Brie Fit

One hundred and eight degrees today.  I’m not even kidding.

Seriously, I like winter, and spring.  Fall and I are kind of on the outs because I am allergic to trees and their leaves, but I can deal. 

I cannot deal with one hundred and eight degrees.  I am eternally thankful that I have a job in which I do not have to go outdoors, ever.  The five minutes spent in my car before the A/C cooled things down was bad enough.  It is a ghost town around here.   

(Note: for those of you who were like, “OMG!  House prices in KC are so low!” in my post last night,  maybe this hellish weather will explain why.  I like KC okay now, but it is not exactly desirable real estate as compared with the rest of the country.  Also, thanks for the advice!)

But enough complaining.  Greek yogurt for breakfast, with berries and shit.

Lunch was much better than yesterday.

Two actually hardboiled eggs, cantaloupe, a whole wheat English muff with PB, and a nectarine.

Snack was one of my favorite bars—a Clif Mojo PB Pretzel bar.

Since it was ri-damn-diculously hot out, I decided that swimming was the only sensible option for working out.

So I did.  1200m in 35 minutes. 

And then I went to shower, and in the usually pristine showers at the gym, I swear there was a tiny poop nugget, like the size of a dime.  I didn’t get too close to determine that was ACTUALLY what it was, but…ew.

Dinner was my lover, creamy taco mac.

So damn good.  Except I think I’ve had enough pasta this week.

Also, I realized today that I have 3.5 personal days that I’ll lose if I don’t use by mid-October.  So, I’m officially going on a staycation August 24-28!   I may get a kiddie pool and a plastic coconut to drink out of. 

In all seriousness, I might. 

Unrelated: If you need a good laugh, read this installment of TJ’s Cosmo Cliff Notes from my buddy Temerity Jane.   I chortled. 

What’s your advice for having a good staycation?  Any fun ideas for me?

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures.  My camera battery died yesterday and I forgot to charge it until…now. 

Anyway.  There’s not much to report.  A few months ago I reported that I am struggling with some personal stuff.  I’ve been feeling mostly good, but the last few days have been of the constant nerves and breathless moments of crushing anxiety variety, and it kind of sucks.

(Don’t worry.  Our marriage is fine, and we are both healthy.  But big deal kind of stuff, nonetheless.  General thoughts, prayers, and good luck charms are helpful.)

Yesterday I ran four good miles, and today I swam 1000 good meters.  So that was nice.  The constant nausea of last week was definitely hormonal, and has gone away, thank goodness.

However, I’ve been stress eating like a mofo.  So that’s…not good.

This time tomorrow, I’ll be on a plane to Boston for a weekend of stress-free sightseeing and girl time.  Just what the doctor ordered! 

One day at a time, folks.  One foot in front of the other.

So.  I’m not normally a scrooge.  And when I was a kid, I actually slept through the fourth of July fireworks on more than one occasion.

But last night, our neighbors were setting fireworks off in front of our house until 2 am.  And my alarm goes off at 6 am for work.  I wish I was kidding. 

So…I was kind of a grumpus this morning.

It didn’t help that I randomly felt like hurling for most of my drive to work.

Suffice it to say—this was not exactly the best day of my life.  Certainly not the worst, but all day I just had that generally annoyed, “are we there yet?” feeling.

Oh, and I remembered that today marks 19 years since my dad died.  While I’m not at a point where I just want to go home and cry anymore, it is kind of a little kick in the gut and brings back a whole lot of memories.

Lunch was a spinach salad,  cantaloupe, carrots n’ hummus, and a slice of challah.

I definitely hit a mid-afternoon slump and had some trail mix.  It did not revitalize me.

After work, I hit the pool for 1000m.  It sounded more relaxing and less taxing than running, but it was still kind of a miserable slog today where I was counting the laps until I was done.  It really is amazing how much sleep impacts the quality of my workouts!

At least I didn’t really have to make dinner, since I did it yesterday.

We had crockpot pulled pork (this recipe is amazing, healthy, easy, and freezes well—seriously a favorite) and corn on the cob.  I will be really sad when sweet corn goes away for the winter.

Now, I am finally relaxing on the couch, looking forward to the new season of Teen Mom and reading The Pillars of the Earth, which I just started but am already obsessed with.   (And cuddling Southie, who was away at the vet all weekend being boarded!  I missed my baby girl.)

Hopefully tonight will be quieter than last!

What is your favorite seasonal summer food?

Okay, so if you read this blog regularly…you’ve probably noticed that I’m a creature of habit.

I don’t post my breakfast every day because I eat the same thing every day.  Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal with 1% milk and a midmorning coffee (or Click protein shake).

Today, well, I found a good thing and went with it, twice. 

For lunch, I had a salad with spinach, Craisins, goat cheese, and pecans, plus a homemade pretzel roll and Greek yogurt on the side.

There was also trail mix as an afternoon snack, but I was too lazy to dig my camera out of my cavernous bag.  Sorry.

After work, I hit up the pool.  For the first time ever, it was crowded!   I’ve only had to share a lane once or twice before, but today, there were 2-3 people swimming in every lane.

Except one of two lanes labeled “fast.”  The guy using it hopped out just as I walked in, and it was empty otherwise.

I stick to “slow” if the pool is empty, and have braved “medium” a few times when “slow” is full.  But fast is where the tall hairless guy in the Speedo speeds by, occasionally yelling and fist-pumping at the clock.

But, my options were “fast” by myself or “slow” with three hairy old men and their beer guts.

So, fast it was.  I swam as fast as I could, and did 1000m in 28 minutes, and then cooled down with 200m of breaststroke.  It was a good time.  I really do enjoy swimming when it’s warm out!

Anyway, I was appropriately starving when I got home.  Swimming just kills me.  So I immediately made another salad and sucked it down as fast as possible.

Like I said, BOGO spinach at Target this week.  And I’m leaving Friday morning, and while Tim likes salads…I think that 90% of the two bags of spinach will be going down my gullet, not his.

By the time I was done, the leftovers from last night were heated up, so I enjoyed some of those.

I was planning on lifting after work, but my co-workers notified me this morning that we’re leaving work at 3 tomorrow and going out for happy hour drinks and appetizers in honor of my birthday!  So I think a rest day is justified.

Are you a creature of habit?

Back to work today.  Back to healthy eating, calorie counting, and working out.

And back to 96 degree weather.  WTF, Kansas City?  LA was supposed to be hotter.

Lunch was nice and colorful: spinach salad, egg sandwich (with a few purloined pretzels), cantaloupe, and cherries.

Snack was a Zone bar that I got free with a coupon.

After work, I decided to hit the pool for a swim.  My knee feels better today, but with the heat, all I wanted to do was hop in the water to cool off anyway!

Before n’ after:

(I reallly need a haircut.  My bangs are out of control.)

Anyway, it was such a glorious workout.  I swam 1200m.  I didn’t time myself or anything, but I think it took about 40-45 minutes or so.   My pool is kind of indoor/outdoor—it has a semi-retractable roof, and it was open today because of the weather so I swam in glorious warm sunshine-y water.  My arms were nice and tired by the end.

The only weird thing was the overly attentive lifeguard.  I mean, given the option, I’d prefer overly attentive to unattentive, but he was literally walking the side of the pool with me as I swam laps.  (I was the only person there.)  It was kind of bizarre having someone follow me!

Then, it was dinner time!

Yum, ground beef organs!

(Joke.) That’s the start of  the new raw diet, which is what at the very least Southie will be eating from now on.  Our vet recommended it to us, and now that she’s almost toothless, it seems like a great solution because it’s very soft.  We’ll probably switch Milhouse as well, but Buckley is a salty old codger who doesn’t like anything but his kibble, and I’m not sure we will win a battle of wills with him to get him toswitch.  Ha.

We tried it for Southie’s dinner tonight, and she ate the most I’ve seen her eat in probably six weeks.  She was way into it.  Hooray!

Dinner was already almost ready when I came home!  I made a barbecue-rubbed roast in the crockpot, shredded it, and we quickly boiled some corn on the cob to go with it.

This was such a perfect summer meal—no oven required.

Anyhoo, I’m off to portion a whole lot of raw meat!  Oddly, I don’t think I’m going to mind this task, as I really like the smell of raw steak.  Is that weird?  I sniff the package when I cook with it.

What are your favorite smells?  Any odd favorites?

You know, one thing I didn’t really think about until recently is how this stress is affecting me physically.

But it definitely is. 

I’ve always been a champion sleeper…except now, I’ve been a total insomniac a few nights a week.  My hair is falling out at an unusually high rate, and my workouts have not been strong.

Either way, it’s annoying.

Lunchtime—carrots and hummus, toasted homemade pretzel roll, Greek yogurt, and a giant effing banana.

Seriously, the banana was so big I couldn’t eat it all.

(pauses for inappropriate comments)

Anyway, I had one of the aforementioned shitty workouts after work.  I swam, and it was just bleh and I called it quits after 700m.  Womp womp.

Dinner was also not-so-great.

I made this wagon wheel taco pasta salad, which I LOVE, except we were missing several of the crucial ingredients, and I added way too much spice to compensate.  And then I made green beans on the side, and they were horribly tough, and the chicken I grilled was bleh…yeah.  Unremarkable.

Anyway, I’ll be up at the buttcrack of dawn tomorrow to hop a plane to LA.  I predict that by noon tomorrow, I am in my bikini, poolside, with a book and a Diet Coke the size of my head.  Good lord, I need this.

Discuss: which television show, living or dead, has the hottest cast?  I am torn between Gilmore Girls and Friday Night Lights, though vintage ER makes a strong showing as well.

Quickie post.  I’ve got a big blog-related project a-brewin’ and it’s not this post.  Details in the morning (I hope).

I finally got to eat the delicious lunch I’d packed for Friday.

Protein pancakes with peanut butter topping!

They are so easy to make.  Blend up half a cup of cottage cheese until it’s smooth, then add three egg whites and half a cup of oatmeal and blend until it’s batter-y.  (I use my Magic Bullet.)  I also add a pinch of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla for flavor.  Cook like pancakes.

By my calculations: 280 calories, 30 grams of protein.  Also, delicious.

(Note: These aren’t cakey, like REAL pancakes, but they’re kind of like a pancake/crepe hybrid.)

There was also yogurt.

After work, I decided to do a speedy swim workout—namely, swim 1000 meters as fast as possible, and I did it in 29 minutes flat.

Dinner combined rules 2, 4, and 5 from this morning’s post on menu planning/easy weeknight cooking.

Crockpot salsa chicken with leftovers?  Yes please.

Off to do some top-secret work!

Pancakes or waffles? 

Back to work, back to work.  Is it weird that Monday (or fake Monday, as it were) is my favorite day of the work week?  I always feel so refreshed and rejuvenated and okay, I’ll shut up now.

I had my usual breakfast, and instead of coffee this morning I had another Click protein shake, this time in Vanilla Latte flavor.  I’m not getting any sort of kickbacks from them, or anything, I just won this stuff randomly, and guys—it’s awesome.  I mixed one scoop (so half a serving) with some ice water and a splash of my usual coffee creamer and it was decadent.  I’m a total convert.  I love iced coffee anyway, so this is perfect for summer!  Definitely worth a try.  I’ve added both flavors to my Amazon store here and here.

I’m not taking lunch breaks to make up for my Mondays off, so lunch was munched while I worked.  Spinach salad, carrots and hummus, Greek yogurt, and a banana with peanut butter.

For a pre-swim snack:

I had my best swim yet today!  I swam 1300 meters in 39:08.  I was thinking about continuing to a mile today, but the pool was getting crowded and a particularly splashy old lady was breaststroking wildly in my path, so I left.

Also, my face hurt.  And I didn’t realize why until I snapped my goggles off  and I nearly keeled over with the pain.

Eyeball hickeys.  Big ones.

Yes, I need an eyebrow wax and some eye makeup remover and a Clarisonic.  (My birthday is coming, friends!)

But OMG.  2 hours later and I still have red marks under my eyes.  I’m a little worried I broke some capillaries or something!  Note to self: loosen straps.

Dinner was a revelation.

I saw chicken parmesan burgers pop up on my Google Reader last week on the Skinny Taste blog.  And then Blogger crashed and the recipe disappeared, so I winged it.  So, thanks Gina for the inspiration!

Last night I mixed 8 ounces of lean ground chicken with some chopped garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper and formed it into patties.  Tonight, I coated them in seasoned breadcrumbs and baked them for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then topped them with a little marinara and mozzarella.

And YUM.  These are going into the permanent rotation!  Ground chicken is pretty cheap and healthy, so I’m pretty thrilled.

I meant to serve them with waffle fries, but there were only enough for one person, so I gave them to Tim and had a baked potato instead.

I can hear some ice cream calling my name.  Swimming hunger is no joke!

Have you ever had an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction?

One foot (paw?) in front of the other.

Thankfully, my cold is 95% gone.

NOT thankfully…Southie is still not eating.  She licked at some wet food this morning, but it was untouched all day.  So, it’s back to the vet tomorrow morning.

It’s funny—Tim and I both think her personality is back, even though she’s weak.  She will purr up a storm if you pet her, and was fighting us like crazy when we were trying to inject the high calorie goop from the vet into her mouth last night.  Her eyes are much brighter.  Our armchair vet hypothesis is that the intense antibiotics are making her tummy ache, as she’s had the dry heaves since her return from the vet.  I’m hoping they have some kind of anti-nausea injection we can try.

I went to our favorite pet food store on my lunch hour to see if they had any delicious wet foods we could tempt her with, and also wound up doing some preliminary research on raw feeding.  I picked up a sampler box just for funsies.

Our vet recommended transitioning to raw feeding all our pets for Southie’s benefit.  He said he’s seen it work absolute miracles in animals.  It’s something I’ve always thought about, but this was the final nudge.   It’s the absolute healthiest diet you can put your pets on, and even though I know admittedly little about it now, I’m committed to learning about it!  So, once the kibble runs low in a few weeks, we’ll be attempting a transition to raw feeding. 

For lunch I had a leaf pile and some Spongebob mac and cheese.  (You all know how the last few days have been.  It’s the little things.)

I also really wanted a smoothie for lunch so I packed my entire Magic Bullet in my lunch bag and made one in my office.

I don’t care if my co-workers think I’m crazy.  I am.

Anyway, it was strawberries, half a banana, milk, and yogurt.  And also delicious.

I hit the pool after work for some laps.  I wasn’t particularly speedy (like I ever am, right?) because my muscles are super sore from lifting.  HOWEVER, in the spirit of Theodora’s recent “do one thing each day that scares you” post, I attempted flip turning.    (And also using the gym’s hair dryers.)  I have always been terrified to hit my head on the wall, but it worked out pretty okay.  Except for those few times when I turned way too early and had nothing to kick off of.  Practice makes perfect.

1100 meters, 40 minutes.

Dinner was some pizza.

After dinner, I engaged in some not-that-extreme couponing!

Kelly has inspired me to post a little bit more about my coupon usage, and I got some awesome deals at Target tonight, so I’m going to share.

Pantene shampoo, conditioner, and heat protective styling spray:

Shampoo: $3.79

Conditioner: $3.79

Styling spray: $5.99

Total:  $13.57

MINUS $1.50 off Pantene product coupon from some random mailer

MINUS $5.99 Target coupon for buy a shampoo and conditioner and get a styling product free

Final total: $6.08, or $2.03 per item

Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner

On sale for $2.49 each, minus $1 Target coupon

Final total: $3.98, or $1.99 each

I also got some great deals on toothpaste!

Colgate Total 2-Pack

On clearance for $2.44

Minus $0.75 newspaper coupon

Minus $1.00 Target coupon

Final total:  $0.69, or $0.34 each

Crest Extra Whitening with free travel size toothpaste

On sale for $2.49

Minus $1.00 Target coupon

Minus $0.75 manufacturer coupon

Total: $0.74

I also got another $10 off Crest products coupon book stuck inside this package, which is where I got the manufacturer coupon for this purchase (from a previous tube).

Gillette Venus Embrace razor, 4 cartridges, and shave gel

Razor: on sale for $8.79

Cartridges: on sale for $15.29

Shave gel: $1.97

Total: $26.05

Minus $5 off a Venus razor with cartridge purchase Target coupon

Minus $2 off a Venus razor manufacturer coupon from random coupon mailer

Minus $1.97 free shave gel w/any Venus purchase Target coupon

Final total: $17.08

…PLUS, for purchasing two Gillette products, I got a $5 gift card for my next Target trip.

So, functionally, this was $12.08. 

Other random good deals:

Neutrogena Acne Wash

On sale for $6.29

Used a $1 off Neutrogena Target coupon

Plus, Target is running a free lip balm with purchase deal, so I got a free Neutrogena lip balm ($2.99 value)!

Dove deodorant

I didn’t have any coupons for this, but a 4 pack for $4.99 is an awesome deal.

Gillette deodorant

$7.64 on sale plus a $2 off coupon=$5.64/2, or $2.82 each

Sally Hansen nail polish

$2.04 minus $1 off Target coupon=$1.04

I also got some good deals on pasta, juice, and laundry detergent.

All in all, I saved $51.06 today, and I have enough shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and toothpaste to last us quite awhile!  It’s the little things.

Have you gotten any good deals lately?

Important things first.

Southpaw thanks you for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Bottom line: she’s okay.  She went to the vet today, where she was diagnosed with a nasty case of ear mites.  She must have gotten them from Bubbles when he was with us (he was treated for them) and hasn’t really been herself for a few weeks now.  Anyway, it’s a quick fix and she’s already perked up quite a bit.

I was in a stress tizzy all day over it since I’d played Dr. Google and was convinced my sweet kitty was on death’s door.  Thank God she’s not!

Anyway.

I confess in advance that I kind of gave up on Sparkpeople tracking today.   While I don’t believe in “bad” and “good” when it comes to food, today just looked like it would be difficult/annoying to track so I didn’t.  I don’t think my calorie intake would have been too crazy high, anyway.

Breakfast was the usual.

After breakfast, I sampled half a slice of the cranberry orange bread I made with my coffee.

Lunch was a co-worker’s goodbye lunch.  We had catered barbecue, and I had a barbecue beef sandwich on a white bun, one BBQ rib, and some pickles.  I don’t love traditional BBQ sides (potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans) so I skipped them.

I had a teeny tiny slice of white cake with frosting—maybe a quarter of a “normal” piece, too.

Around 3 pm I was suddenly really hungry, so I excitedly got out the new flavor of Luna bars I saw in the store last weekend!

I love anything coconut…and if you add chocolate to it, all the better.

This was kind of like a less intense Girl Scout Samoa/Caramel Delight cookie.  Basically, I loved it. 

True story: when I first lost weight in 2008, I had a Luna Bar for dessert every single night.  I filled my fridge with them and bought in bulk online.  After about six months, I burned out, and it was about a year before I could even look at them again!

But now we are on good terms again.  They have a new Chocolate Chunk flavor I’m looking forward to trying, too!

Anyway.  I also nommed some pretzels from the community tub.  Whoops.

After work, I hit the pool and had an awesome workout!  I swam 1200 yards this time with very little pausing.  Last week, I finished in the pool swimming 1000 yards in 39 minutes—today I finished 1000 yards in 32 minutes, and did another 200 because I felt so good!

Honestly, I don’t think I’m going to do the Zero to One Mile program anymore.  I think it looks really great for people who don’t have a cardio base, but now that I’ve figured out the logistics of swimming, my aerobic fitness from running has transferred quite easily and I’m pretty sure I could do the entire mile right now if I went for it.   I’m only 450 yards away! 

Anyway, for dinner, I wanted to use up some of the corn tortillas left in our fridge from the tortilla soup last week.  So I made taquitos, loosely based on this recipe, with a side of black beans.

They weren’t pretty, but they were pretty good!

I was so hungry while I was making dinner that I snacked on some pre-cut pineapple in the fridge.  Swimming hunger is no joke!  Usually, after a run, I can wait for dinner to eat, but that was NOT happening today.  My stomach felt like it was turning itself inside out.  Yikes.

Have you ever overdosed on a good thing?  What?