Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Physically Fit

I don't look particularly physically fit.  If I saw me walking down the street I wouldn't think, "Oh, she's obsessed with fitness and nutrition."  But I am obsessed.  I absolutely LOVE working out.  Sure, there are some days that I feel less than thrilled about the prospect of beginning a workout, but once I finish, I sure am glad that I started.  And when I go a few days without moving my body or eating poorly, I can tell in my mood.  I feel upset and agitated easily.  It really is an addiction and I go through with drawls after just a few days.

I have been working out consistently for the last 5 years.  I've gone through periods where I don't work out for a few weeks, but I've been pretty consistent about it since 2007.  I really got into it about a year and a half ago when I began going to circuit and I met fantastic people.  Then I learned about weight lifting and proper form and how you get more bang for your buck than just running constantly.  The act of lifting things up and setting them back down feels good and it makes me feel powerful.  I'm not really good at doing much, but I found that when I am in the gym or outside on a run, I have a self confidence that I lack everywhere else.

A year ago, when the 49ers were in the running for the Super Bowl, our trainer had us do what she called the "49er Workout."  She set up several different circuits that we had to complete 49 reps at each one.  She gave us 30 minutes to complete this.  It is almost like a Crossfit workout in a way, that you are competing with time and with yourself.  I was so disappointed last year because I was unable to complete all of the reps at all of the stations.

Tonight, she did it again, since they are playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Tonight, I not only completed the workout, I went and did 25 more reps of more than half of the circuits.  Now, maybe the circuits were different, and maybe I used less weight, but I still completed it with 7 minutes left to go.  I was so proud of myself.  All of this after I had run 3.1 miles.  I am only ever competitive with myself, so to beat my own butt by so much felt really, really good.  I've been in a very good mood ever since.  I'm not the most physically fit person in the world.  I'm not even close.  There are so many things I'd probably be terrible at (biking is one of them), but the fact that I have come so far in just a year makes me feel like I might actually be getting somewhere with my fitness goals.

My run before the class.

I may not look super fit, but knowing that my body can keep me going for several miles or that I can complete a daunting workout with time to spare makes me feel fit.  That might be more important to me than looking fit, although, that would be nice.

Other than that accomplishment, I spent some of the afternoon working on my application.  Today, I applied to the university and got stuff organized to get my fingerprints taken.  I still need to finish my letter of intent, but that is incredibly close to being done.  I have been going over and over in my head about how to finish it and I think I've finally decided what to say.  Just have to type it.  I feel like my whole life is revolving around this application and worrying about what's next.  It's nice at the very end of the day to finally sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and watch stupid TV.  I totally screwed up my knitting last night and I am not experienced enough to know how to fix it.  I hope it is fixable.  I know boy's mom can fix it without even thinking about it.

Tonight's dinner was chicken burgers with guacamole and salad.  It was a great post-workout meal.

Because everyone likes a food picture.

Now it is time to relax and let my muscles heal.  I can already tell I won't be wanting to move much tomorrow.  I've got to take it easy the next two days so that I don't keel over on our 9 mile run.  I am totally nervous, but my body is really nice to me and will allow me to finish, even if I'm slow.






Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Routine

I live for routine.  I am not into change of any kind.  If my day gets thrown off, I can live with it, it's not the end of the world, but in my mind I get kind of upset.  I take it personally.  I don't know why I am this way and I wish I could be a spur of the moment kind of gal, but I'm definitely not.  So, the past two days have been very much the same as the other days I've talked about.  I go to work, come home, work out, make dinner, work on my application, lay in bed.  This is existing, but not exactly "living."  I can't wait until I have the means to actually live and experience things.  Hopefully, I will be lucky enough and brave enough to do so.  Until then, I am happy in my routine.

Yesterday was Monday.  It was as good as any Monday.  One of the best parts about my job (besides the kids and the fantastic people I work with) is that I rarely sit down.  We go constantly and on Mondays it's even more so.  The day goes quickly and soon, it's Tuesday.

Yesterday, as all Mondays are, was shoulder day.  I came home, got in my work out clothes, and forced the boy into some as well.  I always do a 10 minute warm up.  He tried to get me to warm up my doing some jiu jitsu with him, but laying on the ground getting knocked around definitely is not my thing.  It's also not my routine.  I worked my butt off while he dilly dallied and then in the middle went and made some food.  This cracked me up.  He was lifting and taking breaks to eat.  Only he would do that.  It's the thought that counts and the fact that he was willing to spend time with me, especially since he left for work for three days this morning.

Shoulder press is my weakest move.

So focused.

The boy and his Barbie weight.

When we were done, we went to the grocery store so he could get food to take to work and I got some vegetables and fruit since we were running low.  My part of the shopping cart was filled with fruits, veggies, some greek yogurt, and fermented drinks.  His part of the shopping cart had cup-o-noodle, taquitos, and creme puffs.  The dichotomy of our basket was hilarious.  He did text me this evening to tell me that he did, in fact, get some real food.  He made himself bacon wrapped steak, which I am quite jealous I didn't get to eat.

One part is mine, one part is his.


For dinner, we had some delicious Bacon and Green Chile Meatloaf and salad.  I found all of my recipes for this week off of a website called Fast Paleo.  It has some really great options for dinner.  I like them on Facebook and they are constantly posting these fantastic looking meals and I've been trying to eat at least 80% clean.  I still love my dairy in the morning and my chocolate at the end of the day.  Oh, and my whey protein.  

A big loaf of meat.

My plate.

After dinner, we laid down and caught up on How I Met Your Mother and started the newest episode of Suits.  I was out like a light as soon as Suits began.  It was only 9.  I could not keep my eyes open and I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until I woke up and realized he had finished that episode and had moved onto The Walking Dead.  I was confused as to why there were suddenly Zombies in a show about lawyers for a minute.  I fell right back to sleep.

Today, the boy left for work, which means I have the afternoons to myself for the next few days.  My cousin cancelled on me due to not feeling well, but I did the workout we would have done anyway.  We typically do chest/triceps, legs/core.  I did 4 circuits of 4 exercises.  I was so completely dead by the end of it.  I was proud of myself for working so hard, when in the past I would have used her canceling on me as an excuse to just not work out.  But I really, really want to complete this challenge I have set up for myself.  

The cat likes to help me out.

Hip thrusters hurt.

This is what I look like after I complete my ab workout.

My workout today.

When that was done, I decided to work on my application a little bit.  I've decided to work on it a little bit each day so that I don't get frustrated and wear myself out before I even get in the program.  It's a long application, but I hope to get it in by the end of February, just so I have it off my chest.  Of course, I am taking the big test at the end of March, but I just have to have signed up for it to turn in my application.  The biggest thing I keep forgetting to do is actually apply to the university.  I must do that tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner was called "Quick Chicken Hot Pot."  I LOVE hot pot.  I love most Asian inspired dishes, but I've been to an actual hot pot down south and I became obsessed with it.  This was essentially chicken soup, but it was so good.  

In the pan.

In my bowl.

Now, my plan is to knit like an old lady and catch up on cheesy TV shows that the boy doesn't like watching with me.  Tomorrow is the middle of the week already.  I can't believe it.


Sunday, January 27, 2013

No Sleep Saturday and Sunday

So, after posting on Friday, I went back out and got into a better mood.  I ended up being awake until 2:30, meaning I had been awake for 20 hours with a heavy workout included.  I was so tired, I was out cold.  Unfortunately, I had to be up at 8 because I had to be at the college by 9:30 to take a test prep class.  I am so nervous about this test.  It's incredibly expensive, so I would rather not take it more than once.  But there is so much covered on it that it's hard to know if I will pass in one go.  So, I trudged my tired butt there and I actually feel a little better about the test now that I know what to expect.

After that, I had told my beautiful friend that I would help her move some stuff.  A bunch of heavy lifting later, we had packed up a lot of it and transfered it to her new place.  I hadn't seen her in several months and it was nice to catch up.  She's one of those friends I can go a year without seeing and we can pick up right where we left off.  She's simply an amazing soul.

I left and finally got home around 3:30.  I debated whether or not to go for a run.  I hadn't done any actual "exercise," unless you count walking around campus and helping her move.  But, I just could not bring myself to go, so I laid down and slept for an hour instead.  It was the best choice I've made in a long time.  My body is so run down, I needed a break from actual exercise.

The boy had bought me tickets to see the band Slightly Stoopid for my birthday back in December.  We both love this band.  I used to listen to them over and over again in Santa Barbara, so their music brings back a lot of memories.  So, I ate dinner, got ready, and we left.

After an hour drive and standing in the cold making new friends, we were finally inside.  This is where I was extra glad I hadn't ran because I immediately began dancing and didn't stop for four hours.  This counts as my 30 minutes of fitness for the day.  We right up front, touching the stage.  At most concerts I've been to that you can choose where you stay, I've been at the front.  I am such a huge fan of concerts and dancing like a fool, that I really immerse myself into the whole thing.  I'm exhausted by the end of it because I am such an introvert, but for the hours that I am experiencing the live music, I'm an extrovert.  Boy and I danced and danced and screamed the lyrics and had a fantastic time, just the two of us.  It's really hard sometimes when we don't see each other for several days and then we both go off to do our own thing (he's started getting really into jiu jitsu and yesterday was his brother's birthday, so he spent all day with him).  It sometimes feels like we rarely actually spend time together.  So this was really special.  I even got a pick off of the stage for my brother, who plays guitar.  At the end of the concert, the band members came out to thank everyone and we had a nice conversation with the lead guitarist.  I like performers who appreciate and recognize their fans.  If it weren't for us, they would be nowhere, so it's always great when they come and hang out with the crowd afterward.

Such a good spot.


Us dancing.

So good.

I like how normal they look.

The concert got over at 12:30 and we still had an hour long car ride home.  I think I fell asleep 10 minutes in and was out like a light the entire ride home.  I crawled into bed at 2 again and fell asleep.  I had to be up at 8:30 to meet my lovely running partner at our gym to go for our 7 mile run.  I actually got out of bed feeing totally refreshed.  I even dreamed and remembered it.  We went for our run and it was sunny and beautiful the entire time.  It was a really great run for me.  I felt energized the whole time, but as soon as it was over and I sat in my car to go home, I was hit by a wave of total exhaustion that has stayed the rest of the day.

I got home, showered, and headed to boy's mom's house for brunch where we feasted on delicious frittata, brussels sprouts (my favorite, I kid you not), and guacamole.  After that run, it was an amazing meal.  We watched a movie and his mom and I knitted while the boys actually payed attention.  

My meal.


We came home and I planned the weeks meals before heading off to my dad's house for dinner.  He made wonderful individual meatloafs with preccuito on top, broccoli, a salad, a spaghetti squash.  I ate way, way, way too much and I am still feeling the effects of it 2 hours later.  He helped me with some of my application and then we left.  

Dad in his natural habitat.

Now it's off to dreamland for me.  I am sure I will fall asleep as soon as the light is out, just to wake up far too soon and begin my week all over again.  All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Rain

Friday came so fast this week.  Only working 4 days (3 with kids) will make that happen.  It also rained.  So we were inside all day.

I was going to go to the gym after work, but then I realized I didn't have any headphones which are a must if I am going to workout at the gym.  So I went to the store and then went home to do back and biceps.  I love back and bicep day.  Moe helped me work out today.  He's such a good dog.  Little dogs are usually really picky about who they like, but he will literally love anyone if they pet him.  He also only barks when people walk into the house.  I will literally forget about him for hours when he's outside because he doesn't make a sound.

Moe likes to pump iron.

Best part of working out at home.  No shoes.

Today's workout.

Tonight, I picked up a roasted chicken because I was way too lazy to actually cook.  I did chop up some veggies to roast and made a salad because I have been on a huge vegetable kick.  I think it's my body wanting vitamins.  I swear I am fighting off the flu.  It's really going around work and it's hitting people hard.  I've been so tired and just lathargic and boring lately.  I literally just want to lay in bed and sleep.  But I haven't gotten the chills and the fever.  So I think my body is fighting super hard to stay healthy.  I need to be nicer to my body.  It has been really nice to me.

Tonight's meal.

Tonight's meal on my plate.

My brother decided to have people over at my dad's house tonight, so that is currently where I am.  Since I am feeling so not social and so tired and I have to be up at 8 tomorrow morning for a workshop about the test I have to take in a few months for my application, I am holed up in a room.  I was social for about 3 hours.  I am also the oldest person here by about 3.5 years.  I feel like such an old, boring lady.  My mood is pretty terrible right now.  I probably shouldn't be blogging.  I'm not my normal, optimistic, happy self at the moment.  I don't like it.

The children playing King's Cup.

So now, my grandma butt is going to crawl into bed and hope that in the morning I am in a better mood.







Thursday, January 24, 2013

Almost the Weekend Again

I cannot believe that it is almost the weekend again.  These weeks go by so, so fast.  Work was great, as always.  The kids have been fantastic lately, and that always makes for a pleasant work experience.  We have a Winter show next week that we have been practicing for.  I now have Somewhere Over the Rainbow playing over and over again in my dreams.

I had packed my gym clothes in the morning because I figured I would go to my dad's house and run.  It was really gross outside all morning and threatening to rain.  But then, the clouds opened up right as I was getting off work and I took that as a sign to go running outside.  I really should be running outside since the race is outside and up a bunch of hills and on the beach (agggh!), so I should be getting used to the elements.  I was so tired I could hardly think, but I immediately got into my clothes and began running because I knew if I sat down that would be it.  I felt like I was going incredibly slowly and I was discouraged, but when I was done, I looked at my pace and it was much faster than I have been going lately.  This was so rewarding.

Finally done with the run.

34 minutes felt like FOREVER.


Boy came home from work today, which is always exciting.  I came home two two monitors and a computer taking up my room.  After my run, I laid down and napped with him.  I never, ever nap.  I find it so hard to sleep in the middle of the day.  But today I was asleep in 10 seconds and woke up about a half an hour later thinking it had only been 3 seconds.  Those are always really good naps.  But I was still tired.  My body needs rest, I think.




This is what I came home to.

For dinner tonight, I made Spicy Fajita Stew.  It was basically chili, but it was delicious.  Of course, I paired it with a salad.  I still have the appetite of a large man, so I snacked on green beans and carrots while cooking dinner.  I can seriously eat so much these days.  I don't know what it is.  Maybe it's the cold wanting me to store up for winter.  My coworker said she's been eating like crazy too, so I'm glad it's not just me.

Fajita Stew.

After dinner, I raced off to Knit N Sip with the boy's mom.  She has been teaching me how to knit and I am totally addicted.  She has been asking me to go with her to this thing for a few weeks now and I have always forgotten about it and made other plans.  But tonight, I planned around it and the boy went to jiu jitsu, so it was perfect.  There were so many people there and they were talking about things way beyond my skill level, but I felt totally welcomed and loved.  I also wasn't the youngest one there, so that was pretty awesome.



The mom fixing my mistakes....

Now it's time to cuddle and fall asleep before I have to wake up and do it all over again.




Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A short post.

Nothing too overly exciting happened today.  It was raining, so we stayed inside most of the day at work.  It seems that literally everyone is sick.  Either out with the nasty flu that's going around or coughing and sneezing and having a stuffy nose.  I've been blowing some lovely dark yellow stuff out of my nose all day today, which makes me think maybe I have a sinus infection.  I've never had one before, but all of the google searches I've done (yes, I googled it) have said that this is a sign of a sinus infection.  I also had a terrible headache this morning, but it went away.  It came back this evening while I was exercising, so I figured I was dehydrated.  I've drank tons of water and it still hasn't gone away.   I like to just wait things out because I don't enjoy going to the doctor.  I don't have a GP, which makes things even more annoying since I have to go to a clinic and I've never had a very good time at the clinic.

I had promised that I would actually go to the gym today.  I've gotten into such a routine of coming home and beginning my work out that I had about an hour and a half on my hands that I didn't know what to do with.  So, I made a snack and sat down at my computer to try and figure out my transcript situation and work on my application.

My delicious snack.

Everyone at the gym about had a heart attack that I was back.  I really, really love my circuit class.  It felt like home, like I hadn't missed a single day.  I love the motivation from the other people and I love the trainer.  I began this class at the competing gym across town, but the trainer switched jobs and basically her entire class followed her.  We are very loyal.  My workout partner and I were both wearing purple as well as the trainer, so we all matched.  It was adorable.  I definitely missed having my butt kicked.  

Back at it.

We all matched.  So cute.

I came home to a delicious dinner of cheesy chicken casserole.  My family and I have been obsessed with cheese, so I picked out this recipe.  It's chicken, greek yogurt, beans, canned chilies, and rice.  And of course, cheese.  It was so, so good.  I have the appetite of a 200 pound man this week for some reason.  I just want to eat and eat and eat.  So I've been trying to snack on lots of veggies.  It gives me that crunch that I need.  I made a huge salad to go along with the casserole and munched on about 300 green beans while I was chopping veggies.

So good.

My plate.

After dinner I checked my email because I am waiting for a reply from the college and I saw that I had received an email from the gym telling me that they had not seen me in awhile and wanted to keep me motivated with my fitness goals.  I thought this was both ironic (because I had just come home from the gym) and hilarious (because I have worked out every single day for almost a month.  Thank you, gym, for the helpful tips to keep me on track.  I am so glad they think I'm lazy simply because I haven't gone to the gym.

The email.

Hopefully by tomorrow, my headache will have disappeared.  I am planning on running for an hour again since I haven't ran since Sunday.  It's already almost Thursday.  Boy comes home from work tomorrow and I will be going to a knitting class with his mom.  I am such an old lady, but I have no shame.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Almost Like Another Day Off

Not only did we have a three day weekend, our district planned an inservice day for today, so the kids didn't come to school today.  We spent the first half of our day at our county resource center learning about what's available to us as educators and the second half of our day in the classroom prepping and cleaning.  It's always nice to have a day where the adults can talk and spend time with one another.  Most of our days are so busy and obviously centered around the children that we have no time to catch up and discuss students, except for one half hour meeting a week.

Tuesday is the day my cousin and I have started working out together.  She came over and we set up a pretty good circuit routine.  We do 4 exercises in each round and we do each round 3 times.  We did 4 rounds, so we ended up doing 16 exercises three times each.  We alternated between upper body and lower body, with one round focusing purely on the core.  I'm not a big fan of core exercises, since the big compound lifts should work the core enough, but these were pretty good.  And with all the running I've been doing, I should add in some extra core work.

Tried to get a picture of our set up and my cousin.  Didn't work so well.  We didn't just use a tiny kettlebell...


Definitely not looking forward to this workout.  Too tired.

Keeping track of what we did.


I was pretty tired before we started and I was even more exhausted afterward.  I'm definitely still fighting something.  I almost wish my body would let me get full blown, knock down sick so that I can get over it and not have this lethargic feeling constantly for several weeks.  Came to find out that the majority of the people in my classroom were also feeling sick and fighting something off all weekend.  No fun.

For dinner I made lemon-garlic shrimp with vegetables.  I've been trying to add way more vegetables to my diet.  I already ate a lot, but I constantly snack on fruit, so I am trying to switch to veggies.  I love carrots and green beans.  This recipe was delicious and I added way more veggies than it called for.  I also added rice because I'm a little carb obsessed and rice is my go-to carb since I don't eat gluten.  It was a really great light dinner.



Finished product.

I spent the rest of my time this evening filling out my credential program application.  I was supposed to do it last year, but my heart wasn't really in it and I still had my position in my very favorite classroom for one more year and I needed to save up money because I won't be able to work and student teach at the same time.  But I went and talked to my principal this morning about options and I really need to start filling this out.  So, I signed up for the big scary test in March and will be going to a study session on Saturday.  I am really serious about it this time.  I spend 20 minutes on the phone of my university trying to get my password so that I could print out transcripts, but it would not let me sign in, so I have to call back tomorrow.  I will also have to have all of my transcripts sent AGAIN as I did last year.  I find this completely crazy because I completed my undergrad at this school, so they have at least three copies of my transcripts already.  It's super frustrating.

It's happening.

I am now in bed completely exhausted.  I am in shock that tomorrow is already Wednesday!  Seriously, where do the days go?  



Monday, January 21, 2013

No Work Monday

It was so nice this morning to be able to turn off my alarm when it went off and go back to sleep.  I was in a deep sleep this morning when my mom came in to tell me the inauguration was starting on TV.  I looked at my clock and it was only 8.  I was planning on sleeping in as long as I could, but I felt that I should be a good American citizen and watch it.  I got a fair amount of knitting done while watching it, so that felt pretty good.

When it was over, I crawled back into bed hoping to get some sleep, but I was already wide awake and couldn't will myself back to bed.  So I got up and lifted some weights.  I hadn't lifted in a few days, so it felt really good to pick up some heavy things and put it back down again.

The mushrooms were ready to harvest this morning, so boy picked them and then measured them.  They were 8 inches tall!  It was pretty sad to see them get picked, but hopefully a new batch will start again soon and this time we know what we're doing, so hopefully more will grow.

Our ginormous mushrooms next to a ruler.

Yesterday, I read in the newspaper that a new Mongolian BBQ place had opened up in the town next to ours.  I got so excited, I asked my family if they wanted to go to it for dinner tonight.  Well, my brother had to work tonight, so we ended up going for lunch.  Mongolian BBQ has a really special place in my heart.  When I was going to school in Santa Barbara, I would visit my step-sister on a pretty regular basis in Long Beach.  We found this amazing little hole in the wall place in Inglewood that looked as though we may get shot walking into it, but it was so delicious the first time that it became our spot to eat whenever I visited.  We would stuff ourselves then got back to her apartment and eat Pinkberry out of containers that she got to take home every night when she got off work.  It definitely brings back some pretty good memories each time I eat at a Mongolian BBQ restaurant.  Plus, you can make it as healthy or as unhealthy as you want.  I never put noodles in mine and I load up on the meat and veggies.  It was the perfect lunch (plus I hadn't eaten a proper breakfast).  And it was cheap!  It was less than $40 for the four of us.  They are brand new so they are still trying to figure things out, but they will get the hang of it in no time.

Before shot.

After shot.

When we were finished with lunch, we went to our local, organic frozen yogurt shop on the other side of town and the boys and my mom got yogurt.  I opted out, as I usually do when it comes to ice cream type stuff.  Then we walked to a little park and enjoyed the sunshine.  It was an abnormally warm day for January.  I hardly even needed a jacket, and that is saying something.

64 degrees in January is really rare.

We got back home just in time for the boy and me to leave again to go on a coffee date with my good friend who I've known since 1st grade.  She has a new boyfriend, so it was time for me to meet him.  I love seeing this friend.  She is absolutely hilarious and I am always laughing super hard when we are together.  Her mom and I work in the same classroom, so it's good that we have that connection too.  It's funny that I work with two of my friend's moms, so I see their parents more than I see them.


The boys got bored with our girl talk.



This is what I look like every time we hang out.

It was dinner time when we got home.  Since we had gone out to lunch, we didn't really plan on making a huge dinner.  Boy cooked up the mushrooms in coconut oil infused with garlic, some salt, and pepper.  They were so delicious.  I roasted cauliflower and broccoli, made some eggs, cut up some carrots and apples, and ate some nuts.  It was a great snack dinner.  Some nights those are the best.


Boy preparing mushrooms.

My dinner.

Tomorrow is an inservice day, which means we have to go to work, but the kids won't be there.  I have an appointment first thing in the morning with my principal to talk about my future and getting my teaching credential.  I am really nervous about this.  I shouldn't be nervous, I know exactly what to say, but it feels like I am going in for a job interview, when really it's just me finding out what is possible and what would be the best way to go about getting my credential, since there are a few different ways.  Everything always works out the way it should.