Sponge-Maddie Square Jacket

Today I work up early. This was the clock when I went out the door.

Yup, that's early. Where was I going at such an hour? Well I was going for a run! Yes, that's right, the hubs and I hit the pavement at 5am. We both felt like we needed to squeeze in another run outdoors before our race on Saturday and this morning was the only chance we had...it's rain/snowing now, and it's supposed to rain/snow until tomorrow night, so it was 5am or never. It wasn't so bad, and with my 9 layers (or four) I was nice and toasty.

Since it has started to rain/snow here (yes, tomorrow is April 1st, but it's snowing in Boston), I had to get creative while coming home. I did my best Sponge-Bob impression.

And why did I look square when I came in the house tonight? Well, it's because I was protecting something from getting wet....a special box to mail!

This bad boy is headed over to the Philippines!! My awesome friend Lou is stationed there with the Peace Corps and next week is her birthday! Sorry girl, it's going to be a little later than we planned, but it's coming!

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! My mom is coming into town for a birthday celebration! My sister and I were born two years and three days apart, so my lucky family only has to celebrate once! :D

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

I was finally able to attend spin class last night!! The teacher is so sweet and came by my bike to see how my ankle and I were doing, also, her music was fantastic! I wasn't able to reach the cadence and intensity I reached before my injury, but it felt great to be back! I did take it easy and rode slower than everyone else when my ankle started to throb a little. My ankle is just a little sore today so I think we're really making some progress. After spin class, I took a shower using the bottle of Philosophy Vanilla Cupcake I picked up this weekend as my Sephora Birthday Gift . I love it! It's actually a shampoo/bodywash so saving space in my gym bag is always a plus! If you aren't already a Sephora Beauty Insider, I would definitely encourage you to sign up. It looks like I'll be starting my training next Thursday- I'm super nervous and excited.

Our Nation's Capital

This weekend was the National Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Washington DC. So many bloggers that I read and aspire to be like were in the city running. I was in the city visiting my non-Welsh friend from Wales and most definitely NOT running 13.1 miles. I would have liked to go cheer them on, or meet them at the epic blogger meet up, but alas, it didn't happen for me. Maybe next year.

That is not to say that I did not have a WONDERFUL weekend. AL (the husband's cousin's wife) and I left nice and early Friday morning, and got to DC in plenty of time to do a little exploring before my friend got out of work. We walked around from Union Station and made a stop at the Capital building.

On Saturday, after a killer spin class (in which I had a busto bike seat that kept falling down, not matter how tight I screwed it in), we made out way out again to see the sights. But not before lunch at my favorite place in DC...

I'm honestly NOT the biggest sandwich eater, but this place is AMAZING. I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to it, but ohhh man it's good. Once our bellies were full with turkey (and a little fro-yo), we went down to the tidal basin. It was cold, but the sun felt so good, and the cherry blossoms were gorgeous!

Each of the trees is numbered and cataloged. This way, the government can keep track of when each tree was planted, if it's healthy, and other things like that.

We had a great time walking around, seeing the sights, and people watching. It was nice to get out and enjoy the sun!

On Sunday we saw the September 11th memorial at the Pentagon. I hadn't seen it before, and it was a somber experience. There are benches for each person who died that day in Virginia and they organized by age. The benches pointing to the sky were people who died on the plane, and those pointing towards the Pentagon are for those people who died in the building.

To brighten up our day, we decided to wait in the ridiculous line for Georgetown Cupcakes. This is the cupcake place on the TLC show "DC Cupcakes" and it is POPULAR. We waited an hour and 10 minutes to get in the store, but the cupcakes were so delicious, and since the weather was nice, it really wasn't a bad wait.

Overall, it was a fun weekend. There was the perfect amount of being a tourist, and totally relaxing. It was nice to get home early enough today that I could still go to Trader Joe's and for a run (ouch. outside run for the first time in a week and a half), but getting back to work tomorrow is going to be tough! Hopefully it's not THAT bad...

Eye Have Something to Share

I thought it'd be funny to share with you my current eye issue. So I've been going to my eye doctor to clear up a medical issue and after a few weeks of monitoring he has asked that in addition to the 3 types of eye drops I am using, to start either sleeping with an eye mask or taping my left eye shut! Creepy? Yes. Is this news to me? No. But apparently it is now enough of an issue that I really have to do something about it to help clear up my medical eye issue. I thought this was a nice awkward tidbit about me that you'd love to know!

And I do have something pretty big to share with you today! After weeks of discussion, meetings and contemplation- I'm going to be training for a fitness competition!! I'm super nervous and haven't really told too many about it, mostly because I am a bit awkward about my body so telling people that I'm working to competitively show it off makes me feel funny somehow just typing it here makes it a little easier. I have just signed up to work with this amazing, talented trainer and she is currently working up my nutrition plan and we'll be scheduling our first work out so soon! There are many reasons why I've decided to do this- one, I cannot run long distances for a while and not having anything to train for (including the dualathon I was eyeing) is making me very anxious and unpleasant so this will help me; two, this is going to put me way out of my comfort zone and that is always a good thing, I love a good challenge and this one is multi-faceted and three, this fall I'll be trying on my wedding dress and I just want to look and feel so beautiful and confident- something I haven't felt in a long time. Gulp, I'm SO nervous and excited about this new adventure!!

Every week I'm supposed to take photos of myself in a bikini and email it to my trainer, I think (if I'm feeling brave enough) I will post my progress here as well. I'm hoping that by posting it I will see a difference and keep my motivation to work out. And who knows maybe some of you out there are also into this sport and we can help each other.

Where did the week go?

How on earth is it Thursday already? Where did this week go? I was SO busy that I blinked and it's over. Tomorrow I head to DC for a weekend of fun with my non-Welsh friend from Wales, and the husband's cousin's wife (6 degress, what?) I'm so excited!

Things have been going really well at work, and this week I was super social, but not so good at working out. I was SO sore from Saturday that I couldn't move on Monday, was busy Tuesday and yesterday, and tonight I have to go to New Hampshire to get the husband's cousin's wife, so we can fly out of Boston together tomorrow.

Good thing I have a race next Sunday....

My Hips Don't Lie

My hips definitely don't lie, and neither do my shoulders, and they're both SCREAMING this morning. I had an amazingly killer awesome workout yesterday morning (50 minute strength training, followed by 60 minutes of spin) and I feel it today. I haven't had that intense of a Saturday morning in a while, so I knew it would hurt, but it hurts so good.


When I got home from the gym I knew I need some protein, so I had a quick cup of Greek yogurt, while I made an omelet. It was mostly veggies with a little bit of egg beaters thrown in. Delicious.

Last week I bought more oatmeal. I was eating Quaker Quick Oats and have no problems with it, but I was at Ocean State Job Lot (a discount store) looking for tupperwear the other day and came across a two pound bag of Bob's Red Mill rolled oats. Check the price of that baby. I love a bargain.

But the problem with a bag is that there is a high chance that it will rip and there will be oats everywhere (I know myself well), so I did a little transfer.

Not all two pounds fit in the ball jar, but at least I'll only have to touch the bag once and a while and it will stay much more intact. I have a feel these will put Quaker to shame.

Yesterday we went to the store and bought TONS of produce. I wanted to take a picture of the insane amount we bought, but Johnny had put it all away before I got back from parking the car. One of the things we bought was watermelon. I was a little worried that it wouldn't be good yet, because it's early in the season, but it was juicy and oh so good.

Today the hubs and I are going to work on our taxes. Should be fun...I guess...We're really hoping that filing jointly is as easy as filing on our own.

One really exciting thing about this week is that I got my new passport!

It's all new and fancy looking. At first I was really sad because only the new passport came. I wanted my old passport back too. Although I can't use it, it's full of stamps and memories. I thought I'd lost those for good, but yesterday morning a second package came from the Department of State. I got my old passport back AND they sent back the copy of our marriage certificate that I had to send! How thoughtful :)

Ok. Lunch and tax time. Hopefully I make it out alive.

Funny Tee and Salmon

It felt so good to sleep in today! We had a late night out on St. Patty's day, something we don't typically do on a week night but we had so much fun, it was worth it.

Earlier this week I was able to see the orthopedic doc about my ankle. I guess the news was good-ish. Apparently the bone scan didn't show the actual fracture; according to the doc this is really weird because 99:100 the scan picks it up. Isn't that weird?? He did another physical exam on the ankle and is still certain it is stress fractured (he pushed down on the bone in one little spot and I just about screamed!). I have to keep wearing the boot for another 2-4 weeks but....he has said it is okay for me to start running again- but only small amounts and if it really hurts I have to stop. This is where I struggle. I've always been a run through the pain kind of runner. Which is very common in runners and makes for great training but when it is an injury and not just discomfort, I have to learn to stop. Maybe by blogging about it I'll hold myself more accountable. After spending yesterday evening walking around the house without the boot my ankle is so sore this morning. I do think that I'll head out for a very tiny but very exciting run tomorrow. I'm also allowed to swim and spin, I honestly cannot wait to rebuild my body and mind so that I can train for another marathon (and run it).

Confession: Sometimes I like to wear funny but not very professional shirts under my work clothes...

Now that's a nice casual, but professional enough to wear in the industry I work in outfit, right?? Awesome background huh?

Now check that shirt out! I love this tee, it's so soft and it cracks me up. My day starts with a smile when I know I get to wear it. When I do wear shirts like this (or my t-rex shirt or my Sam Adams shirt...) I always hope that I won't spill something on my top layer(s) causing me to have to wear the tee alone. I think that if that does happen I'll HAVE to go home and change. I don't want to share my funny secret outside of this blog just yet.

During Lent this year Jay and I are trying to make something new and non-meaty on Fridays. So far we've been successful at recreating pbfingers' crab chowder (so delicious) and my mom's enchiladas (messy to make but yummy). This week we made smoke salmon sandwiches. We used some flax seed english muffins we found at Whole Foods and topped them with the salmon, goat cheese, artichokes, red bell peppers, capers and some black olives. Delish and so easy to prep! I don't know what we'll be making this week but we will have company in town so we shall see!

We have a great, relaxing spring day planned! We're going fishing!! I absolutely love to fish, I don't know what I'm going to do the day I catch something but in the mean time I love it.

The Post about Yesterday

SO! Now that I have successful brought my camera in from my car (I forgot again today after work and had to go back and get it when we went out for dinner), I can share with you the pictures from my awesome trail run yesterday.

Truth it, it was not THAT awesome. It was HARD. It was muddy and I slipped and sometimes there was snow. It was not flat, but not really hilly. Just lots of little ups and downs. I don't know how far I went, but I was out for about 30 minutes. I would guess that I was only actually running for about 20 of it...the other 10 spent navigating gigantic puddles/the over flowing river I was running next to. BUT it was awesome. I've never trail run before and I LOVED it.

Yeah, it was much harder than running on the road (I assume running on the mushy defrosting earth is much like running in the sand on the beach), it was so beautiful. It scared me a little bit to be so alone in the woods (this trail is in a state park, and I had my phone with me...I was not unsafe, but I didn't see any other hikers), but it was peaceful too. I'll definitely do it again...just maybe after the thaw is over. My sneakers (and now my car) are a hot mess of mud.

Today was gorgeous too, but as the weather predicted VERY windy. I hate windy. I hate sand blowing in my eyes and hair in my mouth/stuck on my face. New Mexico is always super windy in the spring and it was my least favorite time to be there. We did venture out (how can you stay in when it's 65 degrees!) and walked with our friends to Boston Common, had a delicious dinner (a veggie burger wrap! Perfect because I LOVE burgers of all kinds, but am really not a fun on buns), and walked back. The good company kept me from minding the wind.

Now I'm cuddled up on the couch. The window is open and the breeze is wonderful. The fresh air makes the apartment feel so fresh! I hate how stuffy it can get in the winter! I'm so very ready for bed after another long week at work...and the hubs is busy killing zombies on the x-box, so I know he won't miss me if I turn in early! :)

Darn

I had a great post to share with you today. I took pictures after my run and I was NOT in the gym bathroom. But as I went to snap a picture of the delicious root beer float I had tonight, I realize I left my camera in the car. And my car is not right outside the door because I live in the city and park miles away. BUMMER.

I will instead share with you the reason WHY I decided an outdoor run was a must:

  

A high of 58?!?! Yes, please! And in all actuality, the high today was actually 61! And not windy (which would make running outside tomorrow far less fun). AND it's still light out when I leave work. It was miraculous. I can't wait to share tomorrow.

Also, here is the article from the Boston Globe I mentioned a few weeks ago. I have a quick mention, but it's always cool to be in the paper! :)

Two Tidbits

I have two random tidbits of information to share:

1) Someone has a Tupperware full of some sort of veggie and feta cheese mix in our office fridge. It looks really tasty! Would it be weird to leave a note "urgent question about your dish; please see me immediately" or to open it and smell it so I can identify the exact ingredients?? Okay, maybe I won't do either and just hope I catch them eating it in the break room.

2) There appears to be a dead bug in our office kitchen. I couldn't go 5' near it so I grabbed my yogurt, shivered and ran out. Ewww.

Have a very happy hardy har har Tharsday :)

Wednesday

My Wednesday is going to be kind of wordless. Not completely, obviously, but I definitely don't have a lot to say.

Work is going really well. I'm still working on the other pieces of life though. I have a run on the training plan for tomorrow, and the weather should be perfect for one outside after work. I'm even thinking about trying out a train run near my new office. We'll see if I can hack it before the St. Patrick's day fun begins (tomorrow should be my first real challenge now that I've decided not to drink for a while). Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures to share with you.

For now, I with leave you with two things...

1. Last night, Johnny made fish tacos for my sister and me. They were SO delicious. I was inspired by how quick and easy they seemed when Julie made them, and I convinced the hubs to bust them out (I don't do the cooking in our house lol). I cannot complain one bit. They're probably a new staple around here.

2. Here's my wordless part. My dad and me. My sister took this picture when we were there two weekends ago and send  it to me a few days ago. He's a stud. Clearly I take after his side of the family.

Wonderful Weekend

I'm kind of sad that it's Sunday night. I love my new job and I'm ready to get up tomorrow, but I really really really like sleeping in and NOT having to use an alarm clock. I hate the freaking beeping (but the radio alarms do not wake me up and phone alarms that have better noise options can be shut off too easily).

This weekend was a fabulous one. It started with my first workout at the new gym. It's most definitely a community center and not a gym, but it's got all the right equipment and a spin class, so it will do. Remember when I made the note to myself that if I only run once a week it's going to suck every time? Well that still stands true. Friday night I had a TERRIBLE run on the community center treadmill and left looking like this:

please note the really old middle school gym-style lockers behind me. the cc is clearly updated.

Luckily, I had a night out with friends afterward that shook away my running blues. I hate having bad runs. They feel so disappointing and not exactly the cardio I was hoping for, but it wasn't anything a little sushi and college basketball couldn't fix. (Poor UNM got kicked in you-know-what by BYU. We were able to beat them TWICE in the regular season, but not at conference time).

Saturday my sister and I went on an adventure. We tried to go have brunch at a place in the North Shore, but we never got there. We were following the gps just find, but then all of a sudden found ourselves going back south. It was a hilariously disasterous trip, but we did end up getting delicious waffles at the Friendly Toast in Cambridge. They win big in my book because they serve breakfast all day, and their bar was decorated with hilarious product spoofs.

And then there was today. Today was a Sunday for the memory books. I didn't get out of bed until 11:30am. Granted, there was the whole time change thing, and I was up until 2am (3am?), but it felt oh so good. I did some dishes, and prepped myself for the gym. As bad as my run was on Friday, it was THAT GOOD today. My legs felt great and my last mile was faster than my first two. After my run, I grab some coffee and oatmeal, and got myself a much (and I mean MUCH) needed manicure and pedicure.

My fingernails are painted that nice, dark, professional color, but my toes are hot pink. It may not be summer yet, but I wanted something to remind me that it's coming!

I then went to the grocery store and stocked up. It felt like all the things I usually get were on sale thing week! It was a grand trip and our fridge is now full and happy. The hubs and I then went to Thai dinner with a friend who's in town from Chicago. We haven't seen her since she and her husband were in VT for our wedding, so it was nice to catch up. We ended the night with some J.P. Licks. It's the best ice cream in Boston. They have amazing fro yo in addition to their long long list of ice cream flavors. The hubs got Leprechan's brew...it was bright spakin' green...and made with Sam Adam's! He was in ice cream heaven. I got blackberry and chocolate fro yo, with jimmies, of course.

 

I just don't think Sunday get any better. I'm not too tired yet, since I've only been up for about 10 hours lol, but I'm going to try to hit the hay and get ready for the week. I'm hoping today is an indication of how good the week might be.

Mini Update

So remember all of those uncomfortable, somewhat painful deep tissue massages I was getting? Well, they have nothing on getting a trigger point massage! I had a 30 minute session last night, during which I felt a lot of pain and a bit of nausea. This morning I woke up with a lot of soreness. The massage therapist explained that I have a layer of static tissue and had to work at that for a while before he could get under it and get to the actual trigger points.

After the massage and a quick trip to Whole Foods to pick up some fresh fruit for dessert, we came home and found what used to be a 4 pack of Energizer AAA batteries torn up and only two batteries nearby. We had no idea where she found these and if she had eaten the other two! Maybe there weren't two in the box when she found it?? I rushed her to the Animal Emergency Room where they took an xray and didn't find anything but I have to keep an eye on her for any odd behavior. I was definitely panicking last night but so glad that she is okay!!

Time to watch a little Burlesque and get some housework done!

Lucy, You've Got Some Blogging To Do!

Sorry for the neglect, I really have been meaning to post about my weekend all week!

The weather was finally feeling so nice and warm so we decided to have a garage sale. Several months ago I decided that my current size is a good, healthy size for me so it was time to get over the fact that I probably won't ever be as tiny as I once was and I am definitely okay with it. It has been a great feeling to look in my closet and see clothes that all fit appropriately and I know I feel good wearing. Jay also had quite a bit of clothes, his all being too big for him now, that he decided to sell.

Can you find me?? Don't worry if you can't, I'm wearing camo...

Check what else came out for a quick trip around the block...

Okay, I didn't really ride it around the block but it was fun to pretend. We actually had a terrible but so, so funny now adventure in this canoe this past summer; I was remembering the trip in this photo. We were invited on a little canoe ride up the Rio Grande, a 1-2 hour hike followed by a little canoe trip back down the river to the lake we started at. Boy oh boy. We had a head wind up the river so it took us about an hour +, on the hike we were lost (20 mins into the hike the leader decided he needed a second opinion on the map...) we ended up hiking on narrow, steep, cactus infested hills and then there was a really strong head wind down the river so it was a rough trip just to go downstream. It was such an adventure!

Sunday, Jay took me to The Grove for brunch. This place was awesome!! They focus a lot on local, fresh ingredients which is something I love, love, love!! We split the smoked salmon with goat cheese on an english muffin with a side of fruit (no melon in this cup! I'm allergic so that's always so nice and rare to find) and the dried cherries and hazelnut french toast. Both were so delicioso!

We're going to check out a massage therapist tonight that focuses on trigger points. My trigger points are still bothering and now that I'm out of running for a little while, this is a great time to get everything fixed! We're also expecting my family for a quick trip!! Jay and I are looking forward to some family time and Chaca's definitely looking forward to a visit from her brother.

Well, I'm off to go wash this scruffy puppy. I'll try not to let so much time go by in between posts!!

Time to Get Serious

WARNING...wordy post ahead with no pictures!

With my new job, a lot has changed in my life. It was a quick and drastic change. For example, I no longer work in the city of Boston. I actually commute about an hour each way now. I used to take the T to work and had a commute of less than 30 minutes door to door. I used to work directly above the gym I belonged to. I would pass two more branches of the gym on my way home. I knew I could leave my desk at 5pm without consequence, and I knew stepping out for a dentist appointment in the middle of the day was not a problem.

Sounds peachy, right? I hated it. I disliked the work I was doing and the company I worked for. When I moved to Boston I didn't have a job, and I took one in a field and industry unrelated to my interests because I needed to pay the bills. Nearly two and a half years later, I was so happy to be offered an opportunity to leave. I appreciate the position I had and the people I worked with, but I am now in a position that I want.

I knew taking this job would mean giving up those good things in my life. I did it knowing full well how much time I would spend the car, and that it would mean finding a new ww meeting. But it was worth it. Spending 8 hrs a day not enjoying things was seriously hurting my life. I was sad a lot and it was hard for my husband because he wanted to make me happy, but clearly couldn't give me a new job. So now that part of life is in order. I am much happier. However, it means I've lost all the ease of city living. I have not been to the gym once since I started this new position, and I have not found a meeting that I like. I've gotten caught up in the exhaustion of the new position and new life, that I haven't figure out those things that were once the only things I had in order.

THAT BEING SAID. I've made some decisions today. They may seem a little drastic, but I need to get myself back in line so that my life will be happier work-wise AND gym/food-wise.

1. I am joining a second gym. There is a community center right across the street from my new office and they offer us a corporate rate that is really low. Like I spend more on coffee in a month than this gym would cost (and I dont even buy coffee out!). I am not canceling my Boston gym membership either. I will have easy access to multiple gyms for only a slight increase in cost. It's worth it to me so I can go to the gym before I even go home, but I can also have a place to go on the weekends. PLUS this community center has TWO pools! It will make triathlon training that much easier!

2. I am giving up alcohol and cutting back on chocolate until my black tie event. I don't drink that much to start with, so completely cutting out it of my diet should not be hard. I just know that when I drink my chances of eating more than I need to or making unhealthy decisions goes up, so I'm just taking a break. I'm cleansing, if you will. The event if four weeks away, so it's not an insane amount of time, but I think it will put me in a good place (and just to clarify, I am most definitely NOT pregnant, nor am I doing this in hopes of becoming preggo. No need to spread those rumors, kthx).

And the chocolate speaks for itself. I don't want to cut it out completely, because that's a little dramatic, but I definitely know I have more than my fair share on a regular basis. I'm not going overboard to ruin my whole day, but it's calories I could be using in a more affective way. It's not a treat any more because I've allowed it to become a staple.

I'm hoping this commitment I made to myself will help me feel back on track and help me reach some big goals. I guess it's my own personal version of Lent. I don't do the real thing, but this is close, and hopefully it's what pushes me forward and takes me to a place I want to be physically and mentally.

I survived!

I'm posting, so that means I survived the run with my sister! It actually wasn't THAT bad. She stayed with me at my nice and pleasant pace and only forced me to run really fast at the end. It was really nice to run with her...it's not something we've ever done before. It feels great to be in a place where I actually can.


Tonight I'm home by myself. The hubs is at a special viewing of Red State, directed by Kevin Smith. Sooo when I have to cook dinner for myself, I get really fancy.

Oh yes, that's the bottom of a container of Greek yogurt, some peanut butter, a peach and a banana. It was DELICIOUS and ready in about a minute. I'm clearly a 5-star chef.

I enjoyed the weekend though. I got to spend some time with my gram, and we went to my Dad's for dinner. I haven't seen him since just after the new year, so it was great to see him. My gram made beef stew and my Dad picked the wine. He's a professional wine consultant, so he knows his stuff...and was showing off his new wine atlas.

He and his wife also showed off their new dog...

My dad's wife is little, but she LOVES big dogs. Lilah is 80lbs! And she's only a year old! I was surprised at how big she is! To give you a little perspective, this is her with my dad...who is about 6 feet tall.

I'm hoping that this week, being week two at the new job, will be a bit more normal. Last week I didn't get to the gym. I went Sunday, and then I ran yesterday with my sister, but I couldn't get there the rest of the week. I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got home. It takes a lot to train for a new position...and I have to commute to work now, so I spend a lot of time in the car.

But hopefully this week will be better. I know what to expect and I think I'm ready to take it on. I'm looking forward to trying a new gym too (same sports club, different location), and getting in a sweatier week!

ps- I like pink.

tumbler, coffee cup, phone, head phones, and sun glasses case. obsessed much?

pps- I was interviewed by the Boston Globe about how having a husband who is not on a diet affects my on personal weight loss! I'm not sure when the story is coming out, but I'll post if for sure!

Sooo maybe I lied...

I did not return earlier this week with fun stories and pictures. I'm sorry. As anyone who has started a new job knows, there is not a whole lot going on but sleep these days.

This weekend I'm at my g-ma's with my sister. It's supposed to be in the upper 50's! We're going for a run this afternoon, and so hopefully I'll have some good stories. I have not one before in my life run with my sister. She has run the Boston marathon more than once. Her pace is probably several minutes faster than mine. This could be interesting.

If there isn't a new post by tomorrow, know that running with my sister has killed me.

Munchy Mess

I didn't put much thought into my plan for lunch today and that was a huge mistake. I typically plan out my meals in advance so that I'm not faced with this munchy mess but my head was not in the game today. I knew that I was going to eat a piece of fish but I didn't know if I'd eat anything with it, how I'd prepare it or if I'd even need a snack for the afternoon. I ended up eating a small piece of fish and given that it is Wednesday and I eat so late in the afternoon, I was so hungry and the small piece of fish wasn't quite enough. Thanks to some early rotting, we are out of snack veggies so I couldn't turn to my usual serving of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower with a little hummus. I ended up munching on random food and left the house feeling not quite full and upset for eating too much junk. In the effort to feel better, I grabbed a plum on my way out and it was so soft and overly ripe, I didn't finish it. Kind of a bust, right?? Thankfully, I have a nice, healthy dinner planned for tonight so I think that will get me back on track and feeling better. While I cook tonight, I think I'll plan out the rest of my lunches for the week so I don't make the same mistake again.

Family Visit/Indoor Track & Field

This weekend my parents and sister came up to visit! They also brought along Chaca's brother (who is also her BFF).

Saturday morning started off with a family favorite, The Frontier. We enjoyed breakfast burritos (a NM standard breakfast item) and some fresh squeezed orange juice. Yum!

After breakfast, we lounged around our house until it was time to head to the USA Track & Field Indoor Championship. I was awe-struck just knowing we were in the same room as these top performers, including former and soon to be Olympians!! We were able to watch many of the athletes stretch and warm up before their events, we collectively decided that their flexibility and strength was beyond anything we've seen before! For instance, we watched a high jumper skip (yes, skip!) over the bar and we watched another high jumper do back flips as a warm up (I can't even do a tumble without running into something). It was truly an amazing experience to be able to watch this level of talent perform while in the company of my family!

We enjoyed spending time with my family, discussing wedding plans and of course planning out the triathlon my Dad and Jay are going to compete in this summer. I don't think bike riding is in Jay's physical therapy plan, but does that count popping wheelies?? I can't blame the guy. All of the triathlon talk made Jay so anxious to get on his new "9er" for a little, tiny ride. I really don't know very much about bikes, but by hanging around this fiance of mine I'm really learning a thing or two!

Last night I attended water aerobics as at a local pool. It was very low impact, a decent arm work out but not the amount of cardio I would have liked. My ankle still hurts and feels a little swollen, I sure hope the pain goes away so I can bike ride and swim. I did a quick upper body work out at lunch today followed by a delicious vanilla/banana/strawberry protein shake for lunch. I was looking forward to having a cold shake for lunch on such a warm day and wouldn't you know it, I left out the ice cubes!! Thank goodness the strawberries were frozen. I threw in some crushed ice and mixed it but it was not as good. I think I've been a bit stressed at work and not being able to work out is making me a little goofy (goofier?).

Jay's not feeling well tonight (I think he caught that cold I had this past week!!) so I think I'll relax with him.