An Extra Saturday

This weekend is a three day weekend, which means today was like another Saturday.  It's always really nice to know that I can relax and not worry about falling asleep at a certain time and having an extra day to sleep in is always fantastic.

Today started early for me.  After finally falling asleep at around 12:30, I woke up wide awake at 7:50. I laid there trying to fall back asleep, but just could not.  My nose was extra stuffy and my annoying swollen glad was giving me a huge headache.  So I just laid there on my computer until 9 when the boy had to wake up because we had to be to his mom's house by 10 for our weekly brunch.

Of course, the first thing we did was check on the mushrooms.  They literally have been growing before our eyes and everyone in our house has become super excited about them.  They are actually supposed to be growing in clusters, but we've only got three good ones growing.  We think they weren't packaged right, but it's seriously amazing to watch them grow.  Most plants don't grow that quickly.

They're really pretty!

Then we went to his mother's house where she had frittata in the oven and lots of coffee for us.  I had asked her to teach me how to knit a hat earlier in the week, but I had to cancel because I didn't want to spread my nasty germs to her, so that's what we did while we waited for breakfast to cook.  Ben was kind enough to help his grandma put seats back into her van that she had taken out for a trip and then stack wood.  It's really nice to have bonding time with his mom.  She's one of the sweetest people I have ever met.  She's so selfless and just loves so easily.  She has really helped me feel at home and very welcome in their family.  She also bought me some knitting needles and helped me get started on the hat.

Frittata, coffee, and knitting.  Perfect for a Sunday morning.

Boy's grandma came from her house to visit for awhile with her three adorable Boston Terriers.  I LOVE Boston Terriers.  They are so sweet and hilarious.  I was covered in dogs for about 20 minutes.  It's a bit overwhelming, but I love it.

Can you tell I'm a bit sick?

There they all are.  So much action everywhere!

I sat and knit for about an hour while boy stacked more wood.  It was gorgeous outside and it was very nice to soak up some much needed vitamin D.  I lost energy really quickly all of a sudden, so I told boy I wanted to go home and nap.  Some time between leaving his house and getting back to my house, my lack of energy turned into antsyness and I needed to move my body.  Boy did not like the idea of me running, but I still got into my clothes and hopped on my dad's treadmill.  I'm still not ready to brave the chill in the air.  I usually MUCH prefer running outside, but I already should be taking a break, so running with a chill in the air is even worse.  The boy came in at about 40 minutes and told me I had to stop and threatened to unplug the treadmill.  But I won, and ended up running the full hour that I planned on running.  I felt SO much better after running.  

There I am in all my glory.

Today's damage.

My dad made a fantastic dinner of salmon, shrimp, chopped salad, and gluten-free cornbread with jalapenos.  I think shrimp is my favorite sea food, so I went a little overboard with the shrimp.  But it was SO good.  We also had fruit and whipped cream again for dessert.

Dad working away in the kitchen.

Boys doing their boy thing and watching football.

After dinner, I spent another hour knitting my hat while boy played chess with my step mom.  Now we are home and I am distractedly trying to blog about my day.  Tomorrow is another lovely day off.  Hopefully I can sleep in a little bit.

Day Off

I told myself I would take the day off today from anything hardcore physical.  I have gone really hard since before the first of the year, which is never great for your body.  Now I am paying for it with this obnoxious cold thing I have.  My body is working extremely hard to rid itself of the nasty stuff, which is resulting in HUGE glands which hurt and clog up my ear.  I also have absolutely no energy.

The morning began with a lovely breakfast out with my friend and her husband and the boy.  I should not have gone out and spread my germs everywhere, but the thought of making breakfast was daunting.  It was wonderful to catch up with them and we had some good laughs.  I also had a delicious breakfast.

Breakfast: Two eggs over easy, 4 chicken apple sausages, homemade applesauce.  I try not to eat potatoes, so I had a few bites of those.

After breakfast, I knew I couldn't sit around all day.  I just can't without feeling horrible about myself and getting antsy.  So, I made boy go to the same spot we did last week for a walk.  He brought his long board and I brought Moe and we walked the entire trail, which is only three miles, but at least I was able to move my body without stressing it out.  Plus, it was gorgeous outside and I would not have been able to sit in my dark room all day without feeling somewhat depressed.  Plus I got to practice my nonexistent longboarding skills.  

There he goes!

The Moe Moe is such a trooper

Trying not to kill myself.

Pro status.

When we were through with our walk, we went to the natural food store and stocked up on vitamin C and fruit.  I bought lots of oranges for and extra vitamin C boost, blueberries, and some green tea.  I would really like to be healthy by tomorrow so I can do something a little more physically demanding than a 35 minute walk (buuuuut it counts in my 365 days of fitness!).

I decided to try a recipe I found on a Paleo website a couple of days ago that is basically just egg, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, and blueberries baked in the oven.  They were incredibly simple and actually quite tasty.  My mom hated them, she said they tasted like "caca."  But she definitely eats more sugar than I do and I eat a lot more eggs than her.  I have cocoa powder and eggs and blueberries in my smoothie every morning, so this was basically just baking my smoothie!  

This is the finished product.

Ate one with my green tea.

After that, I finally willed myself to lay down and watch the latest episode of Suits with the boy.  When that was over, I got up again and we worked on the annoying puzzle we started a couple of weeks ago but haven't finished because it's really hard.  Like, incredibly complex.  But, it's something that we actually do TOGETHER.  Most of the time we are sitting on our computers or playing on our phones in each other's presence, but we aren't actually paying attention to one another.  In this day in age, it's so hard to just BE.  That's what I loved about visting the San Juan Islands last summer (among many, many other reasons).  My phone didn't work and internet was limited, so I was forced to just be and exist and listen to people.  It was beautiful.  It's alway fantastic when we just give each other one on one, undevided attention.

My mom had invited some good friends over for dinner and game night.  So I put on my Saturday best (pj pants and a hoodie), and was as social as I could be.  We ended up having DELICIOUS homemade Thai food and playing two games.  It was way past my bedtime by 9, but I stuck it out to be polite through the last game that finally ended at 10:30.

This was a good game.

So, here it is, 11:30 and I'm still awake.  The cold gets worse at night, so I'm feeling extra horrible.  My day off didn't end up being too much of a day off, but it was as much as I could handle.  I hope I wake up magically better so I can run or lift or do anything that doesn't involve sitting around all day eating.  

Freezing Cold Friday

It has been cold.  For a long time, it feels like.  I believe that it has only been a week since it snowed in the mountains that I can see from my house, but it's still there.  Usually it only lasts a day or so.  So it has been REALLY cold down here by the ocean.  This makes working literally on the beach pretty cold.  I was doing squats and lunges and running in place to stay warm at recess.  Fridays are usually pretty low-key and today was no different.

As soon as I got off work, I drove to my dad's to hop on the treadmill.  It was incredibly foggy and extra cold on the beach, so I knew I would not be able to force myself outside to have my fingers freeze and my stuffy nose run down my face, so I opted for the treadmill again.  I was only going to go for a short 30-40 minute run, but it got to 45 minutes somehow and then I thought, an hour is only 15 minutes away and just went for it.  Most of my run was at a 2.0 incline, but I bumped it up to 5.0 for 10 minutes and 8.0 for ten minutes.  I am terrified of the hill climb in this race, so if I'm not running outside, I've got to get some incline in.  Running this long was probably a bad idea, because when I hopped off the treadmill, my nose was even more stuffed and I sounded like a 6-pack-a-day smoker.  My dad walked into the house when I had finished and told me I sounded horrible and that he would give me a hug, but he didn't want to get sick.  It was about then that I admitted defeat and have been telling people I'm sick and just want to lay in bed all day tomorrow.

Treadmill picture.

Say Yes To The Dress in the background.  Silly TV is on at 2:30 in the afternoon.

 I went home to make a new recipe that I found online.  I didn't realize how long it would take, and it ended up being me in the kitchen for an hour and a half when all I wanted to do was lay down and give into my sickness.  I made a spaghetti squash torta.  It ended up being really fantastic, if I do say so myself.  I adore squash and have been slightly obsessed with cheese lately, so mixing the two was great.  Boy stopped by for about 20 minutes after he got off work before he zoomed off to jui jitsu.  This was not long enough to see him after three days, but he should be back fairly soon.

The kitchen mess.

 While it was cooking, I tried to look for recipes for next week, but after spending so long in the kitchen, the last thing I wanted to think about was cooking again.  This will be tomorrow's project while I am sitting around all day.  My right lymph node in my neck is so swollen it hurts.  This is so annoying.  I don't get sick often.  But I think my body is trying to tell me to stop beating it up.

Finished product.  Not as pretty as the recipe picture.

Paired it with a salad.

The mushrooms have grown extra large today.  My mom finally noticed them and got really excited and called everyone into the living room.  Old news, mom, thank you.  It was really cute how excited she was.  They are super pretty.  It makes me kind of sad that there are only 3 of them that we will probably be able to eat.  Boy thinks they probably weren't packaged correctly, so they aren't growing the way they are supposed to.  

They're huge!

Now my eyelids are heavy and I can't concentrate on anything except for the fact that I can't breathe correctly through my right nostril.  I'm going to curl up under my covers and wait for the boy to get here to cuddle.  

Not Too Much To Say

I very much enjoy blogging.  I look forward to getting into bed at night and writing about my day.  But I've realized that most of my days are much like every other day and that may get boring to read.  I have many topics floating around in my head to write about and maybe some day soon I will write about them.  But today is not that day, not when I am so tired I could fall asleep this moment, in the middle of typing.

My nose is still a little clogged.  I've been blowing it so much it's beginning to get raw underneath my nostrils.  Thank you very much, cheap kleenex at work.  It was FREEZING today.  I wear so many layers to work that I look about 20 pounds heavier than I actually am.  Today I was wearing my leggings, wool socks, jeans, tight thermal black shirt, two other long sleeve shirts, a hoodie, and a Columbia jacket.  When we go outside, I put on gloves and a hat.  And I was still doing squats and butt kicks to keep warm.  Luckily, I get to do plenty of walking, but it was so brisk I could hardly move.

This made getting home to a freezing cold house and stripping layers incredibly hard.  If I wasn't trying so hard to do this 365 day challenge, today would have been a crawl in bed with tea and my computer type of day.  But, I really, really want to complete this.  I am horrible at completing things I start.  I've tried to learn the guitar, started crocheting hats, started knitting a scarf, ect.  The only things I have actually completed have had to do with exercise (I completed a 100 day burpee challenge back in July. Worst. Idea. Ever.).  I think this is because I like to challenge myself and see where my body can take me.  I distracted myself by checking on the mushrooms.  They had nearly doubled in size from last night, so I was pretty excited.

They don't look like they're supposed to, but at least there is something coming out of the package.

Finally, I stripped down, turned on the heater, got into work out attire, and went for it.  I was dripping with sweat within 20 minutes.  Today, I decided to write down what I was doing.  I kept track of my work out routine religiously last year from November until February.  But then my life got all jumbled up and I stopped caring a whole lot about lifting and numbers.  But today I wanted to keep track of the amount of exercises I was doing, not so much the weight I was lifting.  I did back and biceps since my legs have had quite a bit of exercise with the circuits I did on Tuesday with my cousin and the 7 mile run yesterday.

Super sets are my friend.

Once that was over with, I drank my protein shake in record time and hopped in my much desired warm shower.  I was probably in there for 25 minutes trying to take the chill off.  I dried off and got into some comfy pjs and prepared dinner.  I had invited Milo's daddy over to eat with us.  It's nice that we can still be friends.  After 6 years together, we shouldn't be anything but.  It just feels comfortable to be able to talk to a person who knows me inside and out and we don't have to try around each other.  He will probably always be my best friend.  And that's nice to know.

I also got to see my baby!

I have been experimenting with different recipes and tonight was lemon chicken with green beans and sweet potatoes.  I had an appetite today.  I ate way more than I should have before dinner, but that's okay, my body was telling me I needed calories.  Probably because I didn't eat too much yesterday, so it was trying to make up for it.

In the dish.  The bottom is coated with lemons.

Finished product on the plate with a salad.

Most of what I ate today was protein and vegetables.  As soon as I ate some nuts, I started to feel full and happy.  Then after I ate the chicken which was cooked in lots of olive oil, I FINALLY felt full.  There is something to be said about eating fat.  It definitely keeps you full.  But, unfortunately, I have a massive sweet tooth and picked at some pumpkin pie and had chocolate chips.  We only have one life to live, I might as well enjoy it without the stress of worrying about whether or not I ate too many carbs.  

After dinner, Jed and I hung out and talked some more.  Then he went home and I immediately brushed my teeth and got into bed to blog.  I did stop by the mushrooms on the way to the bathroom, just to look at them and they had gotten even BIGGER.  I am going to be sad when boy comes home and picks them, but they are going to be delicious.  

Almost doubled in size in a few hours.

Now, I am off to dream land after an episode of Grey's Anatomy.  Tomorrow is Friday.  Boy gets home and I get a three day weekend.  So much to look forward to!

Not so sick.

Well, as expected, I was out by 9:00 last night.  I pretty much fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.  I slept very well too.  I don't normally sleep as well when boy isn't here.  I did wake up once to go to the bathroom and as soon as I stood up my head started pounding and I felt sick to my stomach.  I was able to fall back to sleep rather quickly as soon as I laid down again.

When my alarm went off (way too early), the headache was still there.  It was so bad I contemplated whether or not I would be able to work because of the nausea I was feeling.  But, my work ethic got the better of me (I've only miss two days of work the entire 5 years I've been at my job) and I popped some painkillers (which I generally avoid) and went on with my morning routine.  The headache subsided before I got to work, but my right nostril was definitely stuffy and I have been blowing green snot out of it all day.  Other than still feeling tired and like I am going to sneeze constantly, I am generally okay and definitely okay to go about my daily business.

I had made plans yesterday to hang out with my beautiful friend Kate before returning from my long absence at the gym.  So, I headed to her house after work and she made me some much needed coffee and we chatted and gossiped.  We spent so much time together during Annie, it feels a little like I'm missing a limb now that it's been over.  She is so funny and kindhearted.  I just love soaking up her energy.

My own personal barista!

During our hang out time, I got a text from my workout partner saying she wasn't going to be making it to the gym.  The only reason I was going to go was so that we could work out together and push each other.  My work outs are always so much better with her.  So I decided instead to go run on the treadmill at my dad's house since it had been 2 days since my last run and I've been trying to do every other day and I didn't want to spread whatever weird germs I have at the moment to the poor people at the gym.  I WILL be going next week.  It was absolutely beautiful out, but I knew that my nose would just run non-stop and the light was getting away from me, so I chose the treadmill.  I definitely prefer outside running since the scenery is constantly changing and I don't have a clock telling me how long I HAVEN'T been running, but some days just feel like treadmill days.  Today was one of those.

My favorite running shoes.  I like shoes.  A lot.

So, I told myself before I started I would only go as long as my body would allow.  Distance didn't matter, I just really needed to get a run in today.  Well, America's Next Top Model was on and boy do I ever get sucked into that stupid show.  One time, while living in Santa Barbara, my roommates and I were planning on spending all day doing homework.  We made the mistake of watching one episode of ANTM, and low and behold 9 hours later, none of us had moved.  I think the pictures at the end are what I enjoy the most about the show.  That and the spectacle that is Tyra.  So, after an hour, I had finished 7 miles and I didn't even realize it.  I even added in a few hill climbs to keep things interesting. 

The farthest I've ran in several years.

Dad was home, so I got to hang out with him for a bit catching up and talking about my future.  I'm so terrified for next year.  I am not a huge fan of change.  I would be just fine working in the classroom I'm in now for the rest of my life.  But, I've always wanted to be a teacher, so I must move on and become one.  Figuring out HOW I am going to get my credential is another story.  I have an appointment to discuss my future with my administrator on Tuesday that I am really nervous about, so my dad was giving me tips and pointers.  He was an administrator for several years, so it's nice hearing that side of things.  

Such a chef.  Trying to make French Onion Soup tonight.

When I got home, I immediately went to check on the mushrooms.  They were even bigger tonight!  I was so excited, I texted the boy that I think I'm more excited about his mushrooms than he is.  I can't wait until he gets home and sees them in person.  He will be thrilled.  

The two biggest ones.

Tonight's dinner was taco salad.  Just what I needed after my long run.  That and grapes, which I bought at the store before coming home.  Dinner was absolutely delicious and I didn't have to make it, so that was even better.  

Yum!

Now, as always, I am in my bed, curled under my blankets ready to turn out the lights and it's only 8:45.  I simply cannot believe that tomorrow is Thursday already!  It always amazes me when we get to lunch time and it's almost time to go home how fast our days go.  I am so grateful I have a job that keeps me energized and happy.  It makes it a lot easier to crawl out of bed in the morning and start my day, even with a terrible headache and a snotty nose.

Sick?

I woke up with a sore throat this morning.  Like, out of the ordinary, probably fighting something off, sore.  I am so very lucky and am not one to get sick often, but this school year, I have already been pretty sick.  I had a strange sore throat for about three weeks.  For about 2 of those weeks I was taking 4 ibproffin to simply be able to swallow.  I was so tired all of the time and my lymph nodes in my neck were incredibly swollen.  The strep test was negative and I got tested for mono and that came out negative.  So, it was just some really annoying, really stubborn virus.  I let myself feel kind of sick and lay around on weekends, but I still had to get up and move.  One Saturday, I even threw up for the first time since I was 16!  My body was mad at me, probably because I am also one who ignores the fact that I am sick.  I can recall a day in my college career where I spent the entire day going to classes and taking notes feeling bad, but not allowing myself to think it.  I got home to find that I had a 102.2 temperature.

So, this morning, I drank tea and popped some cough drops and went to work.  It subsided a bit at work, because I am always really busy and incredibly distracted, but I did suck on cough drops and had a cup of throat coat tea during our down time in the afternoon.  I felt sluggish, but I refuse to get sick.  We have a 3-day weekend this week, so I will be sick then, if at all.

My cousin had rescheduled our workout to today, so I rushed home to be sure that I would be ready by the time she got there.  I was dragging when I got home.  More so than usual.  If Mandee had backed out, I probably would have taken Moe for a short walk and then lay down.  But, she came over and we kicked our own butts.  She is studying to become a personal trainer, so she is an awesome person to have to work out with.  We ended up choosing to do circuits of 4 moves, switching between lower and upper body.  We did 3 sets of each move in the circuit before we moved on to the next one.  It was an hour and a half of some really intense working out.  We finished it with a short, brisk walk around the block and some stretching.  The whole time, I felt great!  I didn't feel as though I was getting sick at all. By the end of the stretches, I was back to feeling super tired again.

In love with my new lifting shoes.

Bonnie helped us do our lifting.

Tonight on the menu was hamburgers and swiss chard with caramelized onions.  I showered and got in my pjs and went to work making the burgers.  I could hardly stand up by the time I was finished cooking and was so excited to stuff my face so that I could go crawl into bed.  I really, really enjoy cooking.  It's one of my favorite hobbies.  But tonight, I was really dragging and would rather have been asleep.

The finished product.

On a completely different, much more random topic, the boy is obsessed with mushrooms.  Like, tricking his girlfriend by telling her they were going for a walk on the beach but really going mushroom hunting in the woods, obsessed.  He thinks they are really neat and they do have a lot of healing properties.  And there is something totally satisfying about coming home with pounds of wild mushrooms that cost $20 a pound in the grocery store.

For Christmas, my mom got him two mushroom growing kits.  One is growing shiritaki and the other is growing oyster.  I started the oyster mushroom kit on Christmas because it said to start it no later than December 20th.  Well, it was already 5 days overdue.  It's been exactly three weeks since Christmas and this whole time I've been telling him that I think we are doing something wrong (I'm in charge of the mushrooms when he is at work....and I kill cacti...) because they were supposed to start growing within 4-7 DAYS of starting.  Absolutely nothing had been happening and the instructions didn't make and sense!

Today, I when I went to water them, I saw baby mushrooms!  I was so excited, I started jumping around.  I have NEVER gotten anything to grow before, so it was so satisfying to see something I had been taking care of actually doing what it is supposed to do.  It was very gratifying to know that I could keep a plant alive.  Maybe I'll move on to herbs next... ;-)

The baby mushrooms!

Now I am in bed, teeth brushed, ready to turn off the light and go to sleep and hope that tomorrow my sore throat is all gone and that I am just imagining the fact that my body is tired.  I'm always extra tired on Tuesdays for some reason.  That's really what's going on.  I am going to circuit for the first time in about a month and a half tomorrow.  I have to be fully prepared and ready for the torture I know that my trainer will put me through for missing so much class.  I cannot be ill.

Marvelous Monday

It was back to work today, as it is almost every Monday morning.  Mondays at work fly by since they are so busy.  I am on my feet more than I am off of them.  I really enjoy that because I love moving my body.  I can't sit still for too long or else I get restless.  I adore my job and the people that I work with.  It makes everything so much better when I actually enjoy and look forward to going to work.  I am incredibly blessed.

Around 1, tiredness hit me like a brick.  Of course, I spent the hour until I got off work debating with myself whether or not I really wanted to stick with my shoulder routine when I got home.  Of course, the answer was yes.

When I get home, I find that I need about a 20-30 minute winding down period where I don't want to talk to anyone or do anything remotely productive, like changing into my workout clothes and starting my warm up.  So, today I distracted myself by making the huge whiteboard in our pantry hallway into a menu board so that I can know exactly what I need to cook that night and what we need from the store.  I am trying to be a little more organized this year.  I also need to get my diet in order.  I need less carbs and more fat and protein.  Having this menu will definitely help keep me in check.

That's my menu.

When that was done, I forced myself into some workout clothes and got started.  All I have to do is my ten minute warm up, and I am good to go.  Today was shoulder day, so I did an hour of that.  I really, really love lifting weights.  Sometimes I feel discouraged because I can't lift as much as other women, but I still feel strong and like a badass when I have completed a workout.  I am totally addicted to picking things up and setting them back down again.  My cousin was supposed to come over and workout with me, but that got changed to tomorrow, so it was just me by myself working out while the boy played videogames the entire time.  He had jiu jitsu at 6, so he didn't want to, "tire himself out," before he went.  

Actually up out of the chair to help me with a lift.

Kettlebell shoulder press.

This is what I dealt with this afternoon. <3

We had a delicious meal of stirfry and fried rice.  I try so hard not to eat rice, but it's really one of my most favorite foods, so I can't stay away.  I caught up on some blogs (I read a lot of them) and hung out with the family giggling like we usually do.  My mom inherited a beautiful quilt wall hanging that my grandma had made for my great grandmother, so she enlisted the help of my brother.  She was standing on the buffet table, no problem, when my brother says, "I can't believe you fit there!"  This caused a long laughing fit from me, instead of being helpful.  I am so glad I was born into a family with the most fantastic sense of humor.  We laugh more than anything else.  It's really great.  

There's my tiny mom, fitting into a tiny space just fine.

Now, I am curled up in bed about to read until boy gets home from jui jitsu.  He begins a 3-day shift tomorrow morning, so I won't get to see him until Friday.  I think the fact that he works several days in a row (he worked 5 non-stop during the week of Christmas) is good.  It gives us a chance to miss each other, but it doesn't feel like forever, because my days are always so busy.  So, we will probably finish the episode of Sherlock that I fell asleep to last night and then I will roll over and go to sleep so that I can wake up and start my Tuesday.