#30DaysofThanks, Day 22: Thanksgiving Dinner with the Family

This month I’m participating in 30 Days of Thanks (#30DaysofThanks) by writing a blog post about 30 things I’m thankful for. To join in, go to the link above. The best part is, you don’t need to have a blog or even be on social media to take part in the project; you just need to be thankful. I can’t wait to see how my life might change by spending the 30 days in November giving thanks for things in my life — every single day.

I’m incredibly thankful that I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my family. This year my nieces were with their father, so it was “the original four” – my parents, LC, and me. Though there were few of us, we filled up the house with smiles, laughter, and our passionate personalities. I love my family, and enjoy spending as much time as I can with them.

I’m also really thankful for the bounty we had at dinner, and that this year I was able to indulge, but not go overboard. I enjoyed all of my favorites, but I also tracked everything. Moderation was the key. I loved how I felt – in control.

This was the appetizer I made – from Martha Stewart Living (found on Pinterest) – blue cheese and walnut spread. Adding the pears was my idea. It was delicious!

My sister made these cheese straws from puff pastry, and they were so light and flaky.

My mom’s tables are always the best because of her attention to detail. Gorgeous!!

We took some fantastic photos of the family, too, which I’m looking forward to printing and putting in frames this weekend.

It was a beautiful day.  A day spent with family.  A day to be grateful.

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#30DaysofThanks, Day 21: Completing a “Bella” Tri

This month I’m participating in 30 Days of Thanks (#30DaysofThanks) by writing a blog post about 30 things I’m thankful for. To join in, go to the link above. The best part is, you don’t need to have a blog or even be on social media to take part in the project; you just need to be thankful. I can’t wait to see how my life might change by spending the 30 days in November giving thanks for things in my life — every single day.

Today I am thankful that I can push my body to new limits at the gym.  As I strive to meet my weight loss goal even during the holiday season, I knew it was very important to get in big calorie burns this week.  Especially since I was going to indulge mindfully in Thanksgiving Dinner.

So I headed to the gym with one thing in mind – a Bella Tri.  A traditional Sprint Tri is a 5k run, a 20k bike ride, and a 750 meter swim.  I knew I wasn’t there yet on any of those counts, so I concocted the Bella Tri – 10 min on the elliptical machine (run), 20 min on the recumbent bike, and 30 min swimming laps in the pool.  I haven’t pushed myself like that in a workout since being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, but I knew I needed to amp up the workout if I was going to still see a loss on the scale this Sunday.

I’m happy to report that the Bella Tri was a success!  The elliptical was the part I was  the most worried about, since I’d be putting pressure on my feet the entire time, but I didn’t feel a thing.  The bike was a bit boring, but I just raised it to a level 8 and kept my rpms above 70 and that helped.  The swim was actually the part that was the most challenging for me – I’m a good swimmer, but I haven’t spent much time in an Olympic size pool, so making it all the way across the pool for one length is pushing my breathing abilities.  I can *almost* make it all the way across, but tend to run out of steam with about 8-10 strokes left.  Still, I swam for 30 minutes, and I just kept telling myself that this is something to shoot for.  It’ll be a great thing to see improvement on.  I enjoyed this so much that I’ve decided to put it into my regular rotation on my early days after school.

The other really challenging thing was keeping the swim cap on my head!  No joke – it kept riding up past my forehead.  I have A LOT of thick, curly hair, and I think it’s all just too much for my little swim cap to hold.  At one point I was so pissed about having to pull it down AGAIN, I finally just flung it off and picked it up after I got out of the pool.  If anyone has any tips for fitting all my hair into the cap and keeping it there, please let me know.

Today I’m grateful that I am striving for my goals and able to push my body to new limits.

 

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#30DaysofThanks, Day 20: A 2-Day Week

This month I’m participating in 30 Days of Thanks (#30DaysofThanks) by writing a blog post about 30 things I’m thankful for. To join in, go to the link above. The best part is, you don’t need to have a blog or even be on social media to take part in the project; you just need to be thankful. I can’t wait to see how my life might change by spending the 30 days in November giving thanks for things in my life — every single day.

Today I am thankful because it’s 12:25 pm, and I am done with work until Monday! This is definitely one of the perks of being a teacher. Of course, once I get home, I’m going to be spending several hours grading essays, so there is that balance. Still, I’m grateful that for the remainder of the week, my schedule is my own.

The plan for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday:

• Spend 2-3 hours grading
• Take advantage of the days off to go to morning Zumba classes on Wednesday and Friday; an afternoon kickboxing class today
• Get the house cleaned, laundry done, etc.
• Go back to the gym on Wednesday and Friday for a second workout (10 min. elliptical, 20 min. bike, 30 min swim)
• Call friends on the east coast to catch up.

I love this time of year, and I’m thankful for the time off to appreciate it.

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Giving Thanks

As I stop and think for a moment this morning (now afternoon), I realize that there are so many things that I am thankful for, and I thought it would be nice to share a few of them with you.

• I am thankful for my family, above all.  This has been a trying year for all of us, especially my sister, but I am grateful that we were there for each other and were able to support each other through it all.  And now my sister can look at all the possibilities that she has available to her, and she can once again hope.
• I am thankful for my friends.  I have so many people who love and support me (many of them are reading this blog right now), and I am lucky to have each one in my life.  The core group of friends that I see on a regular basis remind me of who I am inside and bolster my spirits when I’m feeling low.  They have been here through thick and thin and I appreciate them whole-heartedly.  And to those friends whom I have yet to meet in person, but who have become my best friends, I am so grateful to know you – I am a better person because you are in my life.  Thank you.
• I am thankful for Sofi.  She adds joy to my life and reminds me to enjoy the here and now.  I live in the moment when I’m with her and I realize what is truly important.  She has given me perspective and patience.  She is amazing and I love her more than I ever knew I could.  Everything does happen for a reason, and I know that I was meant to have Sofi in my life.
• I am thankful for Heather, Sofi’s breeder, whom I can call, email, or FB message about any question, big or small.  She has been an amazing support system for Sofi and me, and I don’t know how I could have done it this time around without her.  She has made me a much better doggy mommy and has become a friend.  She is one of the most nurturing people I know, and a true example of someone who gives of themselves for others.  She’s the best!
• I am thankful for my job.  In these times of economic turmoil, I am happy that I have a profession that I love and that fulfills me on a daily basis.  I get to touch the lives of thousands of students, and they get to touch mine.  I guess that’s worth the countless hours  spent grading essays. 
• I am thankful for my health.  Even though I’m 150 lbs overweight, I can walk and run (in short bursts) and Zumba and ride my bike and jump and dance.  I can MOVE.  I have not developed any of the co-morbidities that often come with obesity, and for that I am immensely grateful.  I am also happy that I have made huge strides to insure that my health improves by leaps and bounds as I lose weight.
• I am thankful for my attitude.  I know that keeping a positive outlook on life and appreciating everything and everyone around me is what helps me live a happier existence.
• I am thankful for my life.  Sure, there are still tons of things that I have yet to accomplish, but when I stop for a moment to look around at the little life that I lead, I realize just how amazing it is.  I live in a wonderful house, surrounded by family and friends (and pooches!), and I am able to enjoy each day and look forward to the next one.  Not everyone can say that.

What are YOU thankful for?

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Gobble Gobble

No, this isn’t a post about how much I’ve been eating. It’s just a quick post to let you guys know that I’m going to be super busy this week, and then I leave on Wednesday at 7:30am for Chicago/Michigan, so I’m taking a brief vacation from the blog. (But not from making good choices, tracking my food, getting steps in, etc).

I’ll see you back here on Sunday, November 29th.

Until then, I hope everyone has a great week. I hope your scales are friendly, and that you get some exercise in. Check out the amazing bloggers in my blogroll if you need something to read in the mean time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Trotting on Turkey Day, Whew, I’m Tired!

This morning at 9am BFF and I participated in the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. Since I hadn’t ever done it before, I had no idea what to expect.  I have to say, I was surprised that over 8000 people had signed up to take part in the run/walk.  I think it’s great that that many people decided to do something healthy on Thanksgiving morning, and the best part is, the money goes to support local charities.

The first thing we had to do was affix the technical “race chip” onto our shoes so that it could accurately measure our race time.  I was hoping for about an hour.

I had my race number and was all ready to begin.  There were thousands of people waiting in the 12+ minute line, behind all of the serious runners.  The weather couldn’t have been better: cool, overcast, and no breeze in the air.  There was a fun vibe in the air.  Lots of people with running baby strollers and dogs.  As soon as the gun went off, we were in a mass of people, all moving really slowly.  After we crossed the starting line, the crowd thinned out as some of the slower group started jogging.

BFF and I were at a fairly good walking pace the entire time, but shortly after we began, my right calf started cramping up.  I decided to push through it, because I knew I could.  We hit a bit of an incline as we went over a bridge, which actually helped my cramps quite a bit.  I guess the incline sort of stretched my muscles, which was perfect.

The crowd as we were about to begin the bridge incline

After we hit the first mile, my right leg was no longer cramped, but my toes started to become numb.  This really concerned me.  As I kept going, the numbness in my toes moved to my foot, and then to my entire leg.***  Luckily, as we neared mile 2 we got into a sort of bottleneck as we were crossing a small bridge, which forced everyone to slow down.  The slowdown helped the numbness – I guess my circulation was returning.

Mile 3 was probably the easiest because I knew it was almost the end.  My foot started to get numb again, but nothing was going to stop me.  I tried to talk about other things to take my mind off of it.  I told BFF that I wanted to be in good enough shape to enter the 10K next year, and try to run at least half of it.  She seemed skeptical as to whether or not we would be up for that challenge, but I told her it was a realistic goal to shoot for.

Our finishing time of 1:14:21 wasn’t the 1 hour I had hoped for, but it wasn’t too bad, considering the foot numbness and the bottleneck slowdown.

Tonight, 10 hours after the walk, I am tired, sore, but oh so happy that I completed the Turkey Trot.  It’s a tradition that I’m going to continue for years to come.

I’m really proud of myself for finishing the race, even under some adverse conditions.  I know that I never could have completed this walk when I was 50 pounds heavier.  So, I’ll wear this shirt as a badge of sorts of how far I’ve come:

The plan moving forward?  Beginning the Couch to 5K program over Winter Break (Christmas Vacation) and continue it for the entire 9 weeks.  I can’t wait to see how far my body will go.

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***When I told my parents about my numbness, my dad was very concerned.  He said he thought I might have a pinched nerve or something like that.  He told me he wants me to watch it, and if the numbness continues, he wants me to go to the doctor.  I will definitely keep an eye on it, because I don’t want any lasting nerve damage.

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Turkey Trot!

A few weeks ago, I saw something in the newspaper about this year’s Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning in downtown San Jose.  It seemed like a fun way to spend the morning, and a great way to pre-burn off all of the calories that would be consumed later in the day.  I haven’t done a formal walk/run type of race in years, and thought it was about time for me to challenge myself.  Plus, the proceeds from the race support local charities, including Second Harvest Food Bank, which is in desperate need of donations at this time of year, especially with the economy being what it is. 

So Thursday morning, I’ll be taking part in the

 

I knew I wanted to sign up, but I also knew that it would be a lot more fun to do it with other people.  So, I sent an email out to everyone - friends and family alike – but no one seemed to be able to do it.  I can understand, especially for the people who are having Thanksgiving at their houses.  There’s always so much to do to prepare for it.  Finally, I strong-armed BFF into doing it with me.  I knew she wasn’t going to have any cooking to do, and I knew that even though 9am on a non-workday would be early for her, she was up for it. 

Saturday morning the packet arrived, complete with my bib number and an electronic chip that I’m supposed attach to my shoes.  So high tech!  Well, this is Silicon Valley, after all.  I think it’s neat that the chip records your time during the race. 

I’m interested to see how long it takes me to complete the 5K.  I’ve been using the treadmill more at the gym in order to get some practice in.  I’ve been going at the pace of a 20-minute mile, which seems slow, but then I remember that I’m walking, not running.  (As much as I want to be able to run someday, right now my body isn’t in the physical condition to be able to run.  I think this is going to be one of my new year’s resolutions – to stop saying “I should start the Couch to 5K program,” and actually get started on it!).

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the walk.  It’s supposed to be a fun time and it’s all for a good cause. 

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