more snow!

and I had my swim bag all packed to start up again this week... been snowbound for 3 days now and it might continue for a few more...

on another note...
http://youtu.be/Sy1LxA-2Kqg

makes me think of the passage of time

Snow!,,

I can't wait for winter to break... I miss my workouts and the sunshine.
Gotte get ready for the Shamrock 4 Miler, New Orleans, Vegas, Disney and Ramblin rose Triathlon.

Merry Christmas

wow

after my little rant on holiday stress I never expected today to turn out the way it did...
I have a horrible adrenalin rush at the moment due to stress, pumpkin bread, peanut butter, stress and change....
it has been the weirdest day...
and after all that you know what my thought is.... can I get the office with the window then?
actually my new interior office with the view of Macys and the sunset works rather well for me...

I know I left a lot of the middle out of those comments...
oh well

year end holiday stress

gosh the crazy car service bills have just caught up with me... I hate spending on emergency fund on an emergency...  I know this is the whole reason why I save for an emergency fund.  I know this.  But I still hate it.  I start to obsess that I won't be able to recover the savings and then the thoughts just start to snowball...

UGH!!!

I then start to think about all the things that could fall apart and fall through the cracks... and you know it just goes from there.  I am waiting for a sales bonus from work - that should help.  Unless that falls apart in the process.  And then there is the year-end bonus that could fall apart as well if the sales piece falls apart... You get the picture.

I'd like to think that all of this is a result of PMS - and I wonder where that moon is at - and having to getup tomorrow at approximately 3:30am to get to a meeting by 5:30am...  A meeting that no one will notice is even happening.

deep breaths... a workout would help - I know this..
but I need to just relax and get to sleep...
think I will opt for some tea

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.