Sunday Rest & Relaxation

After the excitement of Friday night and Saturday, Sunday was a time of rest and relaxation.  Ahh…

I spent most of the day in my Brewers’ chair-in-a-bag under a tree with my nook at Mom & Dad’s, alternating between scouring Barnes & Noble for my next great read, playing Draw Some and watching Hunter play catch or hit balls in the park across the street.  Oh, and laundry got done, too!

Tomorrow is my Biggest Loser weigh in at work and with all of the walking and staying on program done this weekend, I’m confident that will go well.  Also, I have a fridge and freezer full of great choices thanks to yesterday’s shopping trip and dad throwing my chicken and burgers for the week on the grill today.  Looking forward to some tasty leans this week – thanks, Dad!

Also, tomorrow I’ll be kicking off my walks with a friend from grad school who lives in the neighborhood and is a fellow English teacher.  I’m looking forward to having a walking partner a few times a week!

It’s about to be another busy week, so today’s fresh air and relaxation was a welcome change.  I’m ready for the week which will include finishing up my final paper for class, getting my seniors ready for graduation (praying for them all), voting in the big recall election, and – as always – working my fanny off to stay on program and get my exercise in throughout the week.  Lots going on, but that’s good.

Time to prep tomorrow’s meals and get ready for school.

Wishing everyone a fabulous week!

Go get ‘em, tigers!

Jenny's Getting Her Groove Back

First, my loss for week # 3 was 5 lbs.


Then, my loss for The Biggest Loser contest at work was 6 lbs.


When I got home from a trek to mom & dad's, Fitbit emailed me that I'd earned my first 50 miles badge.  And I wasn't even done with my walking - I had to go out for my "real" walk.


And when I got home from the "real" walk, Fitbit emailed me again because I'd earned my first 10,000 steps badge.

This was at 8:09 pm - I've still got a few hours left in me for the day!

Could I Be...A Morning Person?

Originally Published April 21, 2012


I've been on spring break for the past three weeks.  EVERY day I have been up by 7:30 without an alarm.  There have been NO days that I've needed to be up for any reason.  This week, it has been more like 5 or 6 am.  

While I am fairly certain that Monday morning will arrive and I'll be back to my snooze button ways, I spent part of this morning imagining a life where I'm a morning person...

Walks to the sunrise...

Running when there's nobody out yet...

Cycling without the traffic...

Not getting tangled by the leashes of neighborhood dogs...

Peace, quiet and tranquility before a day in a central-city high school...

Time to collect my thoughts before the day gets away from me...

Getting a workout in before the rest of my day has a chance to take shape...

I think I am liking the sound of this.  I think that I could become a morning person, once more.

You see, I've had two other forays into the morning person world...

In college, I worked as a lifeguard at the YMCA.  My friend and I worked the opening shift (5 am, friends!) so that we could get our hours in before we bolted to class and studying.  We alternated who stopped at the McD's on the corner for coffee each morning.

A few years ago, when I was deep into running, I naturally woke up every morning around 5 to run.  Literally.  I woke up, jumped into my running gear, laced up my shoes, strapped on my heart-rate monitor and hit the streets.  

So, if I've done it before...surely I can do it again...

Right?

Signing off...daydreaming of tomorrow morning's walk...and Monday's...ahh...

Drinks and Veggies and Buffalo Chicken, Oh My!

Originally Published April 19, 2012


Ah...it's a happy Day 4 and all is right in my world.  I'm down 8.7 since Monday and I've sailed through the day.  I even got a nap in this afternoon.  

I've been playing around with my drinks this week.  I have a PILE of Chai Latte because I ordered a bunch of the Coffee House Gift Sets with my last order in an attempt to be economically savvy.  Every time I have a Chai Latte, I try it with a different tea.  Well, my new favorite is Apple Cinnamon.  Oh my!  That is tasty.  Also, I've always made my meals into shakes...but for the past two days I've been doing my Cappuccino, Hot Cocoa and Chai Latte as intended...hot.  It's been chilly and damp in these parts, so it's helped to keep the chill out of my bones.

I made a trip to the grocery store tonight and you wouldn't believe the stockpile of frozen veggies I came home with.  There was a 10 for $10 sale and I went a little crazy.  Add to that the coupons I had for 2 other brands and I am set for greens for a while!  There is a lot of mashed cauliflower in my future...and that's a-okay with me!  And, I got in a whole lot of walking because I played a little game - alternating sides of the store on my list and crossing the store about 10 times to complete my list.  Those steps added up and the fitbit is very happy!

Right now, I have some Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken going in the Crock Pot to cook overnight.  Oh, how I love that stuff!  I used a 3-lb. bag of frozen chick breasts, so I'll be freezing some of the final product for future meals.  I know that I'm going to go crazy when I can start smelling that hot sauce - but I'll be so much less crazy when I have dinners prepared when I go back to school next week.

Okay...time to kick back with my Hot Cocoa and a dvd from the library.

Happy Medifasting, friends!