Afternoon Snack

Sautéed pear apple & onions w/ thyme. Wasn't quite as savory as I had hoped it would be, but still yummy & a nice break from my usual foods!

Not Really - Homeboy Sandman

This guy is my friend. And he's dope. He's a dope artist, a dope person, and just an all around good dude. And this video rocks. Enjoy!

The Countdown Continues

I started this countdown at the beginning of my journey and I have absolutely LOVED marking off the days. I'm now officially 75% of the way finished with what I'm calling "Phase 1". The time has flown by! I'm still busting my ass to peel off the pounds so there is no downhill or homestretch. Now it's kind of a race against the calendar to see how much I can lose before the days run out!

Wisdom According to Pinterest

Before & Current Pics!

The pic on the left was taken 6/24/12 (no clue why it's so blurry. blargh.) & the one on the right was today before my run! Thanks Jillian!

Leftover Turkey Burger Tacos

...on a fancy paper plate.

The recipe is as easy as it looks. I chopped up half a turkey burger and sauteed some onions, orange bell pepper and spinach with a little Pam and topped it off with a dab of taco sauce. Didn't even season it and it literally took about 6 minutes. YUM.

Card Carrying Member

I finally became a member! I've listened to NPR every single morning and every single evening on my way to and from work for at least a decade but I've never donated. So, I figured if I can pay for a Netflix subscription that I never use for well over a year surely I can cancel that and send the money somewhere else where it'll actually be making a difference and contributing to my overall quality of life. Woop!

"Who Moved My Cheese?"

I want to preface this by saying that I HATE long blog posts! I never read a post longer than a short paragraph, so I forgive you in advance if you skip this one. :)

It's interesting how I finally came to reading this parable after hearing about it for so many years. I was interviewing a candidate last week who worked in a different industry, so I asked her why she would be interesting in changing industries at this point in her career and her response was "I'm very comfortable where I am." I waited for her to finish that thought, but that was it. She didn't say anything else so I questioned it and she asked if I'd ever read "Who Moved My Cheese?" and of course I hadn't but lied and said I did a long time ago. (Yeah not awesome.) Long story short, I walk out of my office to take a little break and decide to peruse one of the many book cases filled with what I thought was just a bunch of old corporate crap, and wouldn't you know....there was the book sitting right there less than 3 feet away from my office and I had never noticed it there before. Thank you Universe.

I'll refrain from explaining the story, but will jump to the take home message.

The question of the century! I'm not even sure I have an answer for that yet, but I need to answer it in order to be able to truly understand how my fears effect my decisions and behavior and maybe even figure out how to get over a few humps both in my professional and personal relationships. 

I know with losing weight I wouldn't have thought that I was afraid of it, but was just lazy and unmotivated. But during this journey I've had a few moments of clarity where I've realized that I was afraid of what life might be like as a non-fat person. Who would I be once the costume was off? How would other people perceive me? Would people have new expectations of me and would I have new ones of myself? What is life like without the constant struggle with the scale? I found that not only were there fears associated with losing weight, but there were thousands of them!

As with the parable, I've found happiness along the way of losing weight, in the process, not necessarily at the destination. I feel good moving and taking care of my body even though I haven't reached my ideal number. This book is definitely one that I'll keep on the shelf and revisit from time to time. I highly recommend it for everyone...especially because you can read the whole book in less than an hour! Definitely an hour well spent.

Wisdom According to Pinterest

To go, or not to go?

I really want to go to yoga tomorrow after work but I keep talking myself out of it! Ugh I know I'm a little intimidated at the thought of being the fat inflexible meat eating old lady in the class but the truth the matter is that I don't care and nobody else will either. I put my mat by the door. I better go.

UPDATE

I didn't go. I don't even feel bad about it.

Super (Tired) Mom

What an exhausting weekend! Activities included going to my little cousin's flag football game, entertaining my parents, starting to plan G's 1st birthday party (we're going with an Ugly Dolls theme!), finished Week 1 of RI30 and started Week 2 (shoot me now), cleaned up the house and got all of the laundry done, grocery shopping, prepped meals for the week and I managed to squeeze in a few hours of work while the folks were napping after Sunday brunch all while spending super quality time with the teething little one who has been refusing to take baths or get his diaper changed which really kicks life up a notch. Yeah...I'm tired!

Back Up Off My Zen

Peace in my world is fleeting, but I've been digging very deep to try to convince it to stick around from time to time, maybe sleep over and let me make it breakfast. I struggle to just be even (if that makes any sense). This is where I introduce the antagonist in the very short and not explained very well story. This person is just generally difficult and I have to deal with her. I've been venting about this person a lot lately to friends and coworkers and I've found that I don't like venting nearly as much as I used to. It simply isn't effective and it's a total waste of time. And just because I have negative energy piling up in my head doesn't mean I need to unload it into the universe and plant those seeds of destruction into someone else's thought garden.

So, I want to learn to remain composed in the face of this person's blatant unreasonableness. To take a few minutes to stop and really think about what the ultimate goal is and plan out how to get there peacefully while navigating through her choppy waters. I want to be able to accept this person for exactly who they show me they are and set my expectations accordingly. I'll start untangling myself from the drama of just thinking about it by ending this post and going to bed. Gn.

Make It: Pasta Alfredo That’s Actually Good For You!

I totally want to try this! It's an Alfredo, but the sauce is made with tofu. Now, I'm not a huge fan of tofu but this recipe actually sounds pretty awesome.

Make It: Pasta Alfredo That’s Actually Good For You!

Silence is Golden

I'm uber bitchy today and I'm pretty sure my period is coming. I see it racing towards me like a wild and rabid freight train with a crazed look in it's eye, foaming at the mouth. <3 retired to the man cave and is basically ignoring the shit out of me, which is awesome. Otherwise I'd surely pick a stupid fight and regret it after the hormones settle. By then an "Oopsies my bad for my stank attitude. It was the period talking." for the umpteenth time doesn't hold much weight. I'll sit for at least 5 minutes each night, watch my thoughts carefully over the next several days and hopefully keep the cravings under control while keeping up with Ripped in 30. And drink lots and lots of water. This time of the month is usually a huge pitfall for me so hopefully this time I'll be more prepared. And this is all assuming it's actually my period coming. It could just really be that I'm a bitch. Which in that case I'll definitely need to meditate for more than 5 minutes. Om.

Wisdom According to Pinterest



Runners, Yeah We're Different.

Dopeness.

The first of many.

Color Me Rad Bitches!

The Color Me Rad race in Ft. Worth was this morning and I rocked it! I finished right at 40 minutes including one pit stop and running at least half a mile on loose rocks...which sucked in case you were wondering. LOL

I can't believe after all of these months of training the race has finally come and gone. I feel amazing and had a blast and will definitely be running another 5K very soon. Here are a few highlights!

Black Girls Run! Love these ladies. 

On your mark...get set....

Approaching the first color bomb station.

PR!

I look WAY cooler running than I thought! Way fatter too. Totally wish I would've pulled down my tank top before this pic was snapped! Whatev.

Crossing the finish line!

I finished it!

Water, but Better

I just used frozen strawberry slices for ice cubes. This beats chicken & waffles any day! *happy taste bud dance*

Free Day of Yoga!

Ricky Tran

Every year on 9/3 is the DFW Free Day of Yoga. I've never taken advantage of it before, but today I finally took the plunge. I found a (and hopefully he will be MY) teacher, Ricky Tran of Krama Yoga Center, literally 2 days  before I found out I was pregnant back in February 2010 and today was the day I ventured back into his studio for an Intro to Ashtanga class which ended up being 95% philosophy & only 5% asana...just the way I like it. I'd like to decide to make time for a yoga practice with him, but I'm not sure I'm there yet. When I am, I think I'll know. Right?

See the thing is, I don't want to be a yoga chic. I don't want cute (and dangerously expensive) yoga clothes from Lululemon, I don't want to show off my headstand or super deep back bend. Yoga is not the destination. For me, yoga is the path. I guess I just want to be sure that when I commit, I'm committing to the right thing.

Ok with that being said, the free class coupons he handed out today will surely get me back in there sooner than later! =P

Hefty Post-Run Protein Shake

The comfort in planning ahead

We have plans to visit friends that live VERY far away so we're going to stay all day long, which means I need to be smart about eating and working out! I got up early with the baby and our "new" Baby Jogger 2 and hit the streets for 8:1 of Run5K and I packed a salad and protein shake to take with me. I feel confident that I won't get off track!

Farmer's Market Day!

Took my very first trip to the Farmer's Market today! I can't believe I've NEVER been to a Farmer's Market before. I've always wanted to go but it was just one of those things that "other" people do. You know the type that has disposable income, does yoga at swank yoga studio wearing sweatbands made specifically to catch cosmic yogic perspiration, owns a bike they actually use as a primary mode of transportation, and those people that walk around hugging trees and volunteering for PETA. I also had severe anxiety about what the parking situation would be like and would rather just 86 the super fresh locally grown veggies than battle over a parking spot. Well, the market was NOTHING like that at all! It was fairly quiet with a steady stream of very regular non-pretentious patrons. I took the baby and he gobbled up some fresh pineapple and mango, I ate a few bites of the most amazing cake, discovered a little BBQ shack that had a line wrapped around the corner before it ever even opened....and bought some awesomely cheap and super fresh fruits and veggies. Did I mention awesomely cheap?! OMG everything was so cheap! Cheap cheap cheap. Who knew eating healthy could be so affordable!


OK so I eat a ton of spinach. I throw it in everything from breakfast omelets to my protein shakes. I bought a bag at the market and I just want to note that this super fresh spinach doesn't look anything like the spinach I buy at the grocery store. All of the pieces don't look the same and there's a rough-ish texture instead of being all perfectly smooth and rounded. It looks like an actual leafy green veggie. Perhaps I just learned the difference between adult spinach and baby spinach?! *pinky to mouth & ponders* Either way...I can't wait to taste it! The salad that I made out of my other farmer's market purchases was delicious and I'm sure the spinach won't disappoint!