Day One

So let's be honest. I haven't been doing too well about sticking with the diet. Today is "day one" again. It's about the 239,483,458,002,394 millionth time I've been on "day one". Seriously. That's a lot of "day one"'s.

I'm desperate, and it's time for drastic measures. Today, I made an excel spreadsheet of everything I will be eating this week, and what time I will be eating it all. I printed it out and folded it up so I can see it one day at a time. I plan to check off each meal that goes according to plan, and at the end of the day, I switch folds and prepare the food for the next day. Then I realized, I can plan to my little hearts content, but if I don't actually stick to it, I'm nowhere. So, for a little extra motivation, I printed off a picture of a really cute girl who happens to be skinny. Then, I printed off a picture of myself, shrunk it to size, and cut out my head. I then pasted my head onto the skinny body, colored the picture, and taped 2 of them on my computer monitors. I'm hoping that keeps me from reaching for a snack. I'd actually post the picture, but I'm too embarrassed, because who knows? Maybe the girl whose picture I stole reads this blog! You just never know... ;)

In other news, I got new running shoes on Saturday! Woo hoo! This has been a long time coming, and I'm very excited about it. I just have to make sure I don't wear them to the gym on the days we do a lot of heavy lifting - that will wear them out fast. Here is what they look like:

Josh and I went to Strider's in Layton, because they have a machine that analyzes the way you stand, and how you walk and it shows where you have the most pressure, where your balance is, etc. So we each got our feet analyzed and Josh said he was relieved he isn't a "freak". ha ha ha. Anyway, they brought out 7 different pairs of shoes for me to try on. Then, we went over to their treadmills and tried running in different pairs. It was interesting to see such a difference in each shoe. I am really happy with the experience and I would recommend going to Strider's if you are looking for a good running shoe that is right for you. They were helpful, patient, and it was awesome!

It's time for me to go eat my powercrunch bar, so I'm off!

Why I Love HR

When I got to work today, there was a card sitting on my desk. I recognized my supervisor's handwriting and thought, "they're going to reprimand me via greeting card??" (I always expect the worst).

I opened it and a $25 gift card fell out. Whoah! My severance is a $25 gift card to Best Buy?

Then, I read the note. My supervisor was thanking me for my hard work. After a hair toss and twinkly smile at myself in the mirror, I started floating on a cloud. I was suddenly extremely motivated. Not only am I going to get everything done this week, I'm going to get it all done TODAY!

Not wanting to say anything around the others, I checked with her to see if it was a gift that only I was priveleged to receive, or if others in the department had also been recognized for their efforts.

Apparently everyone she supervises received a thank you card and a $25 gift card. Fortunately, I didn't let this deflate my little cloud - too much anyway. She mentioned that there were other gift card options, and I could trade it for something else from Human Resources if I wanted to.

I did want to! I snagged a Target gift card instead, and floated happily back upstairs with my newly motivated self and knocked out a bunch of tasks/assignments lickety split.

I suppose the HR department is responsible in more ways than one. Not only was it their budget, but they hang poster-sized monthly calendars around the office. It turns out today was Administrative Professionals Day, and my supervisor must have seen the calendar.

And that my friends, is why I love HR.

Do you know how many boxes of the best fruit snacks on earth I can buy with a $25 gift card to Target??

Sure I'll have to save them until day 14 of my diet where I get to spike my calories in the evening, but still. That's a lot of yummy fruit snacks.

Or there could be a new set of dishes in my future...so many things to choose from!

What Is Going On?

Last week was terrible. TERRIBLE. That's all I'm going to say about it.

Moving on...

Saturday I ran the Salt Lake 5K. I didn't really train for it, other than just going to the gym and working out - except I only went on Monday and Tuesday last week. I totally beat my time from 2 years ago, so I'm at least happy about that. My time was 37:44. I realize, that's not the greatest time, that's 12-minute miles, so while that may be a little slow, that was pretty good for me. I pushed hard, and just didn't want to give up. I had decided ahead of time that I was going to sprint from the time I rounded the corner on to the main street at Gateway, through to the finish line. I'm pretty sure that was about 0.25 miles.  So, I sprinted, and then I almost puked. I was about 10 feet from the finish line when I realized what I'd gotten myself into. I thought about slowing down, but realized, that would be pretty pathetic. I was almost to the finish line, so I continued pushing and sprinting. About 5 feet from the finish line, my stomach seized up and tried to purge itself. Apparently, Red Iguana the night before a 5K - might not be such a good idea. Actually, I think it was just the sprinting. ha ha. So, there I was, not puking when I crossed the finish - but I was definitely demanding inquiring about the nearest trash cans. Luckily, no puking. My feet are all hurty and cramped, but I think it's because my shoes are a little too worn out...I have had them for 3 years, and I'm pretty sure they are the cause of the bruised feeling up the inside of my left leg. 

I got home from the run, and thought, hmmm, I think I'll head out for another run...so I ran another 2(ish) miles. I came home, cleaned up, and headed out to a baby shower. Then...there was much sleeping. 3 hours actually. 

The shirt is pretty ironic huh? ha ha

I didn't get pictures @ the race, so I had to "re-enact" when I got home. 

This is my "almost puking 5 feet from the finish line" photo op. ha ha.  

Sunday was great. Relaxing, and rejuvenating. I made Orange Dreamsicle cupcakes for the 3rd Sunday FHE at my parents house, and they were pretty tasty if I do say so myself...

I went back to the gym tonight, and I'm very frustrated. I realize I haven't been in almost a week, but I really felt crappy and discouraged about how much I feel like I'm not improving. I totally didn't finish the workout today - I had a headache, I was dizzy, I was tired, it was hot, and I was probably a little lazy. Plus, there is always the shooting pain in my leg. Oh, and the foot cramps. I feel great most of the time, because I can really tell that there are so many ways in which I've improved, but I still get frustrated when I am not as fast or as strong as other people in the classes. I was so frustrated today! I'm still a little bugged about it, because I want to be so much better already. Ugh, I'm hoping tomorrow is so much better at the gym. It's a reason I'm planning on trying to kick the caffeine. 

Catching up on a few things:

*Still planning to run a 10K in July - but with better running shoes. 

*Still trying to do too much as usual

*Josh graduates in about 2 weeks

*I'm trying to kick caffeine for good.

*I'm starting day #1 of my diet - Again. For like the 897,349,873 time. Seriously - it's hard to plan so much and all of it ahead of time. 

*Josh got a good start on our garden on Saturday - he planted some herbs - woo hoo!

*New running shoes for me AND Josh this weekend

*I still LOVE Celebrity Apprentice - and Curtis Stone is still my FAVORITE on the show. :)

*This is my week - I'm going to be better, I'm going to do better, and I'm going to succeed finally. 

Here's to a new week - a better week. Who's with me??

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's been getting messy around here, so this site is officially under construction.

I'm changing things around here, hopefully for the better.

I'm thinking about "going private" because there are people I would prefer not to find me, and not to read this. I haven't totally decided yet.

Any input is welcome.

Have a nice day!