Fraidy Cat

It's amazing to me how scared I've become with age

I'm easily intimidated and completely terrified to try anything new

I could feel this getting worse and worse so I tried to be conscious of my thoughts and actions. 

In fact, it is part of the reason I signed up for my first 10k and now this 1/2 marathon

I wanted to finally push myself from my comfort zone.

Recently my training hasn't been going so well

 I need is someone to run with and coaching of some sort.

Someone suggested I contact the local running club.

so i did

Blue = his email

Red = my thoughts

We have a Saturday morning group run every Sat. at 6am 6am! you crazy? in the north parking lot. This is a big how big, friendly how friendly group of runners who run at all paces does this include my super slow pace? and we run anywhere from 7-13 miles. well which is it? 7 or 13!?

 

Get there a few minutes early and introduce yourself to me...I have the big mouth! Is that a physical description?

How will I know how far everyone is running? What if I can't keep up? What if I hold the group up? What if I am the oldest or youngest one there? What if I pass out at mile 5?

I know these thoughts are crazy and I am doing my best to just stop my brain and insecurity and just do it... but sometimes it's hard.

I wasn't always this way. There was a time when I tried out for school plays and was a cheerleader, and had a solo in chorus. Not sure when things changed.

Anyone else out there get this way too? Any tips?

This was when I was at my peak of Bravery

Today's Eats

• bfast- ww mini bagel, egg white, OG applesauce
• Snack -Larabar
• Lunch- leftover taco surprise, 6 corn chips
• Snack- hummus and Mary's Crackers
• Dinner- halibut, 1/2 cuke
• Dessert- 3 cookies
• Workout- took the day off
• Fruit Veggie- 3

I'll tell you who I will NOT be calling

Today I am driving down I75

a very busy highway

I see a Critter Control truck 

(Critter Control traps animals that are a nuisance- like moles, snakes, woodchucks etc.)

it is a pick up truck with cages on top of cages in the bed.

On one of the highest cages there is a cat THAT IS HIGHLY DISTRESSED

now,

1. What the F is Critter Control doing with a cat?

2. Why did they place this cat in a high cage driving 75 mph down a highway?

To say I was pissed doesn't even describe it.

I had already made up my mind on giving Critter Control a piece of my mind when I got to the office.

But as I drove on,

I looked in my rear view mirror to see this cat JUMP from out of the cage

roll onto a very busy highway

and thankfully- run to safety on the side of the road

(there is no doubt that he was injured thought)

It was amazing and infuriating all at the same time.

When I got to work I called the company but there was no answer and no voice mail

I emailed them and still have not heard back

So

I did what any good blogger would do

I'm writing about it

I also left a nasty gram on their website.

It appears as though this company is nationwide

I would recommend NOT using them for any of your "critter" needs

to capture animals is one thing

torturing them is quite another.

I'm pretty sure the truck I saw was from Fort Myers, FL since that is the closest office

I Googled "Critter Control Fort Myers, FL" and wrote a review of the company

I know there are animal lovers out there like me- so I wanted to share.

***

On a similar, but semi- unrelated note

my very good friend Lisa just lost her 4 year old dog to cancer

So if you have a little fur baby,

be sure to give them extra, extra love (and maybe treats) tonight.

Here are my babies...

***

BTW- didn't go to sleep early as planned. I added some more veggies to my diet today though and definitely felt more energized. Maybe there IS something to this whole "healthy eating" thing!

Today's Eats:

• bfast- ww mini bagel, cheese, egg white, OG applesauce, 2 coffees with NO SUGAR! (werd)
• snack- Larabar, Mary's Crackers with hummus
• Lunch- salad- 1 cuke, 1 tomato, 1/2 avocado, little feta cheese (there was supposed to be chicken but I left it at home)
• Snack- banana
• Dinner- Taco surprise (black beans, salsa, OG corn chips (6), cheese (pinch)
• Fruit/Veggie - 6
• Workout- Body Pump

I. Am. Tired.

I'm officially out of gas.

Yesterday I woke up at 6:30

am to walk the pups. Went back into bed and didn't wake up again until 11:00. I thought that would have caught me up a bit. But I guess not.

I'm just not sleeping thru the night and it's killing me.

(last night I had a dream I had a mustache, I woke up in a panic!)

lack of sleep, and the fact that my recent workouts have been brutal.

have just left me feeling drained.

Even Spin class- which I normally love- was a struggle.

So I am holding out until 9pm tonight and then I'm hitting the sack...

Unless the Bachelorette gets really good and I end up watching the whole thing

(which is a more likely scenario)

I'm loving this season.

And for those who are also tuning in

here is my prediction

She'll pick Ty or Kirk (Kirk I think is the best for her)

and Roberto will be the next Bachelor.

Just my thoughts.

and to prove I don't sit around watching reality TV....

***

I just finished reading Beautiful Boy

Source

Great book- I would definitely recommend it. His son also wrote a  book called Tweak which I wanted to get next but my library didn't have it.

Instead I picked up The Time Traveler's Wife

source

I didn't see the movie and knew little about it when I started reading. 

I CANNOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!

Today's Eats

• bfast- ww mini bagel, egg white, OG applesauce, 2 coffees
• Snack- Mary's crackers with hummus
• Lunch- leftover chicken and zucchini
• Dinner- Puffins with almond milk, 10 crackers and almond butter (crazy I know but it was what I wanted)
• Fruits/veggies- what are those?
• Workout- 45 spinning torture

** I'm considering a night cap... you know... to help me sleep :-)

The Daily Plate

Let me share with you my new obsession:

TheDailyPlate.com

This website is fantastic!

I usually avoid counting calories, but I've got some LBS I can't shake so I went to this site to see just how many calories I was taking in on a daily basis. 

To begin- this site has the calorie and nutritional information for just about every food out there. So far there hasn't been a single food item that I have not been able to find on there already.

The coolest thing about this site though- is that it gives you the break down of everything you eat.  Here is my nutritional information from yesterday:

It will highlight something if you go over your daily recommended allowance (like carbs).

It will also show this as a pie (mmmm... pie) chart

You can also track your water:

Another cool feature is the meal creator. I added a green monster on my list of meals, that way every time I have a green monster I do not have to list all the ingredients- I can just press my "green monster" meal.

And if you wanted to see how many calories you need to eat to lose a pound (or two) or gain a pound (or two) It will calculate it for you.

Awesome, awesome site.

Last night we watch the movie Youth In Revolt.

Loved it.

In it Nick Twisp

source

 develops and alter ego “Francois”  who dares to do the stuff that Nick would never do.

source

Francois is cool, swave, and dangerous.

Got me thinking about who MY alter ego would be

I would name her

Bianca

(mostly because that was my fake name when my girlfriends and I went out drinking)

She would have the quick wit of Juno

source

The balls of Lindsay Lohan

source

The attitude of the combined cast of the Real Housewives of New Jersey

source

and the looks of Megan Fox (doesn’t she just seem like she’s cooler than everyone else?)

source

What would your alter ego be?

Today's Eats:

• bfast- 2 eggs, 1 ww mini bagel, 3 cups of coffee 
• snack- Larabar

I got 99 problems but a blog ain't one!

It is the first day of Summer AND my 100th blog entry!

100 posts later and I can say with certainty that I feel like I am leading a much healthier lifestyle.

CLICK HERE to see where it all started

I've enjoyed sharing the journey with everyone- and want to thank all those who follow and comment, as well as those that just silently read.

***
Today I will be keeping it short because Abbie flies home today
he's been gone for 2 weeks and I've missed him like crazy.


In honor of the 1st day of summer I'll leave you with summer pics from last year

Today's Eats

• bfast- 1 ww biscuit, 1 egg, coffee
• snack- larabar
• Lunch- brown rice with black beans, 1/2 tomato
• Snack- cherry bomb (banana, choc, 5 cherries, almond milk)

   

winner winner chicken dinner

***
I won Lovin' Losing's giveaway!

I'm so excited. I never win things.

Be sure to check out her blog.

****
On to my day...

Living on a budget is like being a little kid with an allowance.

I woke up this morning full of happiness ready to spend my $40
and patting myself on the back for not letting it burn a hole in my pocket during the week

I literally shopped at the mall for 5 hours.
I went from wanting:
shoes
perfume
dress
purse


but ended up with a pair of workout pants since my other pair was stolen
I also bought this water bottle for my long runs.


After shopping I finally got my butt into the gym
after being on break for 5 days.

Tonight I will definitely be using my foam roller because I am sore!

Today's Eats:

• bfast- Green monster, 1 egg, english muffin, feta cheese

• snack- Starbucks tall vanilla soy latte
• Lunch- Chic fil a- grilled chicken, on wheat bun (ate 1/2 bun) with lettuce, tomato and unsweet tea
• Dinner- "Healthy Moes"- brown rice, black beans, cheese, cuke, avocado,tomato, OG corn chips

• Dessert- cool whip with Anne's Graham Bunnies
• Workout- 3 mile run, 30 minute lower body and abs.
• Fruit/Veggie- 4

Roam around the world

I don't know if I am actually still sick, or if I just hit the afternoon blahs 

either way I skipped the gym after work.

maybe I'll feel up to it and get a workout in before the night is over. 

I'm worried about skipping too many workouts because I have to train for the 1/2 marathon. 

that last 5 miles I ran nearly killed me

I still have so far to go.
sigh

****

Let's talk about travel.
****

I found THIS great blog on a group of people who are living abroad teaching English
I've always thought that I wanted to do something like this
being thrown into another culture like that
But
after reading some of these entries
it just seems dangerous!
HERE - someone was almost hauled to jail for not having his papers
HERE- someone's camera was stolen
HERE- is a list of "Traveling Tips" that include things like:
1. Carry two wallets- one to keep and one to give a mugger
2. Always walk with your hand in your pocket so it looks like you are carrying mace or better yet, carry mace


all of these blogs makes me think...
maybe i'll just see what my country has to offer first.

Don't get me wrong- I still want to travel abroad.
but with money
on tours
with other tourists
in nice cities
with nice people


I hate to leave this blog without a picture
so enjoy!

Today's Eats

• bfast- 1 English muffin and tea
• Snack- Larabar and coffee
• Lunch- Publix veggie sushi wrap thingie
• Snack- 1 peach, blueberries and OG granola
• Dinner- 1 English muffin, egg, strawberries and 1 banana
• Workout- nothing
• Fruit/Veggies- 4

With all these things I've done

I took this from Christy-

feel free to take it an pass it along.

I've highlighted the things I've done

1. started your own blog

 2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band

(does Wii rockband count?)
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower

(with Abbie- very romantic)
6. given more to charity than you could afford to 

7. been to Disney 

(my dad worked there when I was young)
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sung a solo 

(5th Grade: Lift Every Voice and Sing)
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris 

(does the Club Paris count?)
13. watched a thunder and lightning storm

(I lived the in the lightening capital of the world
)14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child

(does a fur baby count? I have two if they do)
16. had food poisoning

(this past week!)
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train 

(this is on the bucket list)
21. had a pillow fight 

22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb 
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset 

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise 
33. seen Niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community 

36. taught yourself a new language

(pig Latin)
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing 

(this is on my bucket list and I decided a rock wall was good enough)
40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

(does McDonalds count?)
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or 

snorkeling

(snorkeling)
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater 
55. been in a movie

(I auditioned for Honey I Blew Up the Kids)
56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching

(how sad I messed this trip up)
63. gotten flowers for no reason 

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. been sky diving
66. visited a concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square 
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in London
77. broken a bone
78. been a passenger on a motorcycle 

(my father use to have one)
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

(totally lying)
88. had chickenpox 
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous 

(OJ Simpson- no lie)
92. joined a book club
93. gotten a tattoo
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swam in the great salt lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

(found out I was allergic)

100. Ridden an elephant

41/100

needs work for sure 

Today's Eats

• 
  
  
  bfast- English Muffin and tea
• 
  
  
  Lunch- 1 banana, crackers, Larabar (was still feeling sick)
• 
  
  
  Dinner- 1/2 ww Publix sub (turkey, let, tom, pickles only) Oil and Vinegar chips
• 
  
  
  workout- figured I should workout with only have that lunch and bfast- I should be in the clear tomorrow

Fly from the Beauty Salon

Once again I am back from the dead 

(I feel like I keep making that type of statement)

Sunday I woke up with the sun and went for a 5 mile run

came home

and immediately felt sore all over- from my head to my toes

then nauseous for the next two days

leading me to believe

running = sickness

that could be the only conclusion, no?

My diet for these past few days included:

Gatorade

crackers

mac and cheese

and an English muffin

Seriously though- I definitely caught a bug of some sort. Right now is the first time I've felt 1/2 way decent since Sunday morning. I even left work early yesterday and laid in bed for the rest of the day.

But my weekend wasn't all doom and gloom

I did chop off all of my hair

finally took the plunge

Ta da!

(yes I am wearing clothes- it's a tube top)

What's funny is that I had to bring this picture in as the example haircut I wanted:

source

Tell me- do I look like Tila or what?

Today's Eats:

bfast- 1/2 english muffin, 1/2 banana

Lunch- 1/2 crackers

Dinner- OG mac and cheese

Fruit/veggie- 1/2

workout- does walking the pups count?

Give me the green light

I got to the gym tonight just in time to see

Mr. John Legend

kicking off the World Cup madness.

(source)

I'm not a fan of soccer

But I am a HUGE fan of John Legend

(hence the title of my last post)

Before this easy breezy 3.5 mile run 

I hit up Buddha town for some meditation/enlightenment

Today's Lesson

My homework for the week is when something is wrong- to look within myself to find the "delusions" in me that are causing the problem and seek a solution.

Know Thyself.

zen.

werd.

Meditation. Gym. This Friday is out of control wild.

Today's Eats:

• bfast- 1 egg white, wwmini bagel, cheese, veggie sausage, tea
• snack- watermelon, Larabar, coffee
• Lunch- salad wrap- lettuce, avocado, cuke, evoo and lemon in a wrap
• Dinner- breakfast wrap- wrap, 2 egg whites, cheese, 1 tomato, 1/2 avocado, tea
• Snack- small bowl of popcorn, flavored (read- crappy) water
• Fruit/Veggies- 5
• Workout- 3.5 mile run

Good morning, good morning love

I actually got my butt out of bed early enough to run this morning.

 I typically like to workout in the afternoon because I have more time and energy to do so. But it is just too darn hot to run in the afternoon.

This morning was perfect though. Lots of traffic on the road however- made me feel very self conscious. 

Just a short 2 miler but it felt good 

I still have Body Pump tonight though to make me feel like i've had "real" workout

In awesome news:

the ac in our condo went out last night

slept in a sauna. 

good times.

Today's Eats:

• wwmini bagel with veggie sausage apple juice
• coffee, Larabar

She wants to party. She wants to get down.

Monday's Random Thought

Today I heard my theme song

All She Wants to Do is Dance

(sweet video)

I sometimes wish that this song would come on the radio and I can have an Ally McBeal moment 

as seen here:

And for those that don't know

Ally McBeal was the shish!
Anyone that wants to create a dance routine let me know

Sorry for all the YouTube videos.
My life has been lame as of late

Fitness Front
I've now gone 7 days straight working out
Friday is my break
My body is pissed at me

Today's Eats

• bfast- ww mini bagel, veggie sausage, 1 egg, cheese, berries, tea
• snack- green monster, pita chips, Larabar (all these workouts make me hungry!)
• Lunch- left over chili with 1 little cornbread
• snack- coffee, 1 mango
• dinner- greek salad wrap (cuke, chicken, romaine lettuce, feta cheese, white wrap), pita chips (polished those yummy things off) hummus
• fruit/veggies count: 6
• workout: 45 min spin

What's your theme song?

gator bait

Yesterday was a wakeup call.

Here are the lessons I learned on my run:

1.         Do not run at 6:30 when it feels like 100 degrees outside
2.         You cannot eat crap food all day and expect to feel great on a run
3.        You cannot NOT drink water all day and expect to feel great on a run
4. -      Do not run next to a canal during gator mating season- it may motivate you to sprint like you’ve never sprinted before- but is an overall bad idea

source

I have to get serious about training. My 4.5 (supposed to be 5 mile) run almost killed me.

This weekend I watched:

source

(Pretty funny)

and

source

(VERY interesting)

Yesterday’s Eats:

• Bfast- 1 veggie sausage, ww mini bagel, cheese, tea
• Snack/Brunch- 2 eggs, wrap, avocado, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cheese, sour cream, sparkling cider, berries
• Dinner- Shrimp, wrap,1/2 avocado, tomato, sour cream, cheese, sparkling water, berries
• Dessert- almond butter cookies (2)
• Fruit/Veggie- 5
• Workout- 4.5 run/walk

Today’s Eats-

Bfast- ww mini bagel, veggie sausage, cheese, egg, berries, tea

The tropics are HOT!

Anytime it’s hot outside I say (either out loud or to myself)

The tropics are HOT!

Abbie never knows what I'm referring to - so last night  I had to show him

Behold: the best episode of 3-2-1 Contact ever:

This obviously led to an hour of looking up 80s cartoon theme songs

My favorites:

source

source

source

source

With all the childhood nasalsia, I decided to make some Instabake Almond Butter Cookies.

Do we know how to party or what?

On the fitness front

Had a annoying run yesterday

Never mind that it was 100 degrees outside

(The tropics are HOT!)

But my stupid Nike+ didn’t calculate my run correctly. So what I thought was 4 miles was only 3.5.

I have to figure out how to calibrate it.

I bought it online and really think I've just purchased a dud.

Last month my friend started a “Fitness Challenge” where she challenged her friends to workout 6 days a week for the month of May.  That is my new goal for the month of June.

After all… it is swimsuit time.

Yesterday’s Eats:

• Bfast- ww mini bagel with little cheese, veggie sausage, 2 egg whites, handful of cherries, tea
• Snack- Lara Bar, espresso
• Lunch- ww Arnold thin, 3 cuke slices, hummus, turkey, handful of cherries
• Snack- 3 handfuls of WW OG pretzels
• Dinner- Tilapia, green beans with butter
• Dessert-2  ww almond butter cookies (loaded)
• Fruit/Veggie: 4
• Workout- 3.5 mile run