Oh my aching back!

Getting older is no fun!  Yesterday I did something to my back when I picked Jack up.  I bent over to get him and when I stood back up something like pinched and I almost fell over sideways!  I tried to stretch and went on a run/walk hoping it would feel better but it just got worse as the night went on and now (Wednesday morning) I can't bend over without a lot of prep.  So keep in mind that I spent the majority of Tuesday night like this:

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  I ate all my meals from home again on Tuesday.  Luckily I made dinner and ate right when I got home because Lou & Nicole invited me to the Clam Bar after our workout and I would have been hard pressed to pass it up if I hadn't already eaten (or if I wasn't worried about basic movement).  12 meals total. 

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

     Breakfast: granola bar & banana = 295 calories

     Lunch: watermelon, greek yogurt & 100 calorie chips ahoy = 351 calories

     Dinner: whole grain hamburger helped w/spinach = 543 calories

     Snacks: m&m's = 120 calories

     Totals: 2192 burned - 1309 eaten = 883 total burned, 13 days total

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I'm really loving that more and more of my friends are getting the exercise itch, it's making finding a work out buddy so much easier!  Nicole, Stephanie & I (plus the kids) did C25K and some walking, which surprisingly didn't bother my back too much.  I noticed I was definitely holding myself up straighter though.  It was really nice getting to catch up and burn some calories at the same time.  777 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  I need another 1500 steps after my workout and I was determined to get them!  I felt ok as long as I was standing so I just walked around and around the downstairs until I got there.  10065 steps.  17 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I did some basic cleaning right when I got home but didn't do any cleaning after I hurt myself.  I even had to ask Joe to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer before bed.  14 days total.

Better late then never...

Sorry everyone!  I had the pictures all uploaded for Monday's recap but didn't get a chance to write it.  I was planning to put the post together quickly last night but that didn't pan out either...so without further ado here's my exciting Monday wrap up (followed soon by the way more exciting Tuesday wrap up). 

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  I didn't eat out at all on Monday, although I was tempted because Joe wasn't home for dinner.  But I behaved and made myself an breakfast wrap instead of ordering in or picking up some Wendy's.  12 meals total. 

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

     Breakfast: oatmeal w/brown sugar, milk & banana = 325 calories

     Lunch: watermelon, greek yogurt & smartfood = 351 calories

     Dinner: bacon, tomato, egg & laughing cow wrap = 411 calories

     Snacks: ice cream sandwich = 175 calories

     Totals: 2465 burned - 1292 eaten = 1173 total burned, 12 days total

 

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I really went above & beyond in terms of exercise on Monday.  I needed to run 2 miles for my 5 mile training; did I mention I'm doing a 5 mile race on August 21st?  No?  Well, I am.  Anyway, I made plans to meet Stephanie for the run and then decided to walk the mile and a half to our meeting spot.  I tried to convince Nicole & Jack to walk with me but she had some other stuff to do :-(  When all was said and done I had traveled over 5 miles and been "working out" for 110 minutes.  732 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  Obviously with 110 minutes of walking & running I didn't have any issues getting all of my steps.  15334 steps.  16 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I unloaded & reloaded the dishwasher, brought some shoes upstairs and washed & folded laundry.  14 days total.

Happy Father's Day

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  Hehehe, I ate out all three meals on Sunday.  We had breakfast with Joe's parents because he had to work and couldn't make their Father's Day BBQ.  Then I grabbed a shorti at Wawa before going to the beach with my sister.  And finally we met my dad at Lamberti's in Margate for dinner.  12 meals total. 

Dear god this was delicious!

We joked around, took a bunch of pictures and had an a really nice time just hanging out and eating delicious food.

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

     Breakfast: tomato, onion & cheese egg white omelet with rye toast and a few home fries = 514 calories

     Lunch: turkey & swiss shorti, nectarine = 450 calories

     Dinner: gnocchi zianna = 696 calories

     Snacks: 0 calories

     Totals: 2135 burned - 1660 eaten = 475 total burned, 11 days total  

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  Nicole and I had planned on completing one of her C25K workouts but the timing of it all just didn't pan out.  I had plans to meet my sister at the beach and right before I left the house she suggested I bring workout clothes with so we could do some kind of run.  We decided to go for a 1/2 hour jog when we came off the beach.  It was pretty humid and we were definitely sweaty when we finished the 2.7 miles.  622 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  I was pretty concerned about my steps because I didn't have much planned for the day.  So when I was on my way back from breakfast and I saw Nicole & Jack walking over to ShopRite I parked the car in the back of the lot and jumped out to join them.  Nicole was picking up some things to make Lou a nice breakfast so we wandered around the store grabbing odds & ends.

Between my impromptu trip to ShopRite and my run with Shana I made it to 10,000 before 7pm!  11419 steps.  15 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  Yeah so sometimes you've just got to give up cleaning and enjoy the view, lol.  13 days total.

32 miles is a long way!

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  I am really loving all these people just giving me free food!  After the bike ride (more on that later) we were surprised with bag lunches from the organizers.  It included all of the items below but I only ate the sandwich and the peach.  I'm not counting it because once again I didn't pay for it or choose what I ate.  9 meals total. 

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

     Breakfast: whole wheat bagel w/low fat cream cheese = 283 calories

     Lunch: turkey sandwich & peach = 428 calories

     Dinner: cheeseburger on sandwich thin = 528 calories

     Snacks: 1/2 banana, cheddar pretzels & ice cream sandwich = 258 calories

     Totals: 2725 burned - 1597 eaten = 1128 total burned, 11 days total  

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  Yeah so I rode my bike 32 miles on Saturday and it was not easy.  The furthest I'd gone before this was 11 miles...  It was sort of a father's day event with my dad who is an avid cyclist.  He kept telling me that we could turn back whenever and it wasn't necessary to finish the whole ride but I was determined.  It took 2 hours and 53 minutes to finish and I was exhausted!  My whole body was just tired, I didn't really even hurt too badly until later on that evening.  592 minutes total.

The ride was an alumni event for the college I attended during my undergrad (and hopefully will for my mba as well).  There were just under 300 people registered and looking at this picture it seems like a lot but I didn't think it was too packed.

Here we are all suited up, I really hadn't planned on matching my outfit to my bike & helmet but that's just how it worked out I guess.  As you can see my dad rides a recumbent bike, we've always teased him because it looks so different and he has this crew that all ride them.  But after 3 hours on my bike seat I definitely paused a second to consider riding something with what is practically a chair the next time.

I really wish I could have included the breakdown of each lap but I couldn't get all 32 on one screen to save.  It looks so easy now but this was definitely the hardest activity I've completed to date.  Yes, harder then Broad St.  I think the real difference is that I trained for Broad St for months, I knew what to expect.  Because I'd never ridden this far before it was a real shock to my system.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  As you can see from the graph I was given a lot of steps during the bike ride.  I guess the way my legs move while peddling is close to walking.  I think my fitbit read 18,000ish steps after the ride.  Which means I definitely did another 5000 the rest of the day plus whatever I walked getting ready and all before the race.  I'm not sure it should count because of the riding but I'm going to take the numbers as they are!  23776 steps.  14 days total. 

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  Even though I was exhausted after the ride I just couldn't hold still.  I've never been a good napper.  While putting a few things away upstairs I came across one of my xmas presents that I hadn't gotten around to using yet.  Let me introduce you to my new best friend...The Bissell SpotBot Pet.  13 days total.

I can't believe I'm about to share this on the internet but my cat has this bad habit of scooting his butt across the floor after he uses the litter box.  It stems for some medical issues he had which had to be rectified with surgery and pretty much left him with a female like urinary set up.  Therefore he no longer knows how to use the bathroom like he used to and finds it necessary to "wipe" himself on my carpet...not cool.  I got really tired of scrubbing with carpet cleaner & a brush so I asked for this fabulous little machine which Joe then got us for xmas this past year.  I thought it was going to require some time to figure out so I'd been putting it aside for the last 6 months.  Well, Saturday was the day, I could barely keep my eyes open but I was going to make this thing work.  Yeah, it wasn't hard at all, you fill the tank, put it on the spot and BAM clean carpet.  See the clean circle in the middle on the grossness.  I'm happy to report that the whole area is clean now and it should be a piece of cake to keep it that way!

comments make the world go round

I need to start by saying how touched I was by stelle's comment on my outfit post this past Friday.  Any of you that blog know it can be extremely thankless; you pour your thoughts and/or life out online and most of the time you don't even know if anyone is reading it.  Seeing a comment says someone IS reading and then for that comment to say that they enjoy what your saying is awesome!  I know I'm not totally free from fault where this is concerned though, I follow close to 75 blogs and  rarely comment on any of the posts I read.  But I'm hoping to remember how great it felt when I read that single comment on my post so that I will take the extra few clicks and say something about someone else's writing.

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  I didn't eat out on Friday!  That's an awesome feat considering my normal routine of constantly eating out on the weekends.  Technically I did have a bagel from Manhattan Bagel for breakfast but that's because a vendor brought them in for us.  I didn't spend any money or really get to order what I wanted so it doesn't count.  9 meals total. 

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

     Breakfast: whole wheat bagel w/low fat cream cheese = 390 calories

     Lunch: watermelon, greek yogurt & smartfood = 351 calories

     Dinner: baked chicken, spinach & au gratin potato = 378 calories

     Snacks: m&m's & cheddar pretzels = 250 calories

     Totals: 2270 burned - 1369 eaten = 907 total burned, 10 days total  

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I was planning to go to group power on Friday.  I was a little concerned though because I hadn't lifted in close to 3 weeks and I had the 32 mile bike ride the next day.  Can you imagine how tortuous the ride would be in all my muscles were already sore?  So, when Stephanie asked if I wanted to run I jumped at the chance!  She hasn't exercised regularly since she had her son so we took it easy.  I set my garmin for 30 minutes and we just went 15 out & 15 back, we managed 2.6 miles, not bad.  419 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  I thought my run would have taken care of my steps but I wasn't quite there.  I made sure to do some laundry and bring stuff up & down the stairs until I got there.  10023 steps.  13 days total. 

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I had a lot of time to kill before & after my run with Stephanie because Joe was stuck at work.  I cleaned the kitchen while I made dinner, picked up the living room and then of course there was the laundry I did while finishing up my steps.  12 days total.

Outfits of the Week ~ June 13-17

My week in fashion...I <3 fashion police...

Monday ~ I had that perfect attendance celebration after work so I wanted to dress up a little.  It's always good to put a little extra effort forth when you're going to hob knob with the big wigs, lol.  I always get a lot of compliments on this dress and it's SO easy to wear.  Both the dress & shoes are from Ross, they're actually from the same shopping trip I took with Tammy & Amanda back in April.

Tuesday ~ I didn't give this outfit much thought.  I just grabbed the shirt because I hadn't worn it before (hand me down from Angela).  I originally had a pair of boot cut pants on but I thought it was too much for some reason.  Blue satin top and black cami - New York & Company, black skinny dress pants - The Gap, black pumps - Naturalizer.

Wednesday ~ I had that surprise party for my mom after work so I wanted to look put together.  The whole thing came together pretty seamlessly.  Beaded necklace - Ann Taylor Loft, brown cardigan - Old Navy, light blue cami (which you can only see when I raise my arms or bend over) - New York & Company, navy blue cropped pants - The Limited, tan peep toe heels with bow - Jessica Simpson via Macy's.

Thursday ~ Wow, I was really feeling the blue this week!  I really wanted to wear these shoes but it's hard to figure out exactly what to pair powder blue shoes with!  I also didn't want to wear cropped pants two days in a row so I grabbed these khakis that are a size 8 :-); the only problem is that they "grew" as the day went on and started to look too big :-( the necklace is from a Premier party, short sleeve navy sweater - Old Navy, khaki sateen pants - The Limited, blue peep toe t-straps with floral detail - Naturalizer.

Friday ~ I was totally over getting dressed up this morning, I would have been happy going to work in my pajamas.  I think it's because my facebook is full of teacher friends talking about their last day before summer vacation; it put me in a mood because I have to work all year round...I know mom, I chose the wrong career!  Anyway, I just threw this on because the pants were at the bottom of the bed waiting for a second wear (everyone wears their pants twice before washing right?).  Satin & knit blouse - Ann Taylor Loft, black skinny dress pants - The Gap, peep toe black heels with metallic stitching - Seychelles via Piperlime.

What the heck do you do with swiss chard?

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  Another day with no eating out!  Nicole & I were planning on making this recipe using the swiss chard from my farm basket program.  I was a little concerned that it would be terrible and we'd end up at Wendy's but that wasn't the case.  It was delicious!  9 meals total. 

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

     Breakfast: watermelon & granola bar = 281 calories

     Lunch: nectarine, strawberries, greek yogurt & smartfood = 369 calories

     Dinner: whole wheat spaghetti w/swiss chard = 356 calories

     Snacks: graham slam ice cream = 190 calories

     Totals: 2277 burned - 1196 eaten = 1081 total burned, 9 days total  

The recipe was very easy to follow and we didn't have any issues.  But I'll admit Nicole did most of the heavy lifting.  I can't be trusted around knives for all the dicing and chopping :-)  I was concerned Joe would go for the pasta and skip the greens but as you can tell if was quite the opposite, we were left with mostly pasta.

 3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  Before cooking dinner Nicole & I knocked out C25K W3D1.  She was worried about the 3 minute running intervals but she did great!  I learned that the whole 25ish minute workout is under 2 miles, good thing I always make us do 3 total!  389 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  The run took care of my steps.  As you can see I spent the rest of the evening sitting on my butt!  11439 steps.  12 days total. 

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I cleaned up the dining room for dinner & kitchen during and after.  I also tried to pick things up & put them away as I went from room to room.  It wasn't a total cleaning spree but I got the job done.  10 days total.