Time for a Challenge!!!

Since I have been neglecting the blog let me start out by saying that my new job is AWESOME!!!! I love all the challenges and I am often mentally exhausted at the end of the day - which is REALLY good for me! I have also been an excise slacker and there is GOOD food in IT so I have gained 5 pounds since August 11 (my official first day). Now is the time to get the weight off, renew my commitment to training and get the house cleaned up!

 I have decided to do the Run Eat Repeat pile on the miles challenge so I'll have to run 3 days every week - and report it - to make me accountable. I am also planning at least one housework task every single day - in addition to regular cleaning. Over the weekend I went through 4 bags of clothes and got them out of the house.

 The biggest challenge with be the freezer/pantry challenge!!! EVERY day in November I have made a challenge for our house to use up an item in the freezer or pantry (both are completely overstuffed at the moment). Saturday I used up 1 item from the freezer (hamburger) and two items from the pantry (pasta sauce and lasagna noodles) to make Erik's favorite lasagna. Sunday I used 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 box of stuffing to make Company is Coming chicken. Since we have an away game tonight for Erik I'm going to pack snacks out of the pantry. While this challenge will surely fill us up with preservatives, it will help to clean out the house and make room for healthy food selections. I chose to do this in November since we will be double hosting Thanksgiving and that will help to get rid of LOTS of cans and jars. Watch for daily updates! Hope you had a happy Halloween and are enjoying other social networking challenges!  Maybe at the end my pantry will look like this?

Chubba Wubba

By the end of last week I was able to shed 4.5 pounds of the vacation weight. Sadly, over the weekend I was left alone with a chocolate zucchini cake and went to a funeral where there were leftover desserts and I gained 3 of the 4.5 pounds back. The weather looks LOVELY this week so I'll have no excuse to not work out! Saturday morning I went for a 4 mile run with my friend Susan - it felt pretty amazing to get out on the trails! After that we spent 6 hours at church for a funeral. It was a long day but the family enjoyed all of the amenities. Sunday morning we all rolled out of bed by 7 (Sleeping in by my clock!)ate a quick breakfast and spent the whole morning on yard chores. We got rid of volunteer trees and an overgrown area in our yard and took out 5 volunteer trees at my mom's, plus a BIG section of morning glory vines. I loved morning glories when I was a kid - as an adult I want to threaten them with the roundup. The afternoon was spent with a variety of errands and housework and I can proudly say ALL the laundry is caught up again - for a day!

I Must Be Missing Something

This week I have been dragging, a lot, and feeling pretty fatigued. While I have been sleeping 6 hours a night (my usual) I have struggled to get out of bed in the morning and have needed a lot of caffeine to keep going. At first I thought it was long shifts but I felt really BAD yesterday after work. Almost like I could have pulled over and gone to sleep in the car. When I got home I decided to start laundry and take my vitamins and by bedtime I felt 40% better and this morning I would say somewhere between 75% and 80%. I am wondering if this is because my nutrition wasn't as good on vacation and I did more running, so it could be a slight iron deficiency. Either way I'll get back to the vitamins! Yesterday after work I made it through housework and mowing at my mom's and got into bed relatively early.

Five More Minutes

I have had SUCH a long week at work with new provider orientation and getting ready to transition into my new job. This morning I really didn't want to get out of bed for another long shift but I made it, even though I forgot to weigh myself and didn't get up the courage to try one of my new outfits. Yesterday I worked until 5:45 (12 hour days are LONG!), made dinner for Erik and I, mowed our house, got lawn mower gas and then did housework and chores until I collapsed into bed at 9:40. My bedtime goal for tonight is 9, we'll see if I can make it. Otherwise I might fall asleep standing up!

Getting Back to Basics

Yesterday I was able to get off a little earlier than expected so I tossed together a batch of cocoa bananas oatmeal, feasted on leftover pizza and then ran some errands with Erik. We finally have groceries again, the Highlander got its oil change and we are trying We B Poppin' Popcorn for the first time. So far it's pretty tasty - I'm planning for a bowl of the half salt tonight. After dinner (Brian grilled turkey burgers) we went to the Y for some lifting and then took the dogs for a walk through the cemetery. It was in the 80s with a cool breeze so a little warm but MUCH better than Monday. It's hard to believe that we only have three weeks with Erik before he goes back to campus so I'm trying to enjoy every minute!

Bad Excuses for Missing a Workout

I have been a slacker the last week, part of it was vacation but I really just need to get back on the horse! While we were in Ely I got in two amazing runs and a couple long walks - but my Fit Bit Report came this morning and I was down 40,000 steps last week and I gained a whopping 8 pounds while we were in the north woods. I have decided not to tackle the Triathlon on August 3. I am undertrained and scared, so I will commit the next several months to training and do a fun event next spring. Yesterday I worked just over 11 hours, made dinner, did laundry, went to the grocery store and got Erik a splint for his Tennis Elbow. After all that I didn't want to lift weights or swim and with a heat index of 105 it was FAR too hot to walk the dogs so I crawled into bed. It is time to suck it up and remember that too hot and too cold can be remedied in the same way - and we have a HUGE basement I can exercise in. Today is a new day and tonight I'll get in some exercise - I always feel better after I sweat and pant a bit!

An AMAZING Week at the Lake

Our week in Ely was AMAZING! Our rainy days happened early in the week. We slept in until 8:10 one morning (that might still sound early to some people but I usually get up at 4:30 so 8:10 is like noon in my world). We tried to pick blueberries but didn't have much success since the "secret" spot has had some environmental changes. The water was SO cold this year - the lake still had ice Memorial Day weekend so the fish were still waking up; the bugs weren't as bad as they usually are and the nights were cold enough for two blankets! We enjoyed LOTS of family time with cribbage, Cards Against Humanity and Apples to Apples and watched the final game of the World Cup with cousins! It was a great week and Brian and I really got to relax since this was our first time in 6 years without homework!