue corn chips. And again the night continues to get away from me. Its late by the time I go to bed. The dog end up waking me up around 3. Its just a miserable night. But hey I got the printing done. If I'm going to be true to my schedule and my diet and my workout I need to not do that very often.

10 years since Hopes and Fears was released

Watch "K@e@a@n@e - We Might as Well Be Strangers" on YouTube

Why I run!

It definitely gets the blood and sweat flowing.  The heart and lungs get a great workout not just the legs.
I need to remember to do this more.
The post T25 stretch was prettt great as well.

Now to plan this weeks food menu.

Week one done

So there were the pretzels on Wednesday.
Thursday became Halloween snacks and treats. I just don't do well with picking at appetizers instead of a meal. Way too much fat and too many carbs and not enough vegetables.
I came home from the festivities and did my Ab Interval workout and Speed 2.0. It felt good to get the workouts in. Drank a whole lot of water as well.
Friday saw the snacking on too many leftovers. I hate when people feel the need to give me back scraps of snacks. I know this is wasteful but when I am done entertaining I so throw everything out. Chips and crackers do not need to be put back into a bag for next time after sitting out on a counter for hours. And surely we all don't need crackers as a day to day food. Have you ever read the label on those things... Wow! Salt, partially hydrogenated, high fructose corn syrup. Nothing good. But hey when put in my path I ate a good amount of them.
Friday was to be a double workout. Good thing with the continued snacking. I went to the movies instead. Saw The Counselor. Half way through the movie I remembered why I wanted to read the book instead - graphic cinemas violence isn't as bad in written text. But hey this is the first straight to screenplay attempt by Cormac McCarthy so there is no book. It was good. Somewhat confusing. I wish there had been a little more character development. But hey Brad Pitt is still fine to look at - I don't even mind his long hair need a bath look. And Michael Fassbender just needs to be in more movies. Those blue eyes and smile are amazing.
Anyways, I digress, no workout Friday.
But I kicked butt and got that double workout in yesterday.
The Core Cardio is a good routine. Oddly I struggle with the jumping jacks at the beginning. And I love jumping jacks. Maybe I am just not warmed up enough at the timing in the routine.
The Lower Focus workout is OK. The lunges bother my left knee so I don't push myself as much on that routine.
But I got them both done along with some house work, grocery shopping, vacuuming and gardening. It was a day of movement.
Followed by a small celebration at a friends house. It was a nice time. A bit more food than needed. Getting ready to run that out. Waiting for the sun to come up a bit more and warm things up. I hate the cold.

Pretzels

Had a run in with too much food today. Bought some pretzels to accompany my lunch of turkey and cheese. Somehow the pretzels got the best of me. I need to not buy them for a long while.

I did my workout this evening.

Even added 10 minutes of Speed 2.0 for a little extra cardio.

Now I just ate a very late dinner. It was light but so not necessary. Errrrr....

I need a lot of water to offset my carb intake and go to bed.

Day 2 -Alpha Speed 1.0

So here I am back on the T25 bandwagon. I did well those first few weeks. I call them five but it was probably 7 run throughs of the routines. Then I faltered when I started Beta.
Last night was Speed 1.0
This routine is a combination of cardio exercises and some stretch and stability exercises.
I struggled with the routine at first because of all the crazy burpees. But over the past few months I have improved in that area.
I still struggle with the stretch aspects... But that has mostly to do with holding a pose while your leg is dripping wet from the previous cardio focus.
Last night I did good. Even held my own through most of the burn out round. OK made it through the burpees with good form and then lost track. But a good workout none the less.

I was going to go for a run this morning, I was in bed by a little after 9. I was asleep by 930 I would guess. I woke up 4 something. My alarm started going off at 515. I hit the snooze until that was no,longer an option. And finally got out of bed at 615. All this is leading up to - no run this morning.

Tonight is Total Body Circuit.
This is the one where I feel like I leave a 5 gallon buckets worth of sweat behind on my yoga mat. Planks planks and more planks.

Fit to the Finish

Taking part of a 10 week challenge group that will T25 until the end of the year. Started back up with Alpha Cardio again yesterday. In round two of this series there are things I am learning about myself and my abilities.
I am more apt to stick with some of the low impact alternatives. I think that ironic given my desire to add running into my mix. But some of the up down jumping and I just don't go. I feel too many years of gymnastics in the midst of it all.
But I will push through until the end of the year.

I want to add some other things in the mix. Like the running. I have been struggling with the appropriate bed time. And that makes for a tired self when that alarm goes off for a run. Last night I found my pillows by 930. If I can get closer to 9 I will be all set for a 530 run.

And then there is swimming. I did swim some last week. Or was that two weeks ago? Ugh it was two weeks. So that needs to get on in there as well.

So many things I want to do and so little time to get it all done.

I think yesterday revelation will help with that.

Hike

Went on a vineyard hike yesterday. It was a good time. It was up into the woods - yes the first 25 minutes or so were uphill. A bit of a workout. My heart rate got up some. The crowd was a bit more daunting to me than the hill itself. Too many people close together limited the forward vision... Making navigating a clear path hard at times.
Then there was some flat terrain.
And ultimately worked our way down the hill, out of the woods and through the vineyard.
We learned a good deal about the land and why it was chosen for the vineyard as well as the other planning that went into making it what it is.
Lunch that followed consisted of soup and bread and brownies.
Yes, my body could have had a bit more than that. But hey I did learn a new idea for soup... Brussels sprouts aren't a bad veggie in soup.
The wine was good. We stuck with the red. We didnt do a full tasting. The items on the list did not appeal to us.
And that should have been the extent of our day. But somehow we continued on to a place - make that two - closer to home. Not a wise decision. I so didnt need to stay out more. To eat more. To drink more. I continue to find myself in this situation and I just don't want to. Similar to last week... This is another one of those areas and people where I am trying to reduce exposure and I believe the other term is relevance. It goes against my wallet, waistline, health, sleep time demands. I am dragging today and that is not good.
Thoughts on how to keep on track going forward...
As an aside... We did meet a girl and either her boyfriend or roommate and they live just down the street from me.
That was a cool thing.
Which reminds me... There is an open house at a friends this coming weekend... Again need some boundaries and limits... Especially as there were people invited that I am just not friendly with. Should be interesting to see what the turn out is.

Stupid links

I am not one to open links on FB.  I don't have the time. I waste enough time on there anyways.  Well this week I have found myself ignoring that theory. ..

The first was a pug Halloween costume blog. OMG HYSTERICAL.  Yes, the Wrecking Ball pug made the news. But thw bubble wrap pug and some others were just as good.

Tonight I opened an auto correct link.

BOTH resulted in teara streaming down my face and an inability to catch my breath.

This week I was reminded of the innocent release of blushing and laughter.  A good week.

Thank you

Take a deep breath

Take a step back
And you realise who is relevant
Who are your good friends
It was a nice evening out

Home

Thank goodness. That was a quick trip. Or at least it felt that way. It was the last scheduled travel for me for this year. However while I was away did receive a request to go to Mississippi.

This trip was interesting. It is a location I rarely go to. As a matter of fact this is only the second time I have visited. It is a smaller location so we generally send the vendor. They couldn't make it but I could... So I went.

Going to Fayetteville is about a 3 hour drive. For some reason it doesn't seem as far. I think because when you get to the end you are on I95 and those last 40 minutes feel like you are really going somewhere. I have often contemplated making it a day trip location.

Accommodations are what you would expect when getting off of I95. I hadn't thought about it prior to a coworker making the observation. There are lots of hotels of all sorts there. There are lots of fast food restaurants there. It is a pass through location not a destination. I was late in making reservations... Ok sounds like FSU would have beat me no matter when I attempted to make the reservation. So I stayed at the Hampton Inn instead of the suggested Double Tree. No big deal - they both generate points.

HAH not so fast... Wasn't really paying attention. This Hampton has outside doors. You don't see those very often. I generally avoid those when I travel by myself. Not really sure why. Just something I do. Even better... Took a room on the second floor. A safety thing. NO ELEVATOR! Here I am 8pm or later on Wednesday lugging my suitcase, computer bag and food bag (I knew the state of fast food and came prepared) up the stairs. And they were mis measured - the top two stairs made me feel like I had extra long feet... And with heels - oh teetering danger...

But it gets better...

The room is fine. King size bed. TV. Fridge. Wifi. Awkward bathroom... One of those rooms that is just a toilet and shower. The type that feels cramped when you try to walk all the way in to close the door behind you. Perhaps you know the type. Again no big deal. I am in the room by myself. Curtains are drawn so no one walking by can see in. Just leave the door open when using the shower and toilet. HAH nothing like rushing to use the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet, and looking up and staring at your pants dropped self sitting on the toilet. Yep AWKWARD. And no real space to close the door to change the view. Had to laugh.

Oh but wait...

Went downstairs day one... Got coffee. Got some milk for my Shakeology. Finished getting ready for my day. Compute bag set - check. Food bag set - check. Hand bag - check. Now to lug downstairs to the car. THE DOOR TO THE ROOM WON'T LOCK! Slam. Nothing. Slam. Nothing. Jiggle the handle. Nothing. I NEeD TO Be IN mY CAr. Run downstairs ask for help. Thank goodness I am close to the lobby. No such luck. It appears the battery that works the key cards was dead. Hence no locking. And in a whirlwind decision... I throw EVeRYThINg I have unpacked back into my luggage and food bag to throw in the car because I cannot wait for this to be resolved. Craziness.

Thank goodness I had given myself enough time to get settled at the client. So glad I am not a down to the wire person.

Over the course of the day they fixed my door and I moved back in. Oh FUN!

There will be a reduction to my bill. Need to keep on that.

Home now - as I mentioned - off to grab some sushi

Exercise

Can watching a 22 minute video of others cycling burn calories?  I feel like it should.  I am pretty my heart races some on those downhills and my legs and sense of balance empathised on some up hills.

If only that were the case.

Cold temps this weekend.  Maybe I will throw the bike up on the trainer.