Can't...breathe...

It was really sunny and warm out yesterday, so when I woke up to another sunny day today, I figured it would be another warm sunny day again. I'm dying for the nice weather to be back, and to be able to exercise outside again. I decided I would walk home from breakfast this morning, so I put on a jogging suit that is appropriate for spring/fall weather.

When I walked out of the house, I realized it was much cooler than I'd anticipated, but I figured once I got the blood pumping, I'd be plenty warm. I had a nice breakfast with Lanie, and then I hit the streets. It's just a 2.5 mile walk home, so it's not that far, although it's a bit hilly. It's a really nice walk, and the last stretch is all along the water. I was really looking forward to it.

About one block into the walk, I realized I was freezing, and I was having trouble breathing. My asthma reacts very poorly to the cold, and I didn't have my inhaler on me. Half of the walk home, I had to hold my sleeve up to my face to breathe into that so that the air I took in was warmer. I wanted to do some jogging, and I did for a tiny bit of the way home, but I couldn't really because of my breathing problems.

I really enjoyed the walk home, even with the asthma issues, and when it gets a little warmer, I would like to start walking to the restaurant both ways. It's a nice 5 mile round trip walk that is broken up by breakfast and nice conversation. :)

Today I started my personal training and sports nutrition consulting certification course. I found one that was much less expensive, but it's still accredited, so I enrolled immediately. I'm looking forward to working on that over the next few weeks.

Although it's a bit cold out, it's a beautiful, sunny day today. Darcy and I are going to do yoga later on, and I'm going to work on my trainer course, and probably put a few hours of work in, but other than that, our day is wide open, so we shall see where it takes us!

Have a good one!

Catching up

I was well ahead my hours for the week, so Wednesday morning, I decided we should take the day and go to the ocean. There are very few times in life when we have the opportunity to do what we want to do at a moment's notice, and I'm taking of the chances I have now while I'm consulting. We headed to Ogunquit, and we walked the Marginal Way. The Marginal Way is a path along the shore that is just a beautiful walk. You can see one perspective from the walk pictured above.

It was Darcy's first time to walk the Marginal Way, and I was shocked. We'd been to Ogunquit before several times. I realized it must have been before I lost the weight, so I didn't bother with one of the best things to do while in Ogunquit. That's too bad, but I'm glad that's the past! The walk was beautiful. After, we had lunch overlooking the ocean.

We were planning to stay in Ogunquit, and visit the shops and have a nice dinner, but the whole town appeared to be closed down, so we headed to Salisbury where we found an ocean front room within walking distance to downtown. We had a really nice time - I just love the ocean.

We don't really have any plans this weekend, which is how I like it, but I am going to try to take the TJ challenge of working out every weekend day, from Friday - Sunday. He says that way, you get 3 workouts out of the way when you have plenty of time, and you aren't under as much pressure to get them all in during the week. He's right. Alison's trying it to, so we'll see how we do.

I cheated and watched TV last night, but I learned that many of the shows I watch regularly are no longer of interest to me. There were only a few shows that I was dying to get caught up on, so I'm trimming down my list of shows I watch, and I'm going to spend MUCH less time in front of the TV going forward. We have a new rule in the house since D is out of work and I'm working from home often, and it's no TV before dinner. I think that's a good start.

Just 3 points!

Darcy found this WW meal for me, and it's pretty good! I also love the fact that it only has 160 calories! Most WW meals are in the 250-350 range, so 160 is low. It was tasty too. All the ladies in the office were wondering what yummy treat I had. LOL

I told them it was a WW meal (yet again), and that I try not to eat them often because of the sodium and processed ingredients. One of them told me that at least it's better than a big mac. True. That it is. ;-)

I should probably call in my order for dinner soon...gotta give the Darce some notice. My choices are whole grain margarita pizza, turkey burgers, grilled chicken salad, pork chops or salmon. I'm torn. Cast your votes soon to have a say! (haha)

Step away from the computer

Well, I guess I know what I do when I'm not watching TV - I just work longer! That wasn't my intent. I was sooo tired, but I had so much to do, so at 7 PM when I was going to throw in the towel, I was too tired to read or do anything else, so I just kept working until 9. Yes, I had been up on the computer since 3:30 AM.

I need to unwind before going to bed. My mind races at a million miles per minute all day long, and TV is my data dump. I sit in front of it, and just let the nonsense of the day dribble out of my brain. I need something. I was too tired to read, so Darcy read to me for a little bit. :) I was in bed at 9:30, and I slept like a baby.

I was tempted several times to turn the TV on last night. I wanted to stop working, but I didn't have the energy to do anything else. I did manage to get a workout in yesterday, so that is a good thing. Darcy went grocery shopping and picked up some healthy treats and meals, so we are well equipped to have a healthy week!

I have a *super* busy day at work today with back to back meetings every hour. I know I'll be tired this evening, but I do want to get some type of exercise in. I'm thinking a little dance, dance revolution Wii work out may be in store.

One day down, four to go. I can do this.

:)

Taking a much needed break

We have a love/hate relationship - me and my TV. I think TVs, though they do have some informative/learning oriented benefits, turn our brains into mush more than anything else. They can be addictive, and they can lull us into an eery complacency. I'm often too busy to watch much TV, but in the past few years, I have noticed watching it more and more.

I blame DVR for my downfall. When shows were on when they were on, and taping them involved buying a VCR tape, and the hassle of scheduling a show to record, which never seemed to be something that was 100% reliable, I saw shows when I saw them. I can't think of any shows that I was really devoted to in recent years...until the advent of the DVR.

Suddenly, I saw a show I liked, clicked the Orange R circle twice, and voila, now that show would be taped for me every time it was on, and I could watch it at my own convenience...AND I didn't even have to watch any commercials! I went from being a loyal viewer of exactly zero TV shows to a ridiculous 20 in about 2 years. 20 shows = 20 hours of TV watching each week. I'm guessing at the 20, and some of the shows are seasonal, so let's keep my estimate in check. Here are the current shows I watch every week:

1. CSI Miami
2. CSI Las Vegas
3. CSI New York
4. Law & Order
5. Law & Order SVU
6. Law & Order Criminal Intent (re-runs)
7. Without a Trace
8. Cold Case
9. The Mentalist
10. Criminal Minds
11. Numb3rs
12. How I met your Mother
13. Big Bang Theory
14. 2 1/2 Men
15. Old Adventures of New Christine
16. The Office
17. 30 Rock
18. My Name is Earl
19. Grey's Anatomy
20. Ugly Betty
21. House
22. L Word
23. United States of Tara
24. Secret Diary of a Call Girl
25. Whatever, Martha!
26. Ellen
27. Burn Notice (New addition - I don't even like it)
28. Lost

Okay, so 20 was an UNDERestimate...plus, I'm sure I missed some. I know I'm busy, yet I still find time for the TV...Also, just because a show is only listed once, doesn't mean I only watch one/week. Many of them are syndicated, so I see up to 5 episodes (or maybe more) each week.

I can admit when I have a problem. :) I got sucked in. DVR enabled me to commit to shows on my own time, so I could watch them whenever I wanted, and it took up less time w/o having to watch all the commercials. 20 hours of regular TV viewing is 15 hours without commercials. Often at night, after working a long day, I only have it in me to flop in front of the TV and let my brain turn to mush. It's often a welcome change, and just what I need to shut off my brain before going to bed.

I'm so sick of most of the TV shows on that list. I was going through quite a crime show trend for the past 2 years, as you can see. They are all the same, and now I just need to watch the first 2 minutes of a show to know exactly how it unfolds. This is not because I'm a junior detective, but rather at some point (a point I've clearly reached), the writers run out of new formulas, and just recycle the old ones over and over and over.

I've watched TV more now that I'm home more. If I want to take a break from a project, I turn the TV on. If I'm working on something mindless, I put the TV on. When I'm done working...you get the idea...

I don't think the TV is bringing any good into my life at this point, and I want to cleanse my daily routine of any reliance upon TV. Darcy and I have decided we aren't going to watch any TV starting today, and through the end of the work week. I'm reading 3 books right now, and I bet I will finally finish them this week!

With nothing to do at night, I think working out together will be more appealing, and hopefully our need to fill the TV void will lead to a well organized, tidy, sparkling home. That would be wonderful. If all that happens, I'll probably throw the thing out!

I have to keep a closer watch on the things in my life that are counteractive to a healthy lifestyle. Watching too much TV is probably the biggest one, but it's just one of many, I'm sure. I think the next stop will be addressing my procrastination. Thankfully, I'll have fewer reasons to put anything off for later without a remote in my hand!

I was so sick of TV last night, that I went to bed at 8:30 and read. Reading makes my eyes tired, so I tried to go to sleep at 9PM. I can't pull that off. I usually go to bed around midnight...11 at the very earliest. I had a strange night's sleep as a result, and I've been up since 3. I tried to fall asleep for a while, but it didn't work, so I updated my budget for the next 2 years (nerd!), and now that my blog is done, I'm going to start working.

Have a lovely day, and turn that TV off! ;-)

Moving in the right direction...I think...

Yesterday didn't go exactly as planned, but it was close enough. I didn't do yoga, because I realized we had a snow storm and I had to shovel, so that's a wash. I got a lot of consulting work done, as well as a lot of work for my business start up. I paid my bills AND did my taxes. The taxes were a bit of a nightmare since I had consulting income and rental income for the first time, but I got through it. This is by far, the earliest I have ever filed my taxes. I even just about completed one of the articles I'm writing.

.

Darcy picked up the healthy groceries, and I threw out the junk as planned. There were only 2 things, so it wasn't much. Darcy must not have gotten the memo because she came back from the grocery store with more junk. We don't appear to be on the same page. LOL

.

I took my thyroid meds this morning, and I'm going to take my vitamins soon. I have to wait until eating to take vitamins because they make me sick to my stomach. Today I'm trying to cram in as much work as possible before the unemployment club meets for lunch, and I am once again canoodling with my heavenly steak taco salad. After that, if it's nice enough out, I think we are going to head downtown to Elm st to check out the shops. It's really cute downtown, and it will be nice to be outside walking. It's sunny out today. I just hope it's not freezing!

.

I'm not sure what we have planned for the weekend. Our friends want us to go rollerskating for their daughter's birthday party, and as fun/funny as that sounds, I just don't see it happening. I'd like to go XC skiing if the conditions are right. Other than that, I want to crank out some articles that I'm having published. Thank goodness for my blog that keeps those creative juices flowing!

I have been naughty

A Private Message to my Mother: Mom, I'm an open book on this blog. I share the good, the bad, and the ugly with my dear readers, of which you are one. This doesn't mean you need to lovingly scold me after, or make a plea with me to do the right thing. I already knooooow that I should do the right thing, but I am imperfect. (You have heard it here first.) If you feel compelled to call me after reading this, to reinforce what I already know is true, I promise you it's not necessary. I'll be a good girl from now on. I promise. Love you! Dad too. :) XO

I've been bad about taking my thyroid meds lately. (Mom, I can SEE you shaking your head at me from 1800 miles away!!!) I don't know what happened. I lost them for a while, and then somehow I fell out of my routine. Not somehow, my schedule is strange. Some days I work from home, some days I head to the office first thing in the morning, some days I'm half and half, some days I don't even work! It's hard to find a groove that works for me.

I keep thinking of renting out office space that I can have an office to work out of each day. I can't work at the hospital every day because of the chair and my back issues. I'm sure it would be easier to replace the chair than rent out office space. Hmmmm... ;-)

I have an underactive thyroid, so when I don't take my meds, I gain weight, retain water, feel depressed/sluggish/tired, am prone to illness, have interrupted sleep, sore muscles, etc.... Then, I'm weighing more and bloated, so I feel even more in a funk, and I have more and more trouble getting out of my own way.

As you may know of me now, dear reader, I'm a pretty high functioning person, so depressed me is probably someone else being effective. I can't get out of my own way, but I'm working full time, launching a business, writing two books, authoring several articles, blah, blah, you get the idea. However, I'm NOT working out, consistently eating healthy, doing the other things I should do.

My health is always the first I let slip. Then comes my appearance. I need a haircut bad. My mangy hair is making me feel like a slob. That's not helping the bloat/weight gain. I'm bloated, and my clothes aren't fitting the way I want them to, so I don't like the way I'm dressing, which makes me more annoyed with myself.

Anyway, enough! I'm putting my thyroid meds (AND vitamins, Mom!!!) on my daily calendar so that I remember to start off the day with them. I'm going to throw out all the junk food in the house (before Darcy wakes up and yells at me!), so that it's not there to tempt me when I'm feeling like junk. I'm going to schedule an appointment to get my hair cut. I'm going to do yoga, and not just plan to and forget like I did the other day.

I'm going to do laundry (via the Darce), so that I have better clothes to choose from, so that I feel better about my appearance. I'm going to stop working half the day in my PJs when I work from home. I'm going to find a way to institute a schedule for myself that incorporates my day job, extra business work, writing, blogging, exercising, preparing healthy meals, having fun, and relaxing. I think I need a personal assistant. I need to file my taxes, and get back to paying my bills every Saturday. That will help with my mental health. So will all of this.

I'm going to get a fill. Yesterday, I ate four half pieces of bread (2 pieces) before my lunch, a side salad, plus a whole veggie sandwich for lunch. I ate the bread at first because my stomach was doing flips, and I just wanted to settle it. That was the first 2 halves. Then I realized I LOVED the bread, so I had two more. Anyway, such feats should not be possible with the band properly filled.

I've been avoiding getting a fill because I wanted to lose weight before going back to the MD, *and* because it's so far away and such a pain to wait in the office for the appointment. I found a lap band surgeon near my house, and I'm going to beg her to take me on as a patient for fills. Most lap band MDs won't take on other MD's patients, because there is no money in the fills, so it just doesn't make sense. However, I seriously considered buying a syringe and injecting one CC of saline into my band myself, so I need to find another solution. Pronto.

I'm going to take ownership of my life/schedule one day at a time. I'm going to start right now by throwing out the junk food. Then I'm going to take a shower and getting dressed for the day. Then I'm going to do yoga, and put a few hours of work in, including going to a few meetings. In my travels, I plan to get my hair cut, and then I'm going to put together a meal plan and compose a grocery list for the Darce to handle. After that, I'm going to put a few more hours of work done, and then have a healthy dinner.

After dinner, I'm going to start working on my written works and business follow up. Maybe later tonight we'll get out of the house and go to the movies, arcade, or to play pool. We'll see! Tomorrow morning, I'll put another day plan together, and I'm going to do my best to stick to it.

Onward and upward.

Everyone should get one

LOL - I love these things. Our friend Denis has one, and he let's me use it from time to time. It's SO fun! I took a 2 hour tour of the hospital this morning, and I was thinking how much I could use a segway! ;-) Actually, I was worried that the long tour would hurt my back, but it really didn't. I think being out sick yesterday gave my back an extra break from this office chair that's just been compounding my back issues, and so I was good to go for the long walk.

I remember the days when I used to plan my whole schedule around the least amount of walking possible...when a walk from one end of the campus to the other put me in excruciating pain... those days seem long ago, but I'm sure I won't forget them anytime soon. It was my lower back that bothered me then - from years of extra weight coupled with multiple injuries...my back was terrible, and now I can't remember the last time I had lower back pain. That's amazing, because that pain plagued me for years and years...almost a decade, I think. Wow.

Now the back pain I have is from a silly series of injuries, and I know that it won't be a problem for long. It's just not in a location that is prone to longterm issues, and if I can wait it out, I should be good to go soon. I think my 2 hour walk was a good test, and now I feel like I can start doing some other things to move more. I don't think that lifting weights is a good idea yet, but I think I'm ready to try hot "Bikram" yoga! I would like to bring another novice with me, but I just don't know anyone who would be willing to put themselves through that...I'm sure I can find someone!

I'm feeling a thousand times better today. My fever broke around 3PM yesterday, and I was just tired and drained the rest of the day. Today I feel perfectly fine, and I'm looking forward to exercising tonight. I may do some yoga at home to warm up to the concept of the 90 minute heated yoga session, especially since I haven't worked out in a little while!

Have a great day.

Once again...

For some reason, I'm feeling sick again. I wonder if there is something in my house that is making me have a weakened immune system. Perhaps I'm watching too many episodes of House, and that's got me thinking...which is rarely a good thing.

Today I appear to have a touch of a stomach flu. Of course, in my crazy little wanting to lose weight head, I always think - Yay! I'll be down a few lbs tomorrow from being sick today! Only someone who has truly lost it gets excited having the stomach flu. LOL, I jest. I'm not excited about it...let's just say I'm embracing the silver lining.

Yesterday, we stayed in because neither one of us were feeling too great. I got almost a full day of work in, and Darcy made a very yummy home cooked meal - comfort food: roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, corn...not the healthiest of meals, but she made everything light, so we didn't do too much damage... :) I'm Irish, so meat and potatoes equals comfort food to me. There's just no getting around it. Italian food is comfort food to Darcy, and I just can't even imagine that, but then again, she's Italian!

I was down another lb this morning, so I am inching along in the right direction. My back is still quite problematic, and I may eventually go to the MD, but I'm 99.9% sure they will just tell me there's nothing they can do, and I just need to take it easy, so what's the point... I think I'm overdue for a hot tub visit!

Stay germ free!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweets were never a big draw for me. I did plenty of damage with salts and fats, BELIEVE ME, but at least there was one evil I was okay to shy away from.

I have met so many people who have told me how lucky I am that I'm not that into sweets. People even said that to me before I lost the weight. LOL - yes, I'm lucky. If I liked sweets, maybe I would have gotten fat! Oh wait, I did that. What?!

I'm down 3 more lbs today, and down 7 from 3 days ago, so now I have 75 more pesky lbs to go. Thankfully, I won't be giving into any sweet indulgences today!

Losing my blueberries

I'm so tired - this morning while intending to pour frozen blueberries onto my cereal, I poured frozen green beans! Yiiikes. That's bad. Apparently I'm out of blueberries, so I used the frozen raspberries we hand picked this past summer. They were good, except when they were stuck to a frozen green bean fragment that I had missed from my green bean removal.

-

I have had a super busy week, and I ended up working 15 hrs yesterday. I have already put in 2 hrs today, and it's not even 8AM yet. I needed to get an early start on the day today, however, because I'm ending early today. Each Friday, starting last Friday, we have our unemployment luncheon at La Caretta. It's a wonderful mexican restaurant near us. I get the steak taco salad, and it's sooooo yummy.

-

The founding members of the group were me, Darcy, Brooke and Karen, but Karen will be replaced with TJ this week, and we are so looking forward to having a special guest! It's a way to make something not fun, such as unemployment - FUN!

-

I saw someone yesterday who I hadn't seen since before I lost any weight. She couldn't believe the difference, and that was nice! I've been feeling like such a fat, bloated load all week, but if you haven't seen me in a year and a half, I'm looking prettay, prettay good. LOL

-

I'm not down any more weight today, but I'm hoping I will be tomorrow. I had cereal for breakfast, I'm having steak salad for lunch, and I want to have something really light for dinner too. That should at least make a dent. It will be a happy day when this bloating goes away!

Superman

I don't know who I thought I was when I put together my schedule for the day. I had back to back meetings every single hour. Half of them were at the hospital, and half of them were at the medical office building, so I was running back and forth between every meeting, without any time to get there. That was dumb. What a whirlwind day!

I'm glad to be home now. I have a few more hours of work to do, but at least I can do it in the comfort of my big overstuffed leather chair.

I ate in the cafeteria at work for the first time today, and it was awesome. They have the nutrition information for all of the items posted above them! I hope that's a wave of the future. I picked the lean pork, and I had a salad on the side. They have a huge selection of light and fat free dressings as well.

I was down 4 lbs from yesterday. Just 82 little nasty lbs to go!

Oooops

I'm losing the battle against PMS this week...although I can't even say that because I stopped fighting. Last week, when my weight kept creeping up even though I was eating healthy, I got annoyed, coupled with my extreme PMS hunger, and I decided I would eat whatever I wanted since I was going to weigh more for the next week or so anyway - what's the difference?

-

Well, several days later, I can tell you what the difference is - 6 lbs. Now, I started off a week and a half ago with a renewed plan, and I was down 6 lbs in a few days. Then I started to get bloated, and the 6 lbs was back overnight. That was a week ago, and now I've managed to find another 6 lbs. Way to go!

-

I could let myself continue to spiral until the PMS and bloat ends, but I don't feel like it. I really don't like eating that much junk, even if my hormones appear to be demanding it. If my PMS continues to make me feel STARVING, as it has been, I will just eat healthy foods until I'm not starving. Then I won't be tempted to eat unhealthy foods, due to my STARVATION. LOL

-

I updated my number on fitday, and now I want to lose 86 lbs from where I am now. Yes, I'm moving in the wrong direction once again, but once again I'm stopping the insanity. PMS is something I'll have to deal with for at least the next decade, and I don't really have any good coping mechanisms in place.

-

My hormones were so out of whack due to my extra weight, that I never really experienced PMS until recently. On Saturday night, I rented a sad movie because I thought it would be fun to sit on the couch and have a good cry. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? Who AM I??? I need a plan to combat all of the annoyances that my hormones bring, and it's all new to me, so I haven't been making the best choices - BUT I'm learning!

-

I do think my plan to increase my food with healthy choices during the times my hormones cause me to feel like I'm literally starving is a good start. If any of you long time PMS sufferers have tips for this newbie, please share them! I don't want to eat my way through junk for one week a month for the next decade or more!

Employee Weight Loss Challenge

The health system I'm spending most of my time with currently is hosting an Employee Weight Loss Challenge. They have really gone all out, hiring nutritionist, personal trainers, etc..., for the employees involved in the program. They had over 100 applicants, and they were only able to pick 12. Right now, the organization is trying to lose 2009 lbs in 2009, and the staff has already pledged to lose over 4,000 lbs!

I *love* that employers are encouraging their employees to live healthier lives. It shows a real care, concern and investment to the employees, and it can also reduce leaves of absense and medical bills! It's definitely a win/win. The cafeteria here posts the nutrition information for all the meals. I think that is just fantastic.

Trip to Plymouth, NH

Change of plans - we had some friends come for a visit on Friday that lasted longer than expected, so we changed our reservations to Sunday. We brought our little visitor with us, and Darcy kept saying how much Lexi must be enjoying her vacation. I'm not sure she realizes she's on vacation...I think she may more be wondering why we keep moving her, but none of it seems to phase her... at all... It's very cute.

The drive to Plymouth was very pretty, seeing the snow capped mountains in the distance, and it didn't take long at all. When we arrived, Darcy checked in while I took Lexi for another walk. She met some new friends, and everybody loved her! I have come to realize that if you are walking a cute dog, you are obligated to talk to people about how cute she is. It's okay - I can handle it. :) Lexi likes to show them how tough she is, but they just don't seem to buy it...

Here is a picture of Lexi in her room for the night:

The Common Man Inn is a-dorable! It's decorated in a rustic, shabby/chic style. My mother would think it was heaven, I'm pretty sure. :)

Here are a few pictures I took in the lobby area:

We met up with my friend Linda on Main St for coffee. Darcy was very happy to have coffee for the first time in a while:

They have a tiny ice skating rink near the lobby. I took a picture because I couldn't stop laughing at it.
Then, Linda and I thought it would be fun to give it a try! For some reason, everyone who passed by either gave us strange looks or laughed at us! The inn has ice skates you can borrow. I found a pair that were 2 sizes too big, one with a broken lace, so I had to take it easy. It was fun and silly. (I know my outfit isn't complimentary, so what! :))

We had dinner at the restaurant in the inn. It was yummy:

After dinner, we went swimming in the pool, and there were two hot tubs. One that was normal, and the other one that had a fountain and this natural rock theme - very cool. Here is a picture of me in that fountain/hot tub. (I'm the one on the right. - LOL):

Throughout all the events, we kept coming back to the room to visit with Lexi and take her out. It was hard leaving her, as she'd cock her head to the side and open her eyes wide as we left the room, as if to ask, "But, why would you want to leave me??!"

One time, I came back to the room to feed her dinner, and when I started to leave, she bolted out the door and down the hall. I didn't want to yell her name, because I didn't want anyone to know we had a dog on the loose! I sprinted down the hall as fast as I could, and finally I yelled out "Lexi!" in a firm voice. She turned around and sprinted towards me. She wasn't trying to escape - she just wanted to play. It was sooo cute, and sooo funny. I can't imagine if she'd got away from me though. She could have ran into the restaurant, which wouldn't be a stretch for a dog who is always trying to sniff around for food!

-

We didn't end up skiing or tubing yesterday because the weather was weird. It was raining off and on (more off than on), but we didn't want to get out there and then be stuck in rainy weather. We are planning to get a little skiing in this morning before heading home.

-

We had a great trip up north, and we will definitely be back.

My new exercise partner

Krissy and Bruno took the kids to Disney World, and Darcy and I offered to dog sit. I thought it would be fun to have a dog to walk/run with, and I also thought it would be good practice for Darcy to have to take care of a dog since she's wanted one forever. The second part of that plan seems to be backfiring, since Lexi likes to sleep in just as much as Darcy! She also likes to relax on the couch and watch the Dog Whisperer...like Darcy... I think they have found quite a friendship together. LOL

Last night, I took Lexi for a short walk because I wasn't sure how she'd do. As you can see, she's a pug and they have trouble breathing, in addition to their very short legs and potential to overheat. It was cool out today (but not freezing), so I decided to take her for a 30 minute walk. I watched her and let her set the pace. Sometimes we walked, sometimes we meandered, and sometimes we jogged. She moved at a pretty good clip for most of it, and when we got home, she wasn't panting, and she didn't run right to her water bowl, so I'm sure she was fine.

I'd like to go for a longer walk with her, but we'll see. I did some research online, and it said that if a pug doesn't want to walk, she won't. She'll just sit down in the road if she's tired. I've also read that it seems 45 minutes is about the longest a pug can walk. I don't want to exhaust the poor thing, so I'll probably keep the walks to 20-30 minutes so that she's getting the exercise she needs but I'm not wearing her out. When we got back home, we played with a towel for a while, and she chased her tail in circles for a bit, and now she is curled up on the couch next to Darcy.

I've often read that dog owners lead healthier, happier lives, and so even though I'm not a dog person, I've thought about getting a dog. I don't like the idea of being chained down to a dog, but I love the idea of having a dog to walk with, run with, swim with, play frisbee with, etc... All that stuff is fun to me. Since Darcy wants a dog sooo desperately, I'm warming up to the idea, but this little experiment with Lexi has reminded us of one problem: we are both allergic. We kind of forgot about that...

There are some breeds that are less likely to cause pet allergies, but they aren't really the breeds that I can play with the way I want to, and they aren't the breeds that Darcy really likes for other reasons, so we're at a bit of a stand still with this discussion.

Either way, I'm going to have fun playing with my new toy this week!

More winter fun

The structural work for our home is finally completed. The guys did a great job. Still, from all the clean up yesterday, so much dirt and dust and mold was stirred up in the house, Darcy and I are both having trouble breathing. We are going to escape this house tonight - they said it would be 2 days for the dust to settle, and then we could do a thorough cleaning and get rid of most of it.

We have booked a room at a very charming inn up north. We have a King room with a sitting area, fireplace, jacuzzi tub, etc... More exciting to me, is the heated pool and heated waterfall hot tub!

I'm working a half day today, meeting up with friends for lunch, and then we're heading up north. We are bringing our XC skis with us, as there are a number of trails where we are going. I'd like to get in a little skiing this afternoon, and a little more tomorrow morning before we go tubing!

I must say, I definitely resent winter less when I play with it. :)

Just give it a try!

Milk

We saw Milk last night. It was *so* good. Sean Penn has really blossomed into quite the actor. Honestly, though, what were they thinking with those hairstyles in the 70's??!! :)

The movie started with Harvey turning 40 and realizing he needed a change. He hadn't done anything he was proud of in his life. Boy, did that change.

I've often thought about running for political office, but I'm jaded into thinking you never get anywhere without making so many compromises that your original mission is gone and you are owned by your backers. Maybe that's a cynical thought, but I just haven't seen proof of anything else. Who knows. I may just give it a whirl someday. I care enough about stuff. :) I have enough passion...that is for sure...

I would never be able to consider a political career if I weighed what I used to. I would prefer to be in top shape before even attempting to take that on. I think a healthy image projects a healthy person. That's not always true, but it doesn't mean that's not the perception.

Big people have to work twice as hard to be respected in the workplace, or other areas, because people just assume they are lazy and not of the same value as thin, healthy people. It's not fair, but it's true. It's easier (and healthier) to just lose the weight than to change perceptions. Society doesn't really like the overweight folks...you better be funny and full of self deprecating humor, or else you'll be cast aside.

I want to give myself every opportunity to live the most fulfilling and impactful life I can, and I know I need to be in shape and healthy to do that.

Unfortunately, I ate popcorn at the movies last night, and I feel sick today. I'm also up a few lbs (natch), but I know it's from the sodium. It will be gone tomorrow.

I didn't sleep well last night, and I feel a bit ill today, so I'm not sure that I'll make it to the gym yet again. My back is better than it was at the beginning of the week, so it's looking good for tomorrow, and we have plans to go XC skiing again this weekend, which I'm *really* looking forward to!

Have a healthy day, and drink your milk! ;-)

Water weight

I was finally down the lb I was up from yesterday, but only because I skipped dinner. Hopefully in a few days the water weight will be gone.

I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a while last night, and she asked me if I lost 1000 lbs. LOL. It's been a while since anyone has noticed my weight loss because I've been roughly the same size for 6 months now, so it was a nice change! :)

Feed me, Seymour

Ah yes, once again the moon is rotating and something is happening with the ocean waves that all lead to me being very hungry and bloated. My office chair at work was really hurting my back, so I came home after 4 hours. I heated up a lean cuisine for lunch, and while it was cooking, I had a 1/2 cup of peaches. Then I ate the lean cuisine...and I was still hungry...so I had a 1/2 cup of risotto with one oz of steak...and I was STILL hungry...so I had 1/2 a serving of whole grain goldfish, and that finally did the trick!...for two hours.

Now it's 2:30, I've drank at least 80 oz of water today, I've already consumed 930 calories today! That's more than I ate the entire day yesterday. For dinner, I'm making grilled chicken, cheddar and garlic nachos, with reduced fat ingredients and whole grain chips. Yum. Is it dinner time yet? I just took some rolaids to see if that would make the burning in my stomach go away. After dinner, I'll be at 1380 calories for the day. More than I want to eat, but not terrible for a starving day. :)

Wrong direction

I was up a lb this morning. I'm going in the wrong direction! :) Since I had 1,400 calories on Sunday, I was careful yesterday, and I had 894 calories. I didn't eat anything after 6PM, so I'm not sure why I'm up a lb, but I know it's just silly weight fluctuation. It would be impossible for me to gain an actual lb under these circumstances.

I didn't end up cross country skiing or doing any exercise last night. :( For some reason, I was exhausted when I got home from work. I don't know if it's because I'm still getting better, or if it was because it was the first time I spent an entire day in the office in over three months, but I suspect it was a combination of those things, as well as the fact that I was staring at a computer screen for nearly 8 hrs straight. Normally I have more meetings to break up the day, but yesterday, it was non-stop. My eyes were killing me at the end of the day. When I work from home, I often put in a full day but I take breaks so it makes a difference.

I also had major back pain last night. I know the chair in the office I was in was the culprit. When my back is injured, it's so picky, and it still hasn't healed from when I pulled a muscle, then fell down the stairs, then injured it some more from working out. I have good days and slightly worse days, and last night was bad. I went shopping for some suits, since I'm planning to spend more time in the office, and two of my five suits are waaaay too big in the legs now (but perfectly fine in the jacket), but they look silly, and one of them is starting to fall apart from overuse!

I bought 2 new suits at Macy's. One of them is a bit tight on me now, but that's the idea. I would hate to waste money on a suit that fits me now that will hopefully be too big for me shortly. I can wear the one that is a bit tight now, and I can just wear it better going forward. The other suit won't fit me for at least another 20 lbs or so, and I have a feeling I'll get some good use out of it before it's too big for me.

I went to Kohl's after that to get some tops to wear under the suits. I buy these plain color ribbed shirts that they sell. They are always on sale, and I have 3-4 in many different colors. Last night they were $9.99. Quite a bargain. During all this shopping, my back was killing me. I couldn't even hold my clothes - Darcy had to. This was after I took 3 advil liquid gels. I'm thinking of going to the MD, but I'm sure there's nothing they can do...

Our last stop was Target. We needed some food, and I didn't feel like going all the way to the grocery store with my bad back and exhaustion. Target was across the street from Kohls. Ever since I had the terrible organic foods experience in Florida, I've been getting lazier about trying to stay away from processed foods, and last night, I went overboard.

I was able to find organic milk, so that's good, but then I bought 10 frozen diet meals (which I always try to avoid), canned fruit, cereal bars, tuna on the go, whole grain goldfish crackers and Jimmy Dean's D'Light egg white and turkey sausage breakfast sandwiches. I never eat foods like that, and I don't want to get in the habit of it either...It's just soooo easy, but I have to remind myself that what I put in my body needs to be a top priority for me. I need to make time to choose health over convenience, even if the convenience comes in a tasty, low fat and low calorie package! :)

I bill by the hour for my consulting fee, so I will probably put about 8 hrs in the office today (7:30 - 3:30) and then come home and work out. If Darcy isn't still sore from skiing on Saturday, I really want to go this afternoon. Let's hope she remembers to buy new poles today!! Otherwise, I'm going to the gym. I may put a few more hours of work in from home tonight after I'm done exercising, but if I'm exhausted, I'll just do the 8.

Hopefully my pesky new lb, and more, will be gone tomorrow. :)

Nada

It's no surprise that I wasn't down any weight today. I felt so bloated last night from the risotto (and the salt I used), and I even felt bloated still when I woke up this morning. Yuck. At first I was up 1-2 lbs, but later in the morning, that was gone, so I'm still down 6 out of 80 with 74 left to go. Today I'm going to try to have a light calorie day to make up for yesterday. Maybe I'll be down a little more tomorrow!


If I get out of work early enough, I'm going to go cross country skiing tonight, but if it's dark out when I get home, I'll just go to the boring gym. I'm in the market for some outdoor waterproof running shoes. I have the outfit, but now I just need the sneakers! I'd like to do some jogging/running for outdoor cardio during the winter. I can't resign myself to hampster wheels for the entirity of my cardio.

TJ blogged today about losing weight from dancing. I think that sounds like a great idea, and I wish I was a dancer. Maybe it's time for this old dog to learn some new tricks!!

Saffron Risotto with Chicken

Tonight I made my first risotto. It's a lot more work than most things I make, but it was easier than I thought. It was more time consuming than anything else, but not so difficult. Saffron and arborio rice are fairly expensive for at home cooking ingredients, so I don't anticipate it's a dish I'll make often, but I think I may make it as a starter for a dinner party sometime.

.

I revised a recipe that was already low fat to make it more low fat, but I don't think I sacrificed any flavor. The recipe calls for white wine, and I happened to have a very cheap bottle in the house that I opened. I think the wine overwhelmed the chicken broth because it was so cheap. By the time it was done cooking, the strong wine taste had almost dissipated, but I still think some of the chicken taste was sacrificed in the process.

.

The flavor was good, but I felt like it was missing something, so I added reduced fat mozzarella at the end, and it was just what it needed. Yum!

.

Edible elements:

2 cooked chicken breasts

2 tbsp light butter

1/2 cup dry white wine

5 cups of chicken stock or broth

1 1/2 cups of arborio rice

1/2 cup of minced onion

1/3 cup of reduced fat parmesan cheese

1 cup reduced fat mozzarella

1/2 tsp grated saffron threads

.

How to:

(mostly from http://whatscookingamerica.net/Pasta_Rice_Main/risottosaffron.htm)

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring chicken broth to a slow, steady simmer.
In a large heavy 4-quart pan over medium heat, melt the butter; add onion and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft (be careful not to brown the onions).
Add the rice. Using a wooden spoon, stir for 1 minute, making sure all the grains are well coated (toasting the rice in melted butter keeps it from getting mushy). Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed. Add the hot chicken broth (1/2 cup at a time), stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup, reserving about 1/4 cup to add at the end. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
NOTE: Risotto doesn't need constant attention during its 18 minute cooking time. You'll just need to check on the pan every few minutes, give the rice a stir to keep it from sticking, and add more stock.
When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, add 1/2 the dissolved saffron. Continue to stir and when there is no more liquid in the pot, add the remaining saffron. Proceed with adding the broth. Add in the cooked chicken in bite sized pieces.
After approximately 18 minutes, when the rice is tender but still firm, add the reserved broth. The rice is done when it is tender, but firm to the bite. Turn off the heat and immediately add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, one cup of reduced fat mozzarella and the parmesan cheese, stirring vigorously to combine with the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
NOTE: To test the risotto for proper consistency, spoon a little into a bowl and shake it lightly from side to side. The risotto should spread out very gently of its own accord. If the rice just stands still, it's too dry, so add a little more stock. If a puddle of liquid forms around the rice, you've added too much stock. Spoon some liquid off, or just let the risotto sit for a few more seconds off the heat to absorb the excess stock.
Transfer risotto to warmed serving plates and serve immediately with additional freshly grated parmesan cheese on the side.
Note: If the finished risotto is left to sit and not served immediately, it will continue absorbing fluid and become sticky instead of creamy. You can save this by stirring in a few tablespoons of warm broth right before serving. If it is left to sit too long (15 minutes or more), the rice will lose its firm texture and become undesirably mushy.

.
Makes 4 main course servings or 6 side dish servings.

.

Based on 4 servings (with the mozzarella cheese):

Calories: 535

Fat: 8.6

Fiber: 1 g

Protein: 44.6

.

It's definitely higher in calories than most recipes I make, but if you have two other light meals, you can fit this into your daily calories just fine. When I chose to make this recipe, I read nutrition information that said this dish (minus the chicken and mozzarella), based upon 6 servings was 153 calories. I figured that adding in the chicken, cheese and using the main course serving size would lead to an overall calorie intake of 400, but then I realized that the recipes originator used the wrong calculations to reach the 153 calorie total. Had I known the servings would have 535 calories each, I would have made it as a side dish with a large salad.

.

I made healthy choices today, and I consumed a total of 1,400 calories, which is more than I usually eat. On days I don't exercise, I like to consume between 1,000 - 1,200 calories. Yesterday I exercised and I only consumed 900 calories, so hopefully it will all work out in the wash!

.

I was going to go to the gym since I'm feeling bloated and like I ate too much, but I just checked the web site, and apparently the gym closes at 7PM on Sunday night. Lame! I think I will do crunches and push ups at the very least.

Cotton

We went to dinner with Stephanie and Carolyn last night. Cotton was opened in Manchester, NH in 2000. I can't believe last night was my first visit. I have always heard great things about it, and I love fine dining (for NH)...I just never got around to it.

The chef/owner Jeffrey Paige creates seasonal menus using locally grown and harvested ingredients. Paige is an accomplished chef who has composed meals for President Bush, President Clinton, Julia Child and the European Parliament -- quite impressive for a chef located just 2 miles from our house!

For a starter, I chose the local farm fresh organic mesclun salad with a white balsamic vinaigrette. The mixed greens were a lively combination of textures and flavors. Darcy had the same salad, only with traditional balsamic vinaigrette. Stephanie and Carolyn split Firecracker Calamari, which was calamari fried in a honey chipotle sauce, served with blue cheese dressing for dipping. I didn't try it, but they said it was yummy.

For my entree I chose the Bistro steak, which is a flat iron steak served with your choice of red wine demi-glace, bacon bleu cheese butter, port wine mushroom sauce, lemon herb butter or horseradish creme. I chose the horseradish, and it complemented the meat wonderfully. I had grilled asparagus on the side, and it was grilled to perfection. The steak came with a heaping helping of creamy buttery mashed potatoes, but I skipped those. Carolyn and Stephanie ate most of my mashed potatoes, and they were moaning...I take it they were good!

Darcy had grilled chicken with the port wine mushroom sauce, and it was also delicious. The chicken was so moist and the sauce rich with flavor. She had the same sides I did, and she said the potatoes were fantastic. She only ate half as she is trying to lose weight as well, and she's down over 2 lbs since Friday!

Stephanie had the lobster spaghetti in a tomato basil creme sauce. The spaghetti appeared to be homemade, and it looked wonderful. Carolyn had the vegetable ravioli in a red sauce, and she said it was delicious as well. For the quality of food and the upscale environment (again, for NH), it was very reasonably priced. The least expensive entree is $13, and the most expensive is $30, most choices were between $18 - $22.

We will definitely be visiting Cotton again soon.

We met Billy and Lanie at Rita Mae's for breakfast this morning. Darcy, Lanie and I all had over easy eggs with dry rye. For lunch, I made turkey burgers on multigrain english muffins with salad and reduced fat pringles. I know tonight is the super bowl, but we are probably going to skip out on the game and all associated festivities. I thought of going to a party at Alison's friend's house, but I know the phenomenal food display that will undoubtedly be present will be tough for Darcy since she's trying her best to eat healthy. We've been so spoiled with the Patriots lately, I have no inclination to watch the game if they aren't playing.

Tonight I am probably going to make the chicken saffron risotto dish I've been planning to make for some time. I will post photos and reviews later!