One more day......

...and I feel like this


...but they are waiting for me


...I'll ride this alone


...we'll ride this A LOT (our fave!)


...I'll face my fears here (twice actually) or maybe just pee my pants


Have a great week!!!

Please send calgon!!!!!

So this weekend, we are dogsitting for my Dad. He & his girlfriend headed to Southern Indiana to enjoy the beauty of fall. It's so amazing down there this time of the year. So much so that you have to book at hotel in many locations a year in advance!!

What is normally painless has turned into a weekend of sleeping on the couch, cranky PMS bitch with a crabby dog. Did I mention he's 14, deaf & blind???? Oh & not used to my house AT ALL!

He barked & barked last night. Kevin took him into the bedroom thinking that would help him fall alseep. Nope, he has an accident in our bed & on the bathroom floor. I should've been warned when I got him home, ran to the bathroom & he'd had a #2 accident in the kitchen by the time I got back. He's old, out of sorts & I get that but wow. At one point last night, I just started crying. I told you...PMS. haha

It's a SUPER busy weekend too...I have a wax appt at 1115am, unleashing my inner brunette at 115pm & we are going out with friends tonight. I did manage to sneak to the gym too as soon as they opened. Brutus has been sleeping up until just a couple minutes ago but he's on the couch still so I'm not bugging him. I plan to head to the tanning salon for a nap later. lol

Hope you are having a great weekend! Just a few more days & man is the Big Guy making sure we are going to appreciate this trip!!!!!

In case you wondered......

Eeeeeek!

It's comfy here.

Where? Where I am, of course. My friend who's helped me find my sanity mentioned when we last bantered about being in a comfortable place. Comfy with your current weight, knowing you'll make additional changes when you are ready. When we had that talk, I was stuck but made changes & saw progress.

Well, I'm kinda stuck again but I realize that it's partly because I'm too focused on other things. Vacation namely, making my beauty appointments (remember that mention of going brunette..it's coming), getting the house stuff ready so it's all done, etc. Oh & we are dog sitting for my Dad this weekend too.

Now, I will say that it's not that I'm going hog wild because my weight has stayed the same again for the last couple weeks. I'm still eating well but having an extra goodie on occasion while rocking my training & cardio. I realized that this is okay. For now. I always seem to manage to lose weight on vacation so I'm not going to have a freak-out low-carb fest to get ready. Why? Because I feel great! My fave jeans are still fitting & I'm wearing clothes that I've not been able to wear in a while (not even 2 years ago when we went to Orlando in the first place.) That was the height of my post-show aftermath & I was VERY uncomfortable. Now? I'm gonna strut ;)

So vacation plans are in place. We have a free day while we are there that might entail Blue Man Group, a spa day or traveling to visit my grandparents (who are here now.) We'll do some shopping, wandering & maybe even drive to Tampa for the day (we got a great deal on a car.)

Whatever it entails, it'll be fabulous. Just Kevin & I, enjoying our honeymoon. We'll spend our 8th month anniversary at Disney & yes, I'm making him wear a "Just Married" button. hahaha He's not happy about it but we earned it & apparently it gets us to the front of the line, free beverages, etc. Why not?!? lol

Hope you are all well & feeling comfy where you are. I did step it up a bit for a couple weeks then took a little step back but that's okay too. I'm not gaining & I'm still enjoying what life is bringing my way. No regrets but I promise the game will be stepped up come November. I will own the holidays this year! (again....I did great last year!)

Are you comfy? What are you doing if you aren't? Do you have a plan to conquer the holidays? No one said you can't enjoy them but you don't have to carry your enjoyment for weeks after either!!!! Plan, plan, plan!

ETA: Just found out we are going to the BULLS home opening on Friday night!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My FIL works in the grocery industry & we get a lot of trips to games....so fun! We won't even talk about the dessert cart either. haha

It's the small things.

Here's my list of successes for the week.

-Scale budged down .2. Yep, you heard me. And I'll take that. When you only have 12 left to lose, the body fights. Well, mine does.

-Fit back into BOTH pairs of my fave jeans. One are a size 8 Lucky's that I can comfortably wear now & the other a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans that by all rights are "mom" style with high waist but I LOVE them. So comfy & so flattering.

-Comments about me looking skinny.

-Doing EVERYTHING right. Even on a day that I decided to give into cravings & emotional eating, I realized at the end of the day, it was no where near my old definition of that. It was still portioned (by total accident.)

-Worked out every day.

-Did a 5 mile run today. My first long run in two weeks & I still found my groove. And oddly enough, that groove was a little quicker than my usual pace. Felt SO good.

-I am spending my saturday doing grocery shopping, washing bedding, cleaning the kitchen, etc & am enjoying myself. Why? Because I love my life.

It's the small things, isn't it? Not the big mile markers (those are fabulous too) but the little things that add up still make our hearts just as happy.

Have you found the blessings in the little things? Acknowledged something trivial knowing it was a successful moment?

I dare you.

Can you smell it??

....it's vacation. And it's coming at the speed of light? Less than 2 weeks until....






To say we are excited would be an understatment!!!!!! It was nice to have a belated honeymoon to look forward to but now we are just ready!

Sometimes you just have to give in....

...to cravings.
...to emotions.
...to emotional eating.
...the urge to go brunette (more on that in a couple weeks)

But even if you do, you MUST acknowledge it's a choice. I did that yesterday. I ate candy corn with peanuts for lunch. Had a couple pieces of the super yummy blondie for an afternoon snack.

Yesterday, I did some cardio while watching the Chicago marathon coverage, had breakfast with my hubby & our good friend, spent some final time with Kevin's family then proceeded to get things done around the house to avoid the inevitable moping. I'd avoided it as long as I could. I shared a picture of my brother & I on Facebook then the waterworks started. Craig & I with our dog, Crackers

I just miss Craig so much it hurts. It was 28 years yesterday & sometimes it feels as if it happened yesterday even with so much time passed. So I didn't worry about eating well, making right choices, etc. I just didn't care.

Today? I care & am eating well again. I got my training done this morning & will return for my short cardio session.

And? I decided that I will run the Chicago marathon again someday. Perhaps that'll be my post baby incentive? We'll figure that out later but I WILL run it again. I'll take joiners in that effort...no pressure!

Have a fabulous Monday!

Life goes on.

Today I wish my little brother a happy birthday. I can't say it in person though because he was killed when I was 10. He would have turned 36 today.

In just a few short days, the anniversary of his death will add another year as well. That totals 28 years since he left us.

My heart hurts. This used to be easier when Mom was alive but I can be comforted knowing he's celebrating with her.

I love you Craig & miss you dearly. My life has never been the same.

I will.

If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place. –Nora Roberts

Have you ever had something happen that took your breath away? That left you feeling hurt, uncertain & defeated? Have you ever take that situation, stood up & said "I'm going to own my part in this" then make the changes you know that YOU can make to improve the situation? Actually prayed to God to help you find the way to make it happen knowing that you can be better?

Well, I had that happen this weekend! On a very awesome high from great progress in my "best life" quest, something happened. But with that, I realized that there was something that I could be doing better. Perhaps I thought I was doing my best but wasn't focusing on the right things. So I literally prayed to God on Sunday during church (a sermon that focused on precisely what the issue was) & realized that I have to be better. So that's what I'm doing.

Yes, that's very vague but it's extremely personal & something I'd likely only share with my Mom. We all know that's not possible so I talked to God instead. He knew but waited for me to reach out to him. Now in all likeliness, my Mom would've told me that I was overreacting a bit & she'd probably have been right BUT in that same sense, it's still an opportunity to be better which is precisely what she'd tell me as well. Why wouldn't I take advantage of an opportunity to be better????

We don't face adversity to remain stagnant. I mean you can but it will get you no where. You've seen a hamster in a wheel right? I refuse to let that be me!!!!



Will you own this week? Conquer a situation that's been bringing you down? It's a bittersweet week for me (more on that tomorrow) so I'm chosing...see that? CHOSING to focus on improving what I have in my control!

Will you?

I will.

Ideas?

I want to bake this weekend. Who's got a killer recipe for me? I have to make banana bread already but I've been making a dessert on Sunday.

Last week was Tina's super easy & WAY tasty apple crisp. I made it in a pie plate & cut the topping in half. Perfect!

So many pumpkin recipes too that I'm tempted to use a can for something tasty.

Bizarro!

Do any of you watch Fringe? It's a good show, very sci-fi (or syfy if you will.) So today, I do believe that my alternate universe me has taken over. Why?

I'm freakishly NOT hungry. Not at all. I did cardio, came home & got ready for work thinking I'd eat before I left. Nope. Not hungry yet.

Stopped for coffee (pumpkin spice latte/coffee mix) & have been drinking that this morning but still not really hungry. Though my tummy is starting to rumble a bit.

I did try one piece of hubby's cereal (very tasty btw.)

I brought food (see daily log) but not much.

Totally weird & totally not me since I wake most days wanting to eat my right arm!

Hmmmmmmm.