Food, Fitness, Fashion and Fire vs. Freezing

Food

Yet another stellar day, just like the first two. YAY! I have been having some tightness issues though so I'm going a little mushier today.

Breakfast:  Slim Fast shake
Lunch: Tom Thumb Rosemary Bean Soup (This is pre-packaged, but it is fresher than say, a canned soup. Plus, it is delicious and decent calorie wise.)
Snack: Turkey and Laughing Cow
Dinner: I think I will stick with soup and have some corn chowder.

Fitness

I went to HOT yoga last night, the Fire class. My first two yoga classes were 90 degrees. This one was 98.6 degrees. I don't think I can put into words the difference those 8.6 degrees makes. Holy geeze. I basically spent 60 minutes trying my darndest not to pass out. I'm not sure how much yoga I actually got out of it, but I did sweat 2.6 pounds worth. Unbelievable! I think I will stick to the 90 degree classes until I get more used to the heat.

Yesterday I went to walk at lunch while I listened to a Serial podcast, but it didn't download right. I was so bummed. I'm going again today but I'm making sure my podcast is available!! After work, I'm going to Spark yoga. Debi can't go today, so I don't have an accountability partner. I'm telling you that I will go.

Fashion

Still no Gwynnie Bee. Hopefully my new shipment will be here tomorrow. Today I picked another sweater from the archives.

I like it with the camel boots. It is a little snug, but it is still cute. Love that owl.

I have a GB lace dress at home that is really too dressy for anything. I'm toying with the idea of pairing it with a jean jacket and tall boots to dress it down. Kind of a fancy/casual mash up. We'll see.

Fire vs. Freezing

After about dying of heat stroke last night, I'm freezing today. I can't complain because Dallas isn't nearly as cold as most of the country, but here I am in my office today, typing with gloves and wearing a winter coat. I remember when I never used to get cold. Craziness.

Hugs!

Food, Fitness, Fashion...and Fault lines?

Food

I had another successful day! I ate the exact same thing as Monday and worked out perfectly. Today I will do the same.

I did reach my first mini goal which was unbelievably mini... I had 1.4 lbs of holiday bloat (which actually has to be some sort of record low) to lose and I did that this morning. YAY! My next mini goal is to lose 5 pounds. I don't have a timeline necessarily, just the goal of staying on track with my good choices.

Fitness

I mentioned my run/walk yesterday. Today I'm going to walk (no running) at lunch today while I listen to another episode of Serial. Then I will go to my first Fire yoga class tonight. I'm skerred! :-) But I'm also excited. I know I can do it. Baby steps.

Fashion

No Gwynnie Bee today. The two dresses I currently have at home are too dressy for this week and I'm waiting on my next shipment. Today's outfit was inspired by the need to keep warm. I'm not a fan of jeans at work for a few reasons. First, I don't find them all that comfortable. I think a dress or leggings beat them in that category hands down. Plus, I feel more powerful (internally) when I'm dressed more professionally. But nothing much is going on this week and they sure do win in the warmth category.

The sweater I got at the Banana Republic outlet during one of my marathon shopping sessions with mom. What you can't see are the cute IU socks I bought myself for Christmas...

 

I feel like I should be going to a game. Though with their sad performance the other night against MSU, I'm concerned it is going to be a tough and long season. But maybe it was just a super bad night. We will see.

Fault lines?

Or should I say "Fracking?"? I live in the Dallas area and we have had over 20 earthquakes in the last 24 hours. It has been crazy! None of them have been bigger than a magnitude 3.6 but I work on the 18th floor of a 22 floor building within a mile of the epicenter. It is no fun, folks.

There is a lot of debate on whether it is related to fracking. I'm waiting to hear from the scientists. People are passionately debating whether they are caused by fracking or fault lines. I'm not sure I understand yet why it couldn't be both. Stay tuned. I can say though that I would be a lot happier if things were a bit more still.

Hugs!

Getting a Rhythm

Right?!?

Food
I did great with food yesterday! I followed my plan perfectly. The only times I got hungry were when it was time to eat my next meal/snack. I am having some tightness issues so I have taken to eaten while I'm standing up and/or walking. Is that weird? Eh, whatever works.

Today I have the EXACT same meal line up as yesterday. I do think that I need to drink more water.

Fitness
Yoga was great yesterday. It was a similar room as the last class I did, meaning that it was 90 degrees and 40% humidity. The moves focused on smaller muscles and is designed to develop strength and flexibility. 90 degrees is the "cool" class. I can't imagine how 97 degrees is going to feel tomorrow. Oh well, one step at a time.

I ran/walked at lunch today. It was sunny so I went outside around the lake and listened to week 5 of Serial. I'm loving that! Anyway, I'm still trying to ditch the last of the crud stuff so it wasn't great, but it was something. After, I feel better for sure, but I can feel the soreness from the yoga coming through!

Fashion

I had to take my picture super quick today because someone was coming out of the restroom and I didn't want to have to explain what I was doing. Ha! The dress is Gwynnie Bee. I got the jacket at a big Nordstrom sale. The shoes were from a big DSW sale once. I think I paid $5 for them. They are super cute though when I can find the right things to wear them with. I thought the belt helped the dress a lot even if it is a bit cockeyed in the picture. A nice casual but professional look for everyday.

Other
The priest read this quote at NYE vigil mass last week and I saw it again on FB yesterday. I really love it. It goes to my spiritual goals.

 

Hugs!

Focus on Food, Fitness & Fashion

I stepped on the scale this morning for my weekly check in (that haven't been happening regularly for a while). There was good news and bad. The bad news is that I'm hovering at my highest (new life) weight. The good news is that I gained less than 2 pounds during the holidays.

I did crochet for an episode of Madam Secretary last night and I read two chapters of my book before bed.

Food

Breakfast: leftover sausage bake from BFF. (It has Italian sausage, potatoes, carrots, onion, fennel, garlic and some other spices. It's too bad I can't cook an over-medium egg at work to plop on top. But it is a delicious and almost paleo breakfast.)

Lunch: leftover paella. I make a mean paella. It takes about 3 hours and over $50 to make this dish, but it is so worth it. It makes a lot so the costs evens out, but it isn't something I make often. It is all made from scratch...even the stock. So very yum!

Snack: Turkey lunch meat with a laughing cow. This has prepackaged items, but not too bad. It is protein-centric and a healthy, filling snack.

Dinner: When I was in Key West on Christmas day, we stopped at Kermit's for some chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick. YUM! While there I picked up some yummy and reasonable calorie key lime salad dressing. So this week I have all the makings of a good salad for dinner (romaine, cucumbers, radishes, red pepper, mushrooms, a little bleu cheese crumbles, a boiled egg, some extra chicken I cooked while making the paella, some craisins, & pecans.

I already logged everything into MFP and I'm right where I want to be. I even logged my entire paella recipe where usually, I just estimate using info already on MFP. I was within 30 calories...not too bad!

Fitness

I have been SUCH a slacker. For January, my goal is to work out 6x per week including 3x yoga. I had a mammogram at lunch today (lucky me!) so today I will yoga after work. It will only be the second time, so I'm still nervous. Mostly I hate looking at myself in the giant mirror. I think a good goal would be to go until I can bear to look at myself. :-)

Fashion

This makes me giggle but it is SO true. My jeans don't fit well at all. In fact, so many of my clothes are straining. I'm wearing what I have on today mostly because it was one of the only things that would be comfortable.

This is the tunic I got when shopping in Canton, with leggings and boots. I do have my new favorite bone & skull necklace on, so that's awesome. I feel cute, albeit puffy. I'm ready to lose this bloat!

I noticed at the doctor's office today that I can't really cross my legs comfortably. I wasn't able to cross my legs for years and it sucked. So this is a *danger danger* sign for me. Now I just have to get it done!

Hugs!

New Year - Bring it on!

It is a new year and a new start. I have been thinking a lot about New Year's resolutions and goals. Each year I do one of two things:

A. I set too specific and complex goals and I give up by February.

B. I'm too vague so I quit by February.

I have one goal for 2015. At the beginning of each month, I shall assess where I am and reset goals accordingly. This way, if I decide something isn't working out, I don't quit, I just make changes. Likewise, if I have gotten off track, I get back on track. The point being that I have 12 chances to focus on goals and figure out what I want to do.

January

• Weight - weight is always going to be a major focus for me. Hence the never ending quest. :-) I can afford to be aggressive in January since almost everyone is doing it, it makes it easier to be "good". 
• Food - my goal is to eat paleo-centric, mostly fresh and focus on cooking healthy things and staying away from pre-packaged stuff. More green, less white. Limit sweets. Nothing too specific, just good eating in general.
• Fitness - since I'm starting yoga (did I mention I'm starting yoga? Debi and I are going together after work nearby. I get to see one of my closest friends, so I thought it would help me be accountable.) I want to make it a focus. For the next four weeks, yoga 3x or more per week with a minimum of 3 other workouts. So this week, I will yoga M, W, & Th. Additionally, I will work out at lunch on T, W, & Th.

• Home - Each of the next four weekends, I will pick one room in the apartment to purge and declutter. My goal for the year is to simplify. This weekend will start with taking down the Christmas decor (yes, it is still up but in all fairness I was out of town a lot and then had strep.) and going through all of my Christmas stuff, purging and simplifying.
• Hobbies - I started crocheting. My goal is to finish my scarf by the end of the month. That shouldn't be too hard. Also, I want to start reading more. My goal is to read at least one chapter each night before I go to bed to develop a habit. I want to read instead of playing dumb computer games. Except Trivia Crack, that one can stay, but I still have to read before I go to bed. It isn't that I don't want to...I just got out of the habit and have started turning the TV on instead. I want that to stop.
• Fashion - I want to continue my Gwynnie Bee experience and work at finding fun new outfit combinations. No matter my size, I feel great when I put together something fun and new. It just takes a few minutes each evening and can set the tone so well for the next day. Honestly, this one shouldn't be hard for me at all, but it doesn't mean that it isn't a goal. 
• Spirit - Go to church every week and pray every day. I don't typically talk much about this part of my life and I won't here, but it puts me in a good place and so I want to make it a more mindful part of my day/week.

I wrote down my measurements on my home calendar. I plan to update that each month (hopefully.) I also want to loosely track how I'm doing on the other goals. At the beginning of each week this month, I will update how I'm doing.

As I start 2015, it feels my heart with joy to know that I'm happy and peaceful. I have worked hard to become a person I like and to surround myself with positivity. Nothing is perfect, but I feel that my life is delightfully imperfect. I look forward to what new adventures this year will bring!

Hugs!