i heart prednisone

1. 15 Spend Free Days:  I managed to keep my money in my wallet again on Wednesday!  We ran a few errands but they were all Joe motivated :-)  2 days total.

2. At least 20 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: smoothie = 203 calories

     Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwich, mini babybel & peach = 360 calories

     Dinner: grilled shrimp, brown rice & corn on the cobb = 360 calories

     Snacks: mini wheats, an oreo & chocolate peanut butter ice cream cone = 500 calories

     Totals: 2327 burned - 1441 eaten = -886 total burned, 2 days total.

Brittany was shocked when I opened up my lunch and didn't pull out a greek yogurt!  What can I say I'm a creature of habit. 

I was planning on making an eggplant lasagna for dinner but Joe got out of work early and had dinner practically ready when I got home from work.  It was super tasty and low calorie, my favorite!

I wasn't sure I was going to have the calories for it but with Joe's encouragement I splurged and got a homemade chocolate peanut butter cone instead of my standard low fat no sugar added frozen yogurt at the Custard Hut.  It was worth the risk but I got lucky and managed to burn enough to cover it!

3. Complete 1250 fitness minutes:  Seriously I could kiss the scientists that created prednisone!  I took 3 pills with dinner on Tuesday night and less then 12 hours later on Wednesday morning my rash(es) were already clearing up.  It's a wonder drug!  I still have 8 more doses, I might be like super woman by the time I'm done!  I was really thinking about going for a run or heading over to step at the gym but Joe suggested I take one more day off just to be safe.  0 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 11,000 steps for 25 days:  When Joe suggested I take another day off from working out I made him promise that we would still get my steps in and he agreed.  Then he mentioned an email he got from a local liquor store about a sale they were running that day because they had won a local award.  They were offering 25% off wine, 20% off beer & 15% off liquor; I said that was perfect we could walk over.  Joe was concerned about how we would get things home so I suggested we borrow Jack's wagon.  When I called Nicole to see if she would mind she decided to join us which is probably better because we looked slightly less crazy dragging a wagon with a kid it.

We even saw our duckling friends in the "pond" on the way there.  They're getting bigger and aren't nearly as cute anymore but Jack was still intrigued.

The owners of the store were cracking up when we arrived with our little caravan, apparently we're the first people to walk over with a wagon to buy liquor.  Who knew?

Joe ended up picking out 5 bottles of wine, a bottle of gin, a bottle of scotch & a 6 pack of beer.  I added 2 bottles of flavored vodka (blueberry & whipped cream) that will probably last me into the new year, LOL.  Turns out Jack is not a fan of having to share his wagon...

 

Luckily the fresh air seemed to make things better and he was smiling and laughing in no time.  That would have been one miserable walk home!

We made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends then headed home for the night.  I wasn't quite to 11,000 but a couple of times around the living room and up & down the stairs got me there.  11166 steps.  3 days total.  I've also started wearing my fitbit to sleep lately.  I thought I was a really good sleepier but apparently not so much.  Although I think some of the more active periods probably had to do with scratching since this graph is from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. 

5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of house work:  While I was pacing the house trying to finish up my steps I brought a bunch of stuff upstairs & cleaned up some toys Jack had gotten out.  Plus I did a load of towels; totally counts.  2 days total.

I finally give in & go to the Dr

1. 15 Spend Free Days:  I did spend some money on Tuesday.  But only about $20 and $13 of it was THE BEST money I've ever spent!  After being itchy all day and with a little encouragement from my dad & Joe, I decided to head over to Urgent Care after work.  I was in luck as there were only about 4 cars in the entire lot!  I was in and out in under an hour, it was the best doctors visit I've ever had!  The doctor said it looked like I had at least 2 different kinds of rashes maybe even 3, yuck!  He gave me a prescription for prednisone and told me to follow up with a dermatologist if necessary.  1 day total.

2. At least 20 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: smoothie = 198 calories

     Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwich & an apple = 250 calories

     Dinner: side salad w/ranch dressing, grilled chicken wrap & jr frosty = 565 calories

     Snacks: mini wheats = 150 calories

     Totals: 2176 burned - 1163 eaten = -1013 total burned, 1 days total.

My trip to the doctor threw off my evening schedule a little but it was well worth it.  I decided to pick up dinner for us at Wendy's & used the gift card I won at the Xmas in July race so it was "free".  I was very impressed with Wendy's new marketing of WendyWise 5 meals for 500 calories or less.  What a great way to show people they can still get a filling meal quickly without going out of control on your calorie count!

3. Complete 1250 fitness minutes:  I skipped a workout again because of the rash.  It got so much worse after the 5K on Sunday that I didn't want to risk what might happen if I break a sweat again, lol!  0 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 11,000 steps for 25 days:  After I got home from the doctor I stopped home to change into lighter more breathable clothes then stopped to visit Nicole & Jack on my way to CVS.  She offered to come walk with me so off we went.  I was thrilled to see my prescription was only $2.24, love my insurance!  I was tempted to take the first dose immediately but Nicole suggested I wait until I ate something.  We decided instead of heading home we'd wander the plaza across the street for a little while, getting 11,000 steps without working out is really difficult!  Our first stop was Pier 1.  I am so lucky this store is usually closed when Joe & I take our walks because I would buy everything in it!  I am in love with this fish bowl, hahaha.  I think it would be perfect filled with candy in my living room!  But for $35 I had to walk away.

I also came close to picking up a $15 fish shaped flag for the front porch but the pole cost $22 and I couldn't pull the trigger, I need to look at AC Moore next time I'm out that way, I feel like they're cheaper there.  Nicole also really wanted me to buy a $44 light up frog lawn ornament, it was cute but again, I'm trying to stop spending!  In the end I only went for a new mug.  I've always wanted to have a variety of quirky mugs as opposed to a matching set, but so far I've only got 2, lol.  I was torn between the owl & the flamingo but in the end I decided the owl was just too busy so $6 went to buy the flamingo.

About the time we finished up at Pier 1 Joe called to say he was on his way home from work so we cut our walk short and headed to Wendy's and then home to eat.  I was still quite a few steps from my goal so after dinner I hopped on the treadmill for 8 minutes and knocked out another 1000.  Then Lou, Nicole & Jack came over for some shark week so I paced the living room until I made everyone nervous.  I folded some laundry before bed but still wasn't there so I hit the treadmill for another 5 minutes until I knocked them all out.  Seriously I can't wait to be able to run again!  11125 steps.  2 days total.

5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I didn't do any dramatic cleaning, just straightened up the kitchen for dinner & folded a few loads of laundry.  I swear some day I'll have a big dramatic room makeover to share!  1 days total.

the heat rash that just keeps on giving

1. 15 Spend Free Days:  I'm a little concerned about this goal because the last time I tried it I ended up spending more on single days then I normally would spread out.  For example, I need to get gas so I'll also buy lunch & order those pants I liked since the day is shot already.  Fingers crossed that doesn't happen this time!  We visited a few stores on Monday but I didn't spend any money.  Joe paid for the calamine lotion, dinner, sunscreen & groceries!  1 day total.

2. At least 20 days with a 750+ calorie burn:

     Breakfast: smoothie = 173 calories

     Lunch: granola bar, apple & greek yogurt = 365 calories

     Dinner: spinach dip, 7oz sirloin, broccoli & baked potato = 755 calories

     Snacks: mini wheats & latte = 140 calories

     Totals: 2087 burned - 1433 eaten = -654 total burned, 0 days total.

Joe was off work on Monday which translates to his being responsible for dinner.  We decided to walk over to Applebee's and order from the 2 for $20 menu.  Most of the options in that section are very high calorie, the best I could do was the house sirloin with potato & vegetable.  I'm not going to lie it wasn't very good and I barely ate half the veggies & potato.  From now on I'll stick to ordering from the under 500 calorie section and pay a little more.

After dinner we wandered down to Starbucks for a little liquid dessert.

3. Complete 1250 fitness minutes:  My heat rash got a lot worse on Sunday night after the 5K.  I used to just have 2 small areas of bumps and now I have them all on my midsection, back & upper arms.  I was a little freaked out and thought about going to urgent care but decided to ask a nurse in my department to look at them first.  She suggested getting some calamine lotion but said there really isn't anything to do but wait it out a few days, if it gets worse I'm supposed to go to the doctor.  Since it was pretty hot & humid out I decided to skip a workout in hopes of speeding up the healing.  0 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 11,000 steps for 25 days:  Once Joe & I decided to skip running because of my stupid heat rash we had to come up with another way to get my steps in.  We figured walking to dinner was a good start but when we checked the weather there was a big storm coming our way.  So instead of walking across town and possibly getting stuck for a few hours we went across the street to Applebee's.  Then we went to Starbucks.  Then we went to Five Below.  Then we wandered every aisle of the grocery store.

The rain had let up a little by the time we left the grocery store so we took a chance and headed for home.  I hadn't heard thunder in a while so I chanced putting up my big clear umbrella but Joe ran off ahead with the groceries.

I was still about 1000 steps from my goal when we got home so I paced the living room & kitchen while playing WORDS with friends until I got there.  11,119 steps.  1 day total.

5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I was too itchy to clean anything when I got home.  Ok, that's probably not true but I did beeline it straight for the caladryl then sit in a tank top & shorts under the fan for about an hour before we left for dinner.  0 days total.

Al Mackler 5K, July goal review & new August goals

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  Ok I can't find any way to make this not count.  I went out to breakfast with my sister & Bill on Sunday morning.  21 total meals out.  Goal Failed.  I've decided that for August I'm not going to have a meals out goal.  We're going on vacation for 8 days and we will definitely be doing a LOT of eating out.  I'll probably bring it back in September because I think it's a good one for watching my calories and my money.  Instead I'm going to bring back spend free days.  I got a little panicky when I paid bills last month because my savings is lower then I'd like so I'm attempting 15 spend free days in August.

2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:

     Breakfast: egg white, broccoli & cheese omelet w/rye toast & home fries = 630 calories

     Lunch: 0 calories

     Dinner: cheddar wurst, 1/2 cheeseburger & corn on the cobb = 549 calories

     Snacks: apple, peach & cheddar popchips = 199 calories

     Totals: 2152 burned - 1378 eaten = -774 total burned, 21 days total.  Goal failed.  Again my goal choice is being effected by my vacation.  I'm obviously still going to count my calories because that's just my way of life now but I'm giving myself a little slack and lowering it to 20 days at 750+ burn.  This way I have enough cheat days to cover all of my vacation plus 3 days for the rest of the month.  I'll have to behave while I'm at home but I think that's a good counter balance to all the bad eating I'm bound to do on vacation.

3. Complete 1250 fitness minutes:  We did the Al Mackler 5K on Sunday.  941 minutes total.  Goal Failed.  I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time with fitness minutes lately.  I'm being extremely active and still losing weight but I just can't get up there.  Too many short runs I guess.  I'm keeping this the same for August.  I plan to continue my workouts as usual plus Shana & I are going to bring sneakers on vacation to hopefully get a few runs in.  I'm also hoping we'll do some other types of exercise on vacation, I've seen lots of information on hiking, biking, etc that we can take advantage of.

Anyway, back to the 5K.  My friend Christina (from the gym) does this event for her school every year and usually she walks but this time she wanted to run it so she started C25K back in May so she'd be ready.  I passed the word on to my running buddies and we had a crew of about five show up.

It was an early one!  The race was scheduled to start at 7:30am so I was out the door by 6:30, we're pretty lucky it started early because it got hot quick.  I'm a little concerned about this 5 mile race at 9:30am in August, we may all die of heat exhaustion.  I had planned to run with Christina & keep her motivated no matter how long it took us to finish.  Her goal was to be under 34 minutes so I kept an eye on my watch and planned to keep her around an 11 minute per mile pace.  Well she blew me away!  We ran at my normal 10 minute per mile pace the whole time!  I kept telling her she could slow down but she kept trucking along.  We finished in just over 31 minutes!  Seriously, it was awesome!  Although, now I know I need to push myself harder because I wasn't super winded when we finished and was able to talk to her the majority of the run.  Now I know I can absolutely go faster then I have been.

Thankfully the Hilton opened up an auditorium for everyone to cool off in after we crossed the finish line.

It was a very small race and we spanned 3 different age groups so we decided to hang out and wait for the prizes to be awarded.  Shana's cross country coach from high school won the women's overall prize.  I'm pretty sure her time was under 20 minutes!

We were pleasantly surprised to hear all of our names called!  We each placed in our age groups & Michele won her age group!  I did find it a little odd that instead of medals all the winners were given prizes.  The funniest part, I won a really nice beach towel that says "Jackson" on it.  Side note: do you know what happens when you try to leave a parking garage without cash?  When I went to leave the Hilton I realized I didn't have my wallet and they don't take credit cards (really, who doesn't take a credit card?).  I asked what I was supposed to do & she said they take my license plate number and bill me.  So now I'll be sending the Hilton a check for $10.

I had packed a beach bag so that after the race and breakfast we could go over to the beach.  I pretty much just laid on my chair and read my book the whole time.  I was exhausted!  I don't know why races wear me out, it's not like I never run in the morning.

Shana & Bill were a little more adventurous though.  They decided to take the tubes and ride the current down to the other end of the cove.  Apparently it was pretty strong and they we almost pulled too far out a few times.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  Getting my steps was extremely easy.  I think I had 8000 when I got home from the beach.  All it took was some cleaning up to knock out the rest.  I think Joe was a little bummed when he came home and asked if I needed steps and I was totally content to lay on the couch.  11123 steps.  26 days total.  Goal Achieved!  If it's not obvious, I love this goal!  I really feel like it's helping me be more active & accountable, I've really stopped sitting on my ass as much.  I'm upping it for August to 11,000 steps and hoping I'll end up with even more cheat days left over at the end of that month.

5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I did some laundry and put some shoes upstairs but to be honest I was too tired and didn't feel like cleaning.  Then Nicole & Jack stopped by and for some reason I went into a cleaning frenzy.  I think it's because we end up hanging out in the kitchen I can never hold still in there so I end up cleaning.  I even scrubbed the counters & vacuumed.  The only downside was that I had a horrible allergy attack later that evening.  I'm assuming it's from stirring up dust...I was sneezing and itchy, I took a benedryl and the stuffiness has gone away.  But I think the itchiness was my heat rash spreading from the run :-(  19 days total.  Goal Failed.  I'm going to keep this goal because I like that it gives me incentive to clean up the house.  The only thing is I'm going to have to stay on top of it because with vacation I'll only have 3 more days with no cleaning in August :-/

carbo load!

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  Joe went out and got bagels for us Saturday morning.  Now I'm saying that since I toasted & put cream cheese on the bagel myself it doesn't count as a meal out, technically that's just like eating food from grocery shopping.  I also had a cup of soft serve from Kohr Brothers while we were shopping but that was just a snack so it doesn't count either.  20 total meals out.

2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:

     Breakfast: french toast bagel w/low fat cream cheese = 448 calories

     Lunch: 1/4 leftover italian style sandwich = 175 calories

     Dinner: gnocchi w/goat cheese, tomato & basil (yummy!) & white wine = 845 calories

     Snacks: orange sherbet & vanilla custard swirl = 260 calories

     Totals: 2078 burned - 1728 eaten = -350 total burned, 20 days total.  I didn't realize how many carbs I ate until I typed all this out!  I'm just going to say I meant it because I had a race on Sunday!

3. Complete 1250 fitness minutes:  I didn't technically work out on Saturday.  I wanted to go for a run with Joe before he went to work but I also didn't want to get out of bed, then we talked about going when he got home after dinner but I decided I wanted wine instead.  I did go shopping for most of the afternoon which I can log in my calorie counter app as exercise but I don't want stretch the rules that badly.  911 minutes total. 

I had a bunch of coupons & virtual dollars for The Limited that were expiring soon so I made plans to meet Tammy and shop at the store in the Deptford mall.  I couldn't get over the traffic for the people coming down to our area!  I would just say forget it & skip the beach if I had to sit in that!  

Tammy's mom & cousin Tiffany came along and we had a great time pillaging the sale section.  We all started grabbing things we liked and then Tammy kept picking out more and dropping them into our fitting rooms.  She gave got me two pairs of size 6 pants and I told her they'd be too small but she kept telling me to try them, when I put them they fit!  It was great, all the tops I tried we're size small and I even ended up with a few x-smalls!  This dress is a size 4!  I don't have anywhere to wear it but it was only $25 so I bought it and am hoping to make it work for work.

We were all running around so much the sales associate brought over bottles of water! 

We only went to The Limited & Victoria's Secret but it was still a 2+ hour trip.  I ended up with 2 dresses, a pair of pants, a bunch of shirts and my first tube top!  Of course I couldn't pass up more bikinis at Victoria's Secret; I got a matching top for the bottoms I got in AC and a whole new one that I think will work with a few other pieces I already have.  I saved over $150!

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  You would think that with all the shopping getting my steps would be a piece of cake.  Too bad that wasn't the case, I still needed about 1500 steps after dinner.  Joe and I were having a nice time hanging out of the couch and chatting but it was time to get moving!  We decided to walk over to CVS and play in the clearance section but about half way there he saw a text from Lou that Nicole was on her way to Rita's so we changed course and walked over there.  When we didn't see her wandering the plaza or in the store Joe checked his phone again and realized it was an old message and the new one said they were hanging out at home!  We turned around and headed back to their house for a visit.  At least I ended up with all my steps!  10753 steps.  25 days total.

5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I had a little bit of time between the time I got home from shopping & Joe getting home from work so I cleaned a little and got things ready for dinner.  17 days total.

exercise as anger management

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  I didn't eat out on Friday!  20 total meals out.

2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:

     Breakfast: fruit smoothie = 221 calories

     Lunch: apple, 100 calorie pack & greek yogurt = 275 calories

     Dinner: leftover chicken with broccoli & rice = 244 calories

     Snacks: mini babybel and oatmeal cookie & blueberry ice cream sandwich= 260 calories

     Totals: 2483 burned - 1000 eaten = -1483 total burned, 20 days total.  I realized I should have eaten more but I really couldn't force anymore food in my mouth.  I can't decide, when I'm low on calories, is it better to eat just fill the numbers?

3. Complete 1250 fitness minutes:  I wanted to get up and run on Friday morning before work but we didn't, I don't remember why, but we didn't, too humid maybe?  I had a pretty bad day at work and really just wanted to go home and lay on the couch with a glass of wine but I knew I wouldn't have the calories for it if I skipped the gym.  I'm pretty proud to say that I not only went to the gym but I also ran 2 miles on the treadmill before I took group power!  The best part is it helped get my frustration from work out so I didn't even need that glass of wine!

For my run I decided to try out a program that Kat uses.  She runs her first mile on a 7.0 then increases 0.1 with each tenth of a mile for her second mile.  Basically at distance 1.1 she's running 7.1, 1.2 = 7.2, etc.  By the time she finishes her two miles she's at an 8.0!  That's a little much for me so I ran a 6.0 first mile then starting at 1.3 I increased by 0.1 so by the time I finished I was at a 6.7!  I'm super proud of myself! 

I took it easy in group power because I was running a 5k on Sunday and didn't want to be too sore.  911 minutes total. 

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  I had to use the laundry method and pace the living room quite a bit but I managed to get all my steps in!  10179 steps.  24 days total.

5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of house work:  Joe went to retro night at the movie theater in Northfield because they were showing Jaws.  He invited me but I passed, not big on sharks.  Anyway, this gave me the house to myself all night.  I mostly watched Twilight on cinemax but I also squeezed in some cleaning and some laundry.  16 days total.