Crazy Day (& Measurements)

Wow! This has been a crazy, non-stop day... definitely glad to be home & comfy on the sofa. First thing this morning, I did my monthly measurements. I lost 1/2" each from my chest & thighs, 1" each from my waist & hips, and there was no change in my arms or calves. I also took some progress pics, which I'll try to get posted tomorrow... way too tired to deal with it tonight.

First stop of the day was an hour or so in the gym. Not sure what's going on with my body, but I only lasted 10 minutes on the StairMaster (actually had to stop & catch my breath at about seven minutes). The only thing I can think is that I usually start with that & today I did it after the elliptical. I managed to burn a little over 600 calories... which is good because after the gym was an hour drive & lunch at Red Robin.

Last night, I spent a few minutes exploring meal options at Red Robin. It was pretty enlightening, even things I thought were possibly reasonable choices were over 1,000 calories. I had settled on the Ensenada Chicken, though its not my favorite it seemed like one of the more reasonable choices. Then I got the bright idea that perhaps I could modify my favorite, the Whiskey River BBQ Chicken Wrap. Turns out if you eat the filling without the tortilla, you save about 300 calories! Skip the ranch and you save almost another 300 calories! I contemplated ordering the wrap sans tortilla... but honestly one minute of talking to our waiter gave me the impression that such a request would have been WAAAAYYYYY too much for his brain to comprehend. So, I ordered it with the ranch on the side, ate the filling out of the tortilla with just a tiny bit of ranch mixed in. It was super yummy, no need for that calorie loaded tortilla. :-)

We (being me, my best friend, her soon-to-be-ex, their daughter, & his new girlfriend... seriously don't ask lol) shopped at Ross after lunch. The store was filled with cute things today. Its so funny because it used to be that I'd take a pile of things (size 2x) into the fitting room & if I was lucky one or two things would fit... so those would naturally be what I would get. Now, I go in with a pile of stuff (size Large) and they pretty much all fit... so I actually have to look at them & decide which look best and what ones I like the best. Decisions are NOT my strong point, I just want it all!!! Today, I settled for one top, a dress & a pair of red heels. The heels I fell in love with, now I'll have to create a reason to wear them since they are definitely NOT something I would typically wear... lol.

After a brief trip to the mall, we finally made it to Trader Joe's. Mostly, I got my basics of organic produce, hummus, frozen fruits, nuts, tortillas & snacks. One new thing I found was applesauce made with Gravenstein apples; my grandparents had a Gravenstein tree in their yard when I was growing up, but I don't find them very often. I'm so hoping that the applesauce will be yummy. Frozen pomegranate seeds were finally there & I'm looking forward to those being a heck of a lot easier than digging them out of the fruit. Also, I finally got some of the Almond Breeze milk; I've heard several people talking about it, so thought I'd give it a try. It was kind of a rushed trip through the store... but I managed to fill the cart nonetheless. My friend's little girl had one of the little kid carts, which she managed to crash & spill the contents all over the floor... so the trip was not without amusement. :-)

On the ride home, I was thinking of goals for the upcoming month. I came up with these: #1 Go to the gym for a minimum of 60 minutes, five days per week and #2 Limit restaurant food to one time per week. Consistency is really going to be key for the gym with the Around the World Challenge starting & I've been eating entirely too many meals in restaurants...

Do you have any goals in mind for the month of March?

The Bon Jovi Weekend

This weekend will always be referred to as "The Bon Jovi Weekend."

My partner in crime for the weekend: none other than my best friend, Erika. We started the weekend at my favorite nail salon... my nails (fingers & toes) are now a beautiful shade of blue & adorned with flowers. Arriving in Seattle an hour before we could check into the hotel, we went straight to The Cheesecake Factory. My menu there... one strawberry margarita (I thought I was doing pretty good to limit myself to one lol), WAY too much bread, and the combination of Steak Diane & Herb Crusted Salmon with mashed potatoes. It was soooo yummy, I could have easily eaten every bite; but somehow I managed to leave half the mashed potatoes on the plate. I skipped ordering dessert & managed to have just a couple bites from my friends... such restraint I tell ya. :-)

Shopping wasn't supposed to happen til Saturday... but with a little extra time to spare we found ourselves in Old Navy. A year ago the only thing I could possibly buy at Old Navy was an occasional XXL tshirt (if it was generously cut). Friday, I was able to purchase a tank top & t-shirt, that fit comfortably, in a size Large!!!! Yay for the smaller size & double yay because they were both on sale.

After checking into the hotel, we walked to the concert. I think it was roughly about a half mile each way... so not the longest walk, but better than nothing. The concert was fantastic - lots of new & old music. The band was awesome, the lighting and video monitors were over the top. I would've gladly gone again last night... but geesh those ticket scalpers make a killing for big shows. When the concert was over, we considered going to a bar or something but ended up just going back to the hotel. We stopped off at a grocery store on the way for some food... I bypassed all of the temptations and got a cup of fresh cut fruit - strawberries, blueberries, pineapple & mango. Very yummy & totally satisfying.

We awoke to a gloriously sunny Saturday morning in Seattle... how rare is that for this time of year? No complaints though... lol. By the time we got ready & checked out of the hotel, it was pretty much lunch time... so off to find The Hard Rock Cafe we went. We found a parking lot near the Pike Place Market and figured we'd just walk from there. Not being totally certain where the restaurant was (its only been open since Feb. 10th), I plugged the address into the navigation on my phone... so of course it gave us driving directions... which actually turned out to be a good thing. Thanks to the driving directions, we got in a 1.25 mi walk to the restaurant, as opposed to the couple blocks it would have been if we'd known exactly where it was.

No more referring to myself as a "Hard Rock virgin." We found the restaurant, were seated immediately (no small feat there & within minutes after our arrival there was an hour wait), and I dove right in. Something called a Local Berry Margarita. Normally I prefer my margaritas blended, this one was on the rocks, but super yummy. My meal was an open-faced sirloin sandwich with mac & cheese. The sandwich was piled with sirloin, mushrooms, onions & Swiss cheese. I did pull off the cheese, left one piece of the steak & most of the bread behind... however I inhaled the mac & cheese. Seriously, the BEST mac & cheese I have ever tasted. It was an awesome experience... we even got a visit from the head chef.

After lunch, we walked around the market, which was nice, but really really crowded. I avoided all of the tasty treats they tempt you with there. I did find some tart, dried cherries that don't have sugar added... thinking they will be perfect for one of the trail mix type things I create for snacks. The walk from the market back to the car was probably a half mile or so.

On the way home, we stopped at the mall & I ventured into Lane Bryant. Odd how long it had been since my last visit (I used to give them weekly donations of my husband's paycheck lol). The objective of this little visit... BRAS. I have been in bra hell for months... trying to find ones that fit... and I think perhaps I finally have achieved success. Its amazing how a properly fitting bra can slim your midsection... who would've thought?!?

Last food confession of the weekend, we were sucked into Cold Stone Creamery on our way out of the mall. Love it size cake batter with chocolate chips, almonds & graham cracker crust in a waffle bowl. The almonds are healthy, right?

Self reflection of the weekend: We didn't walk nearly as much as I had hoped, but we did get in a few miles worth of walking all together & some of it included steep hills... so not a total loss. Food wise, I feel like I did fairly well in comparison to what I could have done & what I have done in the past. I left food uneaten at each meal, skipped ordering dessert, and limited myself to one drink at each meal. Also, because we were "on the go" so much, I didn't snack between meals. All in all, I think it was a step in the right direction. Other than the bread at The Cheesecake Factory, I was able to enjoy myself without going totally overboard.

Tomorrow I will have to tell you about "cereal pa" and figure out my plan for the week... for now, its been a LONG (but fantastic) weekend and I need SLEEP!