My body was not so happy with me this morning.  The brick workout left me all kinds of sore and ouchy.  In a good way, though!  But, I took the hint and did no formal exercise.  The body said “hallelujah”

The stomach said the same to breakfast!  A cheesy egg white omelet…

and an Ezekiel english muffin with a smear of whipped butter…

Time for fun in the sun!  My eyes can’t get enough of this…

It makes me happy

We decided to beach it all day, so I packed up lunch and snacks.  Funny how I still work down the leftovers, even at the beach!  I brought the last of the FALAFEL! (yes, I’m still yelling about it) and ate them “lettuce wrap style” with a bit of horseradish sauce…

(x 3)

Along with it a salad of tomato, cucumber, carrot and sliced lite string cheese …

I did lots more sitting and reading.  And a little snacking…

Clementines are so sweet!

I finally got off my butt and jumped around in the ocean with the family.  Big daughter took a few pictures of me out there in the surf.  I haven’t had bathing suit pictures taken in a long, long time.  Probably like 20 years.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to look at these.  But, I did.  It was NOT a pretty sight.  I just stared and stared at them, incredulously.  I can’t lie;  they made me feel awful.  I couldn’t help but have a mental pity party ( I make a very concerted effort to NEVER talk about my weight or down myself in front of the daughters).  I was sad about how I looked.  For as healthy as I try to eat and as much as I exercise, I just still can’t believe that I look the way I do.  The husband talked to me about how I felt about the pictures and helped me to realize there are just some things about my body that I may not be able to change.  I’m hippy and bottom heavy and that’s the way I’m built.  And as much as I hate to admit it, age is a factor as well.

However, I decided not to DWELL.  I easily could have.  I even started to feel that “what the hell” eating mentality beginning to surface that moment.  I mean, I had a great excuse, right?  I already looked ginormous in those pictures, so I might as well eat to match it!  Wrong. 

Thinking positive…

• I am healthier than I have ever been in my whole life.
• I treat my body well with foods that are good for it.
• I have made exercise an important and REGULAR part of my life.
• I may not be where I want to be, but I no longer look like this…

Yes, I could still stand to lose some poundage (serious poundage after seeing those pics ), but I know that the work I am doing with respect to changing my relationship with food is more important to this journey and keeping the weight off.

No dwelling.  Happy again, see?…

Onward…

To dinner!

We went to a cozy restaurant in Smithville called The Lantern Light Tavern…

I started off with a Margarita – $2 drink special – who can resist??!!

It was Mexican Monday at the Tavern, so I went with it.  The server brought fresh salsa and chips for the table…

My plate (x 2)…

I ordered the Chicken Fajita Salad with lime dressing which was served in a taco shell that impressed the daughters…

They had fun breaking off pieces of the shell and nibbling!

During dinner, we all got a kick out of the roosters that roam around this quaint village…

We stopped for coffee on the ride back, then took Rocky for a nice walk.  It was a beautiful evening!

Time for relaxing

Have a great day, everyone!

Oooh, I almost forgot… I had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of a video – One World, One Smile for The Levity Project.  My friend, Lance at The Jungle of Life wrote a post debuting it.  Go check it out;  it will make you SMILE!! ** I’m “smiling” (aka looking like a goofball) about halfway in! LOL! 

How do you feel about having your picture taken?  Do you try to hide your body from the camera?

It’s Monday, again!  Hope your weekend was wonderful!  Mine was spent with family and eating good food!  Here are some highlights of the weekend…

• Starting the day with iced coffee…

I know.  I can hear you saying ‘iced coffee is a highlight’?!  Clearly, I need to get out more

• A berrylicious yogurt bowl sweetened with NuNaturals liquid vanilla stevia…

Did you enter my NuNaturals giveaway, yet?

• Created a new recipe – Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins…

Will share the recipe this week!

• Tried out a new restaurant- Harvest Seasonal Grill featuring  a local, sustainably harvested menu and a focus on organic foods…

The husband was scared thrilled as you can imagine.  Some wine got him through it…

Note the fear in his eyes.

I took a walk on the wild side, too…

I’m crazy like that

So many favorites on the menu…

The final decision:   Pork Tenderloin with Pear and Mango Chutney over Leek and Wild Mushroom Polenta…

Very nice, but teeny tiny.

• A Sunday morning,  hot and messy 5.08 mile run with my partners, Kerry and GYMBOSS …

• A different take on Asparagus Eggs Benedict…

The secret is in the sauce…

• An amazing salad – Arugula with Grilled Shrimp, White Beans, Roasted Edamame and Cornbread Croutons…

Gotta love weekends

* A special shout-out to Cornwallfitgirl for the Beautiful Blogger Award!  Thanks so much, Rach!  I really appreciate it!

*Another big shout-out to my blog friend, Amanda for making GOAL!!!!!  Please stop over and give her congrats!!!

Have a great day, everyone!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Today, I mourn the loss of a good friend who was always there for me.  Very old, fragile and often times possessed, either moving at the speed of light or slowing to an almost screeching halt. 

But always there, through rough times and stormy weather. 

Today, I said good-bye to my tried and true…

I think my 5 miles on Sunday pushed her over the edge  

She served me well over the past 2 years.  Before I joined the gym this September, she was my main source of exercise in the early mornings.  She also was instrumental in my transition into running.  We had lots of fun on those 5K Saturdays!

Now, she’s gone.  She was about 16 years old.  It was time.

After the husband and I put her out by the trashcans gave her a proper burial, I came in for breakfast – Banana Nut Vitatop  with 1/2 tbsp. natural peanut butter (helloooooo, Bell Plantation, where is my PB2??!!)…

and the press…

I did some work around the house, then met up with Mom and Gram for furniture browsing (for Mom’s new house) and lunch.  We decided on Chick-fil-a (Gram’s favorite) where I always get my favorite there – Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad with Light Italian…

Later in the afternoon, I dug into one of these new bars from Cascadian Farm…

Almond butter??  I’m all over it!

The nutrition facts are decent, too…

Crunchaaaay… 

I really liked these bars.  They are crunchy and sweet.  Maybe a little too sweet , but sometimes you need a little sumpin’ sumpin’ in the afternoon. 

I decided to make it easy for dinner and let us all join tastebuds and eat the same thing.  Hot dogs, fries and salad fit the bill.  Don’t worry, the family didn’t drag me over to the dark side.  I did it Loser for Life style! 

We all know that hot dogs aren’t the healthiest thing, but these guys are actually pretty decent…

They are made from select cuts of certified organic beef and are only 70 calories and 4.5 grams fat per dog!  The sodium is high, as with all hot dogs, but no higher than some of the canned soups out there.  And they taste fantastic.  Just like the full of fat ballpark kind!

I served them on whole wheat hot dogs buns from Trader Joe’s.  I’ve already broken the family in on these, so no complaints were heard there.  On the side, I made baked fries, a big salad and served up a few dill pickles.

My plate of goodness…

I only had a couple of fries for the taste because  I really was satisfied with everything else on the plate.

Since I didn’t fit in exercise earlier in the day, I headed to the basement after dinner for a workout.  Where is the treadmill ?

Instead, I found a new friend…

I spent 30 minutes getting to know this new friend, then did 15 minutes of strength training with 5 lb. dumbells…

• chest fly – 2 sets, 12 reps
• incline bench press – 2 sets, 12 reps
• lateral raise – 2 sets, 12 reps
• reverse fly – 2 sets, 12 reps
• shoulder press – 2 sets, 12 reps

It’s a start!  Every time I do strength training, I realize how much I like it.  I don’t know why I never seem to stick with it!   It’s really cool and makes you feel so strong when you’re done.

***

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Have a great day, everyone!

Do you strength train with weights?