Damn Wagon!

Boy, have I ever fallen off of the wagon. Not only have I not been active in the blogosphere as of late, but I haven't really been putting any effort into practicing healthy habits either. I suppose one leads to the other - if you don't have anything nice to write, don't write anything at all.

I'm a little ashamed to admit that my mother's Food Challenge was a bust. I wanted to cook more meals at home, really I did. Even with monetary incentives, which mean the world to me, I gave in. Oddly enough, the fast food trip that did me in was a trip to my favorite sandwich shop. It was only a turkey sandwich! I was actually on the phone with my mother as I was driving home from work and making the decision to go to Mr. Goodcents (the sandwich shop). She flat out asked me if the sandwich was worth the $100 that I was going to lose in the Food Challenge. I thought about it and then decided, yes, I wanted the sandwich more than I wanted the $100. That says a lot about how much I like their sandwiches, huh?

I'm fearful that my lack of commitment and overall apathy contributed to my mother's temporary funk. But I'm happy to say that I think we both have shown a bit of a resurgence in the dedication department - my mom more than me, but I'm trying.

I actually attended a Weight Watchers meeting a couple of weeks ago to check that out. Unfortunately, I don't think that kind of environment suits my personality. I was so proud of all of the strangers in the room, though. Good for them! For me, I have a hard time paying someone to tell me what to do when I already KNOW what I should be doing - I just choose not to do it all too often.

So this weekend I went grocery shopping and stocked up on all sorts of good stuff. I'm prepared to cook more often at home - it doesn't have to be as complicated as I make it out to be. My reward for being good during the week will be to enjoy football Saturdays without too much guilt. I'm also going to try to visit the gym more frequently - I went on Sunday and it felt good to be back.

I made it through Monday and Tuesday's off to a good start, so let's hope I don't do something stupid over the next few days! :)

It Pales in Comparison

I must first say that the accomplishment that I am about to brag about does not compare to those of some of my loved ones recently.

My adorable niece started kindergarten yesterday. It's just a matter of time before she is officially smarter than me. I talked to her on the phone last night to get a recap of the day's events and she reminded me that I need to be eating 5 fruits a day. Apparently, I also need to be getting my dairy in, too. I think I need to hang out more with my niece - I'll eat better. So I definitely can't compete with a cute 5 year-old on her first day of school.

Next - one of my best friends had a baby yesterday. It's her third and she finally had a girl. Enough said. Welcome to the world Kali!

Realizing that I don't have a prayer of competing with either of the above events, I'm STILL going to take a moment to pat myself on the back. I scored the winning run in my kickball game last night - in extra innings and in our first playoff game. See? I told you it was going to be a lame accomplishment. :)

Oh, and lest anyone think that I have not been participating in the Food Challenge, I have. Behind the scenes I have been communicating with my mother and sending her photos. It's primarily been salads and some ground turkey burritos. I've had plenty of leftovers to enjoy so I actually haven't made a bunch of different stuff. On the days where I've been a little lazy, I've opted for Lean Cuisine frozen dinners. Not too shabby for me. However, I need to cook dinner tonight or else I fall behind this week. I wonder if leftover turkey burritos will count again? I swear I keep eating them and I can't seem to make it all the way through the stuff.

Have a good weekend!

The Dinner Challenge

And so it goes with another challenge put forth by my beloved mother. She does it with love so I can't give her too much crap, although I'm pretty sure I will at some point during this challenge.

The new mission: cook 3 homemade dinners during the week (Monday-Friday), one meal on the weekend (breakfast, lunch or dinner) and once a month I have to cook in bulk on the weekends in order to have food for the following week ready to go.

It sounds so simple, doesn't it? I actually like to cook, but I don't always have the time or the patience. All too often I rely on quick, unhealthy foods when I get home from work late. I want instant gratification and cleaning, chopping and cooking are just too much for me. It's a weak excuse, there are many people who are busier than me. I'm lazy, what can I say?

My dearest mother has taken it easy on me for the first week. I only have to do 2 weekday dinners instead of 3. I just got back from vacation and then had friends visiting until Monday evening. No time to grocery shop yet and a busy week at work. With that being said, however, I managed to make dinner last night - Week 1/Dinner 1.

It wasn't fancy, but it was a home-cooked meal. Pizza - a whole wheat flatbread with mixed greens, kalamata olives, red onions and feta cheese. Side dish - brussel sprouts.

Have to get back to work. Looking forward to what I can pull out of my you-know-what for Dinner 2. :)

Yeah, I Don't Think So

So this will have to be a quick post for me today. I realize that my "quick" posts are still quite lengthy but give me a break.

The other day I experienced my first massage. For anyone who knows me, I am NOT a touchy feely kind of person and particularly with strangers. I even try to avoid hugging my friends when I can - not because I don't like them, though. Anyway, the massage was a "treat" from one of my colleagues. I survived but I don't think it's for me. I spent the whole time thinking about my to do list at work. And when the woman got to my toes and individually massaged each one, I couldn't help but recite the "This little piggy went to the market..." nursery rhyme. I couldn't help it. I don't think I appreciated the whole experience the way a normal person would.

I wrapped up my last two training sessions this week. I don't recommend drinking a cosmo before working out - just a little something I learned on Tuesday. Yesterday was much better sans the alcoholic warm up. I apparently accomplished some great feat yesterday by completing 40 cardio push ups. My trainer was more than impressed. Yay for me, I guess.

I need to decide if I want to sign up for another round of sessions or try to do it on my own and focus on the proper eating portion of the event. I think I need to take my mother up on her offer for the next great challenge. I like eating healthy, but somehow I manage to avoid it too often when work gets stressful.

I'm at work and need to get back to it.

Parting words - congrats to Mom for her consistent dedication. I hope you can teach me a few tricks when I'm home. :) I'm also looking forward to your cooking and even some kohlrabi.

Two more work days until a week of vacation. Yippee!

Some Things DO Stay the Same

Sunday was a fairly uneventful day so I'll keep my rambling to a minimum. That, and I'm at work and need to get a head start on a bunch of stuff.

I finally made a trip to MY gym. I had been neglecting it for the past few weeks in favor of working out with my trainer. I did 35 minutes on the bike. I figured I should submit some cardio with photographic evidence before my mother started to question my honesty.

As for the title of my blog today, I thought I would go back in time and try eating something that I didn't necessarily love when I was a kid - pork chops. I've seen them in some recipes lately and on TV and they look wonderful. I thought I'd give them another shot and put them on the grill. It's about what I remembered - dry and a little tough. Yes, it might have something to do with the cook. I have plenty of leftovers so I have ample opportunity to get used to them. I did, however, enjoy my green bean salad that I made.

Off to work. Happy Monday!

My Nose Finally Stopped Burning

It's far more common to hear that one's nose is running or perhaps that one's ears have been burning. In my case this afternoon, my nose was in fact burning. No, I didn't spend too much time out in the sun. I made a salad. Huh? I don't know what's more surprising - that I finally made a salad instead of eating a bunch of junk food or that the salad I made was incredibly spicy.

It all started with good intentions. I had a session with my personal trainer this morning. It was a good workout so I was determined to eat healthy today so all of my hard work and sweat didn't go to waste. I love chickpeas (or garbanzo beans if you prefer) so I dumped a can of those in a bowl and mixed it with assorted veggies, tuna and feta cheese. One of said veggies in my salad was a leftover pepper. It looks like a hybrid of an Anaheim pepper and a jalapeno. Let me go on the record by saying that I had already eaten two of these peppers in the past week or so and they were a very mild but tasty pepper. I don't know what happened but this thing picked up heat somewhere and it didn't occur to me that I needed to handle it with care. I dumped it into my salad after I half-heartily scraped out the seeds/ribs. I don't recall washing my hands, which turned out to be a problem that I later regretted.

I was thrilled to dig into my salad and the first few bites were yummy! And then it happened - my mouth was on fire! No worries, I thought. I'm not a wimp and I love spicy food. That's what my ice water is for. I kept going because that's the kind of trooper that I am. Next thing you know - my nose is burning and I mean B-U-R-N-I-N-G! I must have inadvertently rubbed my nose when it began to run due to the spicy peppers I had been eating. A burning mouth and a burning nose is not a good (or attractive) combo. Shoving a cold, damp paper towel up one's nose is not really a good idea. Somehow it made it worse. I just had to suffer until it went away - about 30 minutes later. Guess what, though? I finished the salad and I'm dumb enough that I'd probably do it all over again. See how dedicated I am to healthy eating? Ok, that's probably a stretch.

I haven't blogged in a while so here's a quick recap:

-I've continued with my personal training sessions. I just completed my 6th session (out of ten).
-I did 15 minutes of cardio on Thursday with my trainer (Mom, you decide if you want to allow me to count it).
-I did 10 minutes of cardio following my session today (pretty please, Mom?).

Oh, I also spent a bit of time outside today trying to get my windblown tree up off of the ground and properly staked. It's a very young tree and can't seem to hold itself up. The previous stake snapped in a storm and the tree fell over but didn't break, thank goodness. I think the current contraption I'm using might be temporary. It's my best looking tree in the backyard so I can't afford to have it beaten up like that. I might need to call in a professional because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Have a good weekend!

Just What I Thought

Yesterday was day three with my trainer. I have to say that I actually enjoy the training sessions. I like leaving with the knowledge that I have worked hard and that my efforts will be worthwile.

With that being said, I also walked away with confirmation of something that I have known but have never fully proven. I have little to no discernable upper body strength. I'm exaggerating to some degree, but it's definitely a weakness of mine. Unfortunately, my dedication to "12 oz curls" have not resulted in improved strength. I might have to adjust my tactics - slightly. :)

My mother has kindly informed me of my lack of upper body strength and tells me that's why my golf game stinks. Ok, she didn't use those words exactly, but I know that's what she meant. She has a vested interest in my training sessions because I am her golf partner in an upcoming tournament. The stronger I am, the less she thinks she has to do. So, so wrong.

Thank you to everyone who gave me tips on how to avoid injuring myself in the gym. Why is it I've always been intimidated by the glove-wearing weight lifters? I just assume you have to know what you're doing and be really serious before you earn the right to wear them. Maybe I've been wrong all of these years and they're just sweaty like me. I think they prevent calluses and blisters, too. Yesterday wasn't nearly as sweaty and slippery so I'm hopeful that I won't make a fool of myself. I have another session tonight - lower body and core exercises. Yay!

By the way, only a 5 minute cardio warmup yesterday. Hardly worth reporting, but since the race in the cardio challenge is tight I need all of the help I can get.