Friday Spa Day

Just a quick hello before I head to bed!  I was planning to write a longer post tonight but then my plans changed and I ended up driving back to my mom's in Rhode Island and have to be up early so need to get to sleep.

Man, was it a busy week guys!  However, I was able to do really well with tracking my food and I think that's really the key to it for me... just writing down what I eat helps me be so much more conscious of what I am doing.  So, I am going to try and do that every day for the next few weeks.  Hopefully that helps "Operation Get My Pants to Fit" go smoothly :)

Yesterday I tried a Pilates class, this morning Jess and I did a 3-mile run in Saratoga Park, which I hadn't run through since the Birthday Blizzard Half Marathon!

We all took the day off and we the rest of the girls joined for an awesome day of fun and pampering with the girls at the spa and throughout Saratoga.

And now I am off to a weekend I have been looking forward to for years!  Cannot wait.  Hope you have a good weekend!

My attempt at What I Ate Wednesday

This morning when I was at the gym showering after my run, and then again this evening when I was getting drinks with friends, I had conversations with some of you about this little old blog I write here.  I don't talk about it too much, because there isn't really a need to, but I just wanted to say a quick thank you!  The fact that people even read this little bit of the writing that I put out into the universe means so much to me.  Whether or not you comment, or write me privately, or just read as a weird creepy lurker and would never even admit to anyone in the world that you read this -- thank you.  Thank you for taking an interest in what I write and in my life.  It truly means a lot to me.

With that being said... a little bit about my day... I started with a 4-mile run this morning, that I really did not want to do.  I was exhausted and sleepy and it was hot and humid. But I did it.  I rewarded myself by finishing the day with a couple beers with friends.

Then in between, I tried really, really hard to eat healthily today and tried to track everything that I ate to be able to write about it and participate in "What I Ate Wednesday" (this blogging thing where people post pictures of everything that they ate on Wednesdays.)

However, if you've been a reader around here long enough, you'll know I'm not really good at remembering to take pictures of what I eat.  Lots of water, coffee, smoothie, fruit, a salad from the cafeteria with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrots, peppers, and egg whites (that I totally forgot to take a picture of.)  Plus an iced coffee that I drank before taking a picture, some rice cakes I ate and forgot to take a picture of so I took a picture of the package, etc.   And then some beer.  You get the picture, right?

So, yup, that's pretty much the most of it, I forgot to even take pictures of the yogurt and blueberries, some pretzels, some chocolate, and some bites of mozzarella and tomato salad.

Anyways, that's about all for today.  I am going to head to bed and hope that you all had a great Hump Day Wednesday!!!

Hot and humid Tuesday!

Some day, I will learn to stop eating before I am stuffed, however, today is not that day.  How's it going friends?  Are you having a good week?  Is it hot as heck whereever you are today??

Summer is here and although I feel like I just finished complaining about how cold it is, I'm already ready to start talking about how hot it is!  The temperature got up to almost 90 today, which is probably the warmest day that we've had so far this year.  It was also the day that the work lunchtime outdoor interval class kicked off, which is what I did for today's workout.

The class is always a great workout and the fitness center at work does a really good job of putting the class on, but man is it tough to work out in the hot sun right at noon when the sun is highest in the sky and then go back to work.  I don't think I stopped sweating until about 3:00 p.m. and it was far too hot to blow dry my hair right after I showered.  SO I spent the afternoon looking a bit like a beast but that's okay.  The red face look is in, right?

This week has been going well because it started off pretty positive after a really fun and happy day on Sunday with my family for Father's Day!  I went to spin class with my mom in the morning and then went over to my Dad's with my brother and sister to spend my day with my dad and our little twin brothers.  

I am so obsessed with these little guys and every time I spend with them the more attached I get.  This day was awesome because we were able to be there for a fun life event -- taking the boy's training wheels off their bikes and teaching them to ride a two wheeler!

It was SO adorable to see the two of them succeed at riding their bikes and see how excited they got about it.  While they were riding Nicholas started yelling out, "BEST! DAY! EVER!" which was really adorable and at one point, right after he yelled it out, BAM! he smashed right into the one car that was in the entire parking lot.  After we made sure he was okay, we could NOT stop laughing.  It was amazing.

Since the boys were really little, I've always had fun taking silly pictures with the boys. I totally adore them and love the fun times I get to have with them.  Tristan especially has always been my little picture buddy and since he was 2.5 we've loved to take silly pictures together.

A little while later, Nicholas decided to join in on the picture fun too.

As fun as all those pictures are, my favorite from the whole day was one of Tristan and I.  It also was one of my favorite moments in a while.  I was sitting on the grass and Tristan came over and sat on my lap and snuggled up with me.  My brother was kind enough to snap a picture and this is now the screen lock on my cell phone.  Also, I feel like my arm looks skinny, so that's pretty cool.

I must say, my family is pretty awesome and I really do love them.  It was a fun day on Sunday!

Monday started with a 4-mile run and ended with meeting up with some friends at the local bar to watch the USA vs. Ghana World Cup game.  I have been really trying to eat well the past two days and have been tracking what I eat on my Weight Watchers app.  It's really, really hard when you are eating out a lot, which I have been doing the past two nights (and have more plans to in the next week...)

I had a salad last night but tonight struggled a bit with my meal.  One day at a time.  I'm trying.

After dinner tonight I went for a walk with a couple friends, just a short one, but it was nice.  And I just really like moving.  It makes me happy that fitness and exercise is a part of my life.  Someday, I will learn to get the eating under control.  I just need to do it one day at a time...

It's weird.  Every time I set out to try and lose weight and get my diet under control it seems just as impossible as ever.  And I for the life of me cannot remember how I mustered up the will power the last time around.

But it will come, I have faith.  I have strength.

Until then, I will be shoving myself into my clothes that are a bit too tight and feel even tighter with the heat and humidity lately.  Yippee.

E's Wedding Shower in Rhode Island

Blogging on a Saturday night yet again... I'm a pretty happening girl, aren't I?

I'm writing from my mom's in Rhode Island as I came home this weekend to celebrate one of my best friend's wedding shower!  I have written before how I am lucky enough to have a wonderful group of girl friends who have been like my sisters since we were in kindergarten.  The five of us have been through a lot as a group and have so many wonderful memories.  This August the first of our group is getting married, and I was honored to be chosen as one of E's bridesmaids, as well as the other 3 in our group Meaggie, Teenie, and KO.  E's other two bridesmaids are her older sisters, who we have also known since we were little so it is such a fun group!

This is the first "event" we've had for the wedding and I was really looking forward to it!

Yesterday was a long day as I started with a run in the morning with Jess, worked throughout the day, and then drove 2.5 hours home to my mom's house.  I got dinner with my mom and brother at the local pizza place, splitting a spinach pie and a salad with my mom.

Then we went home and I tried out a beer I have been seeing my Rhode Island local friends post on Facebook and Instagram for a while!  Del's Lemonade is a Rhode Island summertime staple, it is the best frozen lemonade you'll ever have.  So when Narragansett Beer came out with a "Del's Shandy" I could not wait to try it!

It was delicious!  And if you check out Instagram you can get a nice video of my first sip :)

Although I probably could have put a number of these back on Friday night with my brother, I went to bed pretty early since I was planning to get up early and out for a run at 7 a.m.  I had put together a running plan a little while back and I don't remember exactly what I had in mind when I wrote it out, but I had 8 miles written down for this weekend.  So by gone it, that's what I was going to do!

I had a busy morning so I was able to stick to my plan and I went out at 7:00 a.m. and did 8 miles running on the same bike path by my mom's house where I ran 10 miles last March 30.  It was a running milestone for me as it was the furthest I had ever run in my life.  If you had told me last March 30 that in exactly one year and 8 days after that date I would have complete my first marathon, I would have told you that you were mentally unstable.  Seriously.  Last March 30 on the same bike path where this morning I ran 8 miles, I ran 10 for the first time and then spent the ENTIRE rest of the day laying on the floor of my mom's.  I ate a ton and a couple friends came over to see me because I was too tired to get up and go see them.  Craziness what you can accomplish in a year!

Anyways, after the 8 miles this AM I did a few errands and then grabbed my Mama, Teenie, and her Mama and headed down to South County, Rhode Island for E's wedding shower!  It was at a beautiful little venue and her sisters did a really beautiful job with the center pieces and decorations.

They also made a really beautiful slideshow with pictures from throughout all of our lives, and had some really fun and cute games prepared.  PLUS, the food was delicious!

See that stuff on the left?  That is French toast.  But it is like, French toast, covered in crispy delicious-ness and was seriously so freaking delicious I couldn't stop eating it.  However, I did take a break from eating the french toast to help with some of the games and take some photos.  It was a really fun day all around and so great to catch up with the girls and everyone's moms!

A couple of the girls, KO and Meag, were unable to attend today so we tried to find a way to bring them in to the day and pulled up/out some photos to at least get one picture of our whole group.  The number of photos we have of our crew grows larger and larger each day!  Love these ladies to the moon and back.

After the shower we sent the moms home in a different car and Teenie and I stuck around to hang out with E and her family for a few more hours before returning North.  We got back, scooped up the moms again, and then went on a Mother/Daughter double date to go see the movie The Fault in Our Stars.  It was really good but a total tearjerker!  That makeup I had thrown on for the shower was pretty much clear off my face.

It was an incredibly lovely day and I am so thrilled and happy to be a part of E's wedding party.  Her and her fiance are such an amazing couple and I have loved seeing how my childhood friend has grown into such a mature and caring relationship.  They are perfect for each other and I cannot wait until their wedding (or the bachelorette!)

Hope you're having an exciting Saturday and I will talk to you soon!

Deep breaths.

Have I mentioned that I am trying realllly hard not to stress about my weight lately?  And the reason I have to actively try is because I KNOW I am above where I want to be, even though I have been going scale-free since December (which, is now probably a record of the longest I have ever gone in my life since middle school without weighing myself!)  I can tell in what I look like and how I feel and how my clothes fit.

And remember those "goal pants" that I was working on back in January/February?  Well, before I left for Europe, those pants could get all the way up and button.  I did have a bit of muffin top that would stick out the top and they probably wouldn't be the most comfortable to sit in.  However, they were on and with heels, could *possibly* have been worn.

However, this morning, for the hell of it, I tried to pull them on, just to see.  And I couldn't even get them up my legs!!!  Seriously guys.

But, I'm taking deep breaths and trying not to have a panic attack or text my friends hyperventilating or freak out like I often do when I have these moments.  Like back in January when I literally had to rip a skirt off my body and started to panic because of the weight I'd put on.

The extra weight I have right now is for good reason.  Since March I have been to LA, Spain, Romania, Turkey, France, Boston, Rhode Island, Las Vegas, LA again, Cape Cod, China, and New Jersey.  I haven't been sitting still.  I haven't been being lazy.  I just haven't been in a routine and I haven't been diligent.  Yet, I have great memories and I have tasted and experienced awesome, amazing, almost unreal things.

Yes, maybe this past weekend I didn't have to eat a bag of Swedish fish and Skittles and Baked Lay's while alone in my car on the trip to New Jersey (secret eating, much?)  And maybe there were some other of the every-day choices that I could have been smarter about.  However, I need to take deep breaths and remind myself that I am still okay.

What panics me is when I think about losing weight.  I don't have a "routine" coming back into my life any time soon so I need to find the balance.  Summer is coming and life, naturally, becomes more social, and I don't want to say no to dinners with friends outside or meeting for drinks on a patio.  Trying to balance is always a challenge for me, but I just need to keep remembering deep breaths.

Deep breaths.  Deep breaths.  Deep breaths.

Today I felt in a happy mood when I got up, perhaps because I "slept in" until 6:30 a.m. and knew today was a rest day with no exercise.  I stopped and bought a mini box of Munchkins to bring in to the office "just because" and was actually pretty proud of myself that I didn't eat any of them myself!

My day went well and I ate the meals I had brought with me, adding in some yogurt covered pretzels at lunch, that seemed as if I could fit them into my day at the time, but turns out I probably should have passed.  Otherwise, the most exciting part of my food today was the double grape that I stumbled upon in my afternoon snack.  How exciting is this??

Anyways, I tried to eat lighter during the day, knowing that the evening would be a challenge.  There was a work event that would have food and drink, followed by a dinner out with my team, that also would include food and drink.

I was first able to successfully make my way through the work event by passing on drinks and cheese, opting for just the veggies that were out.  However, I stumbled once I got to my manager's for dinner.  There were some yummy cheese and crackers and I made the mistake of taking a seat right next to the food and just eating and eating.

Eventually I banished myself to sitting on a couch far away from the food, which was funny since nobody was sitting over there.  However, my coworkers know my struggles with food all too well as they spend nearly every day with me, so there were no questions asked when I explained why I was sitting by myself on the couch and shouting across the room to be a part of the conversation.

The challenge continued throughout the dinner with delicious kebabs, that were in all fairness pretty healthy, but I ate a ton, and rice and wine.  AND THEN the real kicker was the homemade chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream.  YUM.  I mean seriously though, when your manager serves you homemade lava cake, are you supposed to turn that down?  I don't think so...

I think I blacked out while I was eating it, it was so good.  However, as soon as I came to, the first thing I thought of was, "Ugh, those "goal pants"..."

Still trying to just take deep breaths.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths.

Eat the things that matter and not the things that don't.  The struggle is real, people!

Hump Day Motivation

Huuummmmpppp Day!  Another Wednesday in the books and we're almost through the work week, people.  The past two days went by pretty quickly and I'm excited that tomorrow is Thursday because that means the next day is Friday and after that I will be home for a fun weekend with the friends!

Yesterday after work I did a quick 3-mile run trying to get a little bit of speed work in.  I have never done speed work before and I had no idea what I was doing, but I gave it a try.  Tuesday isn't usually a run day for me but I really wanted to get some sort of workout in, and I ended up having dinner plans so I still feel like running is the most efficient work out.  Plus, it was nice to just get outside.

I did a one mile warm up and after that I ran hard for 2 minutes, followed by a 2 minute recovery.  I repeated that 3 more times followed by finishing with about a one-mile cool down run.  My time ended up being pretty good overall.  I thought you'd be able to see this a little better where I sped up and slowed down, but I guess I wasn't very consistent with those speeds.

The big drop in pace is when I had to wait for the light to turn so that I could cross the street.

Afterwards I met some friends for dinner at The Lighthouse in Schenectady where we enjoyed an incredibly beautiful night sitting out on the patio eating dinner.  I had an arugula, beat, goat cheese salad that was so yummy and delicious, plus, the restaurant has a great view of the river.

When I got home, I watched an episode of Orange is the New Black and snacked on one of my favorite desserts of a cut up apple with some cinnamon and Splenda on it.  I'm trying really hard to "redefine" my notion of dessert and really only allow myself to have one dessert a day.  So far so good.  I want to be really good during the week, so that I can be a little more lenient on the weekends when I have big plans.  It may not seem like much but the apple and a good TV show was one of my favorite parts of the day!

This morning I was up early for my Hump Day Hill run with Jess and my legs just did not really want to run today.  I kept us running a pretty slow pace, but I was sort of happy that we did get 4 miles in, because I really did not want to run and it was sort of drizzly and wet out.   It wasn't anything spectacular but finishing the run made me feel pretty happy, knowing how much I didn't want to get out of bed that morning.

I actually had planned with a friend for an evening workout too and both in the morning and in the PM proved to me how important it is to have workout friends.  I would not have had any sort of run this morning if it weren't for Jess and I wouldn't have had the workout I had in the afternoon without my friend.

I've been wanting to get more into doing strength and weight training, but I struggle because I don't know what to do.  I was lucky enough to find a friend looking for a gym buddy who doesn't mind being patient with me and teaching me.  Today was day 1 and we did arms and shoulders.  I have a feeling I am going to be sore in the morning!

After our workout we went to dinner where I just threw on a hoodie over my Paris Marathon Finisher t-shirt that I'd worn for our workout when we went out to dinner.  My friend made the comment that I was wearing all my trophies for my proudest accomplishments, which was kind of true!  So I made him take a pictures :)

It makes me quite happy to have these memorabilia to be remember my accomplishments.  Having goals and celebrating them, as well as having gym buddies, helps keep me motivated and moving forward.

What keeps you moving forward?

Jersey Wedding Weekend!

Was anyone else as tired as I was today?  Because I certainly was wiped.  When I was yawning at 8:30 a.m. this morning I knew it was going to be a long day.  And although the day actually went by pretty fast at work, it was a struggle.   Part of the reason it was a struggle is because my pants were so tight at the waist it was squeezing off my circulation and also causing me anxiety that I need to start eating right again.  So there was that.

I'm guessing that another reason the day was so draining was because of the busy-ness of my past two days since I last left you.  On Saturday morning after putting up my last post, I got myself all dolled up and jumped in the car and drove the 3.5 hours to the Jersey Shore for my friend's wedding.   I felt like sort of a dork stopping at the rest stops all dressed up for a wedding but whatever.

I have been visiting her at the shore since the summer of 2007 and have loved and truly enjoyed all of my visits there.  She lives in a beautiful town right on the beach and it is not at all like the Jersey Shore you see on TV, but a really great community of loving, friendly, fun people!  I wore a dress that I bought in Nice, France when I was traveling earlier this year, which was pretty fun as well.  I love wearing things that I have collected around the world.

This wedding was a little nerve-wracking for me as I was heading there because I was the only one from our group of friends that was attending.  I have met many of Lauren's friends and family throughout the years that I have visited her, but I knew that they would all be meeting up for the wedding and didn't want to be the random lone ranger.  However, the moment I arrived at the church and her younger brother greeted me enthusiastically -- whom I hadn't seen in YEARS -- I knew it was going to be a fun day.

The ceremony was beautiful and touching and the reception was a BLAST. I had almost forgotten how much fun this group of people are and I was pleasantly surprised at in fact how many people I did know and had met over the years!  From the kids she used to babysit and their mom, to her friends and family members, to the parents and siblings of many of her friends!  Lauren commented to me a couple times about how independent I was just going to the wedding alone and loved that she didn't need to be worried about me having a good time.  However, I really think it is a testament to her having such loving and fun people in her life for not having to feel like an outsider at all!

The food was delicious, the dancing was fun, the after party was ridiculous, and the whole night was just beautiful celebrating Lauren and her husband.  Plus, I got to spend lots of time with their super handsome little boy!

And can we talk about how pretty my friend is for a moment?  It is a little blurry but I love how beautiful and loving she looks in this photo with her son.

Since I was heading down to the Jersey Shore for the wedding, I had packed a bathing suit and had planned to just hang at the beach for a little bit before heading back to Albany.  There turned out to be a post-wedding pool party going on which I was able to join and it made the weekend so much more fun to be able to spend more quality time with my friend and her family.  Why can't all the people I love just be in one place??  And while we're at it, can the ice cream truck come around every day and have no calories?

When I got back to Albany, I quickly parked, unloaded the car, changed my clothes, and headed out around 7:30 p.m. for a 5 mile run.  I was dreading doing my weekend run but also really didn't want to NOT do it.  I had been putting it off all weekend and I should have just done it Saturday morning, but I am proud I was able to get it in.

Less than 12 hours later I was up and running again, this time with my friends from Albany for our usual Monday morning workout!  My legs felt heavy but we did a 4-mile run at a pretty good pace, with Jess's encouragement.  Plus, there were about a hundred snapping turtles out this morning (WTF?) which apparently is something that I never knew I should be afraid of!

My friends told me that their heads move really fast and they will just bite you and eat you up if they catch you.  So have fun with that, people!  My pace definitely quickened as we ran past the snapping turtles.  I was joking that our run was like the race of the tortoise and the hare because we also saw lots of bunnies throughout the route, but that is pretty normal.

My encounters with small creatures continued this evening as I took a walk through the park with my friend and found some duckies!  So, ya know.  This was pretty much my day.  I'm a regular old Cinderella singing songs with the animals.

So, with that randomness.  I am going to sign off.  Happy start of the week to you all!