Fruits and Veggies!

Today was a long long long day... I worked 7:30-5:30 and then babysat 5:30-7:30 came home made dinner, cut up some veggies and made my lunch for tomorrow.

I went to produce junction and grabbed a bunch of stuff... 2 bundles of asparagus, 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, a box of spring mix lettuce, a bundle of carrots, 4 cucumbers, a box of peaches, and a pint of strawberries all for about $14. It was so nice to get FRESH food and not pay a ridiculous amount of money for it. I came home and cut up a cucumber and chopped about 5 carrots and put them all in a baggie. This way when I want to make a salad everything is cut up, or I can just grab some from each bag and take for a snack.

I made a spark people favorite tonight, mini cheesy meatloaf and grilled some of the asparagus to go with it. I also chopped some asparagus and mixed it with an egg for my breakfast tomorrow, also taking some sliced strawberries for a snack. I was really proud that I came home and did all of this before I turned on the tv.

Problem now is I'm exhausted, want to take a shower and just go to bed. I really don't feel like exercising and I don't know what to do, my motivation is just not there. I will say that I was super proud of myself because when I came home I was so hungry (didn't plan on babysitting tonight so I was not prepared), that I really just wanted a quick snack to get me through dinner. There are still left over egg rolls in there, and I was SO tempted to grab one, but I said NO I can snack on some of my veggies and wait for dinner to be done. I did it, I turned down an egg roll!!

My picture tonight is of the goodies I grabbed today!

Chinese food

So last night is the usual night we order out or go out for dinner and where I am more relaxed about what I eat. My boyfriend had to work late and so we just decided on ordering from a new chinese place. I haven't had chinese food in a really really long time. I went with my usual sesame chicken , added brown rice and an eel and avocado roll. I planned on dishing it out to make 3 meals out of it so I wouldn't over eat. I didn't even touch the egg roll that came with it. I really did well eating my portion and stopped myself. An hour later I as doubled over in pain, horrible stomach cramp and so nauseous. I got in bed, tried to sip on some water and was back and forth to the bathroom feeling like I was going to throw up. I felt horrible and cursed my bad decision but I wasn't sure what was making me sick. Food poisoning? the stomach bug that is going around? Or was it my body punishing me for eating this crap?

I finally fell asleep and woke up feeling good then I got up and started moving and it came back instantly. All I had today was a soft pretzel that I shared with my boyfriend and some chicken broth. I also had a gatorade which seemed to help. WORST I have felt in a really long time. Lesson learned...stay away from the chinese food!

Today's picture is my faithful water bottle, it's a camelback one with a straw I drink about two of these during the day. I've been forgetting it at work on the weekends but remembered it this weekend, and didn't use it. BLAH! But I really LOVE this thing!

A trip to the mall...

So I made a trip to the mall and actually tried clothes on.... it's really not as scary as I make it out to be. I hit 3 different stores and left with two shirts, a tank top and two bras. I tried on a pair of 11 skinny jeans and they were cute but big, they were stretchy so I guess that's why. I tried on a pair of 9's and they were tight, not something I'd feel comfortable wearing around in public really. But I was happy with what I saw, got both my shirts in mediums which is nice.

I ate my breakfast while at work, and was there for about 2 hours and managed to finish my classroom just leaving one board out in the hall way that I need pictures to finish, so that has to wait until Monday.

While at he mall I had a salad for lunch and a 1/2 icetea 1/2 lemonade for a drink. I was really craving a soda and this helped quench my sweet tooth. Then I went off and walked the mall for about 2 hours. I still have to fit in a workout tonight. Plus figure out what to make/do for dinner. We will probably eat out/order out as we usually do and I'm just not in the mood to cook. I had a hard time finding a parking spot because of church and a local bar so it put me in a bad mood. I even fought with my boyfriend about it, stupid I know. I am hoping that I won't let me emotions rule my food choice tonight!

My picture tonight is of one of the shirts I brought and I think with jeans it makes a cute, comfy outfit!

Level 2

After having yesterday off I was really off my routine and it was so hard to get back into it today. I got up and had a small snack/breakfast to get something in me within the hour of waking up. Once I get to work I had a smart one breakfast sandwich of egg whites, turkey sausage and peppers. I also had some cottage cheese and mandarin oranges. I'm trying to make my breakfast a little bigger to get me through the day. I think it would have been fine had a dad not brought in doughnut holes which I snacked on all day long BLAH. Other then that I stuck to my healthy snacks, and lunch that I had packed. Drank my water and rushed around trying to get my room together for February.

Tonight I tried level 2 of Jillians 30 DS and wow that was rough. I had to take multiple 5 second breaks and was really sweating. I just wanted to try and see how my body would react. I think I will stay with this level until I am fully comfortable with it, which I think may take awhile. This is 5 days in a row that I've done some exercise, still soda free and feeling good about my choices I am making!

Dinner was also good, one serving of pasta and some bread. We also played this fun game called Headbands, you wear this headband a card sticks to it and you have to guess what your card is. Sounds simple and a little lame but my family makes EVERYTHING interesting, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt, I haven't felt that relaxed in while.

Tomorrow I'm heading back into work to finish my classroom then meeting my sister and her family at the mall. There I might try on some jeans and shirts, no plans on buying anything but I would like to see if I can notice any changes in my clothes. The scale hasn't moved but I'm oddly okay with that.

Tonight's picture is of an empty cupcake wrapper... A WHAT! A healthy carrot spice cake that a mom who is proud of her healthy cooking made for her little boys birthday, he is in my class She gave me the left overs to enjoy and they are really yummy!

More snow...

I got the phone call around 7am that we were closed for the day, so I rolled over and got some much needed sleep! We both slept in till about 10am and as soon as I got up I had a bowl of cereal. I had my snack of cottage cheese and blueberries but the rest of my eating, well, sucked. This often happens when I am at home and being lazy with a boy who can eat anything he likes and stay the same size. We both made a commitment to try and be healthier but I know it doesn't mean as much to him as it does to me. We dug out our 3 cars in about 2 hours, not to bad. The problem now is that our parking lot is used for many businesses and the local restaurant parking. My fear is that after all that digging out when I come home from work tomorrow there won't be anywhere to park!

After some lunch we both took a long nap and I know this will screw with my sleeping schedule but I was just exhausted and it felt good after I got up and started moving around. I knew that I had an okay work out shoveling the snow but I refused to take that as my work out for the day. I went OnDemand and found a biggest loser 10 minuet cardio work out. I was sweating by the end of it and it felt great. This is 4 days in a row that I have worked out, I'm so proud.

Another proud moment: STILL soda free, haven't touched the stuff in weeks and I'm glad I've been able to do this, it's been my biggest weakness yet. I still have to pack some snacks for tomorrow and make my breakfast. There are calling for more snow next week and I have NO idea how I'm going to deal with that!!

My picture tonight is two of the three cars we had to dig out today!

Mother Nature

So we have about 5-6 inches already on the ground and they are calling for another 6 or so inches!

I actually had to work today even though all the school districts in my county were CLOSED. I had 4 kids and got only about 1 or two thing accomplished. I was tempted with some french fries today, which I had but still stuck to my planned out meals. I did well with dinner and ate rather slowly and felt full. Until I saw the last brownie in the ban and decided that I needed to have it. BLAH! I got in a lot of water today which was good and I think I'm starting to come down with a cold so I'm starting on some Emergen-C tonight!

I did Jillians 30 day shred even though I hadn't planned on it. Tonight was suppose to be Zumba night but with the snow that wasn't happening. I didn't want to NOT exercise at all today so I figured I'd do Jillians 30DS. I was happy I did it, this is 3 days in a row that I've done some exercise. I also took my 4 kids out into the snow today which was a lot of fun and if I have off tomorrow I want to try and go sledding, it's been ages but I think I would love it.

Tonight's picture is right outside my front door... Mother Nature came knocking!

Part of my motivation

So today was I thinking about the reasons I'm motivated and the things I use to get me through my work outs. Sometimes I get lost in the thoughts of "I want to get into this size" or "My life would be better if I lost this weight" but there are REAL reasons I want to be healthy.

In 2001 my mother passed away from breast cancer and my life changed. It was always different when my mom was sick but now she was gone and I had to deal with the life anxiety of would it happen to me. My mother was young when she was diagnosed being told at first the lump was nothing to come back in a couple months. When she went back it was breast cancer and had invaded her lymph nodes. My mother's battle had only just begun, with radiation and chemo therapy slowly eating away at her we got good news, she was in remission! Within a year it was back and spreading, now on her bones, on her spine and effecting how she was walking. Confined to a hospital bed, put on medicines to ease the pain and hospice making weekly visits I spent the rest of my mother's time enjoying what we had left.

I have done many Relay For Life walks and fundraisers for breast cancer but I've never done anything by myself. This year on Mother's Day in Philadelphia I will run a 5k in honor of my mother. I will use all the wonderful memories I have of my mother and pull from the strength she had during her journey to get through my run. I will not stop until I reach the end and I will never rest easy until there is a cure for cancer.

I have been told by many doctors my percentage of getting breast cancer and ovarian cancer and that the best thing I can do is early detection. I give myself monthly checks, go to my DR and always have one, I have had genetic counseling, looking into the genetic testing and I am trying to eat healthier.

Tonight's picture is a tattoo I have on my ankle, it was the Relay For Life team name right after my mom passed away, her name was Ann.