nothing wrong with a little change

thank-you for the kind words re: the next chapter and compliments on the redesign - i've always been one who likes to change things up every once in a while... when i was younger, i rearranged my bedroom all the time because i would get bored and didn't want to get used to it being a certain way... guess i'm pretty much the same way now - as much as i think i'm consistent with certain things, i usually change something even if it's very minor... like what i eat for lunch, or my weight routine, or my jogging route (see below), or even my hair and what clothes i'm wearing... :o)


now some may argue that there's nothing wrong with being consistent because it helps you stay on whatever plan you're doing and be more successful at losing weight... i'm just saying that for me, doing new things helped me stay motivated - like trying new foods, running my first 5K, and taking a kickboxing class... 5 years ago, i would've said, "thanks but no thanks, i'll just keep taking my step-class twice a week" but now, things are much different... i WANT to challenge myself and do things that i never thought i would try - maybe i'll like them and maybe i won't but that's all part of growing and learning... even this week, i bought my first container of greek yogurt - i haven't tried it yet but i'm pretty excited about it... ;o)

question #1: what have you been dying to try OR what have you tried lately and would like to share with others? it can be anything so don't be shy!

question #2: for those of you NOT officially weighing-in anymore - how often do you jump on the scale? daily? weekly? monthly? just curious...

happy thursday...

ride like the wind

can i get a WOOT WOOT... so glad it's friday, people - what a crazy week it's been (at least for me anyway)... work has slowed down a bit but that only means, it will pick-up again soon and i'll be back to complaining about something... ;o)

the gym was finally open today so i put my sneakers on and ran a 4-mile interval - felt light as air, for some reason... i always tend to have great runs when it has been a while - does anyone else experience the same thing? i also made it to kickboxing last night and had a good workout - i'm on the fence about the next session so i'll think long and hard about it over the weekend...

speaking of the weekend - eric and i are going for a nice, long, motorcycle ride tomorrow, after i get my haircut - the weather is supposed to be nice but much cooler... time to break out the leather jacket i guess, whoo hooo... we might grab some lunch (bbq or mexican?) and then my other goal is to finish HP - i'm tired of talking about it so i'm just going to do it! eric's been away for the last few days (he was part of a panel-discussion in VA) and will be home tonight... norman's been staying w/max and i since monday so it's been a joy having 2 kitties running around - they are always so funny when they're together... as for sunday, i'm going to watch redskins/cardinals game and pray they win - GO SKINS... what are YOUR plans for the weekend?

check out my top 5 for things you can do with pumpkin - enjoy! :o)

—bake some pumpkin cream cheese muffins
—enjoy some spiced pumpkin soup
—how 'bout a pumpkin pie martini?
—don't throw the seeds away, try roasting them instead
—why not try pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola sauce for dinner

have a great weekend, everyone... :o)

weigh-in

weigh in:
scale was up .4 pounds this morning, could be for a lot of reasons (weekend, new weight routine, etc.) so i'm moving on... i WILL have a loss next week if it kills me... :o)

skinnie minnies:
don't forget today is weigh-in day for the team challenge - congrats to those that have had a loss this week, you are doing great! keep up the good work! :o)

running:
i kicked ass today and ran 4.21 miles in less than 45 minutes - talk about a workout! i was even doing 6.0 at one point and i've never lasted for more than a minute at that speed - maybe i AM making progress... :o)

other stuff:
i picked more blueberries last night with my mom and was very happy to see mr. kitty, mr. puppy, and mr. horsey at the farm we go too... i think there's one more good week of berries so i'm hoping to get a least another picking (i really should pick tons and freeze them, we'll see)... eric said our tomatoes and peppers are doing well in the garden - haven't seen them in 2 weeks so i'll check them out this weekend... speaking of eric, i haven't seen him a long time either (we were both away this weekend) and being the sweetheart that he is - a dozen roses magically appeared at work today... he's known to do that, for no reason, and i'm still not used to it - even after 2.5 years... i'm so looking forward to seeing him later - he's coming over and i'm making tacos for dinner... yummy! :o)

happy hump day...

okay, now what?

well, i did it - i finished saturday's race in under 34 minutes which comes out to something like a 11-minute mile which is crazy (i don't think we ever went under 11:30-11:45 in practice)... i was hurting towards the end and really have to thank my pace leader, allyson, for giving me the strength to continue because i really wanted to just stop and walk the rest of the way...i'm also very lucky to have had eric there - he was cheering me on during various parts of the race (as well as being mr. picture-taker as you will see below) so thank-you darlin for being my biggest supporter... :o)


pre-race: my first, official race number... :o)



this was right before the first hill - ugh!



this is when i wanted to just give up! i'm glad i didn't...



nice action shot, darlin...



post-race: each runner received a rose and a certificate...



i thought it would be funny to wear a tattoo since the race was called "Run for Roses"...

after the race, i hosted a brunch for my two girlfriends (who also did the race), their hubbies, and their 3-kids each... they hung out for a few hours and hardly made a dent in the food i made - guess i tend to make too much because i never know if i'm making enough or making something that everyone will like... i was in the kitchen all day on friday baking and cooking, as well as cleaning the house and preparing the picnic patio but in the end, it all worked out... i guess i tend to overdo things but that's just the way i am - i like things to look nice for others and get a great sense of satisfaction from it... :o)

as for the rest of the weekend - we watched 'smoking aces' (which was excellent), went to the library, did a lot of relaxing, ate a lot of leftovers, and took a long, motorcycle ride yesterday afternoon... it was nice having a long weekend so it was pretty hard coming to work today... but on the good side - i only have 2 more weeks til our vacation and i CANNOT WAIT... :o)

happy monday...