Sleepyhead!

I'm soooooooo tired this evening & while it's only 645pm here in Valpo, I'm ready for bed! I went to bed at a decent hour last night but was awakened by my neighbor's daughter playing music MUCH too loud at almost midnight. I had a difficult time falling back asleep & thus my whole sleep cycle was well...screwed.

I did manage to get my cardio in after work though along with a few stability ball crunches. Dinner was DIVINE!!!! Some Baked Tostitos, a bit of goat cheese & hummus in each one. Yes, I take the time to do that. It keeps me from eating out of the containers & chips from the bag. Portion control :) Sooooooooooo good!

I really appreciate the comments about yesterday's post too! I want to say that I do have a very laid back job & mostly wear gym clothes to work but I do put on make-up almost every day! On the weekends, I get a little more dressed up to go out but it's still mostly casual so it was fun to put on my dress (which is still casual really.)

I have to say that I'm starting to feel like my old self again. Who I was when my Mom died & my world was shattered. I got a little obsessive about eating healthy but I felt good. It's been almost 3 years since that time & it's good to feel like me again. I was forever changed during that time & it's hard to be honestly. I've had some great times in the time since then. I dont want to make it sound like I've been living like a zombie. Here's what's transpired....

*Ran my second full marathon (in Mom's honor)
*Met the man that will become my husband
*Competed in 2 figure competitions
*Made my first visit to Universal Studios Orlando & Walt Disney World
*Became closer with family that became torn apart by circumstances

I'm sure there are more but those are the things that stand out to me. I love who I am & who I've become inspite of the tragedy & sadness that life has brought my way. I continue to live each day to be a better person, take care of myself so that I can live my "best life" & enjoy the blessings as they come!

Have a great evening all!

A couple things.

1) Here is my dress from Target that I got. Mine's brown though. Love it! So comfy & lightweight for summer. I felt like a million bucks Saturday night :)

2) I watched myself in the gym this morning like I always do except this morning was different. I actually didnt find anything to critique. Yes, I still want to drop the extra pounds but I felt good about what I saw nonetheless. I think I actually for once saw what others see. Maybe actually dressing a little nicer on Saturday & not feeling frumpy did the trick!

3) Okay, more than a couple. Tomorrow is the last day of the month & I think it'll close with some weight loss progress. Not lots but some which is better than I've had in recent months while trying. Will likely update on that in the next day or so. Anyway, it just goes to show you dont have to be all OCD, counting every morsel you eat if you arent competing & living off chicken with green beans ;) Live life, love your body & it'll love you back! Now, if I could just quit the scale habit! Ahhhhhh, forget it. lol

That's all :)

8 months to go......

So this weekend, I decided (lol) that we needed to celebrate. On Saturday, it was 8 months until our wedding date. Not often will the date (27th) fall on a Saturday! Kevin wasn't amused but he obliged me. I even put on my cute new Target dress!

We spent the day driving to IKEA & then Trader Joe's in Illinois. We found a really neat sink/storage area that will go in the basement kitchen/bar area. Then loaded up on some faves at TJ's.

Then gussied up & headed to New Buffalo, Michigan to have dinner at the Four Winds Casino. We tried to eat at the buffet when they first opened but there was a 2 hour wait to even get in line to wait! So this time was more successful. They have a weekend seafood bar that just blew me away. You name it & you could find it. That along with additional stations that included mexican, chinese (with fresh sushi), BBQ, fresh meats, fried stuff (like chicken fried steak), and the best dessert bar EVER! Tons of fresh mini-tarts (the lemon was like buttah!), fresh made ice creams & gelatos, etc, etc, etc. So friggin yum!

The casino was so packed though so we didnt end up playing anything there & left to head to the Blue Chip Casino which is our usual stomping grounds. We had played a bit, had a beer (Shock Top..yummy!) & headed home late. It was a fun night!

Oh I should add that before heading out at all, we went to Ogden Gardens to take a few pictures. We wanted to add a picture of us to our "Save the Dates" but all we have of our "nice dressy pics" are all at nighttime & just don't work. So off to the park we went! We got a few nice ones & decided on this one (it's the one I posted on Facebook.)



I totally love the layout the printer did for our Save the Date cards. I cannot wait to hear from our family when they receive them!!!!!

Overall, a nice weekend. I went to church yesterday, had brunch with family, ran errands & sacked out a bit on the couch. I did make us a nice steak fajita dinner though :)

Hope your week is off to a great start!

A quickie!

My air conditioner at home is fixed.

My radiator in my truck was replaced today.

I found ants in my house (ICK!) & psycho cleaned the kitchen.

I feel like I'm having a little meltdown.

I know that meltdown is just related to the 3 year anniversary of my Mom's death that is coming in just a month. I cannot shake the sadness right at this moment.

That's all for now.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Say hello to my little friend!

Happy almost Friday!!! This morning I had to be dragged (almost literally) out of bed! I'm a sleepy girl for some reason. It's likely the heat. Yea, we'll blame that!

Kevin was a very nice boy & took me to dinner last night! I had my all-time favorite chicken lemon rice soup with chicken shish-kabobs for dinner. They are so yummy. Fortunately, I got full so I have a full kabob for lunch too!

So we leave the house this morning for the gym & I see something walking down the road. I pull up beside it & it's a pretty large snapping turtle! It stopped dead in it's tracks when I stopped. I couldnt dig my camera out of my purse from behind my seat but fortunately Kevin stopped too & caputured it via camera phone. It's a little fuzzy but you get the idea!


There's a good sized pond in part of the subdivision so he likely wandered out from there! So fun! I'm such a sucker for wildlife & animals. I think half my camera is pictures of birds in my yard, the bunnies & my cat! lol Oh & one of Wrigley (Kevin's parents dog) that had to be put to sleep a couple months ago :(

Not much on tap for today other than work until 230ish then heading home to meet the air guy. Hopefully it'll be a fast fix & I'll be on my way to a cooler home by 4pm! We are just going out to dinner tonight since I didnt want to cook in my hot house so it'll be something simple.

This weekend might entail car shopping. Some really handsome man is in the market for a fun car! hehehe

It's getting hot in herrrrrrrrre!

Okay, check this out. That was the temp on the way home yesterday at 4pm. That is also the current temp as of 1130am here in the Region. NUTS! This is so unseasonably hot for our area! Actually, the whole Midwest area is being slammed by high temps! Tack on the humidity. And no, my air isn't fixed yet. I stayed at Kevin's last night!

Today's been another quiet day in the office. Not much to do really but things are picking up for the guys so many will come back in the next week or so. It's been like feast or famine. I would prefer a nice steady stream of work (so would Dad, I'm sure!)

I've been really slacking about keeping up with the food but you'll have that. But I have been having smoothies daily for my first meal & they are soooo tasty. I had not bought into the whole Green Monster brigade but did toss some frozen spinach in my shake yesterday. I could taste the spinach but it wasnt awful. I just used frozen strawberries, organic skim, honey & FF plain yogurt. Today was the same combo but I added a banana & half scoop of vanilla protein (I used BSN) and it was perfect. Not spinachy at all. I'm REALLY bad about getting my veggies in daily so I thought this would be a good way to up that intake. I'm also going to start using Berry Greens or something similar again. It's like the Amazing Grass stuff you are seeing on the blogs.

We had alot of fun with my BFF & her family last night (hubby & little guy who's 3.) They made us steak, oven potatoes, cole slaw & I brought a salad. For dessert, she presented us with one of our summer staples....lowfat poundcake, fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream & whipped topping. It's like heaven in a bowl ;)

Tonight I'm likely heading back to Kevin's house due to the heat. I feel sooo guilty leaving Alex at the house but I think he's been fine. He's eating still so I'm not overly worried. He'd go to Kevin's with me but his roomie is allergic (though I'm not sure how bad his allergies are.) We'll be fixed tomorrow afternoon!

Hope you are enjoying your day & the blessings that life is bringing your way!

ps...thank you SOOOOOOO much for the kudos on a good doctor's report! I cannot tell you how big of a relief it is to know (like Marcia said) that I've kicked genetic's ass! I always say I live this lifestyle for health & this just is proof that it works!

Well, it's official....

I'M HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as I posted, I happened to check my cell phone & saw that the doctor's office called. I returned that call right away & got the news.

My blood sugar & thyroid are 100% fine!

My cholesterol is great as well.

Here's my digits:

Mine is 195 for total. (under 200 is desirable)
My HDL (the good one) is 70. (50-60 is ideal! Over 60 is a great defense AGAINST heart disease!)
My LDL is (bad stuff) is 114. (100-129 is near/above optimal)

I cannot even begin to tell you the relief! I really do keep active, eat well, etc. But when you have heart disease hiding around the corner waiting to pounce, it gets a little worrisome sometimes without the hard facts.

I actually fessed up to a friend that I was a bit teary-eyed in the doctor's office yesterday. I just get nervous sometimes but that's why I do like my doctor. She reassures me & would totally bust me out if she thought I wasn't living well!

So...join me in the collective SIGH! If anything this just reaffirms my desire to STAY healthy so I can be the best wife & mother in the coming years!

Cheers to good health!