No Excuses!

Against all my better judgment I've gotten involved in the Biggest Loser saga again this season.

Dangit. 

I tuned in to one episode because I wanted to see who replaced Anna Kournikova, who replaced my beloved Jillian. Turns out Bob Harper's trainer-competitor this season is this guy:

Dolvett Quince

Well...who the heck are you?! You can't just show up on the Biggest Loser ranch and expect me to love you more than my second-best-to-Jillian, Bob!

Hello, you gorgeous blonde man (so not my type.)! 

Anyways, the theme this Spring is No Excuses, and I'm hooked already. Sometimes I have so many excuses for every possible issue in my life, I get tired of hearing myself talk. My favorites are hunger and boredom --- they are my quintessential excuses for some of the messes I get myself into.

I got invited to be a +1 to a wedding shower in New Braunfels in early February by someone I spent some time with in Colorado a few years back. Perfect reason to enact my own little Biggest Loser No Excuses ordeal.

If I could get as obsessed with my own healthy living as I do with these strangers, I'd be in great, great shape.

I'm off to see this little film tonight:

I lost a bet and he got to choose when, where and what movie we would go see. Otherwise I would NOT be seeing a Cold War movie...on a Wednesday night at 7...in a very cramped theater. ...But I'm also kind of not mad about it. ;)

Movie Weekend

I saw two movies this weekend.

I'll skip the niceties. Sherlock Holmes 2 was not for me. There was zero romance, and it wasn't that funny. Sherlock Holmes was not an action figure. He was brainy and clever; he wasn't James freakin' Bond. Anyway.

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was quite intriguing. It wasn't the highest quality documentary I've ever seen, but it piqued my interest, especially the idea of doing a 10 day "Reboot" fruit and vegetable juice fast. There were three main "characters" in the film: Joe Cross - the guy who decided he was tired of being fat, sick and nearly dead so he went on a vegetable juice fast and lost over 80 pounds, a woman who does the Reboot for 10 days, and Phil Riverstone - who went from 430 pounds to 220 pounds starting with a juice fast then switching to a totally micronutrient diet.

Looking very good, Joe Cross!

The movie has me seriously contemplating doing the 10 day Reboot. The documentary made it seem like the first three days are Hell but then you start to feel amazing and incredibly energetic.

...I could go for that. There's nothing better than a little torture with a great payoff at the end.

Speaking of which, I'm off for a date with Jillian!

Terrify me some more! You're scary!

Friendmas!

This week is Christmas party mania, which makes working out that much more important but also that much harder to squeeze in. I flew to the gym immediately after work, plopped on a bike for 30 minutes, then ran for another 30 minutes. They were both exceptionally boring. End of story.

What wasn't boring was the rest of my night...

OJ filled her home with lots of Christmas cheer and then had a bunch of people over to celebrate Friendmas last night! I'm all about the cheese at OJ's events. Her taste in wine+her guests' taste in cheese always makes a happy home for the holidays.

Her home might be from a magazine. Everything is perfect!

I love this tree and this girl...and our sorority sister pose. Cha!

Ninja, who is most assuredly on the naughty list every year, walked away from the White Elephant with the best prize: a new wine decanter! I am now the proud owner of snap-on pants-hemmers. There is no justice!

Ninja and I also split 3 pieces of cake after taste-testing two different kinds of cookies. This is Polly and I really enjoying an amazing carrot cake. (Polly is the most adorable name, and it belongs to the most adorable girl.)

The dessert bar. If you live in Houston, kindly make your way to Dessert Gallery stat. Like, now. Tonight. Go. Wait, invite me over and pull a blanket over me when I'm passed out in a food coma on your couch at the end of the night.  

Lily was there in the background but she was too busy scavenging to take pictures with me.

I did not weigh myself this morning because I'm sure the holiday happiness bloat I'm experiencing would have made me at least 5 lbs heavier than I actually am.

In other news, I found out yesterday I got into grad school! In three little years I'll be Amy Still, Master of Educational Psychology! Night school, here I come!

Gone Again

Yesterday I hopped on another little plane and took off for Odessa. Work trip.

I was at the very front of the plane. I can't tell if pilots have an easy or a hard job - all those buttons look complicated but I wonder how many they actually have to push.

After a quick nap, we landed and immediately went to dinner.

Score. Love me some West Texas hick town!

I ate a thousand peanuts and then pulled my act together for dinner: small salad with fresh vegetables as a side. I was so proud of myself that when my travelling buddy asked if we could go to Sonic, I not only said we MUST but I downed a chocolate sundae...and then a chocolate chip cookie once we got to the hotel.

I feel I spat in the face of this woman with my late night snafu. I went to bed angry at myself and a little terrified of visions of Jillian reaming me out in my dreams.

Sigh. The food guilt lingers today, but I can't let it get me down. New day. New opportunities.

Eating right and exercising is always a pain on work trips, but my goal today is just to eat a little less. Make smart choices at lunch and dinner, and leave a little on the plate. Gentle goals. Kind goals. Any average Jane can do this goals. Fortunately I'm here only until Friday.

Since there wasn't a Post-It Wisdom Wednesday yesterday, I'll leave you with this:

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that
Which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate,
But strong in will to strive, to seek,
To find and not to yield.

I don't know who wrote those lines, but I know they were important to this man:

Andre the Figurative Giant

A quick commentary about Open, Andre Agassi's autobio. I really, really enjoyed this book. I am amazed at people who are uber-talented at completely opposite things, like tennis and writing. There was a LOT of tennis-talk and match-recaps in the book, and I thought for sure I'd get bored, but he had the perfect amount of fact and emotion. It was the perfect blend of autobiography and memoir. Definitely recommend.

Okay, off to school some good ol' boys!

Pure Life!

Usually as I'm guzzling down 20 ounces of straight up vegetable juice, I mumble between gags, "I'm drinking pure life. Pure life. Puuure life." Knowing I'm drinking vegetables in their purest, rawest form helps with the taste. A little. By the last ounce or two, I'm usually totally disgusted with pure life and swear it off forever, or at least until the next day.  

I will say, my vegetable juice never looks like this:

Aww so pretty and uniformly colored...

Mine has a more distinct look (and taste, I'm sure):

What's wrong with yo' juice, gurl?

A 20 ounce glass of this pure life concoction contains the following:

Huge beefsteak tomato, couple carrots, 2 huge celery stalks, a bell pepper, and cucumber. (I randomly forgot to get spinach at the store, but there's usually a big handful of those guys in there as well.)

Really, the best way to handle the pure life beast is just to dump it in a pretty glass and bottoms up.

Chug. Chug. Chug. Puuuuuuuure life.

Being that I am not a huge vegetable eater - unless they are swimming in Ranch - this is the best way for me to get those delicious vitmains and minerals that come wrapped in not-so-delicious veggie packages. I have been downing extra large doses this week hoping it will somehow make the impending pain of the marathon less terrible.

...Have I mentioned it's supposed to be 40 degrees with a 40% chance of rain on Sunday in Dallas? Go ahead and graduate my "excited nerves" to full on "anxiety ulcers." Two more days!

Good Things

Have to say, these two things are making me TOTALLY happy these days.

Disclaimer: by "these days" I mean I discovered them within the last week and have been totes obsessed for a period of time lasting no longer than 4 days (so far). But I'm REALLY obsessed, so it seems like much longer.

1. My feelings about coconut range from disinterested to dislike. My feelings about chocolate milk are simple: LOVE the stuff, HATE the cals/fat. Chocolate milk, then, usually gets passed over for fear of developing elephantbutt or rhinorear. HOWEVER. Thanks to an impromptu trip to the Kroger (booo) in the Heights (yayyyy!), I came upon THIS:

Zico Chocolate Coconut Water

Not too shabs, Zico!

 I'm not saying this tastes exactly like chocolate milk, but it's delicious in its own way, and it's very easy for me to forget it's actually coconut-based. To say I guzzled is an understatement. I'm a little sad I'm on such a strict budget this month otherwise I could easily spend that $100 stocking up on this heavenly nectar.

2. I have my shows. Like, the shows I DVR, the shows I neglect friends for, the guilty pleasure shows, my Food Network shows...I don't watch a ton of TV, but I'm loyal to my shows.

• Breaking Bad, fave show of all time
• Big Bang Theory
• Giada at Home
• Rachel Ray's Week in a Day
• Brunch @ Bobby's
• And the old, retired classics: Sex and the City, LOST, the Sopranos

Takes a big shift in the force or strong recommendation from qualified recommenders for me to add a show to the lineup. Rarely, do I stumble upon them of my own accord...Rarely, but sometimes, it does happen...

New Girl on Fox

Hi, Zooey and Jake. Y'all are starring characters in such a cute little new show!

So adorable!

New Girl, I love it! I have laughed out loud to every episode, which is a very rare thing and you know it!

Which brings me to my next topic: my type. Turns out, Jake Johnson is a perfect example. Let me break it down for you. I don't like preps, jocks or yuppies. The boys who attract my attention are the opposite of trendy, poised and generic. I guess, to coin a new category, you'd call him caveman-geeky-chic. See below.

Caveman-geeky-chic. Looks like he might occassionally mispell his own name, punch out strangers for talking smack about a family member, shave infrequently enough to where it's a surprise when babyface appears, laugh really loudly, enjoy being dirty and sweaty...and yet, he brushes his perfect teeth 3 times a day, loves to cook, kills it at work, knows what's up with hair product, adores dogs - even mine-  and can run a sub-4 marathon. Oh, and he doesn't - would never - wear Vibrams.

Some would suggest such a man doesn't exist and that I'm projecting huge parts of myself onto this phantom-man. I say suck it, he's out there, and I will knock you out so fast for ever doubting me.

These are the things making me really happy right now. Enjoy!

November Goal Update:
$7 spent on food as of 11/4/11
6  miles+weights as of 11/4/11
Food log in full swing. Somehow consumed an embarrasingly large number of Airheads last night. Airheads. I'm hopeless. candied walnuts. Still hopeless.

October Recap/November Goals

October.

October was a really good, exceptionally trying month. All the rough patches were work related, and I'll leave it at that because as difficult as work can be, I am ever-grateful to be gainfully employed.

I spent a week in Villahermosa, Mexico for work and reconnected with a lot of people I worked with last year when I spent all of June in Villa. While I was overjoyed to see everyone again, when the trip was cut short, I was extremely grateful. My mom went through over six hours of surgery while I was gone, my boys were being boarded at a break-the-bank facility, and I was sick. On the plane ride back I thought about when I wanted to be a stewardess as a profession. How things change. It's pulling teeth to get me to leave these days. I thank God for a home I love, friends I cherish and a life I don't like to put on hold.

Back in Houston, the heat was making everyone a little crazy, the boys had a massive flea outbreak (accompanied by one tick), I put more mileage on my legs than ever before, I decided I'd spend Thanksgiving in Alaska, and I finally realized that nothing stands in my way of anything except myself.

November.

November's gonna be good. Like, silly, giddy, challenging, fulfilling good. Suffice it to say, my life looks a lot different than it did a year ago, and I'm so thankful and happy for the maelstrom of overwhelming pain and sadness it took to get me here.

Now, on to the fun stuff! Challenges!
1. I will not be spending more than $100 on food/groceries for the entire month. I read about this challenge on another blog; it's an effort to eat up all the pantry staples we accumulate, to each more fruits and vegetables, and to remember those who have to make-do all year long. This goes into effect tomorrow, and I'll keep you updated with weekly totals.

2. I will keep a daily food/exercise log. The truth is, marathon training has been amazing, but it hasn't been the fat-burner/muscle-builder I thought it would be. It's hard to change my diet/non-running-exercises at this point (the height of training), but I want to become more conscious/deliberate about the foods I eat and the ways I spend my gym time. (A subgoal would be to lose 5 lbs.)

3. Do yoga at least twice. Easy enough.

4. Read 3 books. I'm not quite halfway through "Sybil Exposed," and then I'm going to read "Once a Runner." Suggestions are always encouraged!

5. Take more pictures.

6. Have a blast in Alaska. Going to Alaska is a bucket list thing for me, and I'm so, so excited to be crossing this off! As soon as I get back, I'll cross off another line by running a marathon!

7. This is the fluff goal. Enjoy the end of this year. November and December lend themselves to tons of new memories, plenty of life-evaluating, and prepping for the upcoming new year. This year has been the most horrendously packaged gift, a precious blessing in the most terrible disguise. Though I'm ready to see it go, I want to honor the magical things that have come as a result of it.

Fluids

Workout: 6 miles/1 hour

For no apparent reason, I decided today would be a great day to discuss my main sources of hydration. First and foremost is water. I drink tap water. A lot of it. Throughout the day, I try to drink four Nalgenes of water, 34 ounces each. ...Ok, so really the Nalg only displays up to 32 oz, but I fill the thing to the top, top, top. It's probably 34 oz. Probably.

Fluids!

This is counterbalanced, however, by an inordinate amount of Coke Zero. I usually have a can for breakfast and another can at lunch. Sometimes there's an afternoon Zero as well if the day's really dragging.

Since my diet is low in barley, spirulina, alfalfa and other grassy, mossy, green goodness, I add a couple scoops of GreenSuperFood to my water every now and then.



Not evaluated by the FDA. Winning.



Basically, PURE, UNEVALUATED LIFE!

Other sources of fluids come from Crystal Light, Vitamin Water Zero, hot tea and Sprite Zero. Let's just say my colleagues refer to the bathroom as my second office because I'm in there so much. 

The following pictures are the highlights of my day. I absolutely adore coming home and finding these faces on the balcony. Roger (the doxie) has the loudest bark, and Benny has the cutest, most muffled little bark. Roger looks like a crow and Benny looks like a gargoyle. They just crack me up and make my day so much better!

Hope you had a great Monday! Remember, Tuesday is the most productive day of the week, so make it count! 

Houma

For no discernable reason, I’ve really enjoyed my time in Houma. The fellas here are so interesting and not very couth or pleasant, but I’ve loved meeting them and entering their world. From my perspective, Houma is synonymous with dust, oil and too-old, two-lane roads. For them, it’s home. Beautiful, comfortable home. It’s where they grew up, fell in love and made a living. I can’t wait to get back to high heels, an office obsessed with cleanliness and food that comes with the option of no fat, no butter, no salt and no cheese; these guys probably couldn’t see the logic or appeal in such a place at all. One’s not better than the other in any way, and I’m thankful and inspired that happiness comes in different forms for every single person on God’s green Earth.

I didn’t give up anything for Lent this year. Sacrificing Diet Coke/Coke Zero has been traumatic enough for my diet. Instead, I’m eating at least one veggie a day, and salad, carrots and potatoes don’t count! This will probably end up being a futile attempt to expand my vege horizons,but I have to at least try because pretty much the only vegetables I’ll eat are lettuce, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and bell peppers.

I met a woman recently who practices Holy Yoga, hatha yoga where you chant and meditate on scriptures and Biblical principles. She’s getting certified and hopes to open a studio – so cool! Her testimony is full of stories and thoughts I can relate to and grow from, so I’m super pumped that we had a random, yet honest, vulnerable, encounter.

LOST. ZOMG. Brain explosion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m driving back to Houston tomorrow. Makes me miss our roadtrip. I can’t wait for the next......................