Spring Ahead

Today was the first day of Day-Light Savings Time. I have mixed feelings about this event because as much as I love the extra hours of daylight, I am not excited at the prospect of the week ahead - mainly the idea of getting up to go running tomorrow morning. Usually, I get up and am out running by 7(ish) on Mondays which means that tomorrow, my body will think it's still 6 a.m. Eww. Not my idea of a good time. I just have to remind myself that the first week is always the worst and it will get better. Eventually.

I spent today cleaning my house. I spend so much time working and working out that I tend to neglect my home-owner duties. Like cleaning the litterbox. And vacuuming. Wait, how are all my spoons dirty? Oh yeah, didn't start the dishwasher. I swore off running and my Jillian Michaels workout for one day to get a handle on the disaster that I call home. The weather was gorgeous so I opened all the windows in the house and started getting things done. I have to say that it puts me in such a fantastic mood to have a clean house. If only I could keep it this way. I need to at least attempt to do something small everyday to maintain this state of bliss that I'm in right now.

Yesterday I did a 6-mile run after work. I had some apprehension about it but the weather was extremely cooperative and I enjoyed every last minute of it. I'm really starting to feel optimistic about the 1/2 Marathon next month. Oh, my! It's NEXT MONTH! Calm down. Breathe deep. K, I'm good now :)

My other big accomplishment yesterday was finishing the 10th day of Jillian's 30-Day Shred. I successfully worked out 10 days in a row and completed level one. I'm pretty amazed at the difference in my endurance between day one and day ten. Night and day, people. I'm a believer. Tomorrow I start level two and I admit I argued with myself all day as to whether or not I should preview it. I decided that ignorance is bliss and I'll just see it for the first time when I do it tomorrow night. I refuse to take any measurements or additional pictures until I've completed the whole thing but I definitely see more definition in my arms already. I've been told that they look really toned and someone even told me they look ripped. THANK YOU!! Ha! I'm looking forward to starting the next level and am motivated by the fact that even if the first day sucks, it will get better if I stick with it.

A Love/Hate Relationship

I come from a family of fantastic cooks. My parents were/are awesome cooks, and my mouth waters every time I think about any dinner (or fatty high-calorie dessert) cooked by my grandma. My sister and I, luckily, inherited some of those genes as well. Give us a recipe and we're good to go. Lisa has a little more of a knack for it than I do, though. She is pretty fearless about changing it up to suit her tastes. I, however, stick to what's printed on the card. Yeah. I play by the rules. There will be no flag-throwing or whistle blowing in my kitchen.

I just can't think of anything more comforting about a home-cooked meal and thanks to Pinterest (yes, I brought it up again!!), I've found some awesome recipes - and actually made them! Gasp! As much as I love cooking and how it makes my house smell oh-so-delicious, I struggle with motivation to do it very often. Yeah, it's great and healthy and cheap(er) than going out and grabbing something but there's definitely some drawbacks.

First of all, I hate cleaning up after cooking; especially when it took multiple utensils and several bowls/pans. It seems silly to have to run the dishwasher twice to clean up all the dishes from one meal. No, I am not going to do it by hand so don't even suggest it.

Secondly, even though I enjoy each dish immensely, am I the only one who finds it mildly depressing to sit and eat a fabulous meal alone? I feel like it automatically makes me acutely aware of the fact that I went to a lot of trouble to make that plate of food and have nobody to share it with. Food is meant to be shared, right? I don't get that feeling when eating a sandwich or a bowl of cereal; and I certainly don't feel that way about my morning oatmeal. Then again, I'm pretty selfish with my oatmeal. It's that good.

Despite these two things, I get too much joy out of cooking to ever give it up but I do admit I look forward to having someone to cook for again. I miss sitting down at the table and talking about my day with someone who actually cares. Darcy doesn't count because a) I don't allow her at the table and b) she's too A.D.D. to be a good listener.

Because I love sharing good recipes, here are the links to a few recipes I found on Pinterest and loved when I finally got around to making them ;)

Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Barbecue Turkey Meatloaf
Pizza Fish

March Madness! 30 Day Shred

I can't believe it's already March 1st. FYI, ladies, there are 3 months until summer and you know what that means.....bathing suit season! If you aren't ready by June 1st, don't say I didn't warn you! Along with my half-marathon training I decided to focus on some strength training. I am not interested in becoming a gym rat - I wouldn't go. Ever. Call me lazy, but I just don't want to spend the time driving back and forth, packing extra clothes, etc., etc. So what's a girl to do? 

I am (neurotically) faithful about logging into MyFitnessPal and keeping a food diary and I saw a forum post about people doing Jillian Michaels' workouts. I started clicking around to sift through some of the threads. I saw some really good reviews and if you remember how seriously I took the real-life reviews when picking my detox diet, you know that I am a firm believer in listening to the masses. Consumer reports, baby. I promptly went to Target and picked up Jillian's Ripped in 30, but after reading some of the reviews it sounded like her 30-Day Shred was a tad easier and would be better to start with as a newbie I figured I'd do that first and then in April move on to Ripped. Molly had a copy of 30DS and was nice enough to loan it to me. Let the March Madness begin!

Tonight I got home from work, took all my measurements, and some 'before' pictures. I'm in decent shape already from running so let me be very clear that weight loss is NOT the goal for me. I really don't expect my weight to even change. I'm more interested in toning up because let's be honest, running can only do so much. I won't post any of that info right now, I'll wait until the end and give the comparison. I really plan on sticking to the thirty days unless it wears my muscles out to the point that it gets in the way of my training for the Country Music Half. That is way more important at this point.

I'll try to post updates as I move through the program. Mercifully, I am not alone in this process. I managed to recruit Samantha to follow it with me. Gotta love the buddy system :) MAYBE I can even get her to post a couple guest blog posts on her experience. Sam?????

Oh, before I sign off here, if you're not familiar with Jillian's 30-Day programs, basically you do it for 30 days straight. No rest days. Calm down, 30-Day Shred workouts are only 20 minutes. No excuses. Wuss.

Namaste!

If you haven't guessed already, I went to yoga tonight - my first yoga class to be specific. The local fitness offers a class on Wednesday nights so I thought I'd give it a whirl. My co-worker Sam accompanied me and somehow we misjudged the orientation of the room and accidentally ended up at the front of the class. Within about, oh, 30-seconds the instructor had singled us out as the newbies. (What gave that away?? ;) Ha!) As I looked around, Sam and I were clearly the minority in the age category but I tried not to judge anyone based on the color of their hair or how deep their wrinkles were. The last thing I needed was to get cocky and be schooled by an old(er) lady. Luckily, the instructor was wonderful and very clear with her instructions so I wasn't bumbling around on my mat trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to be doing. I will admit it was a little tougher than I thought and in the beginning I was sure I would nose-dive into my mat during Downward Dog if we didn't move onto something else. The ab work at the end was no picnic either but I think I made a strong showing. All in all, I really enjoyed the class and I look forward to going (semi-) regularly. 

Death By Pinterest

Ok, so you're reading my blog (GOTCHA!). That means that a) you spend at least a negligible amount of time online, and b) you have surely heard of Pinterest (What, you've never even heard of it? Do you live under a rock!?!?!). If you have heard of it but haven't been on it, I'm not sure that I should even encourage you to venture down such a slippery slope of destruction. I Love (yes, it deserves a capital 'L') Pinterest but, my goodness, I waste more precious time on there than can possibly be deemed appropriate. I whittle away the hours looking at fun DIY ideas for my home that I will never do, lusting after clothing I will never buy,  and re-pinning links to workouts that....you guessed it....I will never even attempt. Not to mention, if I even dared to make a fraction of the sinful recipes on there, I would probably weigh more than my house - and your house - combined. It's going to be the death of me....I'll probably die in front of my computer mid-pin. Too morbid? Ok, at the very least I could quite possibly develop a wicked case of carpal tunnel. Why is this site so addicting? Who thought of it? If they're making money at it, they have more money than Donald Trump in which case, I wish I had thought of it. Ooo, here's a thought: all you Catholics and Lutherans still struggling with something to give up for Lent.....ever considered Pinterest? I realize there are many addictions with more serious repercussions but it does seem to be a little out of hand. Maybe there's a support group. Or a 12-Step Program. 

Sadly, until I go to bed tonight, guess what I'll be doing?

PINNING!!! Ha!

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I know it's only the middle of February but I've already got the bathing suit bug. I've spent quite a bit of time browsing the Victoria's Secret swim catalog and searching online for the perfect not-too-teeny-weeny bikini. I still love the one I bought last year and it's going to be hard to beat. Sam and I took to The Avenue yesterday to see what we could find. I wanted to see if the one from Victoria's Secret I was lusting over was as great in person as it was in the picture - and I wanted to see just how moderate "moderate back coverage" really was. It was every bit as cute in person as in the catalog but unfortunately, it was just a little too "cheeky" for me if you know what I mean. I would have to do a bazillion lunges before my ass was in shape for something that risque'. Ha! After a second outing with Ashley today I am no closer to finding a suit that I like so I guess it'll have to wait until the stores get a bigger selection in. C'mon Target! Don't let me down!

As of yesterday I have officially completed my first week of half-marathon training. (Just to throw out a little disclaimer, this is going to be a hot topic for me on here over the coming weeks.) The weather outside yesterday was ridiculous - and not in a good way. It was a mere 27 degrees out with 20 mph stinging, slicing wind gusts. There was no way in hell I was running outside - it would be like a cruel and unusual punishment for a crime I didn't commit. Luckily, Smyrna has a community center that doesn't require a membership so I decided to head down there and do my 4 miles on the treadmill. I cannot begin to convey how much I absolutely abhor running on a machine. It was stupid hot in there and being forced to maintain a steady pace added a challenging dimension that I didn't appreciate in the slightest. I want to be in control; I want to decide how fast (or slow) I run at any given time. And don't even get me started on the scenery. I am the type of person that needs way more visual stimulation than a brick wall. It took everything I had to not stop after the first mile.......and then the second.......and then the third.......hello mile 4! Quittin' time! Luckily, I survived and felt quite proud of myself for exercising not only my body, but also my extreme willpower. Yes, I want a cookie. Oatmeal raisin. No, Snickerdoodle. Wait, Peanut Butter! Forget it, there are way too many choices. I plan on roaring into my second week of training bright and early tomorrow morning - 3 miles.

La, La, La (Whatever)

I wish my life was a musical. I would love nothing more than to live my life in song; randomly breaking out in full voice with a church choir backing me up. I would shamelessy belt out a song about the weather while running in the evenings and probably sing a tune or two in the halls of the clinic. Sadly, I am not that daring so I stick to just a bar or two here and there and even insert a movie or TV quote into daily conversation. It always lightens the mood. Music does make a huge difference when I go running and I had to giggle a bit when I was out with Darcy tonight because the construction workers had Mariachi music blaring from inside the house they're working on. It put a little spring in our step as we hoofed it around the sub-division.

Speaking of running..........there are officially 12 weeks left until I run the Country Music 1/2 Marathon on April 28th and my training kicked into full gear yesterday. This has prompted me to make an executive decision to cut out alcohol for the next three months. Wwhhhaaatttt????? Yeah. Two things prompted this: 1) I smoke when I drink - this is not conducive to athletics of any kind.....especially running. 2) I cannot take any more of the crazy shenanigans that take place when Molly and I go out. I need a break. Case in point: Last Saturday night I literally pulled an incoherent drunk girl off a toilet in Dugger's, pulled her britches up, and carried her (IN HEELS) out the back door to a waiting car. I didn't even know her!!!! My maternal instincts (that I didn't even know I had) kicked in and I just couldn't bring myself to leave her there in such a compromising position. Thank God she didn't puke on me. All I can say is karma better be damn good to me.