I told you about going to the gym for the first time last Saturday. This morning I got up extra early to go to the gym. Overall it was good. Don't get me wrong. I still hate mornings. Alarm clocks are evil and must die! Realistically, I can't stay up all night like I use to and definitely can't go to the gym late. I live in small town America. There are no 24 hour gyms. I have tried going to the gym in the evenings after work since I got back from my trip and just could never quite make it. Solution to this: go before work. Then if I have to stay late for whatever reason it doesn't matter. And though my legs are kind of sore, I felt better today for having gone to the gym.
Right now I have not been doing intense workouts. Mostly just trying to form better habits. If I get in the habit of going I won't think twice about it eventually. I am looking forward to getting to that point. One plus to going so very early in the morning is there is not many other people there. You have your choice of equipment and you don't have to worry about being judged. Sorry this is short but getting up early tomorrow to workout. :)
Monday, November 25, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
You would be so proud of me
So I bought bridesmaid dress for a friend's wedding coming up in January. When I bought the dress it did not quite zip up all the way. Now I can get it zipped up! Yay!! I am not going to lie, it is still tight but getting it zipped is good progress. I still have until towards the end of January to work on the tightness. I think I will be able to make it. :)
I joined the local gym in town online while I was home in Seattle. Today was the first day I went. I tried to go once before but my GPS got me lost. (Ok, go ahead and laugh. Yes I got lost in my tiny town. Having a negative sense of directions sucks!) But anyways, so I went to the gym today and I worked out for the first time in far too long. It felt good. I took it slow today. I don't want to push too much and do more damage than good. I want to lose weight the right way and not push too hard too fast. I did not put the weight on over night and neither will I lose it.
While I was at the gym I spoke with a personal trainer. He is going to tailor a workout for me. First he asked what my goal was. I said I would like to get healthier and lose some weight. This led to the obvious question of how much am I trying to lose. He seemed pretty surprised when i said I don't have an exact weight loss goal. I guess that is usual. I just feel more comfortable that way. Especially since muscle weighs more than fat. I know right now as I workout I will drop weight but eventually I will hit the point that I will gain weight because I am putting on muscle.
Overall, the gym was nice. Granted it does not have some amenities that would be awesome, like a pool. That is ok though. I am going to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to start with. I will probably set it up down the road but this is a good start.
Next I am going to finally get myself into the doctor for a check-up and have my thyroid functioning checked. I have always functioned on the very low side of normal. I was supposed to have my thyroid tested annually. I was not able to thought due to that being an expensive test and I was uninsured. I have insurance through work not (YAY!!!) I feel like I am finally getting everything on track.
I joined the local gym in town online while I was home in Seattle. Today was the first day I went. I tried to go once before but my GPS got me lost. (Ok, go ahead and laugh. Yes I got lost in my tiny town. Having a negative sense of directions sucks!) But anyways, so I went to the gym today and I worked out for the first time in far too long. It felt good. I took it slow today. I don't want to push too much and do more damage than good. I want to lose weight the right way and not push too hard too fast. I did not put the weight on over night and neither will I lose it.
While I was at the gym I spoke with a personal trainer. He is going to tailor a workout for me. First he asked what my goal was. I said I would like to get healthier and lose some weight. This led to the obvious question of how much am I trying to lose. He seemed pretty surprised when i said I don't have an exact weight loss goal. I guess that is usual. I just feel more comfortable that way. Especially since muscle weighs more than fat. I know right now as I workout I will drop weight but eventually I will hit the point that I will gain weight because I am putting on muscle.
Overall, the gym was nice. Granted it does not have some amenities that would be awesome, like a pool. That is ok though. I am going to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to start with. I will probably set it up down the road but this is a good start.
Next I am going to finally get myself into the doctor for a check-up and have my thyroid functioning checked. I have always functioned on the very low side of normal. I was supposed to have my thyroid tested annually. I was not able to thought due to that being an expensive test and I was uninsured. I have insurance through work not (YAY!!!) I feel like I am finally getting everything on track.
Friday, November 15, 2013
It's good to be home!
I flew home to Seattle for a visit. And as the title said it's good to be home! When I m gone it is easy to forget how much I miss it here. Ok, yes, there are things I will never ever miss. Like gridlock traffic but there are enough awesome things that outweigh it. Like having mountains, ocean, rivers and lakes just a hop away. I love the water! It has been awesome being able to see all my friends and loved ones again. (This is the first time I have been home in about 2 years). Touching base with my roots has been good for my soul. (Honestly I am not looking forward to how buried my desk will be when I get back but this trip was worth all the catch up I will have to do).
I came home because two different sets of friends were getting married within 10 days of each other. (Made for a great excuse to take a vacation. Tee Hee!). The first wedding was steampunk theme. And was fabulous! Out of all the weddings I have been to, I enjoyed this one the most. It was obvious they spent quite a bit of money on the wedding. In my experience, expensive weddings end up being very pretentious. You can tell they are trying to impress people. That was not the case here. The food was good, old comfort foods. Appetizers were tiny cups of tomato basil soup with grilled cheese sandwich triangles. Dinner was small plates with lots of courses. We had truffled macaroni and cheese, asparagus and crab cake, and meatloaf with shoestring fried onions and mashed potatoes. The music was awesome! I danced and danced. Everyone really enjoyed themselves. I hope if I ever get married that my wedding is like that.
I also went to the bachelorette party for the second wedding. It was a ton of fun. We started out by having a pole dancing lesson. The lesson was great. I will say this though, how much fun you have with it would depend a lot on the group you are with. It is easy to feel completely awkward and clumsy while pole dancing. Especially if you have never done it before. I am sure that is how I looked but luckily I was with a great group of girls so I was not the least bit embarrassed when I flubbed.
The second wedding is coming up on Sunday and then I have to fly back to Missouri. Sigh, back to reality. I did finally join the gym in town and looking forward to beginning to workout. Overall, I am down 20 pounds within minimal exercising. I did fall off the wagon for a bit around my birthday but got right back on. I have not eaten the best on this trip but I have been very good about exercising to counteract some of the calories. Hopefully I have not gotten too off track with this trip.I have been noticing a difference in how I feel based on what I eat or how much. If I eat too much food in general or too many sweets I fell very blah. That helps as a motivator to eat better things. It is still a struggle though. I think I am getting better at it.
I came home because two different sets of friends were getting married within 10 days of each other. (Made for a great excuse to take a vacation. Tee Hee!). The first wedding was steampunk theme. And was fabulous! Out of all the weddings I have been to, I enjoyed this one the most. It was obvious they spent quite a bit of money on the wedding. In my experience, expensive weddings end up being very pretentious. You can tell they are trying to impress people. That was not the case here. The food was good, old comfort foods. Appetizers were tiny cups of tomato basil soup with grilled cheese sandwich triangles. Dinner was small plates with lots of courses. We had truffled macaroni and cheese, asparagus and crab cake, and meatloaf with shoestring fried onions and mashed potatoes. The music was awesome! I danced and danced. Everyone really enjoyed themselves. I hope if I ever get married that my wedding is like that.
I also went to the bachelorette party for the second wedding. It was a ton of fun. We started out by having a pole dancing lesson. The lesson was great. I will say this though, how much fun you have with it would depend a lot on the group you are with. It is easy to feel completely awkward and clumsy while pole dancing. Especially if you have never done it before. I am sure that is how I looked but luckily I was with a great group of girls so I was not the least bit embarrassed when I flubbed.
The second wedding is coming up on Sunday and then I have to fly back to Missouri. Sigh, back to reality. I did finally join the gym in town and looking forward to beginning to workout. Overall, I am down 20 pounds within minimal exercising. I did fall off the wagon for a bit around my birthday but got right back on. I have not eaten the best on this trip but I have been very good about exercising to counteract some of the calories. Hopefully I have not gotten too off track with this trip.I have been noticing a difference in how I feel based on what I eat or how much. If I eat too much food in general or too many sweets I fell very blah. That helps as a motivator to eat better things. It is still a struggle though. I think I am getting better at it.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
I am sorry
I am sorry I have been gone so long. I have no good excuse. I will try to be better in the future. I make no promises though (mostly because I try not to make promises that I don't know I will keep). But you all love me anyway :)
So what is new in my world? I am settling in at work and starting to figure things out. I am starting to have more days where I actually feel like I know what the hell I am doing and less days I worry they are going to figure out I have no idea what is going on and fire me. It helps that everyone in my office is really nice and helpful. I also have made friends with some more experienced attorneys. They have been angels answering all my questions and helping me get the hang of things. So far I have not had anything go to trial yet but I might on Thursday. (keep your fingers crossed for me)
On the home front, my landlord just painted the exterior of my house. That was nice but the people they hired to do the painting left paint chips all around my yard. Not so fond of that. I will be damned if I am going to go around cleaning up the paint chips. My dining room table was delivered today. I am totally stoked. I bought it used from my neighbors. They bought it last year and are remodeling their house. It doesn't work in their space anymore so now it is mine. I am totally loving having a table again. I have not had a dining room table since I lived with my parental unit.
As to my weight, I was bad and stopped tracking my food for a few weeks. I still tried to eat better even though I was not keeping track. I am back on the wagon and tracking everyday. So far I have dropped 15 pounds. I am on a mission to collect recipes that are delicious and good for you. Just because I am eating healthier doesn't mean I have to eat cardboard. Honestly, I am more likely to succeed if I am enjoying the food I am eating. I have not taken my measurements lately but that is because I have mislaid my measuring tape When I find it I will post the new measurements.
I hope you all forgive me for not updating regularly.
So what is new in my world? I am settling in at work and starting to figure things out. I am starting to have more days where I actually feel like I know what the hell I am doing and less days I worry they are going to figure out I have no idea what is going on and fire me. It helps that everyone in my office is really nice and helpful. I also have made friends with some more experienced attorneys. They have been angels answering all my questions and helping me get the hang of things. So far I have not had anything go to trial yet but I might on Thursday. (keep your fingers crossed for me)
On the home front, my landlord just painted the exterior of my house. That was nice but the people they hired to do the painting left paint chips all around my yard. Not so fond of that. I will be damned if I am going to go around cleaning up the paint chips. My dining room table was delivered today. I am totally stoked. I bought it used from my neighbors. They bought it last year and are remodeling their house. It doesn't work in their space anymore so now it is mine. I am totally loving having a table again. I have not had a dining room table since I lived with my parental unit.
As to my weight, I was bad and stopped tracking my food for a few weeks. I still tried to eat better even though I was not keeping track. I am back on the wagon and tracking everyday. So far I have dropped 15 pounds. I am on a mission to collect recipes that are delicious and good for you. Just because I am eating healthier doesn't mean I have to eat cardboard. Honestly, I am more likely to succeed if I am enjoying the food I am eating. I have not taken my measurements lately but that is because I have mislaid my measuring tape When I find it I will post the new measurements.
I hope you all forgive me for not updating regularly.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Changes
Lately, I have been making some changes in my life. Some far over due. I have had a person in my life that really has not added anything to it. Actually if I am being honest, they have really only been a negative. I made the decision to no longer have that person in my life. To say they didn't take it quietly would be an understatement. I tried to be nice about it at first. That didn't work. Next I moved on to being very blunt. When that didn't work I severed all ties de-friended on Facebook, added their number to my phone reject list and set my email to bounce everything they send to spam. I wish it had not come to that point but I feel good about my decision. Now I feel like I can move forward with my life. I sincerely hope that person does the same.
This week I am trying something new for my lunches. On most days I come home from work during my lunch hour. (One of the bonuses of living close to the office) I have been bad about planning ahead for my lunches so I usually end up having a sandwich or a can of soup. I saw something on Pinterest and decided to try it out: Mason jar salads. I bought some wide-mouth mason jars today and prepped 4 different types of salad. I have not tried them yet. I will let you know how they worked out.
I continued with my habit of prepping some dinners in advance for the week. This week I made Spinach lasagna rolls. Which turned out AWESOME! I included the recipe below. I did make a couple changes though. I used fresh spinach and boiled it rather than using frozen (I had fresh on hand I needed to use) and I also used a bottle of my favorite spaghetti sauce instead of plain tomato sauce. In the terms of difficulty, this was an easy recipe. The hardest part is filling noodles and rolling. And really that was not bad. I served this with a nice side salad and sprinkled some crushed red peppers on top of the roll before serving. I hope people enjoy this recipe as much as I did.
Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 roll • Points+: 6 ww pts
Calories: 224.9 • Fat: 5.1 g • Fiber: 3.4 g • Protein: 13.0 g • Carbs: 31.5
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.
Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.
This week I am trying something new for my lunches. On most days I come home from work during my lunch hour. (One of the bonuses of living close to the office) I have been bad about planning ahead for my lunches so I usually end up having a sandwich or a can of soup. I saw something on Pinterest and decided to try it out: Mason jar salads. I bought some wide-mouth mason jars today and prepped 4 different types of salad. I have not tried them yet. I will let you know how they worked out.
I continued with my habit of prepping some dinners in advance for the week. This week I made Spinach lasagna rolls. Which turned out AWESOME! I included the recipe below. I did make a couple changes though. I used fresh spinach and boiled it rather than using frozen (I had fresh on hand I needed to use) and I also used a bottle of my favorite spaghetti sauce instead of plain tomato sauce. In the terms of difficulty, this was an easy recipe. The hardest part is filling noodles and rolling. And really that was not bad. I served this with a nice side salad and sprinkled some crushed red peppers on top of the roll before serving. I hope people enjoy this recipe as much as I did.
Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 roll • Points+: 6 ww pts
Calories: 224.9 • Fat: 5.1 g • Fiber: 3.4 g • Protein: 13.0 g • Carbs: 31.5
Ingredients:
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
- 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- salt and fresh pepper
- 32 oz tomato sauce
- 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.
Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Fireflies
I am sitting on my couch, cuddling with Puggie and watching fireflies dancing around my yard. One thing that is awesome about living in rural Missouri is there are so many more stars in the sky (or should I say you can see them much better) and every night a ton of fireflies come out. I enjoy watching them sometimes. I find it relaxing. And it makes me think of faeries. LOL (Yes, I am a big kid at heart. I love Winnie the Pooh and Fairy Tales).
Happy late Fourth of July! and Happy Friday to those who don't celebrate the American holiday. I took today off of work so I have a four day weekend. Though I will have to make up the time, it is totally worth it. I have been go, go, go since I found out I got the job and trying to get settled. It's nice to have some down time.
I do have one little rant for today. I switched cell phone carriers a little over a month ago because my previous carrier had absolutely no reception here. I have been waiting to get my new cell phone bill. I had the money set aside and everything. Today I get a call saying I am overdue on my bill and I will be disconnected if I don't pay today. I was able to pay it and I am back in the good with them but WTF. I never got a bill. They said one was sent. Honestly, it probably was. The post office and I do not get along. (there is a whole long back story of why which I won't take up your time with) So I am chalking it up to the post office strikes again. I wish that I had not been overdue with my very first bill, doesn't set good precedence. I am glad that I had the money ready and was able to pay it right away.
If anyone really wants to hear the back story about my war with the post office leave a comment and I will post it. I am going to say goodnight and I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.
Happy late Fourth of July! and Happy Friday to those who don't celebrate the American holiday. I took today off of work so I have a four day weekend. Though I will have to make up the time, it is totally worth it. I have been go, go, go since I found out I got the job and trying to get settled. It's nice to have some down time.
I do have one little rant for today. I switched cell phone carriers a little over a month ago because my previous carrier had absolutely no reception here. I have been waiting to get my new cell phone bill. I had the money set aside and everything. Today I get a call saying I am overdue on my bill and I will be disconnected if I don't pay today. I was able to pay it and I am back in the good with them but WTF. I never got a bill. They said one was sent. Honestly, it probably was. The post office and I do not get along. (there is a whole long back story of why which I won't take up your time with) So I am chalking it up to the post office strikes again. I wish that I had not been overdue with my very first bill, doesn't set good precedence. I am glad that I had the money ready and was able to pay it right away.
If anyone really wants to hear the back story about my war with the post office leave a comment and I will post it. I am going to say goodnight and I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Gardening
So far this has been a good weekend. I went to the store and picked up some gardening supplies. Gardening is expensive lol. And I didn't even get everything I need. I just started with the basics. On the plus side, a lot of what I bought today is one time purchases like a weed eater, trowel, hose etc. I really thought about buying some flowers today.Ultimately I decided to wait until i get the flower beds cleared out so I can transfer them right away. I would hate to buy flowers and have them die.
When I got home from the store I started to weed my flower beds. I admit I forgot to take a before picture. It's not done though so I will take one tomorrow. Granted it will be kind of a half way photo but better than nothing. I worked in the yard for about 40 minutes. With how hot it is out it's difficult to work outside for very long. That and I developed my first garden induced blister. I made good progress though. It will be one step at a time. Especially since I am not used to having yard upkeep as part of my regular schedule. A drawback from being an apartment dweller for so long.
An update about weight watchers. Overall, I like the program. I basically can eat what I want as long as I say within my points for the day. I never feel hungry which is a plus. Also, there are many foods, mostly fruits and veggies that are 0. I have lost 5 pounds so far. Admittedly, I have not been trying very hard. I have been concentrating mostly on getting into the habit of tracking foods. I downloaded an app to my phone to make that easier. For people who have a hard time being self motivated and keeping track, weight watchers probably is not the program for them. It also requires planning ahead. I know that can be difficult for some people.
For me, I think this will be a good program. I am totally a planner. I LOVE my lists. No, seriously. I have a list for practically everything and I keep them up. When I was living with my brother and his family that was one of my biggest frustrations. I am a planner and he SOOOOO is not (though he likes to think he is for some reason haha). So planning ahead for meals is easy for me. I use to do this when I was in law school. Anyone who has been to law school knows there are A LOT of very long days. Often you come home after spending 12+ hours at school and internships and you really don't want to cook. You can only eat so many sandwiches so you end up just picking up something on your way home at the local fast food place. In other words, you ate like crap. I got in the habit of spending one day on the weekend cooking meals and putting them up to eat during the week. That way I could eat quickly after a long day and I ate so much better. Draw back is I have gotten out of the habit in the last year so I am getting back into it now.
I will keep you posted as I go through the program, both good and bad. I know that this program is not for everyone. I hope I can share my knowledge and help the people that this would not work for discover that before spending money. Well that is all I have for now. Pugsley and I are goign to cuddle up and watch Dr. Who now. Have a goodnight everyone!
When I got home from the store I started to weed my flower beds. I admit I forgot to take a before picture. It's not done though so I will take one tomorrow. Granted it will be kind of a half way photo but better than nothing. I worked in the yard for about 40 minutes. With how hot it is out it's difficult to work outside for very long. That and I developed my first garden induced blister. I made good progress though. It will be one step at a time. Especially since I am not used to having yard upkeep as part of my regular schedule. A drawback from being an apartment dweller for so long.
An update about weight watchers. Overall, I like the program. I basically can eat what I want as long as I say within my points for the day. I never feel hungry which is a plus. Also, there are many foods, mostly fruits and veggies that are 0. I have lost 5 pounds so far. Admittedly, I have not been trying very hard. I have been concentrating mostly on getting into the habit of tracking foods. I downloaded an app to my phone to make that easier. For people who have a hard time being self motivated and keeping track, weight watchers probably is not the program for them. It also requires planning ahead. I know that can be difficult for some people.
For me, I think this will be a good program. I am totally a planner. I LOVE my lists. No, seriously. I have a list for practically everything and I keep them up. When I was living with my brother and his family that was one of my biggest frustrations. I am a planner and he SOOOOO is not (though he likes to think he is for some reason haha). So planning ahead for meals is easy for me. I use to do this when I was in law school. Anyone who has been to law school knows there are A LOT of very long days. Often you come home after spending 12+ hours at school and internships and you really don't want to cook. You can only eat so many sandwiches so you end up just picking up something on your way home at the local fast food place. In other words, you ate like crap. I got in the habit of spending one day on the weekend cooking meals and putting them up to eat during the week. That way I could eat quickly after a long day and I ate so much better. Draw back is I have gotten out of the habit in the last year so I am getting back into it now.
I will keep you posted as I go through the program, both good and bad. I know that this program is not for everyone. I hope I can share my knowledge and help the people that this would not work for discover that before spending money. Well that is all I have for now. Pugsley and I are goign to cuddle up and watch Dr. Who now. Have a goodnight everyone!
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